"God does what is still more wonderful: God makes saints out of sinners. -Søren Kierkegaard"
Saints Right Under our Noses
With a group of children, youth or adults, take a tour your church building, looking for the details of art in your church building. On All Saints Sunday you could do a scavenger hunt to find biblical stories in stained glass windows or other works of art. What works of art does your church building hold in stained glass, altar vessels, pictures or architectural features?
Who are the Saints?
Explain to your group that the heroes and heroines of the Bible are saints. In addition, there are saints who have appeared throughout history. Finally, all the members of the congregation, each adult and each young person, are saints too! Each person in the group is a saint: someone chosen by God to be one of God’s people.
Hunting for Saints Activity
Distribute paper and pencils. Challenge your group (in small groups or as a whole) to work together to find as many saints as they can in the building. Encourage them to look at:
- Stained glass windows (if your church has them)
- Books in the church library or bookstore, or other book area
- Statues, carvings, paintings, or pictures
- Even the church name, whether written on outdoor signs or paper bulletins
Reminding the group that all Christians are saints too, challenge them to look at:
- Congregation directories
- Pictures of current members
- Names of people in the hallways
Reflection
Guide your group in the reflecting on the meaning of sainthood using one or more of the following questions:
- What is your understanding of sainthood?
- What does it "take" to be saint-like?
- What qualities of particular saints to you admire?
- Do you have any stereotypes of saints? What are they?
- What was the most helpful thing you learned by considering saints today?
A Closing Quote
These lines come from Søren Kierkegaard - this quote offers a poignant reminder of God's power working through human beings.
“God creates out of nothing.
Wonderful you say.
Yes, to be sure,
but God does what is
still more wonderful:
God makes saints
out of sinners.”
This lesson plan was shared with permission from Living the Good News, a lectionary based curriculum from Morehouse Education Resources.