Coloring as Spiritual Practice

This morning the kids shared another Children's Ministry Moment in worship -- a group speech followed by passing around baskets of crayons to everyone in the pews. We also included the image below as an insert in the bulletin with the heading:

MEDITATE. CREATE. LET YOUR SPIRIT PLAY.

This Lent, we tried different spiritual practices.

[Some of the kids] taught us a body prayer that their class does in Sunday school. There's a pose for each line of the prayer.

And Kimberley showed us how to be mindful of our breathing. We breathed in God's goodness and we breathed out fear, sadness, and anger.

But our favorite spiritual practice is the one that came most naturally to us: coloring! Did you know coloring is a spiritual practice for people of all ages?

Coloring can improve focus, reduce stress and anxiety, and provide a means of self-expression beyond words. Mandalas are particularly good for meditation because symmetry and repetition center the mind and spirit.

Many Christians and people of traditions around the world design and color mandalas. Today, there's one in your bulletin for you to color during worship and take home with you.

We've got crayons for everyone, too. So go ahead and color. Not that you need it, but you have our permission!