Thoughts for a "Let's Go!" Set-Sail event or theme:
The metaphors of raising sails and catching the breeze are akin to the renewal and "Let's Go!" theme, and they are both biblical and great visuals as themes for your renewal event. Jesus said "GO!" to his disciples in Matthew 28's Great Commission and the WIND of Pentecost inspired them and blew them in new directions.
When the early Christians used a boat as a symbol for the church, it was never a rowboat; it was always a sailboat. That is because on the day of Pentecost, with “a sound like a rushing wind,” Jesus’ promise of power became a reality.
The church is often depicted as a "boat" in church art, a place of refuge and togetherness; but a boat is also a tool to get us where God wants us to go.
Get your boat out of drydock.
Sails need to be raised and trimmed to catch the breeze.
Set your course and fill your sails.
You can plan a sailboat race at a local pond or pool. Kids can make sailboats out of newspaper or you can buy toy boats from places like Oriental Trading, such as the ones shown at right.
Use a leaf blower to provide wind to your sailboat race. The waves, sinking, going off-course, and even tipping over are all metaphors you can run with.
Bring a sailboat into the church parking lot and invite the kids to get on it for a lesson. Put a small sailboat, like a sunfish, at the entrance of the church or in your sanctuary.
Read and discuss "Sailboat Church: Helping Your Church Rethink Its Mission and Practice" (versus a rowboat church), a book by Rev Joan Gray, former PCUSA moderator. (You can preview the book in this excerpt.)
And don't miss the related Sunday school lesson ideas to tie into this event if you would like the first rotation of the school year to reflect your Rally Day/Back to School theme.