Gathering activities
Activities to gather children and young people
For children
Before the session, create a photo montage using photos from magazines. The pictures should depict unconditional love, e.g. a mother and her baby. Include a wide variety of people in different situations. You might like to choose one picture and explain to the children how you think it shows unconditional love. Use this as an opportunity to explain the idea of unconditional love.
Alternatively, read the story Guess how much I love you (see Resources ).
For young people
This activity is designed to introduce the theme of love, which is at the heart of the covenant.
You will need: a large sheet of paper with the following Greek words written on it: Storge, Phileo, Eros, Agape; pens.
Ask the group to write on the sheet anything they can think of to do with the words.
Explain that they are different names for love in Greek.
Ask them if they know the difference or what kind of love they represent. Storge: affection, as of a parent for a child; phileo: friendship, loyalty to friends; eros: passionate love, with sensual desire; agape: unselfish, generous, looks after others.