ROTATION.ORG WRITING TEAM

JESUS RAISES LAZARUS
BANNERS/TEXTILES

PASSAGE

Story: John 11:1-44
Key/Memory Verse: John 11:25

PURPOSE

See Bible Background.

Objective(s) for Rotation

See Bible Background.

Objectives for Banners/Textiles Workshop

Students will create Adinkra cloth and discuss the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead. The Adinkra cloth may be sewn into a community project such as a cloth for the Communion table or a church parament.

PREPARATION

Read Bible Background.

Materials List

Bibles
Fabric, light-colored cotton
Fabric, muslin – ½ yard
Iron
Marker, black
Muslin fabric, one-half yard
Paint, acrylic or fabric
Paintbrushes, foam
Paper
Paper plates or palates for paint
Pencils
Pictures of Adinkra (see resources)
Potatoes, one for every two students, or stamping materials, or purchased Adinkra stamps (see resources)
Ruler or yardstick
Scissors
Script for Bible story
White board with appropriate marker

If using potatoes:

Chop sticks
Cutting board
Knife, sharp
Knives, plastic
Spoons, plastic spoons

Advance Preparation Requirements

Plan ahead of time what you will do with the fabric creations. If you plan to use them to create a communion cloth, pastor’s stole, or parament, arrange for someone to do the sewing after the children have finished. Prepare the fabric according to your plan.

Create a long strip of muslin approximately 90 inches long and 9 inches wide by cutting the fabric in half and sewing the two pieces together. Iron the fabric.

Review the story script and the suggested symbols for telling the narrative.

ADINKRA CLOTH STORY

PART 1

(Three stick people) In the village of Bethany, outside of Jerusalem, there lived a family – sisters Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus.

(One stick person lying horizontally) Now Lazarus came down with a sickness.

(One stick figure running) This family was good friends with Jesus so Mary and Martha sent for Jesus.

(One stick figure sitting) When Jesus was contacted he said, “This sickness will not result in death. It is a way to show God’s power.” Jesus loved Mary and Martha and Lazarus, but he did not go to see them right away. He waited two days.

(One stick figure wrapped in cloths in a tomb) Meanwhile, Lazarus died and was buried in a tomb. His sisters, Mary and Martha were very sad.

(One stick figure talking to a group of seated stick figures) Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.” His disciples replied, “Lord, if he is sleeping, he’ll get better.” Jesus’ disciples thought he meant Lazarus was napping, but Jesus had been speaking of Lazarus’ death. “Lazarus is dead,” said Jesus. “I am glad I wasn't there. You're about to be given a new reason for believing.”

(A group of stick figures walking) Jesus said to them, “Let us go to him.”
When they got there they found that Lazarus had been dead for four days.

PART 2

(Two stick figures facing each other) Martha met Jesus when he arrived. She said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he or she dies. Do you believe this?” Martha answered, “Yes, Master, all along I have believed that you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”

(Two stick figures, one on its knees) Then Mary came to Jesus. She was crying. She said the same thing that Martha had said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

“Where did you put him,” asked Jesus. “Come and see.” Jesus wept.

(A group of stick figures in front of a large rock) They all went to the tomb.

“Take away the stone,” said Jesus.

“But, Lord,” said Martha, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”

Jesus answered, “Didn't I tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”

(An open tomb, with the stone pushed aside) So someone rolled away the stone. Jesus prayed, thanking God for the opportunity to display God’s glory and power to the onlookers. Then he said, “Lazarus, come out!”

(A bound stick figure coming from the tomb) The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him, and let him go.”

Use black markers to create “symbols” on the muslin that tell the Bible story. Use simple symbols such as stick people. Have each symbol be separated by space on the muslin so that one symbol can be shown at a time. Use approximately 7 inches for each symbol. When the “story cloth” has dried, roll it up from the end to the beginning. Practice telling the story using the story cloth.

On the whiteboard, draw some Adinkra symbols that would be easy for the children to reproduce in their designs. Note the meanings of the symbols.

If you plan to use potatoes to make stamps, try cutting a design on half of a potato using the suggested tools of chopsticks, knives, and spoons.

If using potatoes, cut the potatoes in half longwise.

Pour puddles of paint onto the paper plates or the palates.

PRESENTATION

Open – Introduction

Greet your students warmly, welcoming them to the workshop. Introduce yourself and any other adults.

Ask for any prayer requests. Ask if anyone would like to lead the group in prayer. Be prepared to say a prayer yourself, working in prayer requests. A suggestion: “Dear God, We are thankful to be here today to learn about you. Help us to see your amazing power and to feel your love. Amen”

Distribute a Bible to each child or ask the children to get out their own.

Say: Today I have a special story to tell you, a story about a miracle. First I would like you to find the story in your Bibles.

Ask them whether the Gospel of John is found in the New Testament or the Old Testament.

Have the students turn to the book of John and find John 11. Point out that our story covers from verses 1 to 44.

Say: I wanted you to know where to find this story so that you can read it on your own at home. For right now, I will tell you this story using a special piece of cloth.

Dig - Main Content

Present part one of the story using the roll of muslin; unroll the story cloth as you tell it.

Say: There is more to the story but I want to pause to ask a few questions.

Ask questions such as:

Why do you suppose Mary and Martha sent for Jesus? (Jesus’ power to heal)

Why do you suppose Jesus didn’t go to them right away?

I wonder why Jesus said that Lazarus had fallen asleep?

I wonder what the disciples thought when Jesus spoke of waking him up?

I wonder what Jesus meant by this new reason for believing?

Present part two of the story, continuing to use the story cloth.

Ask: I wonder what Lazarus felt like when he first came out of the tomb and was all wrapped up in cloths?

Say: In those days, dead bodies were wrapped in cloth. No wonder Jesus said to unwrap him. Lazarus was raised from the dead but he was tied up in cloth; he needed to be set free!

Say: We are going to create something with cloth; we are going to create Adinkra (ah-DEEN-krah). Adinkra is a type of cloth made by the Ashanti people of Ghana. Ghana is in Africa. Since Adinkra means “saying goodbye to one another” traditionally Adinkra cloth was worn at funerals. Adinkra cloth is decorated with symbols that convey different meanings.

Show the sample pictures. Talk briefly about the symbols and their meanings.

Say: Adinkra is created by stamping on fabric. In Ghana, carving pieces of gourd, a type of fruit, creates stamps. The stamps are dipped into black dye, which is made from boiling a certain tree bark.

Explain your project.

Hand out supplies.

If using potatoes to create stamps, instruct the students to sketch designs on paper first. They may come up with their own designs or replicate Adinkra symbols. Designs must be kept simple. Once they have decided upon a design, draw the design on the potato with a pencil. Use the plastic knives and spoons or chopsticks to carve around the symbol. Realize that you are cutting away parts you don’t want to print. When ready, paint the potato and press it first onto paper to test out your design. Make any adjustments needed. Apply more paint and press the potato onto the cloth. Have the students stamp their design in rows on their fabric piece.

Discussion - While Students Work

Say: It was a miracle that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Before raising Lazarus Jesus had prayed, thanking God for the opportunity to display God’s glory and power to the onlookers.

Ask:

What did raising Lazarus show to those who witnessed it?

If you had seen Jesus perform a miracle, would it have helped you to believe in him?

Do you suppose we can believe in Jesus without having seen miracles?

Say: In Ghana people wore Adinkra to help them remember someone who had died. The cloth was printed with symbols that expressed their feelings about the person who died. We are making Adinkra for someone who died but then who lived! Lazarus!

Ask: What did Jesus mean when he said, “I am the resurrection and the life; He who believes in me will live, even though he dies?”

Do you suppose that raising Lazarus was supposed to teach us something about death? Or something about life?

Say: The dead man came out bound hand and foot with linen strips and with his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him and let him go.”
Ask:

Was unwrapping Lazarus an important part of the task of raising him?

What bound Lazarus?

Can we think of ourselves, maybe not in a tomb, but as bound up in troubles or concerns?

In what ways are people trapped or stuck?

How does having faith in Jesus set them free?

Reflect - Closure

Have the students talk about their designs.

Say: From this story we can understand that we have a new way of living: Jesus sets us free, unbinding us from our sins.

ADDITIONAL SUGGESTIONS

In later weeks of the rotation ask the students to tell you the story as you unroll the story cloth.

Adaptations - Younger Children

Skip the part about the children finding the story in the Bible.

Ahead of time create stamps that the children may use to print Adinkra.

SOURCES

Beauchamp, Carrie. “Adinkra.” http://www.du.edu/duma/africloth/adinkra.html

Dressler, Michelle. “Adinkra Cloth.” 1997. http://www.hawaii.edu/hga/Lessons/Africa/adinkCLO.html

Idea to use Adinkra came from Marsha Boatwright, Presbyterian Church of Utica, Michigan.

RESOURCES
Photos of Adinkra
http://www.du.edu/duma/africloth/3775.jpg
http://www.du.edu/duma/africloth/3776.jpg
http://www.loc.gov/rr/amed/guide/images/a18s.jpg
http://www.adire.clara.net/afgallery.htm

Best source for the meaning of Adinkra symbols: http://www.welltempered.net/adinkra/htmls/adinkra_index.htm

Adinkra stamps may be purchased from Amazon.com. West African Adinkra Symbols: 31 Rubber Stamps by Mimi Robinson. Contains rubber stamps and a companion booklet describing the history and meaning of each symbol. ISBN: 081182005X

How to make your own foam stamps is described at this site: http://www.pbs.org/wonders/Kids/cloth/cloth.htm

Purchase materials to make your own stamps: 1/16" rubber material with a self-adhesive back that can be cut with scissors, http://www.dickblick.com/zz602/04/

CONTRIBUTOR: Carol Hulbert

I'm working on a Lazarus unit, and when I went to the Amazon.com site to order the Mimi Robinson book/stamp set, there were a number of people who gave this resource poor reviews for lack of accuracy in translation and for failing to include some of the critically important Adinkra symbols. If your students are old enough, I'd suggest making one's one stamps, using the symbols and translations from www.welltempered.net (link is above).

~Elizabeth