MADE FOR MORE Human Dignity EDGE NIGHT OUTLINE SCRIPTURE & CCC: Genesis 1:26-31 Psalm 139:1-18 Jeremiah 29:11-14 John 10:10 John 15:15-17 Acts 10:34-35 CCC 27 CCC 355 357 CCC 1700 1704 SUPPLIES NEEDED: Balloons (one per youth) Small piece of paper to write name on (one per youth) Pens Bibles Handout A: Dignity Scripture Reflection (page 15) Handout B: A Decade for Dignity (page 16) GOAL The goal of this Edge Night is for youth to recognize God s divine image in every human person and identify ways to honor this dignity in themselves and others each day. EDGE NIGHT AT A GLANCE This night focuses on the dignity of the human person. The youth will learn that they are created in God s image and likeness. Our human dignity comes from God and rests in Him alone. When we struggle with self image (a human condition), we fail to see that we are deeply known and loved by God. We are created in the image and likeness of God and therefore are good very good. We are all encouraged to recognize our dignity and identify ways to uphold of the dignity of others. The Edge night starts out with a fun game for each youth to get to know one another better. This will transition into the teaching about how God knows us intimately and how we are called into relationship with Him. The small group time gets the youth talking about ways that we sometimes compromise our dignity and/or devalue the dignity of others. The small groups will take a look at how Jesus related to those who were looked at as the least in society and sets an example of how we are called to treat all with dignity. The night ends by giving the youth the opportunity to pray a decade of the rosary for those who may be seen as the least in our own society. ENVIRONMENT The environment for this night should convey a respect for all of God s people. Print out pictures of young, old, healthy, ill, rich, poor, etc. and surround each image with Scripture quotes (see Scripture verses in sidebar). GATHER OPENING MUSIC See song suggestions in Media Suggestions sidebar. W E LCO M E & INTRODUCTION 1. Welcome and introduce new youth. 2. Recognize and celebrate any youth or Core celebrating a birthday by singing Happy Birthday. 3. Present a brief overview of the session. OPENING PRAYER This prayer should be based on the overview of the session. Ask the Holy Spirit for guidance and understanding about the theme/topic for the night. SMALL GROUP PROCESS: BALLOON-A-FRIEND Give each youth a small strip of paper, pen/pencil, and a balloon. Each youth will write his or her name on a piece of paper, put it inside a balloon, blow up the balloon, and tie the balloon. Once each youth is ready, tell them that when you say Go! everyone will toss his or her balloon in the air. Be prepared for momentary chaos allow the youth to volley their balloons and really get them mixed up. After the balloons have been mixed pretty well, yell STOP! Instruct the youth to grab a balloon and quickly pop it (all balloons must be popped). Once all balloons are popped, tell the youth to 10
read the name on the strip of paper that was in the balloon and then find him or her. Once that person is located, have the youth find out five things about this person that they did not already know. Have Core Team available to help the youth find one another. PROCLAIM SCRIPTURE PROCLAMATION Psalm 139:1-18 PROCLAIM TALK: God Knows Us Best! Created in God s Image and Likeness What did you learn about your partner from this game? Do you know that person a little better now? Who would you say knows you best: your mom? Your dad? Your best friend? The Scripture passage we just read teaches us that God formed us and He knows us intimately He knows us best! He knows everything about us because He created us. God s designs are precious and we are His creation. God made you and He made the person or people that you met tonight in that activity. In Genesis 1:27 we hear that we are made in the image and likeness of God. What does that mean? God made us from His love and for His love. This means we are valuable beyond measure to God. God created us for love and to love. We are called to be an example of this love in the way we treat others and ourselves. We are not created for ourselves. We are made for a relationship with Him and to reveal His love to the world. Each One of Us Is Valued The Dignity of All All human life is sacred because we are created by God and in His image. Dignity means being worthy of honor or respect. Every human person is worthy of honor or respect because God created each of us uniquely and lovingly. Our value or worth does not come from the things we accomplish or the things we have. This is the basis of Catholic Social Teachings human dignity. Catholic Social Teachings remind us of our dignity and this flows to how we treat others. We must first understand and know that every human person has dignity because he/she is created in the image and likeness of God. We may feel more valued if we get good grades or have nice belongings or even based on whom we call our friends, but when it comes down to it those things are not at the heart of our identity. Who we are in God is the heart of why we are here on this earth and what we were created for. This also means that every other person on this planet was created in God s image and likeness. We are called to honor God s presence in them. We are not supposed to compare ourselves to others or belittle anyone because of their talent, gifts, looks, friends, etc. Sometimes We Fall Damages to Our Dignity and Others Each day we have the opportunity to reflect God in all that we do in the way we talk, the way we dress, the way we treat other people, and more. However, because of our human nature, at times we can fall short of this. We fail to recognize and honor the dignity in others and ourselves. MEDIA SUGGESTIONS: Song: How He Loves by David Crowder Band (Church Music, sixstepsrecords) Song: Meant to Live by Switchfoot (The Beautiful Letdown, Columbia) Song: Known by Audrey Assad (The House You re Building, Sparrow) Song: You are More by Tenth Avenue North (Light Meets the Dark, Reunion) Video: Imago Dei (www. youtube.com by rph2odbp) Video: Psalm 139 (www. ignitermedia.com - search video name) 11
NOTES: MADE FOR MORE Human Dignity EDGE NIGHT OUTLINE We do not live up to the full potential for which God created us. There are many actions that can break down a person s dignity. Sometimes other people break down our dignity by making fun of us, excluding us from a certain group, or making us feel unworthy. Other times we can break down our own dignity by dressing or acting immodestly, choosing to watch inappropriate shows or videos on TV or online. How different would the world be if we all sought to reflect God in everything we do? What would that look like? What does the image of God look like all around us? If everyone in this room were to take seriously that they were made in the image and likeness of God, how different our lives would be just in this room! Not only would we honor our own dignity, but we would also inspire those around us to appreciate their own value and worth. Jesus Shows the Way Always do the good. Sounds like great advice, but doing the right thing can sometimes seem like the hardest thing to do. Take courage from our Lord who shows us the way. Jesus comes into our world as peacemaker, sets the oppressed free, and brings life to those that are abandoned. So how can we bring life to those who are lonely, not included, despised, or ridiculed? We must recognize that they have dignity and worth and are made for love. All people are made for love. Jesus asks us to be His hands and feet. It will require sacrifice on our part. It may mean reaching out to those who no one wants to be around. It may mean taking time to be with someone who needs us when we have something else we would rather be doing. In Matthew 25, Jesus tells us whenever we reach out to the least of our brothers we are reaching out to Him. We are called to love and serve God our Creator by bringing hope and dignity to those we encounter each day. BREAK SMALL GROUP PRAYER As your small group begins, say a prayer for the group and the activities for that session. SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION In your small group discuss the following questions: 1. What does it mean that we are created in God s image and likeness? 2. What does it mean to honor someone s dignity? 3. Why is it sometime hard to recognize the dignity in other people? Or in ourselves? 4. Who are some people or groups of people whose dignity is often ignored or denied? 5. How can we more fully recognize the dignity of...our friends? Our family? Ourselves? 12
ANNOUNCEMENTS: DIGNITY SCRIPTURE REFLECTION As a group, look at Human Dignity Scripture Study (Handout A on page 16). Give the youth time to read and write a brief description of each verse. Then as a group discuss what Jesus teaches us about dignity as He interacts with these individuals. LARGE GROUP PRESENTATION Using the Decade for Dignity handout (Handout B on page 17), have your small group come up with ten prayer intentions regarding the dignity of human life. These can be for a specific person, a group of people (the unborn, those who are lonely, etc.), or general prayer intentions regarding dignity (that all middle school students would treat each other with greater respect, etc.). When you are done, select one person from your group and one of the ten intentions to be prayed as part of the large group closing prayer. SEND CLOSING PRAYER Using the Decade for Dignity handout as a guide, the large group will pray a decade of the rosary for the dignity of all human life. As the groups gather back together, have one volunteer from each small group with a preselected prayer intention come up to the front of the room. If you have fewer than ten small groups, choose additional volunteers from one or more of the groups. If you have more than ten small groups, plan to have two people read a petition before each Hail Mary. Have a Core Member verify with each youth which of his/her petitions he/she is reading off of the paper. Set a prayerful tone in the room as you prepare to pray the decade. Have a Core Member lead into the closing prayer. After each youth reads his/her petition the large group should join in praying each Hail Mary. When you are finished praying, encourage the youth to take home their handout and pray this Decade for Dignity with their family. SUMMARY CHALLENGE Before the middle school youth are sent home they will be challenged to remember: 1. We are all created in God s image and likeness. This means we are deeply known and loved by Him. 2. Each of us has dignity and worth because God created us out of His love. 3. We can honor our dignity and the dignity of others by the way we see ourselves made in God s image and the way we treat others. 4. As Christians we should uphold the dignity of others each day, especially those who are often looked upon as the least in our society. TO THE PARENTS OF During tonight s Edge session, we discussed the human dignity of all human persons. We helped your youth to understand that he/she is good because he/she is made in the image and likeness of God not because of anything he/she can do or owns, but because God created him/her. This is the basis for all Catholic Social Teaching. The youth 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 13
ADAPTATION IDEAS: Instead of reading Psalm 139 before the teaching, play the Psalm 139 Igniter Media video clip to introduce the talk or create a similar video with pictures of the youth in your group. For the opening game have Core put the names in the balloons as youth are arriving for the session so that they are the ones blowing up and tying the balloons. Then keep them in a big garbage bag until it s time for the game. If balloons are not an option, this game can also be done as a snowball fight (have youth write their names on paper, crumple it up into a ball and throw it). Have high school teens or another ministry group make decade rosary bracelets for the closing prayer activity. Let the youth keep these as a reminder to always pray for and honor God s image in themselves and others. MADE FOR MORE Human Dignity EDGE NIGHT OUTLINE were challenged to see ways in which they are called to honor the dignity of everyone they encounter each day. At the end of the night we prayed a decade of the rosary lifting up those who are often seen as the least and who we know are in need of our prayers. Questions for the ride home: 1. What does it mean that every human person has dignity? 2. What are ways that we can honor the dignity of others? 3. How does Jesus life serve as an example and inspire us to live up to our full potential? 14
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION Handout A EDGE NIGHT HANDOUT INSTRUCTIONS As a small group, use your Bible to look up the following Scripture verses and write a brief summary about each verse. Once you have read each verse, discuss what Jesus teaches us about the dignity of each of these people. Luke 19:1-10 Luke 23:35-43 John 8:1-11 What are three things you can do this week to stand up for your dignity and the dignity of others? 1. 2. 3. 15
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION Handout A (Answers) EDGE NIGHT HANDOUT INSTRUCTIONS As a small group, use your Bible to look up the following Scripture verses and write a brief summary about each verse. Once you have read each verse, discuss what Jesus teaches us about the dignity of each of these people. Luke 19:1-10 Zacchaeus the Tax Collector Jesus does not look upon Zacchaeus unfavorably because of his profession (tax collector). Jesus honors Zacchaeus by going to dine at his house. Jesus action of treating him with dignity prompts Zacchaeus to have a change of heart. Luke 23:35-43 The Repentant Thief Even in the midst of his suffering on the cross Jesus shows mercy and love to the thief. He is honoring the dignity of the repentant thief a criminal sentenced to death by forgiving him and telling him today you will be with me in paradise. John 8:1-11 A Woman Caught in Adultery Jesus does not belittle anyone in the crowd by naming their shortcomings or sins. He respects the woman by not condemning her actions, but telling her to go and sin no more. What are three things you can do this week to stand up for your dignity and the dignity of others? 1. 2. 3. 16
DECADE FOR DIGNITY Handout B EDGE NIGHT HANDOUT INSTRUCTIONS In your small group identify 10 prayer intentions that relate to the dignity of all human life this can include praying for specific people, groups of people, or general intentions regarding human dignity. One person from your group will be selected to share one of your intentions when we pray this Decade for Dignity in the larger group. Our Father 1. (Petition) 2. (Petition) 3. (Petition) 4. (Petition) 5. (Petition) 6. (Petition) 7. (Petition) 8. (Petition) 9. (Petition) 10. (Petition) _ Lord thank You for the gift of our life. May we live each day in Your love. Glory be to the Father AMEN. 17