Goals:
To understand what religion is and why people go to church.
To become aware of what gives you good-to-be-alive feelings.

Materials:
Tubes from toilet paper or paper towel.
Red, orange and yellow tissue paper
Construction paper, colorful wrapping paper
Markers, crayons
Tape

Activities:

1. Make personal torches with the cardboard tubes. Tape crumpled tissue paper to the inside of one end of the tube. Decorate tubes with markers, construction paper, or wrapping paper.

2. While you’re making the torches, discuss what makes people “shine.” What gives you a “good-to-be-alive” feeling? Make a list, or just whip around the room calling out all the things you think of.

You can usually categorize the answers into the following categories:
Times when you feel loved and important
Times when you see you’ve made someone else feel good
Times when you feel you’ve done your best
Times when you feel you’ve done the right thing
Times when you listen to yourself and enjoy being yourself

Explain that people come to church to find the light inside them and keep it shining. Religion is the important things they believe in that make their lives feel good and right. Church is the place where grown-ups come to think about the things you named that make people feel good. It’s not always easy to keep the good feeling inside you—life is full of problems and obstacles, just like the game we’re about to play.

3. Obstacle Course:
If you have 4 or more people, you can make a human obstacle course in a large open area. Each person gets into a position and decides if the person running the course is to go over, around, or under them. As each person completes the course, he or she becomes an obstacle and another person runs the course. If you don’t have enough people, or you just prefer to use objects, you can use furniture and other objects to set up a course. Take turns running through the course, carrying your torch under, around, through and between the obstacles.

4. Read “The Grumps” or The Little Brute Family by Russell Hoban (It’s is out of print but may be available at your local library.)