Family Faith Companion

All Saints Day? Tell me more.

Posted on October 30, 2013November 4, 2016 by Carol Hulbert

This weekend families join together in worship for a special service where we celebrate “All Saints Day.” (Which occurred on November 1st.)

What do you picture when you hear the word “saint?”

Someone who models perfection?
Who does/did no wrong?
Who is exceptionally holy and wears a halo??

I like the definition of All Saints Day, given by Gertrud Mueller Nelson in her book To Dance With God: Family Ritual and Community Celebration…

All Saints Day is the celebration of those who have contributed successfully to the creation of the kingdom.

To be a saint doesn’t imply we have to be perfect!
It just means we wear our faith on our sleeve!

an old bell on a chapel In the worship service this weekend there will be a time where we remember saints who have died in the past year. As their names are read a bell is tolled.

This special time of the service is to remember — to thank God — for these saints who have shown others the Christian walk and faith.

They wore their faith on their sleeves!

Time Out. Talk about… A speech bubble

Prepare your children for this portion of the service by talking about remembering. (Don’t worry if you don’t have a chance to prepare ahead of time. Talking about it after the service works too!)

Ask your kids what they remember about your last vacation, or a special birthday, or a visit with a friend or a relative. Invoke memories of good times! Why is it good to remember these occasions?
How is the celebration of Communion a time to remember?
Share with your kids, remembering whose example helped you on your faith journey. Didn’t grow up with these sorts of mentors? Talk about who is currently helping you build your faith. (We are allowed to stretch the definition of a saint to include those who are living!)
Use this as an overture to talking about who are the current mentors in your child’s spiritual journey. Whom would they like to have as their advisers? (Research shows that kids are helped to succeed in life when they have multiple non-family adults in their “camp.”)

Are you wearing your faith on your sleeve?

Photo credits:
A church bell in a chapel on the Island of Corfu, Greece, from my archives.

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Is Father Abraham an ancient relative of yours?

Posted on October 24, 2013January 15, 2014 by Carol Hulbert

You remember the song about Father Abraham…

♫ Father Abraham had many sons
Many sons had Father Abraham
I am one of them and so are you… ♪♪

My family tree includes Swedes, Germans, and a few sprigs of Irish and English. Is Abraham a part of my genealogical chart? It’s highly unlikely.

So why do we sing that I am a son (figuratively) of Father Abraham?

Interestingly enough I had a child ask me on Sunday if anyone in our church was related to Abraham. The perfect lead in!

Abram (whom we later know as Abraham) started off with an empty nest. God made Abram a promise: You will have a tree full of descendants. And sure enough, eventually Abraham became the father of lots and lots of people; a whole nation full of God’s people! Lots of leaves on his tree!

Oh wait, Not leaves! That wasn’t the metaphor God used to explain his promise! God compared the number of Abram’s eventual offspring to grains of sand on a beach and stars in the sky. Imagine trying to count sand particles! Lots!

So, about that song: where do we fit into Abraham’s family tree?

We are Abraham’s spiritual descendants.

It goes like this: God called Abraham and Sarah and all their descendents into a special relationship with him through a special type of promise we call a covenant. He said,

I will always keep the promise I have made to you and your descendants, because I am your God and their God. Genesis 17:7

The apostle Paul said it another way:

For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham.
You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you Galatians 3:26, 29.

God’s promise belongs to us! Remind your child(ren) (and yourself) of this daily! Sing a couple of bars of Father Abraham.

Photo credits:
Click here for info on banner photo (not visible in readers or email).
Other photos from my archives. Check out the family tree I created here.

A book to be loved

Posted on October 17, 2013October 1, 2015 by Carol Hulbert

A book that hopefully will be loved, and used and worn to pieces…

A 3rd grader proudly holds her Bible

How can we ensure that happens? That a Bible is utilized, consumed and worn right out?

First, give to all of the third graders, a gift from the church: a Bible of their own. Distribute these Bibles in an in-front-of-everyone sort of way. This ensures that not only will recipients and their immediate caregivers feel the reverance, but everyone sees how important these kids are to us, and how serious we are about God’s word!
Second, hold a special unwrap-the-Bible event for the 3rd graders and their families. Right off the bat announce that their shiny, brand-new, au courant Bibles are sheathed in numerous layers of various types of paper! Purposefully unwrap each layer while teaching its significance; each covering sheet introducing an aspect of the Bible.

The first layer of wrapping on their Bibles

For example: What could a layer of comics-paper bring to mind? The Bible is full of stories. Carrying around a Bible is like carrying around a library!

This milestone event has a third step.

Use your Bible at home.

Steps one and two were initiated by the church but step three is in the hands of all families. Oh yes, if your child attends the Cool Disciples program, they will learn a lot, but YOU, not the church, are the primary faith educator for your children.

Where can you start?
- Allow your child(ren) to catch you reading the Bible. Actions speak louder than words.
- Read the Bible together. Often.
- Talk about what is read. For our current Rotation story on Abraham and Sarah read these passages in Genesis: 12:1-9, 13:14b-18, 15:1-7, 15:18a, 17:1-9, 17:15-17, 18:1-15, 21:1-3. Look here for a reading plan for our story. Subscribe to this blog (see up above, on the right) to receive an email of each new post.
- God made a covenant with Abraham. Make a covenant with your child to study and learn about God together.
Be the first one to ask for a replacement for your worn out Bible!

The class of 2023!

Photo credits:
Photos from the families of FUMC. Group photo by Joe Spaly.

Ringy-ding-ding. God is calling.

Posted on October 9, 2013September 29, 2020 by Carol Hulbert

It’s not just the phone that can call us away from something.

a phone is ringing

It’s the alarm clock,
the hungry family,
the laundry piles,
the boss,
the egg timer,
the ping of “you’ve got mail”...

All things that call us; demanding we turn our attention their way.

What calls have you heard lately?
Anybody heard God calling?

Abram did.

Of course things were a lot quieter in Abram’s day. (The bleating of a few sheep perhaps?) As you start a new Rotation on Abraham, you’ll be learning about how Abraham (whose name started off as Abram) heard God’s call and how he responded to that call. Here it is from the Bible…

Abram, get up and go! Leave your country. Leave your relatives and your father’s home, and travel to the land I will show you. Don’t worry — I will guide you there. I have plans to make a great people from your descendants. And I am going to put a special blessing on you and cause your reputation to grow so that you will become a blessing and example to others. Genesis 12:1-2

Talk about “calls” at the family dinner table (or wherever your family is gathered together). Start off with a game. Make it like the “I’m packing a suitcase” game, except in this case the first person tells something that called them away, for example, the alarm clock called them away from a dream. The next person repeats the first call and adds their own: the bell that called you away from recess. (They don’t have to be actual events that happened; the President called on the phone and asked you to come to Washington?) And so on, until someone can’t remember the list of calls!

Play again if you desire. Eventually turn towards a discussion about how many different types of calls there are on our daily lives. Ask these questions:

Do you suppose that there are so many calls on our lives that we can start to respond without thinking?
What can help us to stop and remember to prioritize which calls we’ll respond to?
What about God, does he call us?
Name some ways that God has called you in the past.
In what ways might God use to reach us? (through the words of a friend, a Bible passage, a song…)
What might keep us from hearing God’s call?
What can we do to help us listen for God’s call?

Ringy, ding, ding.
Check the caller-ID. It might be God calling.

Photo credits…
Phone call by Sean MacEntee, is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0).

Abraham & Sarah: October Schedule

Posted on October 3, 2013October 13, 2013 by Carol Hulbert

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To see a growing list of opportunities to foster faith learning at home
for this month’s story :: click here.

On Saturday nights and on Sunday mornings at FUMC, our kids, whom we call Cool Disciples, experience Rotation Model Christian education, as they learn about Bible stories and concepts through kid-friendly multimedia workshops. Scroll down to view our October schedule of workshops. This month we’ll be starting a Rotation on the Old Testament story of Abraham and Sarah.

The Old Testament? Why study the Old Testament?

After all, isn’t it the Old (i.e., Out-dated, Leaden, Dusty) Testament?

While the Old Testament can seem distant from our ways of thinking, there are important reasons why we include it in our studies:

It’s the Bible Jesus learned. (In fact, he likely could recite all of it by heart.)
Jesus and the apostles constantly refer to it in their teaching.

And the story of Abraham and Sarah is of particular interest…

It’s the story of God’s interactions with people; calling them to be in a relationship with him.
We see Abraham and Sarah on a journey. They took the first step and walked into the unknown, solely by faith. There is an element of mystery in walking faithfully. Abraham and Sarah can be a model for what it means to take a leap of faith.

Read about our story in Genesis 12:1-9, 13:14b-18, 15:1-7, 15:18a, 17:1-9, 17:15-17, 18:1-15, 21:1-3. Note that this is a long story and portions of Genesis are being skipped on purpose!

For Saturdays at the Green Wood location, here is the schedule…

Date	Workshop	Activity
10/5	Drama Workshop	One more week on the story of Jesus in the Temple as a young boy. Enact this story using masks in the form of a Greek drama.
10/12	Puppet Workshop	Starting on the story of Abraham and Sarah by using “handle bag” puppets to enact the story.
10/19	No Workshop this week	Worship with your family
10/26	A Special Workshop	Make preparations to help lead worship on November 2nd and make a Halloween snack.

On Sundays at the downtown location…

Date	What’s happening…
10/6	Enjoy worship and World Communion Sunday. (Leave the service with your child after the children’s moment for Rev. Nancy Lynn’s Family Communion Class, and rejoin the service in time for Communion. Recommended for age K and up.)
	Our workshops…
	Art	Cooking	Video	Games	Puppets
	Room 212	Social Hall	Pine Room	Room 211	Room 215
10/13	3rd grade**	5th & 6th grade	1st grade	4th grade	2nd grade
10/20	4th grade	1st grade	2nd grade	5th & 6th grade	3rd grade
10/27	Attend a special worship service with kids in leadership roles.

** 3rd graders will be receiving Bibles in worship during the children’s moment. Then they’ll have a special class!

What’s happening in each workshop?

In the Art Workshop students will discuss blessings in their lives and how they can bless others. They will create and learn how to make use of a blessing box.
In the Cooking Workshop students will make sugar cookies to give to others who are blessings in their lives.
In the Games Workshop students will participate in a Trivial Pursuit type of game to learn story details.
In the Puppets Workshop students will use handle-bag puppets to enact the story.
In the Video Workshop students will watch portions of an animated video on our story, Covenant Discovery, from the Great Bible Discovery series. Explore how we trust God’s promise.

We’ll be continuing our study of Abraham and Sarah next month!
If you are in the area please join us for the fun learning at First United Methodist Church in Ann Arbor, MI

Photo credits:
Click here for info on banner photo (not visible in readers or email).
Floppy disk by “Great Beyond,” who licensed this photo on Flickr under a Creative Commons License.

Old enough to be spiritual?

Posted on September 26, 2013January 6, 2017 by Carol Hulbert

It always amazes me to catch sight of kids that I haven’t seen in a while; they’ve grown by leaps and bounds!

The long shadows of two girls on a beach Our Rotation this month is a story that kids can relate to – it’s about Jesus as a young boy.

The Bible tells us that at this time in his life Jesus grew strong and wise. (Luke 2:40)

And from the story we can also glean that Jesus was growing in other ways: he was exploring his calling; he was delving into his spiritual self.

Do we allow our kids the chance to grow spiritually?

Granted, Jesus was twelve years old in our story but even young children — preschoolers! — are spiritual.

Here are ways to encourage spiritual growth in all ages:

Surround your child with people who genuinely demonstrate God’s care for your child. Obviously this is present in your household, but having a church family is important as well.
Create a daily time of being intentionally still and seeking God in prayer. This may be best accomplished at bedtime.
Share joys and concerns around the family dinner table. (Or wherever your family is gathered together.) This serves as a reminder that God is listening to them and cares about them.
Keep a gratitude list. Or follow other ways of counting thankfuls.
Take them out into nature. Create opportunities to see and touch and hear the world around them that God has made.
Offer daily blessings as a way to reassure your child that God thinks highly of them.

What are ways that you expand your child’s spiritual awareness? Are they growing their spiritual side?

Photo credits:
Tall shadows by thejbird, who licensed this photo on Flickr under a Creative Commons License.

What was Jesus thinking!?!

Posted on September 12, 2013November 9, 2015 by Carol Hulbert

My two day-old son, freshly home from the hospital, was being laid down for a nap when my two and a half-year-old daughter surprised me. She insisted on singing to him the song we sang to her every night at bedtime – the first verse of the hymn Precious Lord — all by herself!

Has your child ever surprised you with something that you didn’t expect?

Sometimes things your child does will astonish other people. The Jewish teaching community likely experienced eye-opening amazement with a young boy named Jesus who joined their midst in the Temple courts during the Passover celebration. “Everyone was surprised and impressed that a 12-year-old boy could have such deep understanding and could answer questions with such wisdom” (Luke 2:47).

A public domain painting of Jesus amidst the 'doctors' in the Temple

That sort of thought didn’t percolate through Mary and Joseph’s minds, however. No, this event did not invoke a benign well-look-at-what-our-boy-is-doing sort of moment. Mary and Joseph had frantically searched for Jesus for three days. They couldn’t find him anywhere! Describe Mary and Joseph as anxious; worried sick. When they finally found Jesus in the Temple courts, can’t you hear Mary sputtering:

Jesus, what were you thinking!?

I’ll bet they are stunned by Jesus’ reply.

Why did Jesus stay behind at the Temple?

(a) He was almost a teenager. He wanted to irritate his parents.
(b) He got so wrapped up in his exciting surroundings that he totally lost track of time.
(c) Your reason here _______.

Mary and Joseph had been searching for Jesus. Meanwhile, Jesus was searching for something entirely different.

Jesus was searching for something that all of us look for!

Aren’t we all looking for an explanation for feelings we can’t explain…

What is this sacred reverence which hums within us, when we allow it to escape?
Why do certain situations (holding a newborn, catching a glimpse of beauty, the receipt of joyous news…) invoke feelings of deep respect, tinged with awe?
What is my purpose here on earth?
What can I do to promote peace, justice, love and compassion?

Do you suppose that Jesus found what he was looking for?

Have you?

Photo credits:
Jesus in the Temple a painting in the Public Domain by William Brassey Hole (1846-1917), via Wikimedia Commons.

Jesus as a boy, in the Temple: September 2013 Schedule

Posted on September 5, 2013September 14, 2016 by Carol Hulbert

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At FUMC on Saturday nights and on Sunday mornings, our Christian education for children is based on the Workshop Rotation Model. In September kids will spend four weeks learning about Jesus when he was a young boy of 12-years old. Each week they will encounter a different kid-friendly multimedia workshop. When they are done they really know the stories!

Read this month’s story in Luke 2:41-52.

Jesus in the Temple as a boy

For Saturdays at the Green Wood location, here is the schedule…

Date	Workshop	Activity
9/7	Art Workshop	Create a unique book of God-given talents. The design of this book makes it a keeper! It will be easy to add more pages.
9/14	Cooking	Talk about Passover and make unleavened bread.
9/21	Video	Watch a video that tells the story and one that covers the story theme.
9/28	Games	Play a game of “Concentration” and learn story details.

For Sundays at the downtown location, here is the schedule…

Date	Our workshops…
9/1	Enjoy worship and Communion with your family
	Cooking	Games	Art	Video	Drama
	Social Hall	Room 211	Room 212	Pine Room	Room 215
9/8	3rd grade	5th & 6th grade	1st grade	4th grade	2nd grade
9/15	4th grade	1st grade	2nd grade	5th & 6th grade	3rd grade
9/22	5th & 6th grade	2nd grade	3rd grade	1st grade	4th grade
9/29	1st grade	3rd grade	4th grade	2nd grade	5th & 6th grade

What’s happening in each workshop?

In the Cooking Workshop students will make unleavened bread. They will learn about Jesus’ celebration of Passover and his experience in Jerusalem – feeling at home in his “father’s house.”
In the Games Workshop students will participate in a game of Concentration — with a twist! This game will help them to learn story details.
In the Art Workshop students will create a “Book of Gifts” to record skills and talents God has given them. Their book will have a unique cover done with a marble painting. Ask them the significance of the cover!
In the Video Workshop students will watch portions of the live-action video Jesus, and the video Finding Nemo.
In the Drama Workshop students will enact the story using a Greek Drama complete with masks similar to those used over 2,000 years ago.

If you are in the area please join us for the fun learning at First United Methodist Church in Ann Arbor, MI

Photo credits:
Biblical illustration by Jim Padgett, from now-out-of-print Read’n Grow Picture Bible, circa 1984; via Wikimedia Commons, courtesy of Sweet Publishing, Ft. Worth, TX, and Gospel Light, Ventura, CA. Released under a Creative Commons license.