Unit 5 The Church Welcomes all
Nations
Theme 13: God Chooses a
People
What words come to mind as you focus on the word “star”? Please make a word
cluster around the star.
A star gives off its own light. The sun, the greatest star in our solar system,
illuminates or lights up all the other planets, including our earth.
A star is for everyone. It is for all people. All on earth see the same stars at
night. All look to the sky and wonder sometimes at its vastness and wonderful
brilliance. The heavens are there for everyone.
he Magi ( Matthew 2. 1-12)
1. Who were the visitors?
2. From where did the visitors come?
3. What were they looking for?
4. What did they bring with them as gifts?
5. Why is the story of their visit so important?
6. What does Epiphany celebrate?
Epiphany is a Greek word meaning “manifestation, revealing, making apparent.”
WE THREE KINGS
We three kings of Orient are
Bearing gifts we traverse afar
Field and fountain, moor and mountain
Following yonder star
O Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to thy Perfect Light
Born a King on Bethlehem's plain
Gold I bring to crown Him again
King forever, ceasing never
Over us all to rein
O Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to Thy perfect light
Frankincense to offer have I
Incense owns a Deity nigh
Pray'r and praising, all men raising
Worship Him, God most high
O Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to Thy perfect light
Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume
Breathes of life of gathering gloom
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying
Sealed in the stone-cold tomb
O Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to Thy perfect light
Glorious now behold Him arise
King and God and Sacrifice
Alleluia, Alleluia
Earth to heav'n replies
The liturgy of Epiphany
Look at the drawings on pg 84-85 of your May We Be One textbook to identify
the stories.
1. The first story tells how the __________ __________ , led by the
_________, came to the house of ____________ and _____________.
Event eh stars help to bring people to _____________.
2. The second story tells the story of Jesus’ _______________ in the
___________, when the ___________________ comes upon him. God
points Jesus out as the beloved _____________. Jesus gives us God’s
welcome.
3. A third story is that of the ______________________
_________________ at __________ where Jesus shows the glory of God
in creating a superabundance of ___________. As a saint once remarked,
God made enough wine at Cana that people from all time could have
something to drink. We are all invited to God’s ___________.
God loves us and all people!
Covenant
The texts from the Bible reflect a special relationship or agreement between God
and people. The word that describes this relationship is “covenant.”
Covenants are like treaties or agreements among people or nations, in which one
person or nation promises to protect another in return for certain commitments.
When God makes a covenant, it is like an adoption. God makes the first move
toward people, particularly toward people in need who can no longer help
themselves. God offers to come to their help and to adopt them as God’s own.
In some cases, God offers covenants our of pure love and friendship, offering
new possibilities and asking nothing in return except trust. At other times, God
expects people to respond by accepting God’s guidance in life. The people who
accepted God’s free initiative became the people of the covenant.
1. Why does God make covenants?
2. What does God do in a covenant?
3. What happens as a result of the covenant?
Abraham and Sarah
This is beautiful story of living with God and trusting God. Abraham believed in
God’s promise. That is why Abraham is called our ancestor in Faith. In his faith,
he made our faith possible.
Read pages 88-89 from the text. Retell in your own word the story of Abraham
and Sarah and draw a picture to illustrate it.
Isaac
Isaac, the son who was born to Abraham and Sarah, was a living example of God’s
promise—of God’s covenant with a people. Read Genesis 22-23. Then record what
else you learned about Issac.
Song #10 God’s Covenant—highlight the covenant words in the song.
Moses
Many, many years later, the family of Abraham and Sarah’s son, Isaac, had grown
into a large people called the Hebrews. Because they were starving, these people
had gone to live in Egypt. Life was very hard for the Hebrews. The Egyptians
made the Hebrews slaves and ordered that all their male children be drowned,
because there were so many Hebrews. But one boy escaped. His name was Moses.
He went on to become a special person in many ways. His story is recorded in the
bible.
Researching the Moses story:
Refer to pg. 90 in your May we Be One textbooks and read the scripture passages
about Moses and the Exodus. Record the 10 plagues of Egypt.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Draw pictures of each plague in the circles and label and color.
On eagle’s wings
The Scriptures use the image of God as an eagle protecting Isreal. God found
them wandering through the desert, a desolate wind-swept wilderness. God
protected them and cared for them…Like an eagle teaching its young to fly,
catching them safely on its spreading wings, the Lord kept Isreal from falling.
(Deuteronomy 32.10-11)
Draw an image of this passage on the next page.
Theme 14: God is Faithful
We are going to share a story about one the ancestors who belonged to Jesus’
family tree her name is Ruth and she was the great-grand-mother of King David.
You need to listen to the message of God’s faithfulness and welcoming in the story
of Ruth.
The story starts in Judah, a land belonging to the Jewish people. Across the
Jordon River was Moab, where non-Jew, or Gentiles, lived. As you’ve learned
already, many Jews of that time looked down on foreigners. The author of the
Book of Ruth was proclaiming a stronger message: “Race does not count with God.”
It is traditional for Jews to read the Book of Ruth around the Jewish festival of
Shavuhot because it has a harvest setting.e
The story begins with a famine in the land of Judah. For months and months
there was no rain. Nothing would grow, and so people were starving.
Continue to read the story in your May We Be One books on page 92 and 93. Then
talk about the questions at the bottom on page 93.
The story of Jonah is similar to Ruth to show that God loves and welcomes people
of all races and nations. With a partner read the story of Jonah on pages 94 – 96
in your May We Be One books. When you have finished reading it with your
partner decide if you would like to represent the story in a mural or a story
cartoon.
Read page 97 in your May We Be One books together as a class, it is a prayer of
remembering. Then you will need to create your own prayer of remembering to
take home and share with your family. Be sure to add family, friends and others
to your list.
Theme 15: The Lord Welcomes
all Nations
God’s invitation to the Magi who were strangers, through the star, is a sign that
all of us are called to read out toward nations, recognizing that God is in everyone.
We are going to complete the black line masters 15-20 on the different
geographical regions of the world. Be sure to read the information about the
region on the sheets before starting.
We are going to read page 100 in our May We Be One books to look at how
Christianity spread across Canada. Using the map on the next page add the cities
and the date the diocese was founded.
We will need to find out about our own diocese, there are some questions on page
101 of our May We Be One books. We may find some answers from the following
website http://www.sjchurch.ab.ca/ or we may need to write a letter to St.
Joseph’s church to get some of them answered.