Muddy Easter Trails for Holy Week
DDYC has given out 550 Muddy Easter Keyring Trails to sixteen of our parishes. The trail will help children and families ‘wander and wonder’ at the Easter story which is at the heart of our Christian faith.
Thanks go to the Children’s Ministry Network for Ireland who accessed funding from the Church of Ireland Board of Education and printed 2,000 Muddy Easter trails. Fifty parishes in seven dioceses took up the trails to use during Holy Week.
The great news is that, even if you haven’t received a keyring Easter Trail you can click here to download a copy for yourself.
Our Children’s Development Officer Julie Currie shares some Ideas for connecting with your families through the Easter Trails:
If your parish isn’t Zoom fatigued, try an online event to launch and to close the trail at the beginning and end of Holy Week. If there was a way to distribute chocolate (maybe mini–eggs?) to mark the end of the trail, even better! You could use the mini–eggs as part of a creative prayer idea.
You might want to set up a WhatsApp group for families to send in pictures of the things they find or the conversations that arise from using the trail cards. Some of the pictures might be used as part of an online service, with permission. However, it is great to be able to encourage people to leave the phones and cameras tucked away.
Use the WhatsApp group to connect throughout Holy Week and share a piece of the story each day, praying a blessing on your families as they wander and wonder.
The trail can be used by individuals and by families who don’t have young children. Are you feeling tired and stretched? Choose two things from the prompt cards – one about your surroundings and one about God – and head out for a wander.
There are many more trails available on the Muddy Church website: https://www.muddychurch.co.uk/
What a great way to let families know that they are seen, they are known, and they are loved this Easter!