Behind the altar for the Family Service hung a banner that showed St. Francis surrounded by fluttering, multi-colored birds. The birds reminded me of the little girl's comment last week that "birds are angels," which would mean that the banner showed St. Francis surrounded by angels. A happy thought!
St. Francis and angels and birds: what a lively trinity! In celebrating both St. Francis (this week) and St.Michael and All Angels (last week), birds really do figure prominently. For example, on Michaelmas, which occurs just five days before St. Francis Day, farmers used to scatter grain for the wild birds in oder to bring good luck to their farms.
So I thought I would share with you a bird-centered activity that my kids used to enjoy when they were little: making bird feeders and then hanging them near-by.
This is incredibly easy (also somewhat messy). You need:
peanut butter (shortening will work if you have a child with peanut allergies)
pinecones that you collect (its own adventure!) or corn cobs or even popcorn balls
bird seed
yarn or string for hanging
What to do:
Put down newspaper as a work surface.
Have the children spread peanut butter all over the outside of the pinecones.
Pour the bird seed into a pan, and let the children roll the pinecones around in the seeds. Seeds will stick to the peanut butter.
Tie a long piece of yarn or string to each pinecone.
Go for a walk to find the right place to hang your bird feeders.
As you walk, or while you work to make the bird feeders, you could teach at least the first two verses of "All things bright and beautiful." You can find a simple version with lyrics here, or another with a slightly different melody and gorgeous accompanying pictures.
It's worth celebrating the bright and beautiful world of autumn, and by making these very simple feeders you teach your children to care for all God's creatures.
And if the little girl is right, you'll be feeding angels!
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