Throughout the church year, the children enrolled in our religious education program have been documenting their “magical” acts of kindness, creativity, courage and persistence. For every act of magic they have committed, we have deposited a color-coded “gem” into a tube in our Sanctuary during our worship service. During the month of May, grown-ups will have the opportunity to earn magical gems, too. There will be a container in the church entrance foyer where all will be invited (and encouraged) to note acts of courage, imagination, persistence and kindness on a slip of paper. Then the appropriately colored gemstone will be placed in the container to be added to our tube. (Don’t worry, we’ll tell you which color is which!) Volunteers will be solicited to share their magical acts with the congregation during the children’s story time. Please support the work our children have been doing and risk publicizing your efforts! They need models of what it means to be religious people who make magic in the world.

Ideas:

Kindness: (red) mow a neighbor’s lawn, put money in a stranger’s parking meter, write an appreciation note for someone, develop the practice of saying thank you and offering complements to bus drivers, librarians, or grocery store clerks, offer your seat to a pregnant woman, babysit for a neighbor’s kids, play a game with a child, adopt a foster child, share your time, money or resources …

Creativity: (blue) think outside the box, knit a sweater, solve a problem, take an art class, write a poem, sing in our choir, tell a story, sculpt, paint …

Courage: (yellow) tell the truth, stand up for someone, sing or speak publicly, try something new, go bungee jumping or sky diving, make a change in your life that’s scary, volunteer to share your magical act with the congregation during the children’s story time …

Persistence: (silver) stick with a difficult project, write to your congressperson every day, learn a new skill (Note: combine this with courage and/or creativity!), start a new diet or exercise program (magic can be good for you, too!), join a church committee …