√ Egg carton, glue, green paint or markers, green paper or paper, option of googly eyes
√ For very young children you might use a children’s Bible with the Genesis 1 creation story; older children will be able to participate in the reading of Genesis 1 included below
√ For very young children you might use a children’s Bible with the Genesis 1 creation story; older children will be able to participate in the reading of Genesis 1 included below
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Take a moment to centre yourselves and arrive together. If you have small children, you might specifically invite them to take five deep breaths.
Light a Candle
Opening Prayer
Spirit of Love, you are with us always. We ask for open hearts and open minds as we seek to live in a way that honours the earth and all her children. Amen.
Spirit of Love, you are with us always. We ask for open hearts and open minds as we seek to live in a way that honours the earth and all her children. Amen.
Song: God Bless Every Step
Truth is represented by the turtle as it was here during the creation of Earth and carries the teachings of life on its back. The turtle lives life in a slow and meticulous manner because it understands the importance of both the journey and the destination. Truth is to know all of these things. Apply faith and trust in your teachings. Show honor and sincerity in all that you say and do. Understand your place in this life and apply that understanding in the way that you walk. Be true to yourself and all other things (The Seven Grandfather Teachings: Truth, Uniting Three Fires Against Violence).
Gallery Paintings
Take time to explore the art entitled “Truth” in the online exhibition. Sift through the artist reflections as the age and stage of any children present allows.
What do you notice about the artwork? What do you wonder about the artwork?
Bible Reflection
The word “truth” comes up many times in the Bible, especially in the Gospel of John where Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (14:6). Sometimes this gets interpreted to mean that those who follow Jesus are right and all others are wrong. But, more generally, in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, truth is associated with knowing God’s ways and living in them. For example, Psalm 25:5 reads “Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” In the Gospel of John, Jesus says that the freedom found in truth is experienced by actively following the teachings he offers about God’s ways.
John 8:31-32
31 Then Jesus said to [those] who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
31 Then Jesus said to [those] who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
The word for “disciples” in Greek literally means “those who learn.” This suggests that knowing the “truth” is not a one-time thing, but a continuous part of spiritual life.
The Hebrew tradition has a layered and complex understanding of truth, or “emet.” Emet can mean faithfulness, steadfastness, that which is firm and supporting (Benner). Truth is not a static “thing,” but it is that which endures. It is relational, a quality of God in all circumstances. Humans are called to walk in truth and to attempt to live lives that reflect the deepest enduring supporting truths. This truth is to live in one’s heart, written upon it as enduring law (Prov. 3:3-6; Pls 15:1-2). It is interesting that the word “emet” is comprised of the first, middle, and the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, suggesting that truth encompasses all things and endures from the beginning to the end.
Since truth in the Christian tradition draws upon Hebrew understandings, it is about learning deep wisdom through following in God’s ways. In doing so, we can follow turtle all the way back to the ‘first things’ in our tradition: the beginnings of life. One of the creation stories in Genesis repeatedly states that each element of creation is made “good” (Genesis 1).
I invite you to read Genesis 1 aloud from The Inclusive Bible, with everyone joining in the refrain “it was good!"
The Hebrew tradition has a layered and complex understanding of truth, or “emet.” Emet can mean faithfulness, steadfastness, that which is firm and supporting (Benner). Truth is not a static “thing,” but it is that which endures. It is relational, a quality of God in all circumstances. Humans are called to walk in truth and to attempt to live lives that reflect the deepest enduring supporting truths. This truth is to live in one’s heart, written upon it as enduring law (Prov. 3:3-6; Pls 15:1-2). It is interesting that the word “emet” is comprised of the first, middle, and the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, suggesting that truth encompasses all things and endures from the beginning to the end.
Since truth in the Christian tradition draws upon Hebrew understandings, it is about learning deep wisdom through following in God’s ways. In doing so, we can follow turtle all the way back to the ‘first things’ in our tradition: the beginnings of life. One of the creation stories in Genesis repeatedly states that each element of creation is made “good” (Genesis 1).
I invite you to read Genesis 1 aloud from The Inclusive Bible, with everyone joining in the refrain “it was good!"
Genesis 1 (Adapted from The Inclusive Bible)
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. But the earth became chaos and emptiness, and darkness came over the face of the Deep—yet the Spirit of God was brooding over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Light: Be!” and light was.
And …
God saw that this was good.
God separated light from darkness. God called the light “Day” and the darkness “Night.” Evening came, and morning followed—the first day. Then God said, “Now, make an expanse between the waters! Separate water from water!” So it was: God made the expanse and separated the water above the expanse from the water below it. God called the expanse “Sky.” And …
God saw that this was good.
Evening came, and morning followed—the second day. Then God said, “Waters under the sky: be gathered into one place! Dry ground: appear!” So it was. God called the dry ground “Earth” and the gathering of the waters “Sea.” And …
God saw that this was good.
Then God said, “Earth: produce vegetation—plants that scatter their own seeds, and every kind of fruit tree that bears fruit with its own seed in it!” So it was: the earth brought forth every kind of plant that bears seed, and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it. And…
God saw that this was good.
Evening came, and morning followed—the third day. Then God said, “Now, let there be lights in the expanse of the sky! Separate day from night! Let them mark the signs and seasons, days and years, and serve as luminaries in the sky, shedding light on the earth.” So it was: God made the two great lights, the greater one to illumine the day, and a lesser to illumine the night. Then God made the stars as well, placing them in the expanse of the sky, to shed light on the earth, to govern both day and night, and separate light from darkness. And…
God saw that this was good.
Evening came, and morning followed—the fourth day. God then said, “Waters: swarm with an abundance of living beings! Birds: fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky!” And so it was: God created great sea monsters and all sorts of swimming creatures with which the waters are filled, and all kinds of birds. And …
God saw that this was good.
And God blessed them, saying, “Bear fruit, increase your numbers, and fill the waters of the seas! Birds, abound on the earth!” Evening came, and morning followed—the fifth day. Then God said, “Earth: bring forth all kinds of living soul—cattle, things that crawl, and wild animals of all kinds!” So it was: God made all kinds of wild animals, and cattle, and everything that crawls on the ground. And…
God saw that this was good.
Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, to be like us. Let them be stewards of the fish in the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, the wild animals, and everything that crawls on the ground.” Humankind was created as God’s reflection: in the divine image God created them; female and male, God made them. And…
God saw that this was good.
God blessed them and said, “Bear fruit, increase your numbers, and fill the earth—and be responsible for it! Watch over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things on the earth!” God then told them, “Look! I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the earth, and every tree whose fruit carries its seed inside itself: they will be your food; and to all the animals of the earth and the birds of the air and things that crawl on the ground—everything that has a living soul in it—I give all the green plants for food.” So it was. God looked at all of this creation, and…
God saw that this was good.
Very good. Evening came, and morning followed—the sixth day.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. But the earth became chaos and emptiness, and darkness came over the face of the Deep—yet the Spirit of God was brooding over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Light: Be!” and light was.
And …
God saw that this was good.
God separated light from darkness. God called the light “Day” and the darkness “Night.” Evening came, and morning followed—the first day. Then God said, “Now, make an expanse between the waters! Separate water from water!” So it was: God made the expanse and separated the water above the expanse from the water below it. God called the expanse “Sky.” And …
God saw that this was good.
Evening came, and morning followed—the second day. Then God said, “Waters under the sky: be gathered into one place! Dry ground: appear!” So it was. God called the dry ground “Earth” and the gathering of the waters “Sea.” And …
God saw that this was good.
Then God said, “Earth: produce vegetation—plants that scatter their own seeds, and every kind of fruit tree that bears fruit with its own seed in it!” So it was: the earth brought forth every kind of plant that bears seed, and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it. And…
God saw that this was good.
Evening came, and morning followed—the third day. Then God said, “Now, let there be lights in the expanse of the sky! Separate day from night! Let them mark the signs and seasons, days and years, and serve as luminaries in the sky, shedding light on the earth.” So it was: God made the two great lights, the greater one to illumine the day, and a lesser to illumine the night. Then God made the stars as well, placing them in the expanse of the sky, to shed light on the earth, to govern both day and night, and separate light from darkness. And…
God saw that this was good.
Evening came, and morning followed—the fourth day. God then said, “Waters: swarm with an abundance of living beings! Birds: fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky!” And so it was: God created great sea monsters and all sorts of swimming creatures with which the waters are filled, and all kinds of birds. And …
God saw that this was good.
And God blessed them, saying, “Bear fruit, increase your numbers, and fill the waters of the seas! Birds, abound on the earth!” Evening came, and morning followed—the fifth day. Then God said, “Earth: bring forth all kinds of living soul—cattle, things that crawl, and wild animals of all kinds!” So it was: God made all kinds of wild animals, and cattle, and everything that crawls on the ground. And…
God saw that this was good.
Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, to be like us. Let them be stewards of the fish in the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, the wild animals, and everything that crawls on the ground.” Humankind was created as God’s reflection: in the divine image God created them; female and male, God made them. And…
God saw that this was good.
God blessed them and said, “Bear fruit, increase your numbers, and fill the earth—and be responsible for it! Watch over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things on the earth!” God then told them, “Look! I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the earth, and every tree whose fruit carries its seed inside itself: they will be your food; and to all the animals of the earth and the birds of the air and things that crawl on the ground—everything that has a living soul in it—I give all the green plants for food.” So it was. God looked at all of this creation, and…
God saw that this was good.
Very good. Evening came, and morning followed—the sixth day.
And it was good! What a deep first Truth! How might we live honouring the wholeness and goodness of creation as a most important first thing?
Citation: Benner, Jeff A. “Emet.” Ancient Hebrew Research Centre, 2022
Reflection Questions
What are the things that seem to you to be deepest truths? The things that feel in your gut like they are truest? How do you live them out? Do you see them represented in Christian tradition? In the traditions or behaviours of others?
Art Activity
As a reminder to look back at the first things and enduring things and to life as though they are true, make some egg carton turtles. Give them a prominent place in your home throughout this week. Find out more here.
Citation: Benner, Jeff A. “Emet.” Ancient Hebrew Research Centre, 2022
Reflection Questions
What are the things that seem to you to be deepest truths? The things that feel in your gut like they are truest? How do you live them out? Do you see them represented in Christian tradition? In the traditions or behaviours of others?
Art Activity
As a reminder to look back at the first things and enduring things and to life as though they are true, make some egg carton turtles. Give them a prominent place in your home throughout this week. Find out more here.
Song: For the Wholeness of the Earth
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Explore another page of the Home Engagement Resource rituals.
Simply click on the word/teaching you want to pursue.
Closing Prayer
May we journey with truth until we meet again. Amen.
May we journey with truth until we meet again. Amen.
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Explore another page of the Home Engagement Resource rituals.
Simply click on the word/teaching you want to pursue.