Path to Peace Inside

Event Ideas for All Ages 

Build intergenerational connections that bring all ages together to share, connect, and pray as you explore the theme of each module in the unit.

Mindfulness Activities

Here are links to two mindfulness activities to share with families.

• Breathe and Pray Buttons 
• 5 Senses Noticing Prayer

Quick Questions

Introduce the “Quick Questions” activity during fellowship time before or after worship, or include more questions to create an extended intergenerational event during the faith formation hour. This activity invites people to learn to know one another, providing space for some to be “speakers” and others to take part as “listeners.”

Gather enough chairs for each person involved. Set the chairs up in two circles with pairs of chairs facing each other. The first circle is inside the second with chairs facing out and the second outer circle of chairs facing in. Make the circles big enough to leave a little space between pairs of chairs so that people will not be as distracted by the conversations happening right next to them. You will need a timekeeper who is not in the circle. Have a bell or sound maker to get people’s attention when it’s time to move. 

Invite people to find a partner who is from a different generation and sit across from one another. Note that the people in the outside circle will be the “speakers” and will move to the left after each question. The people in the inner circle will be the “listeners” and will not change seats.

Begin round one by asking a question. Allow four minutes for speakers to think and respond. All pairs will be doing this simultaneously. After the designated time, ring a bell. At that time the people sitting in the outside circle will move one seat clockwise so that they are facing a new person. The leader will ask the next question. Continue to do this until you have moved through all of the questions.

QUESTIONS:

• If you had a whole day to do anything you want, what would you do?
• Tell about something you have enjoyed doing with your church community.
• Describe what your school day is like (or describe what your school day was like when you were a child).
• Talk about a time when you needed to be brave.
• Talk about a time when you felt God was with you.

Quick Questions Adaptations:

• You may want to begin with some simple, short-answer questions and allow a shorter response time—30 seconds or 60 seconds. Choose questions that everyone can relate to that don’t require a lot of thinking, such as:
  • What is an activity you like to do with your family?
  • If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
  • If you drew a picture about joy, what color would you use?
  • What is your favorite hymn or song?
• Rather than having one circle for “speakers” and one for “listeners,” have pairs take turns sharing in each round.
• Younger children may be more comfortable participating if they are paired with a parent/caregiver or a familiar adult and share a chair, rather than participating independently.

Module 1: I Am Special

Share: Place an assortment of small stones, shells, nuts, and other items from nature on a table. Have each person select something from the table, then gather in circles of 6-8 people of mixed ages. Go around the circle and have each person show their item and, if they wish, say why they chose the item. Go around again and have each person share something that they are praying about. Close your time of sharing by singing “Bring Your Peace” (song below). Invite each person to take home their item as a reminder of the people who are praying with them and the God whose love surrounds them.

Connect: Make a large poster shaped like a tree or draw a tree on a large piece of paper. Cut out or purchase leaf-shaped papers. Give everyone a leaf and invite them to write or draw one thing that makes them special—something they enjoy, a gift they have, a personality trait they are thankful for. Have each person attach their leaf to the “tree” using tape. Say a prayer of thanks for the ways God created each person in your congregation in a unique way.

Pray: Encourage people of all ages to say this prayer during these five weeks, perhaps introducing it during worship:

Thank you, God, for my thoughts. (Touch your head.)
Thank you, God, for helping me see beauty around me. (Touch your eyes.)
Thank you, God, for your love that is inside me. (Touch your heart.)
Thank you, God, for helping me serve others. (Touch your hands.)
Thank you, God, for guiding my path. (Touch your feet.)
Thank you, God, that you have made me in a wonderful way. (Cross your arms across your chest.) Amen.

Module 2: I Need Comfort

Share: Plan ahead of time to invite everyone to bring an item from home that gives them comfort. Have several new or clean throws, blankets, or pillows to share with visitors or those who might have forgotten their object. Gather in pairs and encourage everyone to share about their object and a time when it brought comfort to them. Close your time of sharing by singing “May God Bless You” (song below).

Connect: Give each person a ball of play dough and the following instructions:

Option 1: Squeeze the playdough firmly as you silently express one of your worries to God. Gently roll the playdough into a ball as you imagine God taking care of that worry. Repeat with other worries you have.

Option 2: Shape the dough to show something you worry about as you silently express that worry to God. Then reshape it to show something that comforts you as you imagine God taking care of that worry. Repeat with other worries you have.

Next, get with a partner. Talk together until you come up with something that you are both concerned with in the world. Join your playdough together to represent the concern, then reshape it into a symbol of comfort. Continue in this manner until the all the playdough from the group is in one large symbol of God’s comfort.

Pray: Introduce and practice breath prayers in worship. A breath prayer is a simple practice that people can incorporate easily into their daily lives. Invite people to find a comfortable position, close their eyes if they wish, and center themselves in God’s presence. As they breathe in, they will silently pray a brief phrase, and then another phrase as they breathe out. The same phrases are repeated several times as people breathe deeply and slowly.

Use one of the following phrase pairs or create pairs that fit with your worship theme:

Inhale: For God so loved the world.
Exhale: For God so loves me.

Inhale: Loving God,
Exhale: bring me peace.

Inhale: God of light,
Exhale: calm my heart.

Module 3: I Am Not Alone

Share: Encourage people of all ages to get to know one another better! Copy and distribute one “Getting to Know You” Puzzle to each person. Give these instructions:

Write or draw things about yourself on each shape, such as interests, hobbies, age, eye color, and school or workplace, and then cut out the pieces to make a puzzle. Exchange your puzzle with someone of a different age. Put together each other’s puzzle and then talk together about what you drew or wrote. What similarities or differences do you have? Paper-clip the pieces of your puzzle together to take home.

Connect: Invite all ages to work together to make a large mural that displays the truth that God is with us everywhere. Draw a mural with mountains and valleys for the high and low places. Draw pictures of places where people regularly go, such as school, work, home, friend’s houses, church, library, gym, parks, grocery store, and so on. Label the mural “God is with us.” Celebrate your collaborative artwork by gathering in a circle and singing “You Are with Me” (song below).

Pray: Share this benediction as you close your worship service during these five weeks:

Whether you sit down or rise up,
whether you stay near or flee far,
whether you live in sunshine or in shadows,
you are still with God.
The presence of God surrounds you,
the love of God leads you,
the peace of God dwells within you,
now and always. Amen.