Lent ends with Easter, April 17, 2022. Over the course of Lent, we have shared weekly Scripture readings, prayers and rituals for all ages to observe Lent At Home, as well as special rituals for Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter. Find the whole series on the blog and/or download the full Lent At Home worship guide and calendar here.
Alleluia! It’s Resurrection Day!
Sunrise Ritual
• Wake up just before dawn. Check to see what time sunrise is in your area, and get your household up 10-15 minutes before sunrise.
• Grab your Bible, bundle up and go outside. If you aren’t able to go outside where you live, go to an east-facing window.
• Turn on the Easter morning playlist (https://spoti.fi/3adic4Q) and watch for the sunrise.
• Read John 20:1-18 as the sun comes up. Read it a couple of times, maybe taking turns reading it or acting out the story. This story is on page 270 of “Shine On: A Story Bible,” but it would be good to read it at least once from the book of John!
• Celebrate! Shout, “Alleluia!” Make some noise, sing a song, dance or run laps around your yard or block. Get silly and joyful in whatever way works for you!
• If you followed yesterday’s prompt and didn’t turn on any lights, it’s time to break your light fast.
Other Celebration Ideas
• Alleluia bells: Any time anyone says “alleluia” today, ring a bell, jingle your keys or, in general, make a joyful noise.
• Symbolic egg hunt: If you have children celebrating with you today, this can be a fun one. Fill eggs with these symbols of Easter and let each child find one egg with each symbol. Come back together to see if you can all figure out what the meaning of each symbol is. We find it’s helpful to have three different colors of eggs, one for each symbol, so that each child can find one of each color.
• Symbol 1: Seeds (to be planted in the spring). We bury the seed in the ground, and we don’t see signs of it for a while. Then, it sprouts and bears good things. This can remind us of how Jesus died and was buried, but then rose to new life.
• Symbol 2: Rock. This reminds us of the stone placed in front of Jesus’ tomb that was rolled away. If you want some extra fun, paint your rocks today.
• Symbol 3: Empty (don’t put anything in this egg). When Jesus’ friends came to care for his body, the tomb was empty!
• Resurrection Rolls: As you make these, tell the story of Jesus’ body being prepared for burial, then placed in a tomb. When they come out of the oven, marvel at the empty tomb. Here is a recipe (apinchofjoy.com/2012/04/resurrection-rolls/) using store-bought dough, but you can also make them with simple homemade bread dough.
• New Life Treasure Hunt: Go exploring in your yard or a nearby park or trail. Take pictures or field notes, or draw the signs of new life you see.
Visit MC USA’s Faith Formation page to find a one-stop hub of formation resources for all ages, curated through an Anabaptist lens.