We organized a mission retreat in 2017 for 130 elementary school children in Fülöp, a small village school in eastern Hungary. The script of the retreat can be used by group leaders as is.
This retreat is also perfectly suitable in an environment where people are just getting to know the faith and the Church. The Lord’s prayer is the most fundamental Christian prayer, an excellent way for the participants to start out on the journey to Christianity. They will be familiarized with what this prayer means in small groups according to their ages.
| Age group | 7-12 year olds - with different activities for three age groups |
| Time frame | 3,5 hours with Holy Mass at the end |
| Symbol | Every line of the Lord’s Prayer will be accompanied by a movement or gesture |
| Note | It is possible without a school assembly hall as well, e.g: through the school radio |
Group leaders will bring:
Coloring - for the youngest | 1-3rd graders
if the children have their own art kits for school, ask them in time to bring them
Making flowers | 4-6th graders
Painting stones| 7-8th graders
For the Holy Mass
Prepare the group leaders before the retreat, play the games and do all the planned activities. You can alter the activities according to the number of participants and the local circumstances.
The group leaders may find it helpful to read the relevant part from YouCat - Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church (points 511-527.)
We can make a paraphrase of the Lord’s Prayer, by formulating the seven requests with our own words, as it is most understandable for us. This way every sentence will be our own, even when sometimes we just mechanically repeat them. For example, instead of ‘Give us this day our daily bread’ we can say ‘Please always give us food to eat, something to drink, and friends to share it with.’ The participants can create their own paraphrases on their own or in small groups.
The students gather in the location where they normally have assemblies or outdoors. It is very important to have a good sound system.
Start with singing to help the children quieten down and get in the mood. Choose a song that everybody knows. E.g.: Little Life (For You Jesus) by Hillsong Kids, Our Father by Bethel Music & Jenn Johnson.
We greet the children and introduce the group leaders. (The group leaders stand in the front by the leaders of the retreat. )
We announce the program of the day: We will be doing activities in small groups and gather again for Holy mass. Then all have lunch as usual.
We introduce the theme, the Lord’s Prayer with a few sentences:
„What is the most important prayer of the Church? The prayer that Jesus taught us? Do you know? Those who know how to say this prayer raise your hands!
Imagine, every Christian all over the whole world knows this prayer. Little children know it in Africa, families pray it together in Australia... Your headmaster also knows it. And the Pope prays it every day. More than once.
Everything that is really important is in this prayer even if we do not always notice it: That we are the children of God, and we all belong to one family. That we all are longing for the love of God, and that other people can see it too. That God loves us just as we are, body and soul. And that although we all would like to be good, it is not always easy. (Who would like to be really good?)
Today you will get to know the Lord’s prayer a little better. The group leaders will help you. Maybe you will discover something interesting. We hope that the games, (yes, there will be games!) discussions, prayers and creative activities (please, bring your creations to the Holy Mass at the end!) will help you get to know God, who is our Father.”
Announcements. We repeat the program of the day. It is important that we clearly announce the exact time and place where people ought to be. Announce when they are going to have their snacks.
The groups go to their rooms.The teachers may need to help the children find their groups according to the prepared lists. The teachers may accompany the groups to the previously arranged locations so that nobody gets lost. Then the teachers may leave the children with the group leaders. We trust that the group leaders will be able to handle the group, or call for help if necessary.
The most important part of a retreat is the small group activity. The room should be welcoming and cosy. Seats or blankets placed in a circle, a candle in the center, soothing, pleasant music. This should be prepared beforehand, or at the beginning of the activity, together with the group.
The introduction games help everybody arrive and get in the mood for the retreat. We move, meet and quieten down by the end. Let us spend enough time on them. (Choose one or two that you liked the most during the preparation session, that was the best experience for you. There is not enough time to play all.)
Everybody has to say a positive quality that is true of him, and starts with the same letter as his name. E.g.: Joyful Jeremy, Brave Bella, Happy Hilda, Diligent David, etc. The group responds by looking at the person, smiling at them, and repeating the quality and the name. We can play it with animals or flowers as well (e.g.: Lion Lawrence, Orchid Oliver, Flamingo Florence ). We can have one more round, when everybody repeats not only his or her quality and name, but also that of all or at least 5 group members. It may become boring when there are more than 15 members. If you have a bigger group, everyone repeats only the 5 names before him.
One person stands in the middle with a rolled up newspaper (This will be used to lightly whack each other with and could easily be substituted with something else: a foam baseball bat, the cardboard middle of a roll of paper towels, etc.). Someone starts by saying another person’s name. The one who was called has to quickly name another person, before he gets whacked. It is not allowed to name the person who just called you. If the person with the paper whacks you before you named somebody, you trade places. Before sitting down you quickly call somebody’s name and the game continues. Thematic variation: You can play this game with thematic names. Before starting the game everyone chooses a name depending on the theme of the retreat. These can be people from Bible stories, emotions, animals etc. Combination with other games: If this game was preceded by an introduction game where people had to choose a quality or movement Alliterating Names (#1) or Name and Gesture Avalanche — #13 you may play this game with the alliterating names or movements used then.
The group sits in a circle, somebody is standing in the middle. There are less chairs than children. The child in the centre, the wind-blower, starts with a statement: “A big wind blows away those who… ( are wearing black socks, have blue eyes, have two siblings… there are endless variations)”. The statement has to be true for the one who says it. Every time all the children for whom the statement is true, have to stand up and quickly sit down on another chair. They are not allowed to sit on the chair adjacent to their own chair. The child in the middle also tries to sit down. One person will be left without a seat, he will stand in the middle and say another statement. If the group leader notices that someone is always left out, he can suggest a tornado, when everybody must stand up. If the one in the middle runs out of ideas, the group leader can help with a question: “What is your favourite season? What is your favourite toy?” The group leader can also whisper a helpful idea in the ear of the wind-blower to make sure the game is fast paced.
We are sitting in a circle. The group leader asks the people to introduce themselves pretending they are their best friend. The speakers stand behind their own chair, and talk about themselves in 3rd person singular: “This is Mary (her own name). I know her very well because we went to kindergarten together, and we are best friends.)” The group leader may help by correcting it when the speaker switches to first person. Ask the speaker to talk about hobbies, skills, sports etc like this: “Does Mary have a hobby? What does she talk about when you meet?” After each introduction the group leader responds: “We can all see that your friend must really love you very much. God, who knows all your faults as well, says even more beautiful things about you.”
The children stand in two equal, parallel lines, holding hands. We place a hat on a chair at equal distance from both lines. The two persons at the end of the lines put their free hands behind them, and concentrate on the hat. As soon as the child behind them squeezes their hand, they will run for the hat. At the beginning of the lines the group leader flips a coin. Only the two children standing closest to the group leader at the end of the lines are allowed to see the coin, everyone else has to wait in complete silence looking the other way. If the coin falls on the heads, nothing happens. If it falls on tails, the children squeeze their neighbour’s hand, and the children pass on the squeeze as fast as they can. As soon as the electric current reaches the end, the last in the line runs for the hat. The quicker line gets one point. You can play it until one group collects 5 or 3 points.
The children stand in a circle, and close their eyes. Tell them to step toward the centre with both arms stretched out in front of them and randomly grab two other hands. (The group leader who is leading the game can help here.) When every hand is holding another hand, they open their eyes. The task is to untangle themselves into one big circle again, or as much as possible, without letting any hands go.
The players stand in a circle with their arms on the shoulders of the person in front. The group leader squats down starting a wave that has to go around the circle.
» Let us stand in a circle facing clockwise. Put your hands on the shoulder of the person in front of you. One person will squat and stand up. The person behind him squats when the first one starts standing up. « The group members have to pay attention to one another. We play it until the group makes a harmonious waving movement. It is good fun and an interesting experience to be part of a wave.
Pairs of players are standing back to back leaning against each other - otherwise they would fall over. At a given sign they have to slowly bend their knees and squat down. They have to be careful to synchronize their movements. Then they slowly straighten their legs, just as carefully as when they were going down. When they finish, let the group talk about it: What was your experience? What was hard in this game? Silent variation | Play the game in silence.
Each line of the Lord’s prayer is accompanied by a movement. It helps the children memorize it.
Show the movement line by line. The group repeats the words and the movement after each line. Then you say the whole prayer together.
All age groups learn the same movements.
Our Father who art in heaven,
- We point to the sky with one arm
Holy be your name;
- Stretch both arms to the sky
Your kingdom come;
- We make a welcoming movement with our arms
Your will be done
- We bow down with the right hand on our heart
On earth as it is in heaven
- We point to the sky and then to the room around us.
Give us this day our daily bread;
- We hold out both hands as if begging.
And forgive us our sins,
- We cross our hands on our chests and bow our heads
as we forgive those who sin against us.
- We shake hands with people around us (there will be a bit of a confusion, but that is ok. )
Lead us not into temptation
- We make a stop sign by holding out our hands
But deliver us from evil.
- We cross our hands on our chest and then open up our arms
For yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever
- We point all around with raised arms
(We all say loudly:) Amen
- We put our hands together as in prayer.
If you all get a bit tired, sing a song. Learning a happy song with movements is as good as a good game.
For older children you can choose songs from the songbook your community uses at Holy Mass.
The purpose is to have a good discussion about God and things that are important to us. Make sure everybody has an opportunity to talk. It may be a novel experience for the group, so do not expect too much. The group leader can share something about himself, and encourage the group members to talk about their feelings and experiences. When the group runs out of things to talk about, you can insert an activity and then continue with more talking. It is easier to have a good discussion with older children about inner qualities and stories.
Do not be afraid to ask serious questions. Even little children can be asked things like „What do you think, how do we know what God wants?”. Do not expect very young children to respond with things you, group leaders would say. The goal is that they get used to talking about God, and it feels natural for them, even though at the beginning it may feel new and unusual.
Themes and helping questions
It is not necessary to talk about all these questions right here. You can return to them after the creative activity. You can alternate singing, talking, and art work.
More questions: (For younger children, and for those who are not too familiar with Christianity)
Any time when the group leader feels the children may need a break, you can say the Lord’s prayer with the movements, sing a song or learn a new song. For this purpose have a list of songs (Songs from the Mass or other Christian children’s songs) ready that you can choose from.
All age groups can learn new songs from the Mass.
What can God be like? What is our Heavenly Father like? Some people imagine God as a policeman or a judge. But He is a father, a daddy: He is looking after us, we can hold on to Him, and He shows the way and the goal to his children. We would like to help the participants to be able to see God as their loving Father..
The priest will ask the children to bring their pictures to the altar while we sing ‘Holy, holy...’ The organizers and group leaders will assist them.
God’s kingdom is near, it is already among us. The good God who created us is here with us. He created us and the world around us good and beautiful. Let us notice it, let us rejoice in one another, in beauty, truth and goodness. We are going to collect such joyful and beautiful things; things that point to God’s kingdom among us.
Everybody brings along their flowers to the Holy Mass. Make sure every child has at least one flower in his hand. The priest will invite the children to bring their flowers to the altar during the Offertory. The group leaders will help them put the flowers in a big vase in front of the altar.
The stones at the side of the road mark the way God’s kingdom will come among us. There are milestones along the road that show which way to go. In the prayer we asked that God’s kingdom come among us, that there will be peace and happiness in our village, in the school and in the whole world.
The group leaders should walk around and help the children figure out what the symbol will be, what to write or draw. Help with ideas, and encourage the children that what they are doing is good.
Make sure nobody is laughed at. That is absolutely forbidden.
It is just as well if somebody plans to start doing good after graduating from university. It is not important to come up with practical ideas, but to awaken the desire in our hearts to do something to make the world a better place, so that we can experience the kingdom of God here and now.
In the Mass at the “Lord have mercy” The priest will call the children to place their stones to the two sides of the aisle leading up to the altar. The group leaders will help them.
It is best to have a guitar, singing the happy songs the groups learnt earlier. Arrange a projector and show all the songs and the responses of the Mass.
The group leaders sit with their groups during Mass and help them with the responses and the songs.
Priest: „and lead us to life everlasting.” Response: „Amen.” Priest (before the song): „ We have confessed our sins and repented, we want to walk on the way of righteousness. So please all who painted signs that lead to God’s kingdom on little stones…, everybody who made signs for the road that leads to goodness, bring their stones and place them on both sides of the aisle leading up to the altar.” Song: “Lord have mercy...”
After the sermon and the prayer the priest says: „The kingdom of God has already come and is here among us. We can see the good and beautiful things here. He gave us the wheat to make bread that will become the Body of Christ on the altar. He created the grapes for us to make wine that will become the Blood of Christ on the altar. As we sing, please bring your flowers… bring all the good and beautiful things for which we can be grateful and happy. These things show to us that the kingdom of God is already here. As God gives us something even more wonderful through the bread and wine, may these little flowers make God’s love real to us. ”
Priest: „...we sing… and while we sing, I would like to ask the youngest children to bring their pictures. Their pictures show each request we pray in the Lord’s prayer. Their colorful pictures show what we all think about the heavenly Father, our good God for whom we sing now together with all the angels.” Song: “Holy, holy..."
Beszéljünk erről is, mert lehet, hogy a helyi hagyományok nem ismerik, vagy nem úgy ismerik, ahogy mi szoktuk.
Például felvezethetjük így:
After the Holy Communion and the prayer you can say thanks to everybody, make announcements and close the retreat.
Ask the priest to give a longer, more solemn blessing at the end. He may choose one from the Missal.
t is very beautiful to have a great procession at the end. The group leaders can join the Assistance after the crossbearer and the candle bearers. The acolytes, concelebrant fathers and the celebrant priest will follow after.
The group leaders together proceed from here to the closing discussion.
The group leaders and the organizers of the retreat have a 30 minute reflection and sharing right after the Holy mass and before lunch.
Thank you for your service!