The little ones and the bigger ones from the Over Wyre Parishes continued to enjoy a great time together at the ‘Stay and Play’ services in March.

The stories of Zacchaeus, the Tax Collector and the Feeding of the Five Thousand, were shared over two weeks. 

St. Luke’s Gospel describes Zacchaeus as a wealthy and unpopular tax collector.  It was widely believed that he was corrupt because he collected more money in taxes than he should have done.  When Jesus was passing through the City of Jericho, Zacchaeus was excited to see Him.
He wasn’t very tall so he struggled to see Jesus above the crowd.  To overcome this difficulty, he climbed a sycamore-fig tree.

‘When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.’ (Luke 19: 5-6)

The meeting with Jesus transformed Zacchaeus.  He said, “Look, Lord!  Here and now I give half my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” (Luke 19: 8)

At the next ‘Stay and Play’ service, the tale of a child sharing their picnic helped to catch the imagination of the little ones gathered round the storyteller.  They learned about how once Jesus had thanked God the Father, his friends handed the food out and amazingly, no matter how much they shared the food, there was always more to give!

‘Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.’ (Luke 9: 16-17)

Once again, crafting, action songs and prayer time helped the children to focus on what we all have to offer – our belongings, our talents, and our friendship.  The children loved blowing bubbles and chasing them too.  The bubbles were used for prayers and also to demonstrate how amazingly, you can blow lots of them from a very small bottle!  This reflects how God works – making lots of good things happen from small gifts.
Following Jesus’ example, the group thanked God and were looking forward to seeing what amazing things might happen the following weeks!

‘Stay and Play’ continues each Saturday morning, 9.30am for breakfast followed by songs, prayer and a Bible story, In St. John’s Church Hall, Pilling until 9th April.

All are most welcome!