In case you missed it over the weekend, our Lenten Coloring Posters are now available for pre-ordering. Instead of five 4’x3’ posters, for Lent we are offering nine 2’x3’ posters. These nine posters come together to tell a story of a journey through the Lenten season. As you can see in the image below, when you put all of the posters side by side, you’ll see that they are all connected together.
I loved seeing so many of the creative uses that everyone had for their coloring posters – and so many of them were intergenerational activities! I think this photo does a pretty good job of summing up the success of the Advent Coloring Posters (which is what the people in the photo are coloring below – you just can’t see it).
Here’s what one pastor said about her experience with the Advent Coloring Posters:
Within moments of setting out the posters, I had people clamoring to do some coloring–young & young at heart, men & women, boys & girls. When I asked a few people to pick it up to put down another poster, I heard groans of “But it’s not done yet!” The posters were beautiful and well designed, and the customer service stuck through some pretty tedious mailing issues. We had a wonderful few weeks of coloring through Advent!
Pastor Megan Thompson
Mt. Vernon, Champaign & Bondville United Methodist Churches
Each of the Lenten Coloring Posters is based on one of the texts from the Narrative Lectionary for 2016. So, you can see the scripture that will be used for each poster – as well as the focus word for each of the posters that comes out of the passages:
- Poster 1 for Ash Wednesday – Mark 9:30–37: Focus word is Welcome.
- Poster 2 for 1st Week of Lent – Mark 10:17–31: Focus word is Give.
- Poster 3 for 2nd Week of Lent – Mark 10:32–52: Focus word is Serve.
- Poster 4 for 3rd Week of Lent – Mark 12:13–17: Focus word is Listen.
- Poster 5 for 4th Week of Lent – Mark 12:28–44: Focus word is Love.
- Poster 6 for 5th Week of Lent – Mark 13:1–8, 24–37: Focus word is Watch!
- Poster 7 for Palm Sunday – Mark 14:3–9: Focus word is Risk.
- Poster 8 is divided into two parts. The top portion is for Maundy Thursday – Mark 14:22–42: Focus words are Take. Eat. The bottom portion is for Good Friday – Mark 15:16–39: Focus word is Forsaken.
- Poster 9 is for Easter Sunday – Mark 16:1–8: Focus words are Go. Tell.
Naturally, this is great fit for those of you who are using the Narrative Lectionary. But what if you’re using the Revised Common Lectionary? Can you still use them?
I certainly think so. Each of the stories that these posters are based on come from life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And so, these posters take people on a journey of Jesus’ life and teachings, and so while that could be a Lenten them on its own, I think it can be something to compliment whatever Lenten plans and programs you may already have for your congregations or families.
How to Use Your Lenten Coloring Posters
Regardless of whether you are using the Narrative Lectionary or Revised Common Lectionary, I think these Lenten Coloring Posters can very easily fit into your Lenten plans in a variety of ways:
- Perhaps the children could color the posters during worship each Sunday.
- Maybe various Sunday School classes could color them as they talk about each of the stories.
- The posters would be great activities for children to do during a Wednesday night Lenten service – or an intergenerational activity to do after your Lenten Soup & Salad dinners.
- Since these posters are 2’x3’, they are a much more manageable size for getting completely colored during a shorter period of time – or you could send a poster home with a different family each week, and they could color them during the week as part of a family Lenten practice.
However you end up using them – one of the fun parts about the posters this time around, is seeing them all displayed together – as I think that will help give people a sense of the journey of Lent – the progressive movement of the season – always getting closer and closer to the events of the last week of Jesus.
