Palm Sunday – Pray through Play
- Hang palm branches (or any branches) on your door to mark Palm Sunday
- Prompt your child/children to tell you about what happened to Jesus during Holy Week – Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday.
- If they are very young you may wish to retell the story of Holy Week using images or small toys.
- Collect any palm branches you have at home from previous years.
OR If you do not have palm branches at home, make your own from things you already have at home – paper or cut-out child handprints – to wave when you read about Jesus entering Jerusalem. You will need paper, pencil, scissors, tape, glue, crayons or markers and a stick or chopstick.
- Read the Entry into Jerusalem (In Matthew 21:1-11) or from a children’s bible. Children can wave their palm branches at the appropriate points.
Final songs to sing together:
Holy Week – Anointing Ritual
Just as Jesus washed the feet of his disciples on Holy Thursday, we are asked to serve one another daily in normal family life in our homes. One way to pray for each other is to bless family members’ hands with oil.
by Christin Hume on Unsplash
- Materials needed – some aromatherapy oils, tissues, soft music.
- Invite your family to think of all the uses their hands are put to in the course of a day at home. Ask them to think of the range of services our hands provide to others and to ourselves.
- Invite your family to anoint each others’ hands in turn, saying quietly a short prayer such as…
Final songs to sing together:
May God bless you for all that you do for one another by the use of your hands. May you be assured of God’s loving presence in our family life OR
Thank you, God, for (name)’s hands. May (name) serve you every day with their hands and their heart.
Final song to sing together: