Recently, as part of its Architecture series, Lego released a beautiful build of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. I have a certain fascination with cathedrals and what they can teach us about what it means to be the church. I saw an opportunity to reflect with my congregation on church history, architecture, faith, and being the people of God together. So I created a seven-week Children’s Time series where we explored one aspect of the cathedral each week until it was complete.

This coincided with our capital campaign to raise funds for much-needed improvements to our church building. It turned out to be a great way to talk about how our physical church building reflects and supports our mission and ministry. It was inspired in part by the Lego project at Washington National Cathedral.

What follows is an outline for how to do this project with your congregation, including the theme for each week, photos, and the corresponding pages in the Lego build book. Because we were on the floor with the kids, it was hard for adults to see it from their pews, so we took pictures of each stage of the build and projected them on screen. Each week we showed one slide from the previous stage of the build and then one slide with the new sections we added for that Sunday. You can access and adapt those slides at this link: Lego Build PowerPoint Slides.

Outline of the Build

Week 1: Foundations
(Build Book pages 1–45)

For our first week, I introduced our cathedral building project and showed the kids the box for our Lego Notre Dame. The box displays the completed project and some of the cathedral’s history. Then I showed the first build, which hardly looks like a church or a cathedral at all. I asked the kids to look around our church and wonder about what the most important part of a church is. One said, “Faith”; another said, “The cross.” I drew their attention to the floor and said that the floor, or foundation, is most important because, without that, nothing else can stand. We talked about love and faith being the foundation of our church. Everything rests on those things.

Week 2: Supporting One Another
(Build Book pages 46–97)

For week two, I talked about the flying buttresses of Notre Dame, which was the first cathedral to employ buttresses in this way. I described how the flying buttresses allow the walls of the cathedral to be thinner, higher, and able to support more stained glass, which allows for more light. I clarified that it is “flying buttresses,” not “flying butts,” and this got a good laugh. Finally, I talked about the support that we give one another at church: the love, grace, forgiveness, and care we extend to each other, which buttress our lives together and make our church stronger.

Week 3: A Space and Place for All
(Build Book pages 98–137)

This was, perhaps, my favorite part of our build with the large open nave. I talked about my experience of visiting Notre Dame and being with people from all over the world in that nave. I related that there is a space and place for everyone in the church, including them. I brought a collection of random Lego figures that I ordered on eBay and invited the kids to take one and put it in the cathedral so we could see ourselves in it. They loved choosing a figure and putting themselves in the cathedral.

Week 4: We Are Cross-Shaped
(Build Book pages 138–189)

At this stage of the build, you can begin to see how Notre Dame, like most other cathedrals, is built in the shape of the cross. We talked about how the church is cross-shaped because we are shaped by Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection as well as by hope, new life, love, and serving our neighbor. This shape will become more obvious as the build continues and the roof is completed.

Week 5: There Are Many Ways In
(Build Book pages 190–239)

For week five we looked carefully at the entrances to Notre Dame: the three main entrance portals across the front, the two large entrances on the side, and the small red door, known as “The Porte Rouge.” We reflected on the entrances to our church and how there are many ways to come into a church. We also talked about how we want to be sure that people can find their way in and find a place within the church.

Week 6: Beauty
(Build Book pages 240–287)

For the completed build, we looked at the finishing touches of the cathedral: the spire with figures of the apostles and evangelists surrounding it, the pinnacles, the trees, and more. I talked about the importance of making something beautiful because that beauty reminds us of the goodness and beauty of God. We can also find this beauty in nature and in the people in our lives.

Week 7: Light
(Light Kit)

As a bonus week for the project, I discovered that there are third-party lighting kits for Lego projects. I ordered and installed this lighting kit for the Cathedral. This ingenious little kit helps light up the Cathedral from outside and within. We talked about how the church should be a beacon of God’s light and love in the world. This happened to coincide with our first week of Advent, which was a perfect tie-in to the lighting of the Advent wreath and the theme of light shining in the darkness.

Conclusion

The response to this project was overwhelmingly positive from our kids and adults. It is by far the best Children’s Time idea I have ever dreamed up. Doing it as a weekly series created continuity and anticipation among our kids and congregation. Everyone enjoyed following along, learning more about Notre Dame and cathedrals, and reflecting on being church together. It was a frequent point of conversation between Sundays.

Featured image as well as additional photos of Lego Notre Dame Cathedral are by article author, Keith Anderson