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An Interactive Lord’s Prayer
A multi-sensory, interactive trail for pupils
designed by Janet Lunt and Catherine Coster
An Interactive Lord’s Prayer
Introduction to the trail
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This multi-sensory, interactive Lord’s Prayer Trail is designed for Key Stage 2 pupils. Ideally, this trail could be set up in a church by church members for the school. Volunteers (given suitable CRB checks) from the congregation could guide the pupils at each station. The class can be divided into groups of approximately six pupils. The pupils spend approximately 10-12 minutes at each of the stations on the trail, gathering together at the last station for a time of worship. No specific order is required for the stations.
Suggestions are given in the script for the leader’s guidance, but pupils will respond in different ways and should be encouraged to discuss their own ideas and raise questions from the material provided.
The stations are based on the words of the Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father in heaven Hallowed be your name Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen
An Interactive Lord’s Prayer
3 of 50 Our Father in heaven– the Christian relationship with God Resources: • Pictures showing parents and children • An image of Joseph and Jesus in the
carpenter’s workshop • Image of a bird in a hand that illustrates
God’s fatherly love (see below)
• A recording of the Lord’s Prayer spoken in Aramaic: www.v-a.com/bible/Lords_Prayer.html or with video animation on Youtube: http://the-kingdom-of-god-is-within-you.blogspot.com/2010/03/lords-prayer-spoken-in-aramaic.html
• Modelling clay
Introduction Do you have a treasured memory of something special or important that you did with your dad or someone else who is important to you? Look at the picture of Jesus working in the carpenter’s shop with Joseph. Jesus grew up with a loving father and mother who helped him to understand the importance of loving relationships in our lives. Jesus called God his heavenly Father and the Bible records that God’s voice spoke, calling Jesus his beloved Son. When Jesus prayed to God he addressed
him as Father, sometimes calling him ‘Abba’ which is a bit like saying Daddy. He taught his friends to think about God in the same way. Listen to the Lord’s Prayer spoken in Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke.
Because of the relationship between Jesus and God, Christians believe that they too can regard God as a loving parent. Look at the image of the bird in a hand. Jesus spoke about our preciousness to God by comparing this to the love God has for even something as small as a sparrow (see Luke 12:6-7). Jesus said that even a sparrow will not fall to the ground without God knowing about it. Just as we might hold an injured bird cupped in our hands, so God holds us safely in his love. Activity • Create a sparrow out of clay that can
be held in the palm of your hand.
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© The Stapleford Centre 2011 www.stapleford-centre.org
© http://office.microsoft.com
© The Stapleford Centre 2011 www.stapleford-centre.org
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An Interactive Lord’s Prayer
Hallowed be your name– praising a holy God Resources: • Incense, candles, rich cloths • Music playing quietly (e.g., Taizé music,
Gregorian chant or appropriate classical choir music)
• Pictures of objects that are used in the Bible as metaphors for God. (e.g., rock, strong tower, fortress, shield, eagle, vine, shepherd, king, light, sun)
• Ready drawn outlines of letters forming names connected with praise of God
Introduction People find it very difficult to describe what God is like. Christians look in the Bible to find many different ways of portraying the character of God. Sometimes God has been described as . . . (see pictures displayed). If God is described in these ways, what do you think the writers were trying to tell us about God? As well as using objects to describe God, people use titles for God, e.g., King, Lord and Creator, and adjectives such as holy, almighty, etc., (‘Hallowed’ may need an explanation.) Activity • Sit the pupils in a circle and play the
game ‘If you were an animal, tree, building, item of clothing, colour, etc., what would you be?’ The idea is that the pupils express aspects of their personality through the imagery. Play the game again, this time substituting ‘If God were (any of the above) God would be . . .’ the idea being that the pupils express some attributes of God through the imagery.
• Use sequins and beads, or metallic pens, etc, to decorate names of God that express praise and awe of God, e.g., Holy, Lord, Majesty, King, Almighty.
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© The Stapleford Centre 2011 www.stapleford-centre.org
© http://office.microsoft.com
© The Stapleford Centre 2011 www.stapleford-centre.org
© http://office.microsoft.com
© The Stapleford Centre 2011 www.stapleford-centre.org
© http://office.microsoft.com
An Interactive Lord’s Prayer
Your kingdom come, your will be done – serving God
Resources: • Tree/shrub in a pot • A map of the world or a globe • Items that symbolise service in the
kingdom, such as: a Christian Aid envelope or balloon, an Amnesty candle, a Salvation Army hat, Send-a-Cow card, Fairly traded products, relevant logos for the Red Cross/Water Aid/other similar agency, a small Gideon’s Bible (about spreading the Good News)
• Small, round pieces of card with a hole punched in each, string/cotton to attach the card to tree
• Mustard seeds Place the tree in front of or on the map of the world Introduction Show the pupils a mustard seed. Jesus told a simple story about how a mustard seed, the smallest of seeds, was planted and grew into a tree that provided a home for birds of many different kinds. Christians believe this story is about the
growth of the kingdom of God. God’s kingdom can start with thoughtful prayers, small acts of kindness and service which can in the end make an enormous difference to the world and its people. Christians believe that they can do God’s work in the world. St Teresa said: Christ has no body now but yours No hands, no feet on earth but yours Yours are the eyes through which he looks With compassion on this world Christ has no body now on earth but yours Activity • Think of a person or organisation that
is trying to change things for the better. Write a ‘thank you’ thought or prayer on a card and tie it to the tree.
• Talk about what you could contribute to the world today or in the future, to make the world a better place.
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An Interactive Lord’s Prayer
Give us today our daily bread – asking for what we need Resources: • A display of different sorts of bread • A tent, water jar, mosquito net, bowl • Pictures showing contrast between
rich and poor Introduction Ask the pupils to work in pairs and write down questions that occur to them as they look at the images of people who are homeless, hungry, those who are rich in material goods, etc. Discuss the questions raised and consider which questions are the most thought-provoking.
Christian believe that God wants all people to have the basic things they need for life, e.g., water, food, shelter, health care. The request for daily bread reflects this human need.
Activity • Ask the pupils in pairs or threes to
make a list of things that they think they need on a daily basis, e.g., what sort of foods, what sort of clothes, what they need for school. Discuss together the choices they have made.
People living under different circumstances may need different things. (Introduce a child from another country.) What are their basic needs for survival? (See Christian Aid website and use displayed examples of tent, etc.)
• Share some of the bread, and as the
pupils eat it ask them to reflect with gratitude on the comforts of their daily lives, and help them to understand that the future of the world’s people will depend on sharing the earth’s resources.
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© The Stapleford Centre 2011 www.stapleford-centre.org
http://www.publicdomainpictures.net
© The Stapleford Centre 2011 www.stapleford-centre.org
http://www.publicdomainpictures.net
An Interactive Lord’s Prayer
Forgive our sins as we forgivethose who sin against us – our relationships with each other
Resources: • Material cut into strips and knotted (not
too tightly) • A weaving frame with warp and weft for
finger-weaving (or plastic mesh attached to a frame)
• Suitable photographs, e.g., a religious minister visiting a prisoner
Introduction
When we do something wrong and hurt somebody else, we can feel horrible inside as though we were tied in knots. Christians believe that God forgives them the wrong they do when they say they are sorry. Christians also believe that they should forgive those who do wrong to them. When the knots disappear from our own lives, we are able to
live ‘smoothly’ and more easily with others and to create a peaceful community.
Activity • Invite the pupils to take a strip of
knotted material and untie the knots, thinking about the ‘knots’ in their lives.
• Use the unknotted material and the frame to weave together something new and beautiful.
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http://www.alivepublishing.co.uk © http://office.microsoft.com
© The Stapleford Centre 2011 www.stapleford-centre.org
An Interactive Lord’s Prayer
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil – living God’s way Resources: • Sheets of mirror-card, some silver foil,
glue, scissors • Newspaper cuttings and pictures of
‘evil’ situations in the world today; these could include pictures relating to greed, injustice, violence to others, neglect, bullying
Introduction
If I were to say the word ‘evil’, what thoughts come into your mind? What other words might mean the same as evil? (E.g., the pupils might suggest bad, horrid, selfish, etc.) Where do you think there is evil in the world today?
Use pictures to help the pupils think about any current events and school situations.
Everyone is tempted to do wrong things. (Use a personal story of leader or willing pupil.) When we do the wrong thing, Christians believe we spoil and distort what God wants us to be, but when we resist temptation and try to do what is right, we see and feel ourselves as God means us to be. This can be a bit like seeing a different reflection of ourselves in two different sides of a mirror, one side showing a broken image and the other a perfect image.
Activity • Make a double-sided mirror using
mirror-card on one side and crinkled foil on the other.
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http://office.microsoft.com http://www.publicdomainpictures.net
An Interactive Lord’s Prayer
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and forever, Amen – A final act of worship together Resources: • One or more large candles placed in a
central position, which could include an Amnesty candle
• Smaller candles or tea lights in holders • Display the clay birds and decorated
words describing God Introduction Gather all the pupils together in a designated space.
Christians believe everything is a gift from God and God’s love encircles them in everything they do. The Lord’s Prayer is a prayer that Jesus gave to his friends. This prayer is used in church worship every week. Perhaps Jesus’ friends were finding it difficult to find the right words to use when they wanted to talk to God. In this prayer,
Jesus showed that his followers can pray about anything and everything, asking for God’s help in all parts of their lives. By his own example, Jesus showed his friends that prayer was about listening as well as speaking. Christians believe prayer is about getting to know God, and making ourselves known to God. They believe that in prayer, they give themselves to God so that they can do his work in the world. The Lord’s Prayer ends with the words: For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and forever, Amen. Christians pray because they believe that all things come from God and reflect his glory, and that in the end, his good and loving intentions will be done world today?
Activity • Light a central candle that represents
God’s light, and invite the pupils to light their own candle from this, placing it in a circle around the central candle(s).
• Use an appropriate song as a closing reflection, moving round the candles as the song is sung.
• Alternatively, the pupils could create a circle dance, or say The Lord’s Prayer together using sign language to express the sentiment of the different phrases. Simple gestures by Paul Bosch can be found at www.worship.ca/docs/godkids3.html
Suggested songs:
Christ be our Light (Longing for light) by Bernadette Farrell (OCP publications) An Amen Round by Janet Lunt (see below)
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