Script 25 Palms to Crosses - Episcopal Church of the ...incarnation-gaffney.org/Children's Chapel/Year B/PalmSundayB... · Script 25 Palms to Crosses Palm Sunday John 12:12-16 or

Script 25 Palms to Crosses

Palm Sunday

John 12:12-16 or Mark 11:1-10

THEME

This session will use the Gospel, read at the beginning of the service, which describes Jesus’ Entry into Jerusalem. Two Palm Sunday Gospels are offered—one from John and the other from Mark—check whichever your church is using. You will obviously have to schedule round whatever your church does on Palm Sunday: the priest will probably bless and distribute palms at the beginning of the service and there might be a procession. In this session the children will re-tell the story of Palm Sunday by making a donkey, a palm to lay at its feet and (by an adroit set of origami folds) a little paper cross from their palm drawing.

SET UP

• The liturgical color is Red—make sure there is something red in the hall, even if it’s only your socks or shirt.

• The “Desert Tray”minus the candle.• White or purple cloth to lay on top of the desert (see below).• (If you have other devotional objects in the hall, cover them up with a white or

purple cloth.)• Arrange the room for a craft session: setting up tables, or clearing a bit of the plat-

form. • Donkey cut-outs from the CD-ROM.• Enough strands of wool and wooden clothespins for each child to make a donkey

(instructions on the CD-ROM).• Construction paper, green markers for the palms (template on the CD-ROM). (The

template also includes instructions for making some origami folds to turn the palm into a cross. It is easy, and the transformation looks like magic.)

• A sheet of paper, on which you have drawn some palm leaves, for an origami dem-onstration.

• Scissors (some of them child-friendly).• Palm crosses.

136 Palm Sunday

WELCOME the children and lead them in The Sign of the Cross X (p. xxxvi).

THE KYRIE Lord Jesus, This week you allowed your enemies to capture you, Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy.

Lord Jesus, This week you carried your cross, Christ have mercy. Christ have mercy.

Lord Jesus, This week you died on the cross for us, Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy.

Ask the children to repeat The Prayer for Forgiveness after you (p. xxxvi).

OPENING Lord Jesus, PRAYER Today you entered Jerusalem on a donkey As you did so, the Jewish children sang your praises Help us follow their example And sing your praises this morning. Amen.

BEFORE THE GOSPEL

Leader This is the last Sunday in Lent, and suddenly the color has changed. Did anyone spot the new color in church?

Give them a hint—what color is my shirt? (red)

Red is the color we use when we remember Christians who’ve died for their faith. But today we use it to remember Jesus Himself, because today is the start of Holy Week, the last week of Jesus’ earthly life.

The Church goes into mourning this week and we cover up all our pictures and crucifixes and statues, so we can concentrate on Jesus Himself.

I guess we’d better cover up our desert. (Pull it out.)

Script 25—Palms to Crosses 137

Here it is, with its rocks and sand and cactuses. Can anyone see what’s missing? (the Jesus candle) Yes, Jesus has moved on. We’ll find out where He is in a minute, but first we’ll put the desert

away. (Ask a child forward to lay the cloth over the desert.)

Put the desert away.

Okay, where did Jesus go today? Let’s find out in the Gospel.

Ask a child to bring the Gospel to the front.

THE GOSPEL

Either John 12:12-16 or Mark 11:1-10.

AFTER THE GOSPEL

Leader That’s one of the great Gospels. Jesus borrows a donkey and rides into Jerusalem, with everyone

cheering, and waving palm branches, and throwing down their coats in front of Him.

All over the world Christians are waving palm branches today—and some lucky churches even have a donkey to process round with.

I think our church ought to have some donkeys. Let’s make some.

ACTIVITY

Settle the children for a craft session and pass out the stuff they need to make donkeys (CD25.1). You may have to help the little ones with the tail. Once the donkeys are made, ask the children to draw palm branches (in green) on both sides of their sheets of paper (CD25.2 offers a variety of palm shapes). Set up a donkey procession, make a pathway with the palm branches and stand back to admire the effect.

OPTIONAL MUSIC

If you have a musician on hand, a Palm Sunday hymn would fit in well here. (The first three verses of “All glory, laud and honor”for example.)

Leader That looks really good. Jesus rode into Jerusalem, listening to the shouts, looking at the

palm branches—yet knowing all the time the people weren’t always going to be so happy and friendly.

Today, Palm Sunday, they waved palms (Hold up.)

138 Palm Sunday

But by the end of the week they didn’t want to give Jesus palms They wanted to give Him this...

Origami demo (CD25.3): fold and cut the paper so it becomes a cross.

A cross. Can you do that?

MAKING CROSSES

Gather the children round and do another demo with a blank piece of paper.Let them try with their pictures of palms: you may have to help the little ones with the scissors. Admire the result.

FINAL PRAYER

Ask the children to sit down, with their crosses in front of them. Bring forward a palm cross.

Holy Week starts today on Palm Sunday, and for the rest of this week the Church will be hearing about the things Jesus did in the last week of His life until we get to Good Friday, when He died on the Cross.

That’s why our palms (show them) are made in the shape of a cross. But Holy Week doesn’t stop at Good Friday, it goes on to Easter

Sunday, the day Jesus conquered death and rose from the dead. So you see, the crosses we’ve made look like crosses, but they are

also bright green. Green is the color of life and a green cross shows that Jesus brought life back from the tomb.*

Ask the children to say the following prayer after you:

Lord Jesus By your Holy Cross You have saved us all. Amen.

Let’s finish by making the Sign of the Cross X In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

* Leaders may be interested to know that in medieval stained glass Jesus is usually shown on a green cross, for the same reason.

Script 25—Palms to Crosses 139

BACK IN CHURCH

The children line up down the front with their crosses.

Leader Today we drew some palm leaves, and then turned them into crosses. Our crosses are bright green to show that, though Jesus died on the

cross, His death brought life to us all. We’d like to share a prayer with you.

The children hold up their crosses as one of them says:

Child Lord Jesus By your Holy Cross You have saved us all. Amen.

(CD25.1)

(CD25.1)

(CD25.2)

(CD25.3)