Standard Sunday School Lesson

Mary Kate | | Comments (0)

Try these discussion topics and activities with your 12-14 year olds for your Thanksgiving lesson rather than the standard Sunday school lesson. Your class will provide some thoughtful discussions about religion and the freedom to practice one’s religion, in addition to the more traditional topics of what they should be thankful for.

Story:
For today’s lesson you will need to bring a version of the first Thanksgiving and a story that recounts why the Pilgrims chose to come to America. Either tell this yourself, or ask a student(s) to read them to the class for you.

Discussion 1:
What does the class understand about the reasons the Pilgrims left their home country – leaving their families, friends, homes, a way of life that was familiar to them – and taking what was then a dangerous, hazardous journey to a new country which was little more than a wilderness? Have the students think of themselves in a situation where they did not choose to worship God in a way that was law in their home country and so rather than do what they did not believe, they chose to move to a new land – remembering that this was in a time before fast transportation and very limited communication.

Activity 1:
With this in mind, give each student a piece of paper and have them choose one of two options.

You are a reporter standing on the beach as the Pilgrims start to disembark. What do the Pilgrims tell you of their reasons for leaving England and their journey to this new land?

Or

Write a letter home to a family member left behind explaining why you have chosen to make this journey across the ocean.

Discussion 2:
What is religious freedom? Do we really have it? What about other countries in the world.

Although many countries now have the same religious freedom as America has, there are still some which persecute people who do not follow the same religion as their country has decided all citizens must follow. What must it be like to live in such a country today – knowing that around the world, this is not the case for the majority of other people? Do the students think that those people who, for example, are Christians living in a Muslim country and who make the decision to move to a predominantly Christian country, or at least a country that allows religious freedom, face a similar kind of experience today as the Pilgrims experienced all those years ago? Do any of the students have a family experience of this kind, or know someone at school who is an immigrant to America on religious grounds?

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