Thanks to Sara Felkins of Spring, Texas for sharing this idea!
I teach the kids that are to be baptized. I follow the lessons but put them in context to what they are needing to learn about baptism. I kept thinking that they needed an experience with something that they are about to accept on their baptism day. My mother in law was in a ward that the relief society was in charge of bringing homemade bread for the sacrament each Sunday. She would go on and on about how she loved doing this each time.
To get on with the story…this idea wouldn’t leave my head. So, I thought this could be the experience that my class needed. But there was another problem, to many weeks for the 9 kids I had to be in charge of all the 39 weeks. My sharing time was going to be on service and I thought that we could put all of these together. So I brought the idea to the whole Senior Primary that we were going to bring the bread as a service to the ward and we could not do it all. We asked if anyone would like to help. They all raised their hands without hesitating. I kind of know when people go out of town such as summer vacations and winter vacations and just signed everyone up from March (when we finally started) until the end of the year. I presented it to the RS and they looked at the list. Some swapped dates and some needed changes. But it was very easy to get it all put together.
The first week I made the bread and that was the week we asked for all to help with the service. They all noticed the change in the bread and was excited to have that each week. Just as my mother in law did. They broke the bread in big pieces so that the great bread could be savored. Just as we should think about Christ and what he did for us each week we get to repent and renew our covenants. You also can fast before you make it but for sure you need to pray with all of those who will help before you prepare it. We would not use any dairy products due to a couple of families being allergic. Every Sunday I made a reminder that the kids got in the mailbox so they felt like they were doing something special (which they are!).
This was exciting to see all this come together. Everyone seemed excited to be a part of it and couldn’t wait until it was their turn. I asked the Bishop before and the he was excited as well. There have been a few times that the person was not able to come through with the bread but I had people that were willing to be backups and things were just fine.
We are a people that should know how to make bread. We have food storage and should be using it. If women (families) didn’t know how or needed a nudge I helped them out. It was fun to see people get excited about food storage.
We tied this into our sharing time and was fun. We did a treasure hunt about our baptismal covenants and the treasure was that we will ALWAYS have the Spirit to be with us. I had my class come to my house to get it all set up. They helped make the treasure map and get all the things ready. We had the Bishop hold the key to the treasure chest. The treasure was a little baggie that held a gem and 5 circles that said LOVE in the middle. The paper read “Deeds of Kindness”. So the kids could go out and do deeds of kindness to others like they had done for the ward. We also made bread at my house while we did all of the sharing time stuff. That bread was for the kids to eat after the sharing time was over. I even went as far to ask someone in the senior primary for the wheat that I used to make the bread. We even had the Bishop bring the bread for the Sacrament that Sunday. Everything that was done had a deeper meaning and they saw for themselves what that meaning was.
The only sad thing that happed was the Sunday we were to do the sharing time something happened. We were practicing and the electricity went out. Well, we live in TX and things get hot quick. They canceled the rest of church and we couldn’t do out sharing time. All of the things we did had to be done again the next week. WOW-could things go more wrong! No they didn’t but the bread had to be made AGAIN!
People are asking if this is going to be done again next year because we left it that we were going to just do it till the end of the year. I hope that the Bishop will want it to go one. I am going to change it up. I have never had good luck with something done the 2nd year so I am going to change it and ask the whole ward to help or the YM and YW to help the next class that I get. I just wish I could let many people know about how this worked for our CTR 8 class because the blessing have been great. My kids have seen this for themselves and I know that doing something hands on it so powerful. Homemade bread is so great and then to have it for the Sacrament is even better. We need to remember — ALWAYS remember that the covenants we made are so sacred and not just on fast Sunday or on Christmas or holidays but every Sunday that we choose to partake of the sacrament.
