WAYS TO BEGIN: Greet each child and spend a few moments talking about the past week, especially the way they celebrated Halloween. Then gather in a circle and teach and sing together "I Sing a Song of the Saints of God" (Hymnal, pg. 293) explaining that today is "All Saints Day", a time when we remember all of God's saints.
THEME FOR TODAY: Both Gospel choices come from the Sermon on the Mount listing the Beatitudes. The theme is therefore a description of what God expects of the "Saints of God".
THE STORIES: Luke 6:20-36 or Matt. 5:1-12. Hear the story read aloud.
SOME QUESTIONS TO TALK ABOUT:
1. Blessed means "happy". What do you think of what Jesus is saying when he says you will be happy if you are poor or if you are hunger or if you are sad and hated? Can you think of examples when these words prove to be true? Do you know of someone who is poor or hungry but seems happy anyway? Or someone who most people dislike, but who seems to be happy? What do you think Jesus is trying to teach us?
2. If you were to write rules on how to be a saint of God, what rules would you write?
3. Who do you know or know of that you think is a saint of God? What do they do that makes them a saint to you?
4. The hymn you sang at the beginning of class ends with "And I mean to be one too". How can you be a saint of God?
AN ACTIVITY TO DO: As a class write a recipe for "How to be a Saint". Print it out on a big sheet of poster paper and illustrate it with pictures you draw of cut from magazines. When you finish, hang it up in the Parish Hall or church for all the people to see on All Saints’ Day.
End the class by thanking God for all the saints of the past (maybe your church is named for one of them) and also thanking God for people you know who live like saints.
