Engaging the children of your congregation with the four churchwide Special Offerings has never been easier or more important. There are numerous ways children can connect with One Great Hour of Sharing, including the engagement placemat and fish coin banks that often arrive in your standing orders. However, were you aware there are numerous resources available online to engage young people with this Offering?
Jenna Campbell at APCE 2019
This year’s curriculum was written by Jenna Campbell, a Certified Christian Educator serving as the Director of Children and Youth Ministry at First Presbyterian Church in Stillwater, Oklahoma. This includes:
Younger Children (grades K-4)
o Fishing for Projects supplemental sheet
Older Children (grades 5-8)
o Stepping Stones supplemental sheet
o If/Then Statements supplemental sheet
Visual Prayers of the People at John Knox Presbyterian Church in Keizer, OR. This is one of the activities included in the Connecting Worship and the Congregation resource.
Through these lessons, children will discover the work God calls them to in Isaiah 58. It will help them see how we can follow this call and big things by working together! Through their own participation and that of the whole Church, One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) is our way to “repair the breach” and “restore streets to live in.” Jenna also wrote the Children’s Sermon and the resource for Connecting Worship and the Congregation.
Since 2006, we have celebrated OGHS with a story about our giving fish, Gracie, and her friends. In this year’s Gracie story, written by Dr. Kathy Dawson, Benton Family Associate Professor of Christian Education at Columbia Theological Seminary, Gracie and her friends make a covenant with their neighbors in the coral reef.
Kathy Dawson (and Gracie!) at APCE 2019
Did you know we are celebrating the 70th anniversary of OGHS this year? Our limerick activity sheet pays homage to a resource from decades ago and is fun for children (and adults)! We encourage everyone to write their own limerick about the Offering. If you share on social media using the hashtag #OGHS70, we just might repost!
Finally, we also have our Jerry Can Curriculum, a resource from the Presbyterian Giving Catalog, which is available in 1 and 5 sessions. This includes lessons on disaster response and activities that show how children can be involved with prayer and generosity to make a difference in the lives of people in need. While this curriculum can be used year-round, your congregation might find Lent a meaningful time to talk about the one common denominator in all disasters around the world: the need for clean water to survive.
If you use any of our materials in promoting the 2019 One Great Hour of Sharing, we invite you to share feedback on how it was received. We are also available to answer any questions you might have about these or any other Special Offerings resource. Feel free to reach out to us at 800-728-7228 ext. 5047 or specialofferings@pcusa.org.