The Book of James
Church Event
While advertising the upcoming unit, we encouraged everyone to read the whole book.
We began the unit with an all church event.
Our pastor selected six points from the book of James, and selected video clips to illustrate each of them.
The points were:
- Pray as if you mean it
- Expect the reversal of the privileged and the exploited
- Greet challenges and tests as an opportunity to live out your faith
- Receive the evil of humanity by embracing God’s grace
- Be careful about how you use your words
- May the counsel of God guide how you act
Adults:
The adults then had a series of speakers on issues of concern to our church and community. We encouraged the speakers to give us concrete actions they would like us to take. We then published these actions in our newsletter. We also looked for other opportunities in the community for more education and action on these topics and publicized these opportunities.
Youth:
The youth had three rotations. We emphasized three lessons from the book:
- Drama - Watching your tongue
- Art - Prayer
- One we called “Works” for this unit – Maintenance activities around the church
Elementary:
We had two classes: K-5 and middle school, 6-8.
Drama:
The older kids had a prepared drama about the damage of spreading rumors.
With the younger kids, the teacher talked them through a school yard scenario where children were making fun of one another. Then she had them think of ways they could be positive with each other. The kids then acted out the stories they had created.
Art:
The teacher collected prayers, children’s prayer books and asked the congregation to share favorite prayers or reflections on their own prayer experience. After sharing this with the students, she had them write their own prayers and illustrations. She then scanned all this and made books which she gave to the students the following week.
“Works”:
The teacher, who was the elder in charge of the building, selected kid friendly maintenance activities for the children to do. They planted bulbs, raked leaves, did some cleaning.
From: Noble Road Presbyterian Church
Cleveland Heights, OH
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