Extended opening prayer

It is important that we understand our Circle of Grace. We listened to Scripture tell us of Jesus' promise to come to us, that the Holy Spirit of God would dwell within us and be with us. We use our arms to help imagine just how close God is to us at all times:

Raise your hands above your head, then bring your outstretched arms slowly down.
Extend your arms in front of you and then behind you embrace all the space around you slowly reach down to your feet. Knowing that God is in this space with you. This is your Circle of Grace; you are in it.

Jesus told us that he would always love us always be with us. If God is always with us, we are always in a special, holy place. That place is our Circle of Grace. This is the place the Holy Spirit is with us and within us. God is with us because he desires a close relationship with us.

Everyone will take a puzzle piece and make it into something that will help the rest of us understand more about who you are. You can draw on it or use words...decorate your puzzle piece with those things that say something about the real you. Then cut out the puzzle piece and write your name on the back.

How you form a whole is interesting and colorful

Notice how each piece adds something special. Without any one piece there would be a whole - something missing. Each piece represents one of you.

The whole puzzle represents our community and our world. Each young person is a special, interesting part of that community and world. Each of you adds something the rest of us need.

The puzzle piece that each of you created is a symbol of yourselves. These symbols deserve respect. How do we show respect for them?

How do we show this same respect for each other?

Notice that the pieces fit together. As we begin to discover where we fit in the world, we make authentic connections with others called relationships.

Healthy relationships are those in which the Circle of Grace of ourselves and others is respected.

We feel honored and valuable as Children of God. These relationships help us to be safe and to be the person God desires us to be.

We all have many relationships. We have relationships with our parents, our brothers, and sisters. Who are some of the people that we have relationships with?
(Leaders, friends, coaches, bus driver, other relatives, classmates, etc.)

How can we tell when a relationship is safe? What is it like to have your Circle of Grace respected and valued?
(Doesn't require a response)

God has given us signals to help us know when we are safe, valued and respected. They are called feelings and are one of the ways the Holy Spirit helps us.

Create a chart entitled "Actions and words" Allow the young people to name actions and words that are safe and belong in your Circle of Grace after responding to the following...

After the list is complete, ask the young people to talk about how these actions and/or words might make them feel.

Can you see the connection between the way people treat you how you feel? Our feelings are signals from God about what is going on inside us. They are neither good nor bad. Feelings give us information about ourselves and our world. We should pay attention to them, name them, and talk to God about them.

Would everyone respond the same way to the same action? Probably not. Why? Perhaps it is because we are all different. But one thing we have in common is that God gave us the ability to decide how we will respond. We can ask the Holy Spirit to help us to know how to respond in a way that keeps us safe and also respects others. We cannot control how others act and talk but we can decide how we are going to act.