STORY: THE GREAT FAMILY
BIBLICAL CITATION: GENESIS 24
Abraham and Sarah are visited by three strangers, who tell them that in their old age, they will have a son. Their esponse? Laughter--and when their son is born, they name him Isaac, the Hebrew word for laughter. God gently chides them for their disbelief, saying, "Is anything too difficult for the Lord?" Isaac and his wife Rebekah contiue this Great Family.
Light a candle, and read this part of the story from a children's Bible.
BRINGING THE STORY HOME
As you and your chilkdren wonder together about this story, you may wish to talk about your own family and how it came to be. Your family is also part of the family here at St. Bartholomew's Church. In baptism, we are welcomed into "the household of God", and that is our connection to all Christians--those who are living, and those who have gone before us, whose lives and faithful witness we will commemorate on the Feast of All Saints in three weeks' time.
Older children might be interested in further exploring the connection we have with Jews and Muslims who are part of our Great Family.
STORY: THE GREAT FAMILY
BIBLICAL CITATION: GENESIS 12-15, 24
Throughout Genesis, we continue to seek what theologian Jerome Berryman calls the elusive presence of God. Berryman continues, "God was present at Creation, blessing all that was made. Noah walked with God and was led by God to build an ark that preserved life. Now Abraham and Sarah discover that God is present everywhere, putting their lives on the line to test the promises of God."
Light a candle, and read this story aloud from a children's Bible.
The part of the story the children heard this week concludes with God's promise that Abraham and Sarah would be the parents of a great family, whose members would be as many as the stars in the sky and the grains of sand in the desert. Imagine together the magnitude of God's promise, and what it might have been like for Abraham and Sarah to hear.
The world's three major religions, Judaism, Islam and Christianity, are called the Abrahamic faiths because we share this common ancestry--we are all part of this Great Family.
STORY: The Flood and the Ark 
BIBLICAL CITATION: Genesis 6-8
The story of the Flood and the Ark is the third creation story in Genesis, the re-creation of the world. God promises to Noah that God will protect Noah and his family, and all the animals; and God promises to them and to us that God will never again destroy the world with a flood. It is the first of God's promises that is extended to us, and we are a part of this covenant— we are children of Noah, too, who brought life back to the earth.
Light a candle, and read the story aloud from the Bible or from a children's Bible, or invite your child to tell you the story.
Bringing the Story Home
Ask some open-ended "wondering" questions: I wonder what part of the story you like best? I wonder what you think the most important part of the story is? I wonder which person you liked best from the story? Be open to their responses and questions to you. Allow your child to lead you. Older children may be invited into wondering about issues of the environment and conservation: how we care for the earth, plants and animals.
A beautifully illustrated and complete version of the story can be found in the picture book, Noah's Ark, by Jerry Pinkney. Rabbi Sandy Sasso has written A Prayer for the Earth: The Story of Namaah, Noah's Wife. According to Jewish midrash, Namaah at God's command collected two seeds from every growing plant on the earth.
STORY: Creation
BIBLICAL CITATION: Genesis 1:1-2:3 
The Bible begins by telling of God's love for us from the beginning of time as God created the world and everything in it and created us in God's own image. One of the reasons that the opening of Genesis is so compelling is that it carries the repetition and rhythms of the oral tradition, told as it was from generation to generation ages before the Bible became a book.
Light a candle, and read the story aloud.
Family members might take turns reading one of the six days of Creation.
Bringing the Story Home
Take a nature walk! Invite younger children to point out the wonderful things God has made, and even make rubbings with the side of a crayon on a sheet of paper over tree bark and leaves. Older children may take digital photos of their favorite natural elements, animals and people. Everyone can choose something to bring home from the walk—stones, a dandelion, a branch—and use them as a centerpiece for your evening meal. Include in the family blessing giving thanks for the wonders of creation each family member names.There are many wonderful retellings of the Creation story.For younger children, I highly recommend Big Momma Makes the World by Phyllis Root. Older children will enjoy James Weldon Johnson’s evocative 1922 poem, “The Creation.”