Pentecost: Children's response
We began by telling the children the story of the Ascension and Pentecost, adapted from "Young Children and Worship" by Jerome Berryman and Sonia Stewart.
During the wondering session that followed I invited the children to bring things from the other story sets to tell more of the story.
Some of the items the children brought were symbols of the Holy Spirit:
A dove from the baptism set; the Christ candle; the Pentecost block from the circle of the church year; a dove puzzle and a flame puzzle.
Other items included: a small chalice and patten with plastic bread and grapes; a stone carved with a cross; an angel candle-snuffer; the model of Jerusalem and the heart-shaped box containing the 10 best ways to live (The 10 commandments).
They also brought things linked to Jesus: baby Jesus; the risen Christ; the Christ candle; and a pile of stones to represent the mountain of Christ's ascension.
A group of children worked together spreading round flame-coloured ribbons to represent the tongues of fire, and blue shimmery stones representing the water of baptism. One child then added a wooden rainbow, which he said combined water and light, and showed God's promise to love His people.