,​Can you name the parts & elements of a Methodist Worship service?
 
At NSUMC, we open our worship services with a hymn, participate in the call to worship and then invite the children to the chancel area for a short children’s sermon.  Next our choir shares the anthem song; our pastor reads scripture and presents the sermon.  The sermon is followed the offertory prayer and singing praise to God after we have offered our gifts (the Doxology) The service closes with a hymn, prayer and then an invitation to be in community with each other.
 
There are also items on the chancel area that we teach the children about during Sunday school.  These are items that are used prior-to or during the worship service.  Altar is a word that the children generally know but they think that the entire “stage” is the altar.  Actually, the entire “stage” area is called the Chancel area and the table in the middle is the altar.  We point out to the students that the Adult Chancel choir sits in our choir loft.  There is also a door at the northwest corner of our Chancel area.  That door leads to our sacristy.  A sacristy can include the items needed for communion and the vestments that the pastors wear.  The kneeling rail is a place that we may go to after we have taken communion.  We may kneel there and offer our personal prayers to God.  We also have a pulpit.  It is located in front of the organ and it is where pastors and the liturgist can stand to present the scriptures and sermons.
 
This week we invite our Sunday school children to make a diorama and recreate our sanctuary setting.  They can also make a chalice, quill some grapes or make “bread in a bag” as their communion bread.  Remembering our tradition, even when we are not in the building, is heart-warming.

Do you remember your last birthday party?  Did you have candles to light your cake?  Those candles can shine so brightly that they can light up the room.  We get to share the light of those candles with all of our friends and family at the party!
 
God calls us to be the light. This means that God wants us to tell people about Him, and share His grace with others. In the Bible verse for today, Jesus tells us to let our light shine so that more people can also experience His great light.

The good news of Jesus is so amazing that we don’t want to hide it. We want to share it with other people. We want to light up the whole world with God’s love!  But the “light” does not come from our own power.  We are not called to shine our own light; we are called to reflect His!
 
So how can we stay “lit,” like that joyous birthday candle, to reflect His light?  We can read the Bible.  We can discuss this verse with our family.  We can watch ONLINE church.  We can share our gifts and be a good example for our brothers, sisters and friends. 

We can also pray.  God always wants to hear from us.  When we pray we can ask Him to help us reflect His grace in all we do so we can be THAT sparkly birthday candle to everyone we meet!

Today’s Sunday School lesson includes light and salt experiments, shadow puppets, salt paintings, salt circuits, kaleidoscope and lantern DIY’s!  Your children can make one and share one!  Yes! You are invited to be THAT light!

St. Francis of Assisi enjoyed a very rich easy life growing up because of his father's wealth and the permissiveness of the times. He did poorly in school and was very rebellious. His rollercoaster life led him through extravagant times of chasing idols all the way to living on the streets.

In St. Francis' younger years he made a few mistakes.  Some say he sinned.  The Greek word for sin is hamartia.  But did you know that the word is derived from the  Greek     ἁμαρτία, from ἁμαρτάνειν hamartánein, which means "to miss the mark" or "to err."  It is so comforting to know that if we "miss the mark" we are still welcomed to make amends and join Jesus.  We are still loved and accepted.

St. Francis went on to do great things.  He ended up rebuilding a church and creating a religious order.  He was able to rebuild a healthier personal life as well and his love for creation blossomed.  His contemplative prayers helped him to share compassion with those of two and four legs!

His prayer is a comfort to many.  He just asks, "Lord make me an instrument of PEACE."
 
Our Sunday School lesson this week includes videos, crafts, games and snacks.  We have bird feeders to share compassion with the animals of the air; palm-frond animals to create; exercises incorporating animal sounds; and animal sandwiches for lunch fun!  We also share St. Francis’ wonderful prayer:

… Where there is hatred, let me sow love ❤❤❤…

John 4:13-15 ESV
Jesus said to the women at the well, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”
​
Revelation 21:6 ESV
And he said to me, “… To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.
 
The Samaritan women at the well had a complicated life story.  First, Samaritan’s were--a mixed race people, who had intermarried with the Assyrians centuries before. They were not liked by the Jews because of this cultural mixing and because they had their own version of the Bible and their own temple on Mount Gerizim.
​
Additionally the Samaritan woman was faced with prejudice from her own community. She came to draw water at the hottest part of the day, instead of the usual morning or evening times, because she was shunned and rejected by the other women of the area for her immorality. Jesus knew her history but still offered her grace and ministered to her.
​
Jesus showed that his mission was to all people when he reached out to the Samaritan women, not just the Jews.  The Samaritan woman was amazed that grace could be offered to her and shared this great news so others could experience His compassionate heart.
 
Not feeling accepted is a deep concept and it is very complicated.  We are marginalized  because of our accent, academic skills, financial status, skin color, personality, and countless other attributes.  Jesus continually provides us stories about his grace, this unconditional love, which he has freely given to us.    He has graciously presented us the living water.  The water is for us to ingest and then extravagantly extend it to our friends, neighbors, community and the world. These waters are not only to be shared but devoured so we too can grow in peace, wisdom and compassion.  When we consume these waters our heart will have a greater ability to reflect grace to others as well as to ourselves.
 
We would like to share this story and water experiments and STEM activities with our Sunday School children during this warm July weekend.  Some of these activities include: constructing a bicycle carwash, creating a water bomb, building a waterwheel, erecting a backyard water wall, and assembling a water bottle sun catcher.