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1. The Covenant - Noah’s Ark
Background for Teachers
In scripture, covenant is a promise of a relationship. God continually seeks to have a relationship with humankind, despite what God sees as
human disobedience and bad behavior. God is
the one who extends the open hand to offer the
covenant unconditionally and without asking
much in return.
Many cultures and religions have flood epics set
in the same Tigress-Euphrates River Valley as
the Great Flood of Genesis, including the Atrahasis and the Gilgamesh. The Bible’s story is
unique because of the mercy shown to humankind, the saving of one man and his family in
hopes that a fresh start might change things.
Before the flood even starts, God assures Noah,
saying:
“I will establish my covenant with you.”
(Genesis 6:18)
Throughout the flood and after, God promises to
be with Noah and to protect him and the passengers on board. No doubt, Noah questioned that
promise around Day 30. God remembers Noah
and as the waters subside dry land is discovered
at last.
What is most interesting is that the very reason
for the flood in the first place, the evil inclinations
of the human spirit, is exactly the reason given
for the promise to never again destroy the earth
Little attention is paid to any dialogue between
Noah and God, the flood itself or to those left be- with water. God so loves humankind and so desires a relationship that God cannot abandon huhind. God is not angry; God is disappointed, regretting that the Creation was even started. God mans to be on earth without God’s presence.
has observed the human condition and finds that: God is filled with compassion and mercy, offering
unconditional love. This covenant is not a con“every inclination of the thoughts of this heart are
tract between two agreeing partners, it is a promonly evil all the time.” (Genesis 6:5)
ise of divine presence offered unilaterally.
And yet, God finds Noah to save. We are told
The rainbow is the symbol
nothing of this character. We only know that
of that covenant. It rewhen God called Noah, Noah obeyed in faith.
minds all of us that even
He was in the right relationship with God and
as we are surrounded by
lived that relationship in his daily life.
a storm, there will be an
end to it ….the sun will
come out. The rainbow is
a physical expression
that we did not walk alone through that storm.
Note: There is no geological or archaeological data to substantiate a flood of the magnitude written in the
Bible, nor have efforts to discover the Ark been fruitful.

2. Memory Verse: God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign
of the covenant between me and the earth.” Genesis 9:12-13
Noah trusted God, believing that God would
prove to be faithful. God proved to be trustworthy
Greetings to our friends in the family of the Lord
by keeping God’s word, and everything that God
Jesus Christ!
said would come to pass, did indeed happen.
God, likewise, proved to be faithful by keeping
As the story opens, God’s wonderful creation had the inhabitants of the ark safe, and did in fact provide a new world and a new life.
been overrun by sin, and greatly grieved. God
has vowed to destroy it and start over. Only Noah
and his family have been found by God to be
If the whole of the Bible could be summed up in a
worth saving. God directed Noah to build an ark
single word, it would be Covenant. The Bible is
on dry land in which he, his family and two of
the ongoing story of God’s constant outreach out
each kind of animal would literally “ride out the
storm” before rebuilding a new world. Noah and to humankind. Here in the story of Noah we enhis sons did so, despite the ridicule of his neigh- counter the first covenant that God makes with
the created order. This is a unilateral covenant.
bors at what seemed to be a foolish and crazy
God makes the promise with no expectation of
task.
return or response on the part of humanity.
Noah’s story: Genesis 6:5 – 9:17
Just as God had vowed, the rain began to fall.
The waters came endlessly, for forty days and
nights, drowning and destroying every living thing
on earth. After several months, the waters finally
dried up, and the earth became habitable once
again. The first thing Noah did upon disembarking was to build an altar and made an offering to
God, who then vowed never again to destroy the
earth. The covenant was sealed with the sign of
the rainbow.
There are several major themes in this story.
This is the story of faithfulness– on the parts of
both Noah and God. With nothing to go on but
the voice of God, Noah laid his reputation on the
line and built the ark.
God knows that the creation will fail to live up to
the potential it has been given, but God promises
that never again shall the creation be destroyed
by the waters of the flood. To seal the covenant,
God placed the rainbow in the sky, as a string
around the divine finger, as God says:
“I will remember my covenant that is between me
and you and every living creature”. (Genesis
9:16).
Family Activities:
Discuss as a family the following:
 If you were in Noah’s shoes, could you
have withstood the peer pressure?
 Just for fun, try making a rainbow from a
prism or clear glass of water.

3. September Schedule
Noah and the Ark Overview: This month will focus on the Covenant. Our goal is to help your
child understand the meaning of promises and a relationship with God. Your child will participate in
a variety of activities to learn the basic story of Noah, the Ark, and explore the great diversity of
creation.

September 8th


Rally Day Painting the Animals (All Ages)
September 15th


Rainbow Prisms & Painting – 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade
Try this: Take some time this


Creating an Ark with Food – preschool, kindergarten, & 1st grade
Create Video Broadcast – middle school
month to remind your child that
nd
September 22
God has a big job for him or
nd
rd
th
th

Creating an Ark with Food - 2 , 3 , 4 , and 5 grade

Rainbow Prisms & Painting – preschool, kindergarten, & 1st
grade


Create Video Broadcast – middle school
September 29th

her to do. It is important to talk
about this in a way your child
will understand. Your child
needs to be prepared and
Storytelling Event – Building an Altar with Noah (All Ages)
Please let us know if your child has any food allergies.
know that God has a plan for
each and every one of us. Our
Special Thank You to all the teachers for volunteering your time
job is to obey what He asks us
to help provide St. John’s UCC children with a strong foundation
to do. Explain to your child that
of bible stories.
when we simply obey God, He
will take care of the rest, just
like He did for Noah.

4. The Covenant - Noah’s Ark
OPENING DAY LESSON
Painting the Animals Two by Two
(All Ages, takes place in the Fellowship Hall)
God made a covenant with Noah and his descendants that the world would never again be destroyed by flood. The sign of this covenant is the rainbow. We are called to remember this story and
be made aware that, as descendants of Noah, we are bound by this same covenant. We are a Covenant people.
Memory Verse: God said: “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and
every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and
it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.” Genesis 9:12-13
Scripture: Noah’s story can be found in Genesis 6:5 – 9:17. In the Family Story Bible, it is
covered in “God Makes a Promise” and “God Sends a Rainbow”.
Objective: To familiarize children with the basic story of Noah and the Ark, and to let them explore
the great diversity of creation (all the animals on the Ark).
Supply List (Church Provides): Prepared prints of animals, paint, brushes, Styrofoam trays for
paint, and wipes.
Advance Preparation: Before class read over the Noah story in the Family Story Bible and review
this lesson plan. The animal pairs that have been put together should be spread out on the floor of
the Fellowship Hall.
Welcome and Introduction:

Noah will escort the kids from worship to the Fellowship Hall.

All Leaders - Introduce yourself to the children and ask the children to introduce themselves to
you. Assign someone to take attendance.

Explain to the children that God asked Noah to care for the animals of the world when a great
flood was going to come upon the earth.

Ask class: What’s your favorite animal? Imagine with the children how they think the animals
might have gotten along on the ark together.
Activity: Have the children work in multi-age groups to paint a set of animals. If they finish
early, have them cut out and make a dove. (These animals, when dry, will be put up on the
walls of the CE wing by next Sunday.) If you have time, you can have the children make
doves from paper plates using the materials provided in the bin—cut out dove and use tissue
paper for the wings.
End with this Prayer: Thank you Lord for the animals of our world. Help us be good caretakers of them and all the creations you have given us on this earth. Amen.

5. The Covenant - Noah’s Ark
CREATING AN ARK WITH FOOD
Key Learning Points for Children:

God provided for both Noah and the animals while they were on the ark. But it took a lot of preparation and food!

We can create space in our lives to worship the God of the Covenant.
Overview: Discuss the story of Noah's Ark and explore the different kinds of and amount of food
they must have had on the ark.
Advance Preparation: Before class read over the Noah story in the Family Story Bible and review
this lesson plan. Review the MEMORY VERSE in the background material for teachers. Come early and decide how you will make your ark: you will be provided with a Sara Lee poundcake (boat)
and gingerbread house kit (for the “house part” of the ark). Be creative, and don’t stress about making it look perfect— it will be delicious!
Supplies (Church Provides): Plates, Animal crackers, pound cake, gingerbread house kit, extra
frosting
Directions:
Follow the directions in the gingerbread house box, sit it on top of pound cake, frost or decorate as
your class wants to do. Serve on a plate and share!
Lesson:
Share the story of Noah’s Ark with the children from the Family Story Bible. Remember to emphasize that the important aspect of the story is the establishment of the covenant between God and
Noah. Imagine just how much food Noah and his family had to store on the Ark.
Make a quick verbal or written list of as many different kinds of food as you can. How much food
does an elephant eat each day? Remember not only did they have to have food for the flood time
but also for the time it would take to reap a new harvest. They also had to have seeds for all the diverse foods. As you can imagine – there were a lot of things Noah would have to have. God provides for all of our needs. Near the end of the Biblical story of Noah we hear the story of the Rainbow. Read Genesis 9: 8-17.
The rainbow still appears in the sky. The covenant that God established with Noah is still in effect
today. We are people of this Covenant and can rest assured that although many natural disasters
strike our world we never have to worry about God destroying the earth.
Closing Prayer: Baker God, you know the challenges we face as we try to recreate a simple
ark and animals. How great you are that you were able to create the real things! Our God is
an awesome God! We give you thanks for creative people who encourage us to enter with
you in the creative process. We give thanks that even when we are not very successful your
covenant with us remains strong and true. Your steadfast love endures forever! Amen.

6. The Covenant - Noah’s Ark
RAINBOW AND PRISMS EXPERIMENT
Objectives/Overview:

God seeks a faithful relationship between God and humankind.

God has promised that relationship to us, knowing that we are not perfect.

The rainbow is a symbol of the promise made to Noah and all future generations.

The class will learn the story of Noah and the Ark.

The class will experiment with water, light and prisms.

The class will create a banner of a rainbow of hands.
Supply List—Provided:

String a set of prisms along a window where the light will create rainbows throughout the room.

Mirror Tricks: Tub of water, Mirror

Rainbow in a Glass: Glass of water, white paper, flashlight, masking tape

Optional: 30 second clip from movie, Pollyanna, of prism scene (if you want to use this, it is
available on YouTube.) and BUBBLES for extra time activity

Art activity: Acrylic or latex paints, Paintbrushes, Large piece of fabric
Advance Preparation: Read the lesson and scripture/memory verse in the background section,
understand or research the concept of a prism to make rainbows. Once you are in the classroom,
set up the experiment with water (from the bathroom).
Welcome and Introduction
As the children enter the room, have them look at the rainbows created by the prisms in the window. Rainbows are magical as white light passes through cut glass to split into colors. (You may
wish to show the clip from the movie “Pollyanna”.)
Ask kids: What do you think of when you see a rainbow?
It always means that the storm has passed. Fair weather is returning.
In the story of Noah, it’s a reminder given to us by God. A reminder that God will care for us, each
time we see the rainbow in the sky.
Today, you are going to learn why this is a symbol of our faith in God.
Lesson: Let’s look at a couple of ways to make rainbows.
1. Mirror tricks: Fill a small tub with water. Place a mirror at an angle so that sunlight or electric
light falls on the mirror. Adjust the mirror until a rainbow appears on the wall. The water in front of
the mirror acts like a prism, refracting white light into a color spectrum.

7. The Covenant - Noah’s Ark
RAINBOW AND PRISMS EXPERIMENT, page 2
2. Rainbow in a glass: Fill a glass of water and place it at the edge of a table in a dark room. Put
a white piece of paper on the floor a few inches away from the table legs. Place masking tape over
a flashlight to create a 1/8” slit of light. Shine the light at an angle until you see a rainbow (known as
a spectrum) on the white paper.
When a narrow beam of light passes through water, it creates a spectrum of color. The rainbow is one of the first images in the bible of how much God loves us. Even when God was
disappointed with people and regretted even making the Creation, God held out hope that we
could still have a relationship with God.
Read the Family Bible stories on Noah. Emphasize in your narrative the following points:

God created humans to be good, but God saw their disobedience, and God grieved over this.

God chose Noah and his family because God still had hope for Creation. Noah responded with
faith, made the ark and filled it with the animals.

Even before the rains started, God established a covenant with Noah. It was understood that
God would sustain Noah during the flood and save him and his family and the animals from destruction.

After the flood, God realized that God so loved the world that God promised never again to destroy Creation, including humanity, by flood, even if humans did not keep their promises to God.
Activity: Rainbow Banner
We are going to create a rainbow banner. It is going to be made of your painted hands!
Sketch out a rainbow and any writing/title) you want to put on the fabric provided.
 each child dips a hand/hands into a particular color of paint.
 each child places the painted hands in the proper place on the banner
 wash hands with towelettes or in sink.
*When the paint is dry, sign their name on a hand. (this could be done another week or as long as
paint is mostly dry).
Time Left? Go outside. Blow bubbles, either from individual bottles or using giant wands. Look for
the rainbows in the bubbles.
Closing Prayer:
Dear God, we thank you for the faith you have in each us to be Noah, the one you can trust
to keep the covenant you made with him so long ago. We will try out best. We know that
you will be by our side always. Amen.

8. The Covenant - Noah’s Ark
MIDDLE SCHOOL VIDEO LESSON
Key Learning Points for YOUTH:

God seeks a faithful relationship between God and humankind, and especially as we get older
(by the time we are in Middle School), that relationship is our own responsibility along with our
parents.
Overview:
Hear the story of Noah and the Ark, and over TWO weeks, create a news broadcast of the event.
The first week’s time should be spent going over the story, then working on a script. The second
week, creating a set and recording the video.
Supplies:
Cell phone or Ipad with VIDEO capability
Props: recommended:

facsimile or picture of an ark

hammer and nails for Noah

lots of stuffed animals.
Note to Teacher:
The middle-age children could easily do the scene with Noah building the Ark and the neighbors reactions as well as what it is like to feed all the animals and keep the Ark clean.
The oldest children can obviously do the interviews of the various people commenting on the Ark before the Flood and the editorial by Mrs. Noah. They may come up with some news segments of their
own.
Lesson:
Imagine if there really were reporters as we have in today’s world to cover the great flood that swept
everyone from the earth except Noah, his family and the animals. That is what we are going to do
today. So first, let’s hear how the story really went.
Read the story to the class. Or you may wish to tell a synopsis of the Bible story found in Genesis 6:5-9:17.
Brainstorm with the class how they can approach this story from a newscast perspective: (USE
NEWSPRINT TO WRITE WHAT THE CLASS SAYS COULD BE VERBALIZED IN EACH ROLE.
This will be helpful when they choose their roles.)
The middle-age children will be able to handle their roles if you adequately brainstorm their roles in
the group process.

9. The Covenant - Noah’s Ark
MIDDLE SCHOOL VIDEO LESSON, page 2
Let the youth run with their ideas for the newscast as creatively as they can. Make sure to keep
your eye on the clock so that there is enough time to create a video. (You will have two weeks to do
this). Make sure the kids know their video will be run in the Parlor on the last day of the rotation.
Potential ideas for the newscast:

Headline: Attention-grabber spoken by anchor-person

Interview with Noah while building the Ark, interviews with Noah’s neighbors or wife or kids

Weather Report: Talk about flash floods; you might have a map of the Tigris-Euphrates River
Valley.

Ad for the “Only Cruise That Can Stay Afloat in Any Weather”

Sports: Imagine the sports that the animals might have played: Water Polo, Diving Competitions,
Swim Meets, Shuffleboard, Tennis, Ping Pong

Human Interest…maybe a veterinarian

Interviews with animals

Weather Update

Interview with Noah who is holding a dove. Cite Bible Verse Genesis 9:12.
Unless you have some very talented children in the older grades, it will run smoother if the teacher
acts as the interviewer. Another idea is to invite a talented teen in to fill the part of anchor and interviewer. Ask the children to volunteer for roles. Line up the children in the order in which they will
appear. Start the camera with the teacher in the anchor seat, helping each child to express his/her
role.
Closing Prayer:
Dear Lord, we thank you for the fact that you saw hope for us all when you saw Noah. Just
as you promised to be by our side day-by-day, so we will try to be the kind of people you
want us to be. Amen.

10. The Covenant - Noah’s Ark
CLOSING LESSON, NOAH BUILDS AN ARK
Takes place in the Courtyard and the Fellowship Hall (entirely in FH if it rains)
Key Learning Points for Children:

God seeks a faithful relationship between God and humankind.

God has promised that relationship to us, knowing that we are not perfect.

The rainbow is a symbol of the promise made to Noah and all future generations.

Noah made an altar to worship God after the flood.

We can create space in our lives to worship the God of the Covenant.
Supply List—Provided:

Rocks of assorted sizes with several large ones

1 hand size rock for each child, cleaned and ready to decorate

Acrylic paints (rainbow colors)

Brushes/water/cups
Advance Preparation: Before class read over the lesson and memory verse in the background material. Get supplies ready and be ready to help Noah (Adam Fletcher) as he tells the story and leads
the children in building an altar. As they are working on their own rocks, be familiar enough with the
story to ask them questions and reinforce the Noah story.
Lesson:
Hear the story of the Great Flood from Noah’s perspective. Help Noah build an altar to the Lord.
Share information about ancient altars. Each child will decorate a stone to take home. These
stones are reminders that we are all descendants of Noah and part of the Covenant people.
Welcome and Introduction
The teacher of each age group will lead their children to the courtyard (fellowship hall is rain location.) Noah is already there, working on the altar. This will be a large pile of rocks with a flat rock on
top. Smaller rocks can be strewn around the gathering place.
As children come, Noah can ask them to bring him rocks for the altar. Be sure to have enough small
rocks for each child. They will be taking a rock from the altar to decorate and take home.
Noah tells his story.

11. The Covenant - Noah’s Ark
CLOSING LESSON, NOAH BUILDS AN ARK, page 2
When Noah is finished, each group returns to the Fellowship Hall.
The teacher relays this info about altars:
Altars are used to mark sacred or special places—they mark a time of special closeness to God.
Altars have changed from simple piles of rocks (in ancient times) to decorated places of worship.
Can the children think of another altar they know of? (The classrooms have altars, and the sanctuary has an altar, of course). The altar Noah built was the first altar in scripture. He built it in joyous
response to God’s sparing him and his family, and people have been building altars ever since to
create places to remember their closeness with God.
The teachers lead the children in the activity outlined below.
Activity: Decorate Rocks
Each child should take one of the rocks and then using acrylic paints have the children decorate a
stone to take home as a reminder of this story. They can paint anything they want as long as they
can explain the symbolism. They might consider the shape of the rock and see if it is similar to an
animal shape or the ark.

12. CLOSING LESSON, NOAH BUILDS AN ARK, SCRIPT
SCRIPT: Noah’s Story—ok to “ad-lib” and tell the story in your own words, bolded paragraphs are
key to lesson and story.
Ah welcome! It is so good of you to come. As you can see I am busy right now. My name is Noah,
and I am building an altar to praise the Lord. You would never believe what I have been through –
after we get this altar together I will tell you all about it.
Have the children assist in putting the altar together. Then sit down and begin your
tale.
It all started about a year ago. I was saying my prayers as usual one night, when I heard a strange
voice. Now I have prayed all my life and even got answers to my prayers, but I have never heard
the answer exactly.
The voice told me to build an Ark. Do you know what an ARK is? Yes, a large boat. I felt like the
whole thing was pretty crazy—me, build a boat? I’m just a simple farmer! But the voice came again
and provided more details – how long and wide and what kind of wood it should be made out of and
everything. I really wanted to ignore the whole thing but somehow I knew I couldn’t.
So I went to my family and told them about the voice. They love and trust me, but you should
have seen the looks on their faces! They really thought I was a little bit crazy! But I knew the voice
had to be God and that we couldn’t just ignore it. We HAD to do this.
I let my family think about it for a few days. They were skeptical, but they agreed to help me.
So my sons and I began building the Ark. It wasn’t easy, but as we worked, it seemed as if we just
knew how to do things. We were able to look at the wood we had gathered; think about the plans
we had been given and pick up the right piece. It was more like putting together a big puzzle. Everything fit together so well.
It was a nightmare trying to cover the entire Ark with pitch. We were covered with pitch by the
time we were done. I’d never been so sticky in my entire life!
The next big task was to begin to gather all the animals. What kind of animals do you think
we gathered? Yep, that’s right, two of every animal on the earth. The Lord said that it was going to
rain and rain and rain and that all the world would be flooded. If that were the case only the animals
that live in water would survive. We needed to gather all the others so the earth could start anew
after the flood. That is if we survived. I was having my doubts as we put huge animals on the ark.
My wife and daughter-in-laws had begun to gather all the food we would need. With so many
animals we would need a lot of food. I sure hope we had gathered enough to last us until the waters
would recede. Through it all, I had a sense of peace, though, that I was doing what God wanted me
to do.

13. CLOSING LESSON, NOAH BUILDS AN ARK, SCRIPT
Before too long, the trouble started. Raindrops started to fall.
We did not know what the future would hold – we had to put all our trust in God. It was sometimes
very hard to do, but my family and I tried to stay faithful, but it wasn’t easy.
It kept raining and raining, and the water started getting higher. It looked like it was never going to
stop. So my family and I went to the Ark. We walked up the gangplank and then drew it up and
closed the door.
My family and I were always faithful to God, but I am just a simple man, and we are a simple family.
I don’t know why I was chosen, but I just kept trusting that God had a plan.
The water kept rising, but sure enough, the ark began to float. The animals all shifted about in their
stalls. I was afraid we would turn over or sink any minute!
Soon I realized how vast the waters were and how small our Ark was. It had seemed so big looming
over our home, but here, on the water, it seemed so insignificant. It was pretty scary, but then I remembered the peace I’d felt before the rain started, the peace that I was doing what God wanted me
to do.
All this destruction because God wanted the world to be a good place and people had corrupted it. They had stopped following the ways of God. They argued, fought and stole from
one another. Long ago they stopped seeing the holy in each other’s eyes. People forgot
they were created in the image of God. God must have been very disappointed to take such a
drastic action. Sometimes I felt that there were holes in the floor of the heavens and the rain
was really the tears of our Lord falling to the earth trying to wash things clean and fresh.
After a few days on board there was little to be considered fresh. All our clothing was wet, all the
animals were complaining. Ah, what a noise and smell from below. Several times a day we had to
approach the hold and feed and care for all the animals. I felt sorry for them. Even the animals
seemed worried and frightened, and we tried to comfort and care for them. Have you ever tried to
gently reassure a frightened porcupine? It is a rather delicate task!
Still, it continued to rain. And rain and rain and rain. We did not see the sun through the rainclouds
for 40 days. That’s such a long time! Finally one day the clouds lifted a bit, and the sun poked
through. We were so happy! We rejoiced and praised the Lord! We wondered, how long would it
take for the waters to go down enough for us to find dry land?
After several days I sent out a raven. I remembered that sailors often sent out a bird to see if there
was land nearby. If the bird came back, there was no land nearby. If it didn’t come back you had to
try to figure out which direction to sail to find land. The raven just flew around and around. I think it
was so glad to have the freedom to fly it would not come back. After the raven I sent out a dove to

14. CLOSING LESSON, NOAH BUILDS AN ARK, SCRIPT
see if there was dry land yet. She returned quickly, so we knew we would have to keep waiting for
the land to dry. It was very difficult. We were all tired of the rock of the Ark, the smell, the chores,
and the dampness!.
A week after I sent out the dove I sent out a second dove. This time the bird did not fly back right
away. The longer it was away, the higher our hopes rose. In the distance we could see the dove
returning. We wanted never to see that dove again. We had hoped that she would find land and not
return. As the dove approached the Ark we could see that it had something in its beak. It was a
branch!!! There must be land someplace for her to have found a branch! We were so excited. We
danced and shouted for joy.
It took quite a while for the water to subside enough for us to actually land the Ark. The land we
found was dry and fertile. As soon as we could we let animals leave the Ark. It was good to be
done with some of the chores and mess of all the animals. Still we would miss the animals. One
cannot travel so long with an animal and not become attached in some way – especially to a porcupine!
As the sun was shining and the water was going down, we saw a great rainbow in the sky. I
heard God say this was a sign set in the sky by the Lord most high. Every time we saw a
rainbow we were to remember that God would never again destroy the earth with floods. The
rainbow is a sign of our covenant with God.
“Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every
living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle and every beast of the earth with you, as
many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all
flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the
earth. And God said, This is the sign of the covenant which I make between me and you and
every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I set my bow in the clouds,
and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
Now that we are on dry land, we wanted to give thanks to God for keeping us safe! I gathered
these stones to make an altar to the Lord. I like using rocks because they remind me that
God is like a rock, sure and strong. My family and I will always praise the Lord. Did you
know you children are all my descendants? Will you help me in praising God for all that is
good in our lives? We must remember that we are all people of the covenant. Can you say a
prayer with me at my altar?
End with prayer: Gracious God, We give you thanks this day for the sign of your covenant.
Often we do not see your presence in our world but when we see the rainbow we remember
that you are always with us, no matter how difficult our lives may seem. Bless these rocks
that they can help us to be mindful of you as we leave this place. Amen.

15. Beginning and Ending of the Rotation
Rally Day on September 8th will begin our year long theme of
Covenant. All our monthly themes will build on the idea
of understanding Covenant as part of our faith.
In worship, parents and the rest of the congregation will hear
and learn about Covenant during worship on September 8th,
and again at the end of the rotation, September 29.
We will be teaching the kids in Children’s Choir to sing
“Somewhere Over the Rainbow” which they will
share on September 29th.
As part of the close of this rotation, the kids will be working
on a song to share during worship on September 29th.
In addition, at the end of worship on the 29th, everyone is
invited to go outside say a prayer with Noah
at the altar he will build.
Also at the close of worship on the 29th, we will show
the Middle Schoolers’ video that they’ll be making
in the Parlor during Coffee Hour.