Today is/was Good Friday for millions of Christians in the West, a day that commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus.
But the holiday, in conjunction with Easter on Sunday, presents a challenge to ministers, religious educators and parents: How should adults convey the message of death and suffering to children?
By making sure to tell the end of the story, answers Marjorie Connolly, religion teacher at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church and School in Houston. “Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again — this is the mystery of our faith,” she says. “Death is not the end of the story.”
Connolly uses Jesus’ parables to convey the serious realities of death, suffering and life. Children, especially younger kids, enjoy the simple story of the good shepherd, for example, in which the shepherd’s great love for the sheep makes him willing to risk his life to save them from danger. Or the parable of the seed — unless the seed goes into the dirt and dies, the new plant cannot come to life. These stories convey the theme of life, death and resurrection in a way that kids can understand.
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