Arts Camp – July 19 – Growing Faith at Home

These are activities for the fourth week of FPCA Arts Camp! To join our email list, and see info about other weeks, head to the Arts Camp Main Page. See what we are creating in our Arts Camp Gallery, and share your own creations!

July 19 – July 25

You – a child of God – are created to create! Learn, explore, and create with the ideas below.

A Gathering

Join our Sunday Arts Camp Zoom Gathering on July 19th at 3 pm!

This 30-minute gathering at the start of each week is designed for children and families, but all ages are welcome. (We may break into two groups – adults and children.) Email Julie if you want the Zoom invite and password.

A Story – The Parable of the Leaven

Watch and listen to this tiny story that Jesus told, shared by Ms. Serena using materials from one of our Godly Play rooms, then wonder about it. Ms. Serena asks some good wondering questions in the video. If you are watching as a family, take time to pause the video and share your wondering aloud with one another. If you are alone, maybe you want to write (or draw/color/sing) your thoughts. I wonder where you are in this parable? I wonder what you will create as you think about this parable?

An Art Idea – Button Collage with Mary Ellen Porter

Watch our artist video below as Mary Ellen Porter shows us some ideas for making a collage starting with something very small – a button! Just like in the parable, the leaven or yeast is a small thing that helps something larger grow, a collage can grow from very small ideas. Mary Ellen shares some of her beautiful button collection, some possibilities for using buttons in collage, and a couple bonus button family art pieces. What can you do with a button? Share it with us!

A Picture Book

We return to a picture book shared in worship early in the pandemic – Picturing God by Ruth Goring. Notice how she uses really small items to make up her pictures: Buttons, shells, pieces of fabric, rocks, yarn. Put together, these small items grow into larger ways to picture the love of God.

Listen to the book as a family. Then talk together: How do you picture God? Where do you see the love of God in small and large ways? What will you create today that helps you picture God?

A Song

Learn “I’ve Got the Joy” from Jeremy! What is way down in the depths of YOUR heart?

A Family Activity – Make Bread!

Jeremy has a special family recipe for Syrian bread to share, and a video of how he makes it!

As a family activity this week try making bread with yeast. You might use quick yeast from the store, or you might try a sourdough starter. Send us pictures of the bread you make! Baking is also an art….

Jeremy’s Syrian Bread

6 c. flour
2 c. lukewarm water
1 pkg. dry yeast, dissolved in ¼ c. lukewarm water
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. Sugar
1 Tbs. oil

Add water, salt, sugar, and oil to flour. Add dissolved yeast; mix well. Knead 10 to 20 minutes. Let rest, covered well (until double in bulk), about 1 hour. Cut dough into balls (golf ball for buns, grapefruit for larger loaves). Let rise again until double. Pat flat and let rise again. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Prink lightly (a fork works well). Bake at 450° until lightly browned. (Approximately 7-10 minutes for smaller buns; 10-15 for larger loaves)

And here is how he makes it!

A Mission Project

Have you taken part in our Mission Project yet, to make and share an art kit with our neighbors at BeLoved Asheville? You can make a big difference with a very small donation. There are other ways to donate to BeLoved for this summer, too. They are especially asking for diapers this week. What can you gather to share with our friends in Asheville this week?

The Story Again in Stop-Motion

Here’s the parable creatively told by Claire, Luke and Isla Johnson using stop-motion video. Thanks to them for letting us share their project with Arts Camp! What other ways can you think of to tell this story?