WRITING A TRIBUTE
S.A.Y. Yes! Teen Center Week 3
If you went to any of the services at church for Jon Moore, or if you were at S.A.Y. Yes! when
we talked about his death, you’ve probably heard a lot of people share how much he meant to
them and the way he impacted their lives…maybe you even had a chance to share something! A
tribute can be either spoken (like at the services for Jon) or written, and is a way to honor
someone by sharing about their life and the ways they have affected your life.
This week you have the chance to write a tribute to someone expressing how much they mean to
you. If there were things about Jon that you would have liked to share, you can write a tribute
to him. Perhaps hearing people share about Jon has made you think of someone in your life that
you would like to honor. The person you write about can be alive, or it can be someone who
has passed away.
Note: this completed assignment is worth 15 SY$
1. Choose the person about whom you will write your tribute. Write his or her name here:
_____________________________
2. Think about what you will do with your tribute when you finish it.
 If the person you are writing about is still alive, it would mean a lot to them if you
gave the tribute to them. Think of how encouraging it would have been for Jon to
be able to hear all those things people shared about him!
 If the person has passed away, are there living family members who would be
blessed to read your memories of this person?
 If you write about Jon, it would be cool to make a copy for his family.
 If you are going to give your tribute to a family member who only speaks Spanish,
think about whether you want to write it in Spanish, or write it in English and
translate it (let us know if you need help doing this).
3. Think about and write down your memories of this person. Turn to the next page and
answer as many of the questions as you can.
4. Decide which memories you want to write about. Turn to the chart on the last page and
write down the memories or character qualities (things about this person) that you want
to include. Then for each one, write a short statement next to it the way you would want
to describe this memory or quality in your tribute.
5. Write your tribute! Think about whether you want to write it by hand or on the
computer, what kind of paper to use, what colors to use, if you want to include a photo
or something else that reminds you of the person. Also decide the order in which you
want to write about each memory or quality of this person’s life. Use the statements you
wrote out on the chart.
6. Give your tribute to the person you wrote about or someone who knew that person and
would like to read about your memories.
Questions to Answer:
1. What do you like best about this person?
2. What has knowing this person done for you?
3. What is your favorite memory of this person?
4. What meaningful conversations have you had with this person?
5. What was the funniest moment you experienced with this person?
6. What do you admire about this person?
7. What character qualities did this person model for you?
8. What have you learned from this person?
9. Other memories: