April 7, 2019 - Forgiveness as a Key to Wholeness

Sunday April 7, 2019

Introduction: 

• Names & Gems of Joy and Concern (just like the adults do Candles of Joy and Concern). 
• Introduce this month's theme of Wholeness. We guessed at the American Sign Language for Wholeness, and turns out we were pretty much right:  ASL for Whole.  

Today's focus: "Forgiveness as a part of Wholeness"

Spiritual Theme: We all make mistakes and hurt people sometimes.  Knowing how to ask for forgiveness and to give forgiveness is an important part of accepting the whole of our friends and families.  

1. We read the book Horrible Bear! with good stomping to accompany it.  

2. Like the characters in the book, we talked about saying you're sorry is 1) saying "I'm sorry," and 2) offering to fix it.  "Fixing it" can take many forms.  We acted out scenarios of things that might happen at church and what more you could do besides just saying "I'm sorry."  Examples include:

• bumping someone so they spill a drink --> getting paper towels to help clean-up
• knocking a block tower over --> helping rebuild it
• stepping on someone's toe --> offering them some tea or a special treat

1. Many kids also heard the story Mussa and Nagib.

2. We drew things we want to let go of on the Budda Boards or on the scrap paper, and recorded the kindnesses our friends give us in our Gratitude Books, like Mussa records Nagib's kindness by carving it in a rock.  

Continue the conversation at home:  

• Why did the girl in the book stop being mad at the Bear?  (she broke her stuffed bunny's ear and realized accidents can easily happen, and it wasn't his fault)
• Can you think of a time when you accidentally broke something special to someone?  Did you say you were sorry?  Did you offer to fix it somehow?
• Read the story of Mussa and Nagib as a family.  Try to think of some things you would each write in the sand, and others you would carve in stone.  Add these to the Gratitude Book (stone) or scrap paper to get recycled (sand).