Proclaim - 1st Mark of Mission
ONE : To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
The “Good News of the Kingdom” is the unconditional love and forgiveness of God in Jesus Christ. “The Kingdom” describes what the world is like wherever people are faithful and live in ways that demonstrate the love and grace of God.
The Kingdom of God means acceptance and value for all people, since all are loved by God. It means forgiveness even when forgiveness is tough, and breaking cycles of revenge and violence. It means a hope and purpose that is founded in more than our own strength. It is Good News.
The First Mark is the foundation of the remaining four, and is lived out powerfully through them. Jesus announced the coming of the Kingdom by saying he had come to preach good news to the poor, set prisoners free, give sight to the blind, and proclaim the year of God’s grace and favour. The Anglican church has translated those signs of the Kingdom into ways we can address the pressing issues of today: nurturing faith, gracious service, nonviolent yet active resistance toward injustices, caring for creation.
We are often better at "walking the talk" than "talking the walk": we are better at Marks 3,4,5 than 1 and 2. The first resource, then, provides ideas for how we can "be ready to speak of the hope that is in us."
Resources
Proclaiming Good News
How will they know if no-one tells them? Many of us hesitate to speak directly about Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, and what that means for our lives. Here are a wealth of ideas of how we can do so more readily with our students.
Diddy Disciples
This delightful new resources is a “creative and playful new worship and Bible storytelling resources for the youngest of our children. It aims to encourage participation, discipleship and leadership from children’s earliest years, using storytelling, singing, colour, repetition, art and lots and lots of movement.”
5 Marks of Love
The Brothers write: “No matter the size of your group, we are thrilled for you to use these faith formation materials. Every resource you will find is free to use and each one is published under a Creative Commons attribution license which means you can use them as they are or modify them for your particular needs as long as you attribute the Brothers’ involvement in creating them.Facilitator’s Guides, for adults and children (7-14), have been created in partnership with the Center for the Ministry of Teaching at the Virginia Theological Seminary. These guides are designed for first-time group leaders as well as those who are more experienced. The adult guide also contains alternate ideas and tips for using this offering with young adult groups.
Communicators materials contain sample sign-up form, bulletin inserts and images (with Photoshop or InDesign files for those for us that like to tinker!). Videos, transcripts and compilations are available to download.”
All Age Worship
From a “local” whom some of you know personally. Chapters on creative ways with intercessions (using roses, emails, melting ice etc), together with seasonal resources.
Iona Prayers
Written with the earthy “realness” we have come to expect from the Iona Community, here is another collection of short prayers for numerous everyday experiences.
Haere, Tukuna
Creative Prayer Resources put together by the Catholic Archdeaconry of Wellington are a great introduction to different ways of teaching your students to pray.
Praying for Children
“‘Praying with Children’ offers a variety of stimuli for prayer with children. The twenty themes in addition to celebrating high points in the year, offer ideas for prayer that can be used at any time. A strategy for involving children in planning and preparing prayer is also included.”
Whole Church Family Worship
If you have come across any of the books in this series, you’ll know how good they are. This has liturgies for everything from Pentecost to a Teddy Bear Sunday, or a Football Service. Prayers, highly creative activities, even ideas for sermonettes/reflections.
Living Marks of Mission
This Anglican Schools resource was developed by the Anglican Board of Mission, Australia, to assist Chaplains and teachers of Religious Education in their work.
It was borne out of many conversations during the One World Wontok schools conferences, which ABM facilitated for many years in major capital cities throughout Australia.
The overall purpose is to engage students with key ideas of social justice in the Christian faith, which can provide both the motivation and direction for tangible action. A particular focus is placed upon the 5 Marks of Mission of the Anglican Church, which provides the structure for the material.
You can access the full booklet here.
FaithMap
Although these children’s services are based on the Sunday readings, there are so many ideas for stories and activities (including tips for those with learning disabilities) that it could be a great resource for weekday chapel services.
Prayer Spaces in Schools
Prayer Spaces in Schools are a wonderful way of allowing students to open to God in their own time and their own way.
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has put out a series of accessible and profound talks on prayer that can be found here.
50 Liturgies for all occasions
A Catholic resource. Simple, complete liturgies with a formal structure but creative ideas within it.
School Year, Church Year
Ideas for a prayer table and other visuals and activities which can lead students through the Church year.
1000 Prayers
A wealth of short prayers suitable for a range of ages. This could be a helpful book to have on hand in the primary years if classroom teachers are uncomfortable with making up prayers themselves.