Studies and Program Ideas for the Fall Holidays

Halloween and Thanksgiving are coming up on our calendars. The NC Conference Media Center offers reproducible small-group studies, youth and children’s curricula, and program planning resources related to these holidays.

Reproducible Small Group Studies

Free book studies on Halloween and Thanksgiving! You can make copies of these studies for everyone in your group. We can even email a PDF of the study to you if you prefer that to receiving a printed copy.

This Special Church Edition not only streamlines Washington Irving’s original story, but it also provides Christian insights and discussion questions. Find out just how fully the midnight race through Sleepy Hollow was guided by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Four discussion sections cover the questions Christians usually ask about Halloween. Did Halloween start as a pagan celebration? Is Halloween celebrated as a Satanic holiday today? Why is the focus of Halloween so dark? What should a Christian do on Halloween?

It is often said that the Pilgrims came to America for religious freedom, but that is not what the Pilgrims said. Read the Pilgrims own words about how they became missionaries. Were they escaping persecution or simply spreading the Gospel? This study includes four reflection lessons with discussion questions.

Celebrate with Youth

These Bible lessons truly are sick…and totally interesting. Surprise your teenagers with the “disgusting” truth. Each of the 13 easy-to-use lessons focuses on a relevant topic related to a scary, gross or weird Bible story and includes a challenging “Fear Factor”-like activity (like eating daring treats), a fun game, and thought-provoking discussion questions that help teens uncover life application.

This DVD study draws middle schoolers into Bible events that will have them asking, “Is that really in the Bible?” These sessions will arrest their attention and get them to dig into issues that have been around since Bible times–the same kinds of issues your students are facing: the lure of popularity, arrogance, murder and violence, suicide, pain and suffering, and more. Use Dark and Disturbing Stories from the Bible to empower students to make God-honoring choices when they face PG-13 challenges.

This UMC-endorsed resource provides four activities to use with youth over the Thanksgiving holiday. A service project, an outline for thankful reflections, a bible study, and a psalm discussion are included.

Celebrate with Children

This charming story for children illustrates how a loving farmer can turn a simple pumpkin into a simply glorious sight – a jack-o-lantern! In the same way, God’s transforming love can fill each of our hearts with joy and light. Liz Curtis Higgs created this parable as a way to share the Good News with her own precious children each harvest season . . . and now with children everywhere.

Your kids will enjoy four Sunday school lessons with Madame Blueberry, the very blue berry who wants more stuff! They’ll learn alongside Madame Blueberry that “being greedy makes you grumpy—…but a thankful heart is a happy heart!” The kit includes a DVD with video clips, a CD-ROM with coloring pages, and a Teacher Guide with objectives, scripture, supply lists, and activity scripts. For ages 3-8. The Veggie Connections DVD also offers a lesson for the holiday of Thanksgiving.

Plan a Thanksgiving Program

This book of intergenerational activities offers lots of ideas to celebrate All Saints’ Day and Thanksgiving. Instructions for recipes, crafts, games, and activities are included. Leaders will appreciate the ideas for outreach, prayer, bible study, and multicultural inclusion.

Make young children a part of your program with easy verses for them to recite. Give each child one verse or they can say them together. The three Thanksgiving poems in this book can be easily adapted to your group.

Request These Resources

These resources can be borrowed for free by anyone involved with a United Methodist Church in the North Carolina Conference. We can even mail them to you! All you need to do is fill out the Resource Request Form.