Keeping Holy Week with Children
2024
Children are always welcome in worship at St. Luke’s, including during Holy Week. Learn more about Holy Week worship here.
In childhood faith formation, practicing faith at home is just as important as being involved in a faith community. Here are some additional suggestions for keeping Holy Week together with children:
A few days before Easter, tell one other, "This is a special week, because we are just a few days away from the great mystery of Easter. A mystery takes time to unfold! This week is all about getting ready."
A couple of years ago, we sent families home with Holy Week In A Box. If you still have your box, you might like to pull it out and work with it again this year, or you could make a new box with materials that you can find around the house.
Maundy Thursday
If you bring your children to worship on Maundy Thursday, invite them to notice what is different. "Tonight is all about love. Jesus loves us, and Jesus tells us to love one another. I wonder what signs of love you can notice during worship?"
If you are not coming to worship on Maundy Thursday, consider washing one another's feet as a family practice at home. It is a special opportunity especially for younger children to get to offer an act of love. Read the story of Jesus washing the disciple's feet from your children's Bible (John 13:1-17, 31b-35). As you gently wash and dry one another's feet, say, "Jesus gave us a new commandment, that we love one another. Just as Jesus loves us, we also love one another."
Good Friday
The crucifixion is a difficult story to explore with adults, let alone with children. But as Christian educator Carolyn C. Brown says, “Paired with the resurrection story, the crucifixion is the central story of the faith. We have to share it… When we deny children the opportunity to explore the crucifixion, we do them a great disservice.”
If you bring your children to worship on Good Friday, help them notice how the church takes this story very seriously. When the assembly is invited to interact with the cross, help the child come close, touch, and pray at the cross.
The hymn “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord” uses simple language and repetitive phrases that can help children grasp the story. Try listening or singing together at home.
Watch this video together — Pastor Erin (with pandemic-era haircut) shares a Good Friday message with the youngest members of our community using The Easter Story Egg by Natalie Ard.
Read the story of the crucifixion together from your children’s Bible (John 18:1--19:42). After you read the story, wonder together about what it might mean. Children can ask big questions about a story like this! Remember that adults don’t need to know all the answers. It’s okay to say things like:
“That is a really deep mystery. This story is bigger than any of us can understand.”
“That is a wonderful question. I really don’t know.”
“Let’s wonder together. Wondering is an important part of faith.”
Resurrection of Our Lord - Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday
Join our partners Unity Park and Grace Church for an Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday from 10a-noon. As you do the Easter egg hunt, tell each other, “The surprise inside of each egg reminds us of God’s Easter surprise. On the third day the women went to the tomb expecting to find Jesus dead, but they found the tomb open and Jesus was resurrected. Usually eggs are white and when you crack them open you find an egg yolk. These eggs are colorful and when you crack them open you find a treat. That is also a surprise!”
Read the story of the resurrection from your children’s Bible (John 20:1-18). The great mystery of Easter is here!
The word “alleluia” is back after we took a break from it for Lent! Practice saying and singing alleluia around the house today to share the resurrection joy.
Worship on Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday is full of exciting stories, visuals, and tactile experiences. Help your child notice the sensation of the water as they remember their baptism, the sound of the “alleluias",” the taste of the bread and juice. The resurrection is something we can experience with our senses!