Ash Wednesday Craft: Blooming Cross (Great for All Ages!)
Use this Blooming Cross Craft with your children’s ministry, one class, or your entire congregation this Ash Wednesday.
Ash Wednesday Craft: Blooming Cross
You’ll need:
Easy Prep:
Make Flowers Together
At the beginning of your Ash Wednesday service, have people of all ages make flower blossoms. They can make these out of cut-up egg carton compartments. Or they can fringe, scallop, or jaggedly cut the edges of tissue paper squares. (Supply as many different flower-making materials as you can.) Encourage creativity. There are no right or wrong flowers. With help, the 3-year-olds can make flowers just as well as the adults can.
Once their blossoms are finished, have people attach a pipe cleaner stem to each flower, and hold the flowers in their hands. Have people make as many flowers as necessary to fill the cross.
Read Together
After everyone has made their flowers, read aloud Philippians 3:8-11.
Say: Paul was pretty bold when he said, “I want to suffer with him [Christ], sharing in his death.” And it’s even more encouraging when Paul says that he “will experience the resurrection from the dead!”
Ask:
- What are some ways people might suffer with Christ and share in his death today?
- What do you think Paul means when he says that he will experience resurrection from the dead?
Say: Jesus’ death and (more importantly) his resurrection are reasons to celebrate! Because Jesus is alive, that means we are free from bad things like sin and death. As we enter into the Lent and Easter season, let’s remember how beautiful and wonderful Jesus’ sacrifice is for us.
Direct everyone to insert their flowers through the chicken wire holes on the cross. Throughout the Lent season, people will enjoy looking at and pointing out their flowers on the Blooming Cross.
Close Together
Close your Ash Wednesday service while sitting around the Blooming Cross.
Pray: Dear God, thank you for sending Jesus to die for our sins. Help us understand more clearly what Jesus’ death means for us. Just as the flowers bloom on this cross, may his life bloom within us to show the world his love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Sheila Halasz
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