Jesus Invites Me! Affirmation. I am welcome in the flock! Word: INVITATION

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1 Jesus Invites Me! Word: INVITATION Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Affirmation I am welcome in the flock! (Matthew 25:34b) Leader Devotions Scripture Matthew 25:31-40 Meditation Close your eyes and envision yourself turning your head away from a man holding out his hand, asking for a dollar for food. Later you find out it was Jesus. Now, imagine that you have refused an INVITATION to visit the sick. You find out that Jesus was in the hospital. Sounds like you missed an opportunity, doesn t it? And you did! Everyday we have opportunities to include others in the circle of God s love. The African proverb, It takes a village to raise a child, not only refers to the extended family tradition of African Americans. It reminds us to always INVITE the most vulnerable among God s children, knowing that Jesus loves them and INVITES them into the kingdom of God. Prayer Thank you, Jesus, for an INVITATION to love. Help me to welcome my students, inviting them into your village. In your name, Amen. Village is an inviting word that suggests community, neighborhood, and commonality. The concept of invitation into God s kingdom is made easy for young children to grasp in the game, Mbube, Mbube. This call and response game emphasizes the child s ability to care for others. Make sure that a new wolf is chosen as the game progresses. The story, Emeka Waits on God, illustrates the village mentality in which sheep are feeding the hungry and taking care of the least among us in the community. All ages will enjoy it. Older elementary students will enjoy the skit, Invitation, which emphasizes the work and the lives of some who lived during the Harlem Renaissance. The skit shows how creative people used art to teach people and invited them to be part of their past, young people can do the same, learning more of their history and celebrating their own stories.

2 Preschool/Kindergarten and Younger Elementary Purpose Children will: Learn to recognize Jesus in the least of these. Better understand how to be sheep. Be exposed to an African culture. Nigerian Names Emeka (ehmecca) means God has done well. Ngozi (IN-gauzie) means blessing Chinelo (Chi-ney-low) means God s gift. Ifeoma (Efor-ma) means something very beautiful. Ikechukwu (E-KAY-choo- KU) means the strength of God. Note Ribena is a fruit drink made from concentrate and sold widely in Nigeria. Discussion Questions 1. What does this story teach us about living in a village? 2. Where did Emeka see the image of God? 3. What made Emeka a blessed child? 4. What does God look like? Emeka Waits on God By Enuma Okoro When Emeka turned 13, he got a Bible. Other teens might have wanted a big expensive gift, but not Emeka. Everyone knew that Emeka had a very special love for God and books, so his Auntie Ngozi gave him a Bible. When Emeka got his new Bible, he sat down and decided to read the entire book from cover to cover. No pictures! A challenge! Mama, How long will take me to read this entire Bible? His mother said, Emeka, don t worry about that. The Bible can make us stop and think. Give yourself time to ask questions, okay? Emeka took his mother advice and started at Genesis. After a bit, Emeka went to find his mother. She was in the kitchen. Mama, it says here that we are made in God s image. Does that mean that we look like God? Something like that, my dear. His mother was cutting onions and tomatoes to make jollof rice for dinner. She had baby, Chinelo, tied to her back. But how can that be when there are so many different looking people in the world? Which one of us does God really look like? Emeka, please, I m cooking. No questions now, eh? Emeka continued to read and fell asleep. A cool evening breeze blew through the doorway and seemed to be calling his name. Emeka woke up but the voice was so quiet he wasn t sure if it were real. The voice said, Emeka, you want to know what I look like? I will come and visit you tomorrow. Emeka ran into the kitchen, Mama! Did you hear that? Hear what now, Emeka? she asked somewhat testily. Sensing his mother s impatience, he decided to be quiet. Nothing, Ma. Let me help you set the table. Relieved, his mother replied, Thank you, my dear. Please call your brothers to help you. The evening passed in peace and quiet. The next morning, Emeka remembered the voice. He didn t believe it was just a dream and he wanted to recognize it when God came to see him. In class, he kept looking towards the door. His teacher finally asked him, Emeka, are you waiting for someone?

3 No, ma. I m sorry. All morning Emeka waited but no one came. At lunchtime, Emeka was sitting in yard about to eat his lunch, when he noticed Ifeoma, the new girl, sitting by herself. The other girls played jump rope. He walked over to her. Hello Ifeoma, can I sit with you for lunch? She shrugged, If you want, but I have no lunch. You can have some of mine. Look, I have jolloff rice and fried plantain. I m not so hungry and my mama likes for all the food to be gone. If you help me eat, she will not be upset. Ifeoma looked at him shyly and took the bowl from his hand. They talked and ate together until classes started back up. By the end of school, no one had come to visit him. Emeka picked up his books and began the long walk home. He felt so stupid for believing that the voice was real. On the way home, his friend, Ikechukwu, called to him. Emeka, please wait now, he said. I hurt my leg playing soccer yesterday and I can t walk as fast. Emeka noticed he was limping. Here, Ike, give me your books, I ll carry them home for you. It s a long way, Ike said. It s okay, you would do the same for me, no? As they neared their neighborhood, they passed a beggar sitting in the dust. They were about to pass him by, but Emeka took out his water bottle and put it by the man s side. He hoped that his mother would not be angry about the missing water bottle. Emeka smiled at the man. He was not allowed to talk to strangers. As he and Ike walked away, they heard the man yell out, God bless you, my son. Emeka had chores after school. While he swept the front of the house, he saw a neighbor, Mrs Adichie, struggling with her shopping bags. Emeka went over to help her. Oh, Emeka, you are a sweetheart. Thank you for your help, she said. You re welcome, ma, said Emeka. When they were finished, Mrs Adichie offered Emeka some Ribena to drink. As they were sitting quietly in front of the house, Emeka decided to ask Mrs. Adichie something very profound. Ma, has God ever spoken to you? Why would you ask? Did God speak to you? Emeka then told Mrs. Adichie about reading his new Bible, falling asleep, hearing the voice, waiting all day today for the visit and realizing how silly he must be. Mrs.Adichie listened carefully and when Emeka was finished, she turned his head to face her. Emeka my dear, how blessed you are! It is not everyday that God speaks to people with a voice they can hear so well. You are not silly at all. And are you sure you missed God s visit today? Why don t you tell me exactly what happened today. Emeka then told her everything about his day: lunch with Ifeoma, carrying Ike s books, the beggar and the water bottle and... And now me! Mrs. Adichie smiled widely and said, Emeka, God did visit you and you were able to see what God looks like. Confused, he asked, What do you mean, ma? She replied, This evening, in your new Bible, you will read the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25. God did visit you today in Ifeoma, Ike, the beggar, and even in me, of all people! How blessed you are, Emeka! Go home and read it. Emeka thanked her for the Ribena and the conversation and ran home. He picked up his new Bible, turned to Matthew 25 and read, For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me... Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me. Emeka closed the Bible and smiled. He realized that he indeed knew what God looked like. The End

4 Older Elementary Skit More about Faith Ringgold: List of books Purpose Students will: Learn that sharing stories is important Connect heritage learning with the Bible story Learn about Faith Ringgold and the Harlem Renaissance A Readers Theatre Students will not have to memorize their parts. Encourage them to read expressively. Directions Be familiar with the script. Have copies for each student. Characters Three girls to play Maria, Jasmine and Akrosia Two boys to play Kadeem and Jerome Scene It is lunchtime in the school cafeteria. Maria, Jasmine, and Akrosia are sitting with Kadeem and Jerome. Skit: Invitation Jasmine: So that was pretty cool what we learned in art class today huh? Kadeem: I know! Whoever thought I d be making a quilt and actually like it. Akrosia: What did you guys do in art class today? Maria: We learned different ways we could use the arts to tell stories. Akrosia: Wait a minute! I thought you all were studying the Harlem Renaissance like we are. Kadeem: We are. That s what is so cool. Our teacher used art to teach us how different African American artists told their own stories through music, painting, writing and acting. Jasmine: We learned about Zora Neale Hurston... Kadeem: She was a writer. Jasmine: Ella Fitzgerald... Kadeem: A jazz singer oowee, ooweee! Jasmine: And Jacob Lawrence. Kadeem: An artist! Jasmine: We got to hear about how artists continue to be influenced by the works and lives of folks from the Harlem Renaissance. Jerome: Like who? Name one! Kadeem: Faith Ringgold! She s a writer and an artist. She was born during the Harlem Renaissance and she s still alive and working today. She writes children s books, illustrates books and does these really incredible quilts. Jasmine: Yeah, she tells stories with her quilts. Her artwork is all over the country and the world. They even have some in the famous museums like the Guggenheim Museum in New York! Maria: It s like she uses art to teach people about history and to

5 invite people to be a part of the past. That s kind of what we are doing in class, finding our place in the big story by sharing our stories like the people of the Harlem Renaissance did. Akrosia: So how were you guys invited to be part of the past? What kind of art did you all do? Jasmine: Well, first we read a short children s book by Faith Ringgold called The Harlem Renaissance Party. It was about this big party in the 1920s. WEB Dubois was there. Maria: Then we got to see a picture of Faith Ringgold s quilt called the same thing, The Harlem Renaissance Party. It was pretty amazing. Jerome: Sounds great but what does any of that have to do with your stories? Akrosia: Yeah? Maria: Well, I m doing a picture about stories my grandma used to tell me about what life was like for her as a kid. On their farm up in the mountains in West Virginia they had sheep and goats. Sometimes the baby goats and sheep would get mixed up. She had to separate them out. See the sheep?! Akrosia: Very cool. So people really do separate sheep from goats. That reminds me of a Bible lesson. Jasmine: Yep. Jesus told a story about sheep and goats. He was comparing the animals to people. He said that the sheep were the ones who were doing his will! They would be invited into the kingdom. Jerome: Well, there s a lot of invitation going on. Invitation to learn about the Harlem Renaissance, invitation to know your own story, invitation into God s kingdom! Kadeem: Trust me, I think that God is happy when we know about our heritage. It shows us all just how good God is! The End. Discussion Questions 1. How can paintings and music tell stories of people s lives? 2. What kind of art or music can you use to tell part of your life story? 3. How can the stories of African Americans of the past be invitations to us to tell our own stories? 4. Why is it important for people to share their stories with one another? 5. What kinds of stories has God shared with us? 6. How have God s stories been invitations to us to live in particular ways and to recognize ourselves as part of a larger story? Zora Neale Hurston ( ) Writer and folklorist. Her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, was made into a movie in Ella Fitzgerald ( ) First Lady of Song, known for improvisation and scat singing Jacob Lawrence ( ) Best known for series paintings that tell of African American history Faith Ringgold (b. 1930) 11 children s books; combines painting, quilted fabric and storytelling W. E. B. DuBois ( ) Social activist and scholar; helped to found the NAACP

6 Preschool/Kindergarten and Younger Elementary Purpose Children will: Have fun playing a game from Africa. Learn that a community protects its members. Think about the Bible story (sheep and goats). Game: adapted from the South African Zulu game Mbube, Mbube? (mboo -bay which means Lion ) In this version the wolf is stalking the lamb and all the sheep promise to help protect the lamb. Formation Have the children form a circle with one child trapped inside the circle and another child standing on the outside of the circle. Preparation Teach the children the call and response words of the game. Lost lamb: Brother and Sister sheep, do you promise to care for me? Other sheep: O little lost lamb, we promise to care for you. Lost lamb: Brother and Sister sheep, how do I know it s true? Other sheep: O little lost lamb, we ll keep the wolf from you. Directions 1. All players form a circle. 2. Two players start the game. One is the wolf and one is the lost lamb. 3. The wolf stands outside the circle and the lamb stands inside the circle. 4. The circle of sheep repeatedly circle around clockwise as the call and response continues back and forth between the lamb and the sheep. 5. The goal is for the circle of sheep to keep the wolf from breaking into the circle and getting the lamb. 6. Players in the circle start by calling the wolf, Wolf, wolf! 7. The lamb responds and the call and response continues from there. 8. If the wolf has not broken into the circle and caught the lamb within a minute, a new wolf is chosen. If the wolf catches the lamb, a new lamb is chosen.