Palm Sunday: Some Reflections from the Pre-School Group…
A small group of people had come up with the idea of a procession,
and the turn-out was bigger than I had expected.
Bee had cut some long palm branches down from her garden
and brought them for us all to carry.
We gathered together to share out the branches.
Melvin and Mahima stood quietly, patiently waiting.
Harris tried to ride his ‘tree’ like a broomstick.
Stray leaves tickled ears, brushed faces and poked up noses,
Millie couldn’t stand still and Ella needed a wee.
Grace wondered with a wry smile whether anyone had considered the health and safety implications of such a procession!
And then it was time for us to enter the church.
The atmosphere changed and the giggles stopped.
I don’t remember much about the procession.
It was a haze of branches, faces, energy and music.
After the procession we heard an old, old story
handed down from generation to generation,
about a large group of people, a donkey and a man.
The story teller told us about a small boy called Reuben,
who wondered what all the fuss was about.
And then he saw the man in the midst of the crowd.
The man caught Reuben’s eye as he passed by.
Amidst all the turmoil,
the man held Reuben’s gaze,
and Reuben wondered…
Later, when we were gathered together again,
we wondered…
we thought back to what we had done and how it had felt.
Thomas said that he felt scared.
Millie said she felt sad.
Callum thought it was all a bit weird.
Emma said that it had been quite exciting.
That was our Palm Sunday,
for some in our pre-school group,
their first experience of Palm Sunday.
The first ‘Palm Sunday’,
I wonder what that was like?
Jill Worship