Time frame: 1 hour

Supplies needed: 1. Ball of Yarn (variegated, if possible) 2. Reflection question sheets 3. Pencils 4. Name tags, with names printed large and legibly

Room set-up: A registration or sign-in table, if one is needed. Chairs are set up at round tables or in small groups. If there are tables, on each one have a candle, reflection uestion sheets and pencils.

Suggestion for facilitator: If the group is large (over thirty people), you might wish to divide into two groups, which can engage in the yarn activity simultaneously.

Welcome and Introductions

The leader welcomes the group, and focuses them on the topic for the evening, which is "Living as the Body of Christ." Main points of the introduction should be:

• The three Sacraments of Initiation, by which we become members of Christ's body, are: Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist.
• Children learn to be Christ-like by living in families where good values are fostered, where people are treated with respect and compassion, where they learn to share, and where the Mass is part of the family rhythm.

At each table, ask the participants to introduce themselves by: Telling their name. Remembering their child's Baptism, and answering the question: What did you hope for your child on the day of his/her Baptism? Solicit large-group responses to the question.

Large group Activity

1. The leader invites the entire group to stand in a circle.

2. The leader instructs the participants that we are going to construct a web from the ball of yarn.

• In order for you to get into the circle, someone will throw the ball of yarn to you, calling out your name.
• When you receive the ball of yarn, you name one of your gifts or talents, hold onto the yarn with one hand, and then toss it across the circle to another participant, and so on until a web is formed.
• Talk a little bit about gifts and talents. Lots of people have talents. They are obvious, like being a good piano player, a good catcher or pitcher, being able to sing or being a good baker. Gifts can be a little more subtle. Some people are good storytellers. Some are good listeners. Some give good advice, are patient or compassionate. Some are trustworthy, or loyal, or good with the elderly or with children. All of these are needed in order to build up the Kingdom.
• The leader will start, naming a gift or talent, and tossing the ball of yarn across the circle to another participant.

3. When the web is formed:

• Invite the participants to observe the web. What do they see? What shapes are there? What about the colours?
• Ask the group to move the web around. What do they notice?
• Ask: How did you get to be part of this web? (You were invited, and you offered one of your gifts or talents.)
• Ask: How many people are you directly connected to? (2)
• Ask: How many are you indirectly connected to? (Everyone)
• Reflect with the group that this web is very much like the Christian community, the Body of Christ. We are closer to some people than others, but we are connected to every person.

4. Read 1 Corinthians:12:12-18

• Reflect with the group that every action we take affects others in the Body of Christ.
• The leader says, Let's see what happens when I do an act of kindness for name of person to whom the leader is directly connected in the web . The leader pulls on the yarn, making it very tight. Than the leader asks who in the circle can feel the tug. Those who can feel it raise their hands. The leader makes the point that our actions for good are felt beyond the person for whom the good was originally intended. There's a ripple effect.
• Then the leader points out that it's just the same when we do things that are not so good. For example, if I tell a lit about name of another person to whom the leader is directly connected in the web. The leader pulls on the yarn, again very tightly, And asks this time who can feel the tug. All who can feel it raise their hands.
• Ask: why is it that these actions of one person affect everyone? For us Christians, it is because we see ourselves as the Body of Christ. In Baptism, we are all brought into one. We are all parts of the one Body, as St. Paul says. And we can never think of ourselves as separate from one another.

5. Have the group drop the web and go back to their table groups. Ask them to reflect on the following questions (also on sheets at each table):

• How does all of this connect with the Eucharist?
• What does Holy Communion mean to you?

6. Share reflections in the large group. Talk about how, when the priest or Extraordinary Minister of Communion places the host in your hand, the words said are, "The Body of Christ." The host is the Body of Christ. We believe in faith that this is Jesus. But also, we are the Body of Christ. Holy Communion is food for us as we try to become, more and more, the Body of Christ.

Closing Prayer: The Lord's Prayer + Announcements and Home

Ms Anne Walsh is a Pastoral Associate at Holy Redeemer Parish