Faith To Go Podcast: Money and Discomfort
Hosted each week by the Faith Formation team at St. Paul's Cathedral in San Diego, David Tremaine, Maya Little-Sana and Jackie Pippin, the Faith To Go Podcast highlight themes from the Sunday Gospel reading for you to take into your conversations throughout the week.
Activity Time: Offering Can
Supplies: Small box or can, felt or construction paper, glue, scissors, markers
Help children to wrap the box or can with construction paper or felt. Draw and decorate the construction paper or felt. Have the children place any loose pennies in the can. Every so often when there is a handful of change, you can have a conversation about what to place in the offering at church.
What does it feel like to give?
What do we gain when we give?
How does our church benefit from a community of giving?
Story Time: Gospel Reading and Reflection
Watch this video together and then use the discussion questions below to reflect as a family.
Discussion Questions:
1) How do they collect the offering at St. Paul’s?
2) How would it feel to have people watching you give your offering?
3) Why did the rich people wait till there were many people at the temple?
4) What do you think those people bought before they brought their leftover money to the temple?
5) Why does Jesus want us to give up some things?
6) What did the woman do?
7) How did the woman give more than the rich men?
Dinner Time: Long Robes
Below is a prayer with which to start your meal and then discussion questions to explore this week’s topic with your family while you eat.
Prayer- God who traces my coming in and my going out,Give me confidence and hope.Keep me safe from darkness.Bless those who cross my path.Help me see your light in all people.
Questions:
What is something you love to show off?
How might that distract you from what you’re supposed to be doing?
What are the people in the Gospel trying to show us?
Which person does Jesus want us to be like?
How can we be more like that person
Bedtime: Reflections for Children at the End of the Day
During your bedtime routine, invite your children into a time of reflection about their day, maybe by saying, "Did you know that God really wants to know what happened in your day today, and that God is always listening whenever you need to tell God something?" Then continue with these questions:
1) What are some things that happened today that you want to tell God about?
2) What is one happy thing that happened today? What is one sad thing that happened today?
3) Did you see God or feel God with you when those things were happening? Where did you see or feel God when those things happened today?
4) Read to your children this week’s scripture selection, then ask the questions that follows.
Mark 12:38-44
Jesus was in the temple teaching, and said, “Watch out for those people who like to walk around in fancy robes and have the best seats in church or at dinner parties. They love the publicity they get when someone spots them in public. They pray long prayers, as long as people are listening to them. They take away from poor widows who don’t have very much anyway.” Jesus watched people putting money into the temple treasury. Many rich people came and put in a great deal of money. Then a poor widow came and put in two little coins, which weren’t worth very much. It was all she had. And she gave it to God. Jesus told his disciples about her, saying, “Some people can afford to give a lot because they have even more. But this woman, she gave her heart and all she had to God.”
Did the story remind you of anything that happened in your day today?
5) What are some things that you want to tell God that you are grateful for today?
Share some of your conversations in the comments below: