Saturday, March 29, 1997

Finding ways to tell children about Easter

By ADELLE M. BANKS

Religion News Service

When Richie Kluesener was about to become a new dad, he wanted to find a way to help children understand the complex Christian beliefs about Easter, a teaching tool that "would glorify the Lord and tell the story."

When his search came up empty, he and his wife Shelley decided to create something themselves. In August 1996, they developed the "Resurrection Nativity," a seasonal spin-off of the traditional Christmas manger scene, complete with movable parts that tell the story of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection.

The sole product of Kluesener's company - Sign of Jonah - the "Resurrection Nativity," is a nine-piece set that includes a tomb and 4- to 5-inch figures of the crucified Jesus, an angel, two sentries, Mary Magdalene, and Mary, his mother.

The plastic figures can be arranged at first to depict the crucifixion. On Good Friday, the crucifix and the women can be removed and the sentries placed beside the closed tomb. On Easter morning, the tomb can be opened to reveal an empty stone slab, on which Jesus' body would have been laid. An angel, holding a purple banner that reads "He is Risen," can be placed on the rolled-away stone.

"The concept of a tomb is so foreign to them (children) and so now you can see that it's a place and it's a stone in front that rolls away," said Kluesener, of Mount Dora, Fla. "To me, the more emphasis you can put on the core of Christianity, which is the crucifixion and resurrection, the better."

Many Christian parents might agree with him, but experts say adults often have to conquer their own qualms about death before they can help children understand their beliefs.

"Suffering and death are not subjects we're comfortable with and we often want to protect our children from those unpleasant, uncomfortable aspects of life that we wish weren't there," said Ann Hibbard, author of "Family Celebrations at Easter" (Baker Book House).

Despite those difficulties, Hibbard suggests parents still should teach their children the Easter story.

"You can't really talk about resurrection unless you talk about death," she said. "The two go hand in hand."

Hibbard said parents of young children probably should avoid showing them movies with graphic depictions of the crucifixion, but can explain the Easter story in ways that are age appropriate.

"Kids are full of imagination and they can accept those things really a lot easier than parents," said Hibbard. "They go, 'Oh, he rose from the dead. Great! That's cool!' "

Like Kluesener, Hibbard believes in practical teaching tools. One of her favorites is a "Holy Treasure Hunt," in which parents hide objects such as linen (representing the cloth used to wrap Jesus' body), a bottle of perfume (a reminder of the anointing of Jesus' body) and a sponge (used to give Jesus a drink as he hung on the cross).

Children can be involved in preparing the "treasures" and learning their meaning before they later go in search of them.

"You talk about the stories and how they relate to Jesus and his death and resurrection," said Hibbard. "It's a way of teaching the kids but at the same time really having fun together as a family."

FamilyLife, a Little Rock, Ark.-based ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ focusing on marriage and family issues, has created a product called "Resurrection Eggs" as another practical option for parents and Sunday school teachers.

In this interactive teaching tool, children open a dozen colored plastic eggs and inside are miniature symbols of the Easter story, including a donkey, three nails and a crown of thorns. An accompanying booklet gives related Bible passages and explanations for each symbol.

"This really brings it down (to a child's level), puts the cookie on the lower shelf for them," said Scott Monnahan, direct marketing manager for FamilyLife. "It connects it for them."

In 1995, the first year the product was offered, FamilyLife initially made 3,000 dozen of the special eggs but found there was so much interest the ministry eventually sold more than 10,000. Last year, the ministry distributed 28,000 dozen.

Hands-on materials also may help in the worship setting, said the Rev. Cheryl Kleven Doely, assistant to the Northwest Iowa bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

It's "a real gift" for pastors to be able to tell children about difficult spiritual ideas, she said.

"How do you take an abstract concept and try to make it come alive, not only just for children, but for adults as well?" she asked.

Children's sermons often need "something you can touch, something you can see, so it's not just in your head but it's in your hands," she said.

Doely recalled a sermon she once gave when she was a pastor in Iowa. Her practical prop was a big box filled with helium balloons.

"It was the only thing I could think of that would visually help them see that resurrection is coming from the dead," she said. "The box was symbolic of the tomb and opening up the box (was) just like Jesus opens us up daily to new life. We come out of the tomb. We are raised up."

Kluesener, the creator of the "Resurrection Nativity," now looks forward to sharing the Easter story with his oldest son on the first holiday since the set was produced.

"I'm going to let my six-year-old actually do the moving of the figurines," he said.

But on the night before Easter, Kluesener will take his turn.

"Easter morning, I'll have that all changed so that he is risen," he said. "I'm so excited about it."

MJP END BANKS

AP-NY-03-19-97 1536EST