title: A MURAL OF OUR CHURCH--A PRESENT FOR OUR PARTNER CHURCH

author: Mary Tripp trippmary@erols.com, UU Congregation of Fairfax in Oakton VA

(partnership: Oakton VA/Szentgerice TRAN).

file length and location: PDF file 126 KB, MS Word file 48 KB

purpose: Exchange of murals of your church buildings with your partner with photo-portraits of the makers pasted along its border

· To personally connect the children (and youth) of both partner congregations

· To inspire your partner congregation’s RE classes to make a similar mural or drawings of their church to send back to you

· To more fully acquaint your overseas partners with their North American partner church’s building and layout. It is hoped the mural will serve as a question-provoking item that could lead to further correspondence and connection between the two groups of children

for ages/grades: All youth working together (ages 5-12 ) or could be tried as a youth group session.

· Children ages 5 to 12. A multi-age group works especially well for this project.

· Teachers who already know the children. One should be the lead teacher for the project.

· Teens make excellent helpers, and they can contribute to the mural as well. Just make sure they don’t over shadow or take over from the younger children by stressing with the teens the value to them of taking a helping/teaching role.

· Adult Helpers for this special project might include people from your Building and Grounds Committee, from your Partner Church Committee, and ideally some who have visited your partner church. You will definitely need one or two teens and one teacher/adult helper for every eight children aged 5-12.

# of sessions: If you have one RE session, it will be best to work on the mural for two consecutive Sundays. If you have two services each Sunday (as Fairfax VA does) continue working on the same mural with the children who come during second service. Look carefully together at everything that has been drawn and decide what still needs to be included.

possible uses: Excellent for vacation or summer breaks or as preparation for a partner church Sunday. Could be a youth group evening session. Since the idea is to exchange murals, the best scheduling is leading up to a visit by congregation members who can help teach the sessions, carry the finished mural to the partner church, take along all materials and camera+film needed for the partner church’s children to make their own mural, and carry the partner’s mural home.

cautions: The idea of this project is to exchange murals with your partner self-portraits of the makers pasted along its border, to send as an exchange of gifts with the children of your partner church overseas.

where this has been used: based on a Sunday morning lesson at UU Congregation of Fairfax Virginia June 13, 1999

contact person if you want to learn more: Mary Tripp trippmary@erols.com