Building Jerusalem Together

 Children in the Atrium explore the world of Holy Week by building the City of Jerusalem. An interview with Caroline Johnson, Children’s Formation Director

On Sunday mornings at St. Andrew’s, while many in our parish gather for coffee and adult formation programs, another small community gathers down the hall in the Atrium. There, among prayer tables, quiet chimes, and the gentle sounds of children settling in, the youngest members of our parish begin exploring the stories of faith. 

And one begins to wonder how faith first takes root in a child. Is it through words alone, or through something more. Through imagination, friendship, and the quiet joy of discovering a story together. 

Recently, that wondering took a creative turn as the children worked together to build an edible model of the City of Jerusalem. 

Using graham crackers, icing, and a colorful assortment of candies and treats, the children constructed walls, towers, and buildings that represented important places in Jerusalem during the time of Jesus. The project was both playful and purposeful, helping the children imagine the city where the events of Holy Week unfolded. 

Caroline Johnson, our Christian Formation Director, explained that the activity was designed to help the children picture Jerusalem not simply as a distant place in a story, but as a real city filled with real people. 

“Sometimes when we tell these stories, Jesus can start to feel like a character in a children’s book,” Caroline said. “But Jesus was a man who lived in a real place among real people. We want the children to begin imagining what that world might have looked and felt like.” 

As the children built their model city, they used different treats to represent groups of people who lived in Jerusalem or visited during Passover. Roman soldiers, Pharisees, and the many pilgrims who filled the streets of the city. The temple rose carefully from stacked crackers while icing held the city walls together. 

The project brought together children from kindergarten through fifth grade and required plenty of teamwork. 

“They really had to work together,” Caroline said. “We looked at maps and our small model city in the Atrium, and then we divided up the work. Some children worked on the temple, some built towers, and others focused on the walls.” 

The older children naturally stepped in to help the younger ones with the trickier parts of construction. Caroline stepped back whenever possible, allowing the children to collaborate and solve problems together. 

“It was wonderful to watch them figure it out,” she said. “They helped one another and took pride in what they were building.” 

The edible city was more than just a fun activity. It also serves as a foundation for the lessons the children will explore as Holy Week approaches. 

“This week we will return to Jerusalem in a more serious way,” Caroline explained. “We will talk more about the different groups of people who lived there and how they interacted with one another. We want the children to begin thinking about what it might have felt like to be there as the events of Holy Week unfolded.” 

Hands on experiences like this help the story stay with them. 

“When they experience something with their hands, it stays with them,” Caroline said. “It becomes part of their memory.” 

In the weeks ahead, as the parish prepares to walk through the story of Holy Week together, the children of St. Andrew’s will carry with them the memory of graham cracker walls, icing towers, and the shared experience of building Jerusalem together. 

Children’s Christian Formation is a joyful and meaningful part of life in our parish. Families and friends are always welcome, and we invite you to bring the children in your life to join us on Sunday mornings as we wonder together about the stories of faith and grow in the love of Christ. 

And somewhere in the middle of all that graham cracker construction and sticky icing, a few seeds of faith may quietly take root. Growing in ways we may not fully see yet, but trusting that, in time, they will.