Guided Meditations on LEA Core Values
These guided meditations can be used for staff or secondary students and with a bit of adaptation older primary children. They are based on scripture verses that articulate the core values of Lutheran schools; love, justice, compassion, forgiveness, service, humility, courage, hope, quality and appreciation. These LEA values are detailed in "A Vision for Learners and Learning in Lutheran Schools; Lifelong Qualities for Learners” 2005 p.14.
Guided Meditations of the Fruit of the Spirit
Mindful Connection to Thoughts
So much of our time in school is dominated by thinking. Good teaching and learning certainly involves thinking and making thinking visible. But as special, unique persons created by God we are more than the thoughts in our mind. When we slow down and attempt to still our minds practicing silence, our thoughts can run wild like an elephant in the jungle. Learning to be aware of our thoughts, connecting with them in a gentle way rather than fighting them and being controlled by them is the aim of this mindfulness activity adapted from Katherine Thompson.
| Mindful Thoughts |
Mindful Connection to Feelings
Children, teenagers, everyone can at times get swamped by their feelings. Learning to use language to express our emotions is key to our development as maturing people. Schools intentionally focus on growing the emotional and social capabilities of students. God has given us our emotions to show us what is happening deep down inside us and where we might need to spend time and energy in our lives and relationships. Growing a healthy emotional spirituality is also a task of a Lutheran school as students grow in their understanding and appreciation of the one who fully experienced emotions as a human but was also the Lord who created them. This mindfulness activity comes from Russ Harris via Katherine Thompson.
| Mindful Feelings |
Meditation for Younger Children
A Simple Meditative Prayer Exercise
- A word of scripture
- Slow down, close your eyes, focus on breathing in and out, clear your mind as you be still before God, as you be quiet, as you be at peace.
- Think of a situation in the last week in which you regret what you said or did to someone. Bring that before God and ask for forgiveness.
- Think of something good that happened to you in the holidays. Bring that before God and thank him for it.
- Think of something that is worrying you today or yesterday, something that has been on your mind and has been burdening you. Ask God to help you with that worry. To take it away.
Guided Meditation on Compassion
There is an apt verse from the OT book of Lamentations that says; Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassion never fails. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Let’s tune into the compassion of God now as we meditate on this value of our college this thread for the week….
We close our eyes now, sit with straight backs, take a deep breath, and as we exhale relax our bodies from our shoulders down…
Bring to mind someone you know who is in need of God’s compassion. Someone who might be sick, seriously ill, suffering in some way, in pain, or grief or loss.
As you think of this person imagine that they are wrapped in the arms of Christ. Embraced by God, relieved of their suffering, or some of it by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Place them in the presence of God and give them to the one who is truly compassionate to all people, the one who’s heart is full of compassion. Place that person in God’s care…..
(A period of silence)
We come back to the present moment now with this promise from the second letter to the Corinthian church; Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
And we conclude with a prayer from the Spanish nun of the Counter Reformation period, St Teresa of Avila;
Christ has no body on earth but ours, no hands but ours, no feet but ours, ours are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion for the world is to look out; ours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good; and ours are the hands with which He is to bless. Amen.
Let’s tune into the compassion of God now as we meditate on this value of our college this thread for the week….
We close our eyes now, sit with straight backs, take a deep breath, and as we exhale relax our bodies from our shoulders down…
Bring to mind someone you know who is in need of God’s compassion. Someone who might be sick, seriously ill, suffering in some way, in pain, or grief or loss.
As you think of this person imagine that they are wrapped in the arms of Christ. Embraced by God, relieved of their suffering, or some of it by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Place them in the presence of God and give them to the one who is truly compassionate to all people, the one who’s heart is full of compassion. Place that person in God’s care…..
(A period of silence)
We come back to the present moment now with this promise from the second letter to the Corinthian church; Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
And we conclude with a prayer from the Spanish nun of the Counter Reformation period, St Teresa of Avila;
Christ has no body on earth but ours, no hands but ours, no feet but ours, ours are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion for the world is to look out; ours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good; and ours are the hands with which He is to bless. Amen.