Catechists of all age groups are always looking for creative Lenten activities. With Lent only a day away (tomorrow is Ash Wednesday!), I’m pleased to offer another of FORTY lenten activities (in forty days) that I hope will be of use to you. Be sure to check back here each day during Lent to find another Lenten activity that you can adapt for your own setting. And, if you have a Lenten activity of your own that you would like to share, send it to me at joe@catechistsjourney.com and I’ll include it as one of the 40 ideas! So, without further adieu, here’s Lenten activity #2:
A Lenten Chain
Your Lenten Chain will look like this...only purple!
- You’ll need purple construction paper, scissors, and tape.
- cut the purple construction paper into one-inch strips (horizontally, with the paper in the “portrait” postion.
- you’ll need 7 strips for each of the young people in your group.
- once a week, during Lent, give each of the young people a purple stip of paper and invite them to write down their Lenten goal for the week: a prayer they plan to say each day, a sacrifice they plan to commit to, a work of mercy they plan to perform, etc.
- when they have all finished writing out their Lenten goals for the week, invite them to come foward and loop their strips around one another, taping them together to form a chain.
- display the Lenten Chain prominently and watch it grow during Lent as the young people strive to grow closer to Jesus.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Sharon 02.24.09 at 11:26 am
I’m a catechist, this year teaching fifth graders. I really like this Lent chain idea! I ran across your site and your name looked familiar; that’s because I have your book “The Catechist’s Toolbox.” I’m sorry to say I haven’t read it yet… :-0
I’m bookmarking your site–thanks for sharing your faith and your expertise as a catechist!
Sharon from Virginia
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Joe Reply:
February 24th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Sharon, I’m glad you found me! I’m happy that the Lent chain is an idea that you can use with your 5th graders…let me know how it goes. I hope you enjoy The Catechist’s Toolbox…it’s a very light (and fun) read. Have a great Lent!
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Stacey Fisher 02.16.10 at 1:50 pm
I have searched the internet for ideas..and am loooking forward to using your 40 days of Lenten activites for my 6th grade class.
Thanks so much for helping those of us who are “creative impaired!”
Stacey Fisher
Garden Plain Kansas
[Reply]
Joe Reply:
February 16th, 2010 at 3:08 pm
Stacey…I’m glad this will be helpful to you. It’s usually not a matter of being creatively impaired but rather, time impaired! Many catechists just don’t have the time to create ideas from scratch. That’s why it’s so important for us to be resources for one another.
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