Environmental Stewardship Commission

Activities relating to the Semi-Continuous Track readings in Job

Job is a complex book. A month-long study group could do well to tackle this.

Older youth could read it and create a drama. It is so divided into parts anyway. Youth could invent their own dialog summarizing the ideas. Then invite the entire parish for a locally grown meal or a Hunger Awareness meal.

Our culture denies real feelings of grief and pain. This book brings them to light. Perhaps younger children would recognize times when they were so sad and felt far from God. Perhaps friends and family ignored them or tried to talk them out of their real feelings. How does it feel to hurt and feel so bad that sackcloth and ashes are all one feels? Time for some discussion and pictures might help if a grief situation is present.

Building on the idea of land, what and whose it is, could include:

• A large mural of land around the church
• What is in the dirt around, the soil, rocks, trees, animals
• Where is it in the community, the county, or the city/town
• Who lives near; who used to live there? What indigenous folks used to live there? Do you know any? Are you one?
• What use was made of the land? Lumber, farms, mines, grazing?
• A timeline of information could be built.
• Collections from field trips of the building, the block, the local park or the children's homes
• A visit from a local geologist
• A visit from a farmer or person who mines or cuts timbers or works on the land, especially in sustainable agriculture
• Collect apples, pumpkins, corn, grain, or other fruit and make something for coffee hour our shut-ins
• Schedule a locally grown meal as a culmination of harvest with Hallowe'en
• Write Prayers of the People that reflect local land produce and issues
• What places might be sacred -- to folks of the past and the present and to you?
• Which places occur in Native American creation and other stories

Some other ideaas to consider:

• Talk about how we talk to God. Would we get mad as Job did? What do we think God does for us? How does that change, or could it?
• Could we write a psalm or canticle of thanks for the land where we live?