Hi Kids!
As Christians today, we celebrate Pentecost as the birthday of the church. Pentecost originated as a Jewish festival. Pentecost was on of three pilgrimage feasts when Jews gather in Jerusalem. Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the gift of the Holy Spirit sent by God. It was a time of uncertainty for Jesus’ followers. It is likely they were anxious and scared. During this time of waiting in Jerusalem, the disciples and other followers of Jesus where celebrating Pentecost. While they were celebrating, the Holy Spirit arrived. Watch the story below to learn more.
When the Holy Spirit arrived, not everyone was convinced immediately of the Spirit’s presence. Many people were shocked, surprised, and confused. Who wouldn’t be after learning they could understand other people’s languages? Many wondered what all this might mean. The Holy Spirit did not come just to the disciples, but to each person gathered there. The Spirit empowered God’s people and gave them the courage to continue to spread the good news about Jesus. We may not hear rushing wind or see flames of fire descending on one another, but God’s Spirit continues to empower us and give us the courage to do God’s work.
To celebrate Pentecost, we are going to recreate flames over our heads as described in the story when the Holy Spirit descended upon the people in Jerusalem.
What you’ll need:
- Download and print this template for the flames and the headband that make up our crowns: Pentecost_FireCrown
- Scissors;
- Red, orange, and yellow construction paper (can use plain paper, preferably thicker, to color with markers or crayons);
- Glue.
Instructions:
- Cut out all the pieces from the template you printed.
- Use the flame pieces as templates to trace them onto red, yellow, and orange construction paper.
- Cut out the flame pieces and glue the pieces together. Glue the small flame on top of the medium flame then the medium flame on top of the large flame.
- Grab the rectangle templates and trace the larger pieces onto the color of your choice and the smaller piece onto red construction paper. You will need three of each.
- Glue the smaller pieces to the larger pieces. Then glue the assembled parts together creating one long band.
- Glue the flame to the center of the band.
- Wrap the band around your head. Once you have the desired length, use a few paper clips or a piece of tape to hold the shape. Then add glue to set it in place.
- Once you are done, you should have a fire crown that looks similar to the picture below:
