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The Congregational Milestones Blessing Bowl is a great way to celebrate each important milestones in the congregation.
The hand-painted stones help visually remind congregations of the significance of a child’s faith milestones, such as baptism, entering Sunday school, first communion, confirmation, graduation, and premarriage. These beautiful remembrances will keep congregations rejoicing over special events long after they happen.
SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO USE THE CONGREGTIONAL BLESSING BOWL
- Use the Congregational Milestones Blessing Bowl for devotions. Pass the bowl, inviting each attendee to select a stone, sharing a story about what a particular milestone meant and continues to mean in their life in Christ. Perfect for:
- Congregational Staff retreats
- Adult Bible study or Sunday school
- Faith Formation Team meetings
- Christian Education Team meetings
- Children and Family Team meetings
- Milestones Ministry Team meeting
- Purchase a bowl for every child baptized in your congregation. At baptism, give the parents the bowl and baptism stone. For the first baptism anniversary, give that stone, as the family and faith family mark that milestone together. Give the other stones, one at a time for each subsequent milestone. Invite the family to leave the bowl and stones out as a way to initiate family conversations about the significance of each milestone in the life of the child.
- If the congregation does not give the bowl and stone in this way, consider this as a gift the parents, grandparents, or baptismal sponsor or godparent gives the child.
- For a Sunday school or confirmation class, use the bowl and stones as appropriate in lessons helping children/youth understand the importance of each milestone.
- Use in a Getting Ready for Marriage class as a conversation starter to help engaged couples begin to talk about their faith story…and discuss how they would like to continue and deepen this faith life together.
- Use in a New Member class as a conversation starter to help new members begin to talk about their faith story…and discuss how they would like to continue and deepen this faith life together.
• Use as a preview during a pre-Baptism Class, describing how all faith milestones are related to Baptism.
- Use in a Christian parenting class or support group to help parents understand and live the promises God made to their child in Baptism and the promises they made on behalf of the child in Baptism.
- Use one stone a month as a topic of an article in the congregation’s newsletter, to help refresh the members’ awareness of the promises that they as a congregation made to each child baptized in their midst.
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