Faces of Easter I and II
This time of year is so special in Sunday School, because we share the Faces of Easter stories each week – a journey through special moments in the life of Jesus from infancy through adulthood. It’s a way of coming closer, week by week, to the mystery of Easter. The story is told in six parts (although sometimes more than one part is told each Sunday to make sure we make it to the end by Easter), and last year, we shared a video of the whole story for you to watch at home. This year, we’ll share it week by week, telling the story live during church and then sharing ways for your family to retell or interact with the story at home. This week, let’s explore Faces of Easter I and II.
Faces of Easter I tells the story of the infant Jesus. You can watch (or re-watch) it on the Godly Play Foundation’s YouTube page.
Faces of Easter II brings us a 12-year-old Jesus, getting lost in the city of Jerusalem only to be found again in the temple. You can find a video of it here.
These stories are told through the use of picture plaques. After you’ve watched them together, perhaps your family would like to make your own plaques and tell the story again. You can make the people look however you’d like – you may notice that the plaques we shared during church represent the Holy Family differently than the ones in the video; the story’s meaning transcends the appearances of the characters. Be sure to include some “wondering” as well, which is so important to really helping the young people in your life explore what the stories mean to them:
For Faces I: I wonder if anyone in this family was ever born? I wonder what that amazing day was like?
For Faces II: I wonder if you have ever been lost? I wonder if you have ever been found?
For both stories: I wonder if there is anything in our house that we could bring to this story to help us tell it better?
That last one is a part of every Faces of Easter story, and often results in kids bringing some really lovely, thoughtful, sometimes surprising classroom objects to our circle and placing them with the story plaques. Sometimes a child won’t want to add anything to one story, but another sparks their imagination in a different way. Sometimes they choose to share why they chose what they did, and sometimes the objects speak for themselves. Linger in this part of the story at home, add your own objects if you feel moved to do so, and allow yourself to wonder alongside the young people in your family.
Feel free to share the results of your wondering with us on our Facebook page. And join us again next week, as we get closer to the mystery of Easter...
