Rotation.org Writing Team

Jesus in Gethsemane

Stepping Stones Art Workshop 

Summary of Activities

Students will design and create "Gethsemane Stepping Stone Mosaics" depicting key moments and words from the story. 

The stepping stone mosaics can go home, or be part of a church "garden" path commemorating Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane and the choices we too are called to make.

Scripture for the Lesson

Mark 14:32-42 (NIV)  

Key/Memory Verse:  ³⁶ “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Lesson Objectives

See the Bible Background at rotation.org for this set's complete list of objectives. 

The "church garden path" option in this lesson gives your students the opportunity to create a "walk-through" of the story and its meaning for the congregation. See the "Garden Option" at the end of the lesson for path and plant suggestions.

About mosaics in this lesson: Mosaics are one of the oldest art forms in the Church and kids today still love to make them. Mosaics help "cement" the lesson and provide a great take-home reminder. It's also a project that "self-adjusts" to different ages. The key is to have help and have the right materials. Making the mosaics will take time, so get started quickly and move some of your "teaching" concurrent with the activity rather than before or after it.

Preparation and Materials

• Read the Bible Background and scripture.
• "Quikcrete" fast setting cement, with suitable mixing container and implements (see Quikcrete Tips below). One 60-pound bag will make about 8-10 stones.
• Trowel or flat stick to smooth the crete.
• Dispoable aluminum pie tins, One per student.
• Vegetable spray (to prep the container surface).
• Variety of "mosaic" glass and ceramic pieces and colors. Found in quality online and in craft stores. Choose smooth-edged pieces.
• Drawing sticks (to make letters) such as kabob sticks or pencils.
• Paper and marker so that you can draw a circle on the paper as big as the pie tin.
• Clean up supplies
• Smocks
• Water (about a gallon per 60 lb bag).
• Gloves for hands to avoid getting cement on them, and surgical masks. Have clean water available in case anyone gets a bit in their eye. Younger students should not be part of the mixing event.
• Spray bottle to wet the top of the poured stone, if needed, to aid mosaic placement.
• Decide ahead of time whether students will be making stones to go home, or to become part of a church "prayer" walk/garden. See notes below.

"How To"

There are several "how to" videos on YouTube you can consult. Here's a particularly good one. Note the comment to not use bare hands. If mixing with students, wear gloves, and also bandanas or surgical masks and take care not spread the concrete dust.

https://youtu.be/0Kk7irn8h4w

Lesson Plan

Making the stones will take most of your class time. Be ready to go. Save some of your teaching points and discussion questions for stepping stone making time.

Open

Welcome students and explain how today's lesson will unfold.

A Mosaic Bible Reading

(1) Invite each student to take approximately 30 mosaic pieces. Tell them that right now, it doesn't matter which ones they take.

(2) As they count them out, begin to introduce today's passage, noting where it falls in the story of Jesus and where it is taking place.  (In Gethsemane, just after the Last Supper, the night before the crucifixion, etc.) 

(3) Assign each student a verse from Mark 14:32-42 to read. There are 11 verses, so distribute them accordingly until all are taken.

(4) Tell them to read that verse to themselves and pick out an important or phrase from each verse to spell on the table in front of them using their mosaic pieces. (Write these on the board as well for later reference.)

(5) Once everyone has spelled out their keywords, have the students read their verses to the class until the entire passage is heard.

(6) When everyone is finished reading, go back around and ask each student to explain why they choose the "important word or phrase" to spell out to the class.

Quickly offer some encouraging remarks about the words they chose and what they say about Jesus' last night with his friends and his difficult decision to stay obedient to God.

Assembling the Mosaic on Paper

(1) Give each student a sheet of paper and have them draw a circle on it using your pie tins (stepping stone molds) as the template.

(2) Invite them to lay-out their mosaic design within the circle. Tell them that once they have "explained" their design to you, and you have "approved" it, they can have their tin filled with cement and begin the process of transferring their mosaic pieces into the wet cement.

Important Mosaic Design Options & Ideas 

If students are making a "stepping stone path" that's going to remain at the church, tell them to design their mosaic based on the scripture verse they were assigned and read to the class. That way you will have the entire story told through stepping stones.

If students are making a stepping stone to go home, invite them to design a mosaic that tells the MEANING of the story of Jesus in Gethsemane. As they will be hard-pressed to illustrate a complete scene with mosaic pieces within the relatively small area of the stone, have them think about using shapes, objects, and keywords. Looking at the list of important words they discovered (and you wrote down) during the Bible study, circle especially important words, like PRAY, YOUR WILL - NOT MY WILL, etc.  These can be spelled with mosaic pieces and/or drawn into the wet cement. Students can also illustrate an olive tree to represent the garden, or tears to represent Jesus anguish. Sleeping disciples can be represented by 'zzzz' emoticons, and Jesus by a crying face/cross, or praying hands. 

Here are some mosaic ideas found attached at the end of this lesson:

Pressing the Mosaic into the Cement

Once the teacher has discussed and "approved" the mosaic design, students can receive a tin with cement in it. Help them smooth it, if necessary, and show them how to LIGHTLY PRESS their mosaic pieces into the cement. Remind them not to over-press. 

See the video demo (above) and Quikcrete Tips (below) for more details.

Here are some questions to help you take advantage of the mosaic-making time:

• How do you suppose Jesus felt about his friends falling asleep that night?  Why?
• How did Jesus treat his friends even though they fell asleep on him?
• What could Jesus see from the Garden? (The Temple)  How do you think he felt knowing that tomorrow he would be taken up to the city and executed?
• What colors represent Sadness? Hope? Prayer? Strength?
• Gethsemane means "oil press." They crushed the olives using large stones to get the oil to run out. How was Jesus being crushed by his decision, and what was coming?
• What "good" would pour out from Jesus' life from his decision to obey God?
• How would you sum up this story in 3 words? 2 words? 1 word?
• What quiet place do you like to go to pray, think to yourself, feel comforted?
• What big decisions should a person bring to God in prayer?
• How do we "walk in the steps" of Jesus? What happens when we fall off his path? How does prayer keep us on his path or bring us back to it?

Quickcrete Tips:

• Do not use "concrete" --it has too many pebbles in it. Use a "sand and cement" (mortar mix) Quikcrete. It is carried in most hardware stores, comes in large bags, and is inexpensive. You may also want to add a bag of "reinforcing nylon fiber" to your mix for stepping strength. Craft stores also sell "stepping stone" cement, though usually for more money.
• A 60lb bag of Quikcrete and a gallon of water will make about 8 to 10 stepping stones, depending on size and depth. 
• It takes about 5 minutes to mix a bag of Quikcrete. Quikcrete will start to set up in 20-30 minutes. Do not mix it too soon. Start mixing once students start designing their mosaics.
• While pouring and mixing, avoid spreading the Quikcrete dust, or exposing students with allergies or asthma to it.
• Mixing is best left to an adult and done over a tarp that can easily contain spills.
• Quikcrete stepping stones made with mortar or made too thin can break if dropped or stepped on by a heavy person. 
• Save some of the dry mix in case you over-dose on the water and need to thicken up your crete.
• Plastic and tin foil trays are easier to remove once the crete is cured, but be sure to make your stones at least 1.5" thick.
• Once poured, do not move the stepping stone containers for at least 24 hours. Let them dry for at least 48 hours. 
• After the stones are dry, use water and a wire brush to clean up any excess cement on the mosaic pieces. 
• Spray the tops of the steps with a clear sealant for a finished look.
• Tell students not to step on them for a week so that they can cure.
• Once dry, the crete will appear lighter in color than when wet.

Adaptations

For Younger Students: Inscribe the words into each younger student's mosaic after they have chosen them from your suggestions or their lesson memory. Non-readers will have trouble transfering their mosaic from paper to cement. Have helpers! Should them how to use a small stick to lift misplaced pieces and reset them.

Meditation Garden Option

In today's world, children may think of "garden" in terms of the bushes in front of their house, or a vegetable garden. But in ancient times, gardens were just as likely to be places of safety, rest, and contemplation, and they were often public spaces. 

Gethsemane and the surrounding hillside on the Mt of Olives were no doubt working gardens, but their closeness to the east gate of the Temple also made them a special location to get away from the crowds and meditate over the grand site of the Temple looming above the olive trees.

Gardens are mentioned many times in the Bible, and are often described as "walled." In fact, the Hebrew word for garden, "ganana," means "enclosure" or place of protection. It is likely that the English word garden is based on the Hebrew word "ganan," and it is metaphorically interesting that Jesus sought his defense through prayer in such a place!

According to the Gospels, Jesus often went off by himself to pray. And thus, meditation gardens or "walks" have been a familiar feature in churches for over a thousand years. They are also making a comeback as churches seek to help members with opportunities for spiritual "exercise."

Along with stepping stones that invite participants to stop and pray, benches, and other means of contemplation can be designed into a garden. One easy way to create an inviting space is to plant flowers that come up in the spring, such as, daffodils. They would make a fitting reminder of Christ's suffering and triumph.  Climates which rarely freeze could consider planting olive trees.

See a list of plants in the Bible at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/..._plants_in_the_Bible. Many are commonly grown in both warmer and colder regions of North America.

Mosaics were a very popular form of art in the Greek and Roman world, as well as, the first millenium of the Church. In the Church, they were a durable form of teaching art. Olive trees and branches were a frequently used symbol.

Written by the Rotation.org Writing Team
Copyright 2017, Rotation.org Inc.