Intergenerational MLK Day

Thanks to Jennifer Anschutz of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership for reporting on Maria-Pia Seirup’s leadership at Jesse Lee Memorial United Methodist Church, Connecticut.

The article is a simple outline for creating your own intergenerational day of service to honor and celebrate Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Start with purpose:

• Start the conversation and awareness-building in worship:
  • Find preaching resources here.
  • Find liturgical resources here.
• Provide all-ages learning opportunities – especially highlighting that King was a spiritual leader and that “the civil rights movement was a spiritual calling and a grassroots effort largely based in churches”
• Find resources in our lib guides, including:
  • For Children & Families:
    • History of Race in America
    • Antiracism/White Supremacy
  • For Tweens & Teens:
    • Anti-Racism & White Supremacy
    • Curricula
    • Diversity
    • Mindfulness, Compassion, & Healing
    • Perspectives & Stories
    • Speakers, Webinars, & Training
  • For Adults:
    • MLK & Civil Rights Era
    • Past & Present
    • Current Events & Movements
    • Small Group Study Guides
    • Restorative Justice

Provide kid-friendly service activities:

• Connect learning to exploration of how participants, too, can live out King’s legacy of participating in civic improvement

Start small:

• bag lunches are suggested in the article, but the sky’s the limit
• additional tasks have been added over the years to accommodate a growing number of participants

Offer a break from the busyness – some children will need an alternative from the activity and noise:

• a storybook station (suggested by the article)
• prayer station (alternative; include prompts or focal points appropriate to the themes of the day/action)
• coloring station (alternative; include images appropriate to the theme of the action)

Engage volunteers of all ages:

• adults shop, prep, teach, supervise, and deliver finished products
• youth lead participants to various stations, assist with smaller children, etc.
• elders teach essential crafting/sewing skills (see article for details)

Encourage financial donations.

Invite the community:

• As we often suggest in Great Ideas: don’t limit participation to congregational members; invite the whole, broader community!!!

End on a high note.

• Share success, goals met, etc.
• Celebrate with a blessing or commissioning of end products and gratitude for participants
• Remember and highlight the connection between what has been accomplished in your day of activity and the work of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Build connections. Be intentional about:

• networking with the broader community in supporting organizations doing essential equity work
• intergenerational participation
• inviting the broader community

Read the full article here.