St. Mark

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the history module is to teach children the rich history and traditions of the Coptic church. In this module, we will go over Christ and disciples, St. Mark, St. Anianus, and St. Polycarp. These Saints established the grounds of our Coptic faith and built the foundation of the Coptic Orthodox Church. St. Mark brought Coptic Christianity to Egypt.

INTRODUCTION & HOOK - 10 Minutes

Please review the previous week's lesson. (5 minutes)

For the introduction for this lesson, the servant will dress up as Saint Mark. Wear a white and red garment and hold the bible. Bring two lions as props. These lions can be toys or printed and taped onto straws or popsicle sticks. Then ask the kids to guess who you are. After choosing a couple of kids to answer, tell them that you are Saint Mark and you will tell them your story. Remember to talk in the first person.

HOLY SCRIPTURE - 2 Minutes

Memory Verse
"Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature." (Mark 16:15)

CONTENT (KEY POINTS) - 15 Minutes

Narrate the story of St. Mark. St. Mark was born to Mary and Aristopolos, a Jewish family. St. Mark liked to walk with his father Aristopolos. One day he took a walk with his father in Jordan. Suddenly a male and female lion appeared out of nowhere and roared. Aristopolos told St. Mark to run away. St. Mark answered his father and said " do not be afraid my father, for Jesus Christ in whom I believe, will save us from the lions". St. Mark started praying to God and made the sign of the Cross, and the two lions fell dead. His father was amazed by this miracle and became a Christian believer. His mother later became a believer as well.

St. Mark was a disciple of Jesus. St. Mark's mother's house is where the disciples had the last supper with Jesus. St. Mark performed many miracles after Jesus died on the cross. Later, he went to Egypt, Alexandria to preach God's word. He walked a lot in Egypt and his sandal became torn so he went to a cobbler (shoemaker) called Anianus to fix his sandal. While fixing St. Mark's sandal, he accidentally pierced his hand with a needle and cried out loud saying "O One God". St. Mark was happy to hear this and prayed to God to heal Aniono's wound. He began to tell Anianus about our Lord Jesus Christ, the only and one God. After hearing this, Anionos wanted to become a Christian. He took St. Mark home with him to baptize his family and preach to many others. St. Mark ordained Anianus as the first bishop over Egypt and St. Mark became the first Patriarch. He brought Christianity to Egypt and convinced millions of Egyptians to become Christians and learn about Jesus. He is the founder of the Coptic church. He made the first divine liturgy later modified by St. Cyril and wrote the gospel of St. Mark in the bible.

DISCUSSION (Challenge) - 7 Minutes

Show the icon of St. Mark to the kindergarteners. Review with the kids:

Who is St. Mark?
What was his mission?
Why does his icon have a lion and why is he holding a book?
How can we be like Saint Mark?

LIFE APPLICATION - 6 Minutes

We must have strong faith like St. Mark. Whenever we are afraid or something happens to us we should pray and trust that God will protect us. This week at home, include St. Mark in your prayers. Ask God with the intercession of St. Mark to have a strong faith and trust like him.

ACTIVITY - 20 Minutes

Option One: We will be making a paper plate lion mask for our activity. The materials we will need are white paper plates, construction paper, paint or colors, large googly eyes, scissors, paintbrush, glue, and popsicle stick or string

Cut the outside of the paper plate. Remember to leave the inner circle for later. Paint or color brown then cut into fringes as demonstrated in the picture above. Paint or color the inner portion of the paper plate yellow. Cut the lion's nose from construction paper and glue it onto the yellow portion. Glue the googly eyes. Draw whiskers. Finally to make the paper plate into a mask, glue the popsicle stick behind the paper plate. Another option is to make two holes on the mask and attach the string.

Option Two: Print and distribute the coloring page of St. Mark. Have the students write their names on their paper and take it home to review during the week.

COPTUNES+ VIDEO

SERVANT RESOURCES

St. Mark for Kids (from minute 1:30 to 4:30)

PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK

Have the parents review the story of St. Mark at home and include St. Mark in your intercession during this week's prayer.

Hang up your child's coloring picture of St. Mark in their prayer corner and memorize the verse. If possible, give children an icon of St. Mark to take home.