50 Prayer Services for Middle Schoolers... for Every Season of the Church and More

by Connie Clark

Overview

Here you'll find creative prayer services that help middle schoolers explore God, their faith, and the complexities of adolescence. These prayer services require little preparation, so you can focus on helping your students discover that God's immense love for them is here to stay—long after middle school is over.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781585958764
Publisher:	Twenty-Third Publications/Bayard
Publication date:	07/28/2012
Pages:	139
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 10.80(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Connie Clark is the author of several books for young people, including 12 Fun and Easy Plays for Middle Schoolers, and A Prayerbook for Confirmation Candidates, both from Twenty-Third Publications. She is a volunteer catechist at St. Kilian Church in Mission Viejo, California, where she lives with her husband and two sons.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Life in the middle ages 1

Part 1 Seasonal Prayers

Starting the school year

Beginning Candlelight blessing 6

"Chill" with Mom 8

Designing our own place for God 10

Can anything good come from this? 12

Hello, I'm praying for you today 14

I am (much more than) a rock: Prayer for our Church family 16

Fall feasts and remembrances

Peace begins with me 18

Signs of the cross (Exaltation of the Holy Cross, September 14) 21

Not your grandmother's angels: A lectio divina exercise (Feast of the Archangels, September 29) 23

Nine to one: A one-day novena (St. Thérèse of Lisieux, October 1) 25

It's all good (St. Francis of Assisi, October 4) 29

Christ in the mirror (St. Teresa of Avila, October 15) 31

A litany of saints, sort of (All Saints, November 1) 33

We honor the dead: A classroom shrine (All Souls, November 2) 36

We honor the dead: A bulb planting memorial (All Souls, November 2) 38

Thanksgiving shout-out 41

Advent and December

Four for faith: Advent wreath weekly prayer services

Week 1: A light in the darkness 43

Week 2: Wake up! 46

Week 3: Let it shine 49

Week 4: A mom's love 51

Service project blessing (St. Nicholas, December 6) 53

¡Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe! (Our Lady of Guadalupe, December 12) 56

Is this the place? A Nativity scene blessing 60

Christmas time and winter

Celebrating Christmas in January (Feast of the Epiphany) 63

"Who's my neighbor?" 66

Jesus in disguise 68

Prayer for the sick 70

Social justice prayer: World Day of Social Justice 73

Good-bye, alleluia (Mardi Gras) 75

Lent

The Colors of Lent (Ash Wednesday) 78

Wailing Wall: Student-created prayer services

Session 1 80

Session 2 83

Session 3 85

Lenten saint day meditations

A valentine from Jesus 87

Hello, Patrick 90

And hello, St. Joseph (Solemnity of St. Joseph, March 19) 92

Holy Week

Palm Sunday journey prayer 95

All you've got (Holy Thursday) 97

What's so good about this Friday? (Good Friday) 100

Easter and Pentecost

Easter celebration 102

Mary crowning 105

Spirit party prayer service (Pentecost) 108

Part 2 Anytime Prayers

Beach ball prayer 112

My status update 114

Tied up in knots 116

Wait. What? A meditation on distractions 118

Becoming me 120

The Beatitudes: Climbing toward God's kingdom, one step at a time 122

Be not afraid (Prayer in national emergency, disaster, or stress) 126

Coming together: Petition service 128

Appendix 1 Essentials 130

Appendix 2 Handouts 133