Activities
Activities on Spirituality of Creation
For Faith Education, Catechesis and other community events
Seven Days of Creation
This faith education activity helps us identify some of the symbols of the Seven Days of Creation story (Genesis, chap. 1) so as to enrich our perception of the environment. Participants begin to see their living environment as part of God’s Creation and to recognize our role as stewards of Creation. Appropriate for children and teenagers.
1. Game. Place the drawings of the Seven Days of Creation in the proper order.
2. View the “Seven Days of Creation” video (which you may download from VIMEO).
3. Discuss, pray, and make a commitment to care for creation.
Seek First the Kingdom of God
At the end of this spirituality activity inspired by Matthew (6, 25-32), the faith commu-nity will understand that true happiness does not lie in the possession of material wealth, but rather in seeking the Kingdom of God. We can trust God. He gives us what we need, like he does with flowers and birds.
• Testimony by Saint Francis of Assisi
• Songs and coloring
• Videos to watch on YouTube
• Playing pictures
• Discussion questions
Blessing of Animals
This spiritual activity brings the community together around the Word to express our thanksgiving for God’s creation of the animals, our “brothers and sisters”. We gather with a heart sensitive to sustaining the delicate balance of nature and ready to follow in the footsteps of Kateri Tekawitha and St. Francis of Assisi who testified to God’s respect and love for birds and animals in their own lives. We will praise the Lord as our minister blesses the animals. This activity includes:
- Biblical texts
- Hymns
- The story of St. Francis of Assisi
- Common prayers
Noah, guardian of biodiversity
Through this activity, members of the Christian community will gain a better appreciation of biodiversity as God’s work. They will become aware of the interdependence of every creature in our environment and will discover ways of taking action to protect this biodiversity.
- Videos
- Biblical texts
- Colouring mural
- Discussion questions
- Common prayers
Making Connections
Thanks to this activity, members of the Christian community will be able to discover a path of encounter with the Creator by contemplating his Creation and discovering a kinship towards other creatures.
- Biblical texts
- Contemplation of a creature
- Testimony of Saint Francis of Assisi
- Common prayers
Activities for Environmental Education
Great for organizing a community event
How Big is your Ecological Footprint?
At the end of this activity, members of the Christian community will better understand the alarming impact of over-consumption on resources and will be more sensitive to taking care of Creation.
- Share a meal together
- Calculate your ecological footprint, by family
- Commit to reducing this footprint
Our Endangered Birds
During this activity, the members of the faith community will have grasped the main dangers and issues threatening the survival of some Canadian bird species.
- Ornithologist
- Songs and colouring
- Videos
- Bingo
The Abundant Harvest
This activity helps increase our awareness of the importance of developing a seasonal mindset and help us become more aware of the importance of reducing waste in growing our food.
- Wise harvest
- Fair harvest
- Green Harvest
- Tips and resources
Our Common Home
During this activity, the members of the faith community will become more aware of the importance of having a home, and integrate a personal responsibility to care for other species in teir immediate environment.
- Discussion
- Waterfront’s home
- Bird’s home
- Tips and tricks
Fair Trade
During this activity, the members of the Christian community will understand the importance of fair trade, which will inspire them to buy more fair trade products.
- Sharing fair trade chocolate
- Detective game
- Discussion
- Work together
Sustainable Fishing
During this activity, the Christian community will understand what overfishing is and how we can adapt our consumption of fish to avoid overfishing certain species.
- Video and discussion
- Memory game
- Sharing sustainable fish
- Commitment
Modified Seeds
During this activity, the members of the Christian community will understand the impact of GMO seeds on the environment and on humans. They will also learn about possible alternatives.
- Testimony of a farmer
- Songs and colouring
- Film extract to watch
- Prayer together
Ethical Meat Consumption
During this activity, the Christian community will become aware of the lack of respect for animal welfare in factory farming and slaughter. They will discover what the impact is and how to respond.
– Fun games
– Video and discussion
– Prayer together
Water conservation
During this activity, in an atmosphere that encourages discussion, members of the Christian community discover the issues surrounding drinking water.
- Active participation and demonstration
- Discussion
- Prayer together
Activities on Environmental action
Great for organizing a community event
Cleaning a nearby park
At the end of this activity , the Christian community has helped to reduce the environmental footprint of its neighborhood by picking up trash in a park.
- Introduction to the activity in the church
- Cleaning the park
- Findings of waste collected
- Conclusion by a prayer
Car Free Sunday
Through this activity, the faith community will have helped to alleviate the detriments of car use (air pollution, cost of gasoline, overcrowded parking, etc.).
- Accompany and inform the community before Car Free Sunday
- Introduction to the activity in the church
- Prayer Service
- Activities (discussion / animation) per age group
Let’s Plant Flower Bulbs
The benefits from this activity for the faith community include more beautiful church grounds, greater awareness among the faithful of our closeness to the land and increased motivation to care for it and church members getting a taste to take their turn at planting bulbs at home.
- Skit and crafts
- Videos and songs
- Planting of bulbs together
- Conclusion with a prayer
Pollinator Garden
Providing a habitat for butterflies and bees, attracted by the flowers planted by the community; Encouraging our faithful to have a greater awareness of our closeness to the earth and an increased motivation to take care of it;
- Preparing the soil
- Group work
- Pollinators in the spotlight
A Home for All
This activity helps to protect the habitats of native species, make your home more environmentally friendly and support those who don’t have a home of their own.
- Help species at risk
- Plant workshop
- Bottle collection