Week Four: Family Toolkit

Theme: Practice Paying Attention — Remember

All Saints Day is a time to celebrate our ancestors. Our culture, faith and individual identity is shaped by our past, and sharing those stories can help us remember that we are all ancestors-in-training. What legacy will we leave? Remembering is a spiritual practice when we take time to listen to – and express gratitude for — all those (past and present) who help us “walk wisely.”

Scripture Text | Psalm 136

Three Wonderings

1

What good messages have you received about who you are?

2

What things and people help you enjoy your life?

3

What is it like to live with forgiveness?

Spiritual Practice

Join Rev. Emily Meyer, Director of The Ministry Lab, as she invites you to wonder and reflect in an audio recording.

Transcript available here.

Reflection & Music Video

Join musician Richard Bruxvoort Colligan as he invites you to reflect, wonder and connect with and through his original music and thoughts.

Creative Project

One-Page Zine

Creative, inquisitive, ages 4+

Materials: 8.5 in x 11in paper, scissors, drawing materials and/or collage materials 

How To:

  • View video tutorial for one-page zine making
  • Use words, images and collage (and any other inventive style you want!) to tell a story you gathered through the StoryCorp prompt here in the Caring for the Common Good Project or another family story.

Time it takes: 20 min+

Games/Movement

Memory Treasure Hunt

adaptable for online, playful, ages 3+

Materials: Your home.  

How To: Each person takes a few minutes to walk around your home, collecting 3-5 objects that have some story or meaning behind them (or collect mental snapshots). You can adapt the number of objects and the complexity of the objects based on the age of the children who are playing. After everyone has their objects, come back together. Take turns holding up or describing your object, and for each object the other players say a story or memory attached to it. The round ends with the treasure collector explaining why they selected the object/snapshot, and what it means to them. Encourage details, sensory information and an acknowledgement of their being many stories and truths to accompany each item!

Time it takes: 10-15+ minutes

Caring for the Common Good Project

Collect a Story

Watch this animated video of the origin of Story Corp together with your children. Talk about which family members or friends you’d like to get to know better; then ask if you can interview them. You can record your conversations from anywhere using the Story Corp App or Story Corp Connect. Prepare ahead of time with 6-8 questions that you (or your child) would like to ask. (Here’s a list of some to consider.) You can choose to have it archived at the Library of Congress – or you can keep it private. After your conversation, share what you learned, what surprised you most – and then make plans to interview another loved one whose story you’d like to hear.

Children’s Picture Book

Old Turtle and the Broken Truth (Scholastic), by Douglas Wood

© Minnesota Conference United Church of Christ | 2021