Holy Unction
HOLY UNCTION
Objectives:
- Children should know what is done when someone is sick. They should know the words “holy unction”.
- Children should be able to recall some of the miracles of Jesus.
Possible Lesson Plan:
- Open with prayer.
- Discuss the concept of illness with the children. Have they ever been sick? What do they feel like? How is that different from being well? What do their parents do to make them feel better and get well when they are sick? (go to the doctor, take medicine, special foods or special bed, etc.)
- Discuss the miracles of Jesus – Read the stories of Jesus’s healing miracles in the Beginner’s Bible, pages 340-350,371-374, 405-408, the Children’s Bible Reader, pages 188-189, 213, 221-222, or the Read with Me Bible, pages 308-311 and 350-353. Supplement especially with the Arch Book, “He Remembered to Say Thank You” or with the Golden Children’s Bible pages 369,372,373, 384, and 398. What did Jesus do? (Heal them.) Why? (He loved them.) Does Jesus also love us? Did the people remember to say “Thank you”? During the service of Holy Unction, the story of the Good Samaritan is read; review it now in the Beginner’s Bible, pages 379-384, the Children’s Bible Reader, page 202, the Read with Me Bible, pages 324-328 or the Golden Children’s Bible, pages 412-413. Was the man healed? How was oil involved?
- Say the words “holy unction”; have the children repeat it until they have learned it. What is holy unction? It is the anointing with blessed oil of a sick person in praying that Jesus will make him well. The book of James (Remember the mighty tongue?) tells us whenever we are sick, we should call the elders of the church and be anointed with oil. You can also role-play this, with teacher as priest, a student “sick” in bed, and the others as family members:
Priest: Blessed is our God always, now and ever and unto ages of ages.
All: Amen.
Priest: Thou Who didst save Daniel from the lions and the three children in the Persian fire, do thou have mercy on thy servant (name) and grant healing unto thy sick servant. What does it say in the book of James?
One student: Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith shall save the sick.
Priest: Let us listen to the Holy Gospel. And a certain Samaritan bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and took care of him.
(Priest takes a cotton swab, dips it in oil, and anoints the “sick” student in cross form on the forehead, nose, cheeks, lips, chest, both hands) saying:
O holy Father, Physician of our souls and bodies, heal thou thy servant (name) from his illness.
All: Amen.
5. Make a “First Aid Kit” necklace: Begin with an empty pill bottle or similar and fill with First Aid items the children will recognize -- band-aids,
cotton balls, Alcohol prep – but be sure to include the phone number of the priest to remind them to call for prayer! After filling, paint the container (or cover with contact paper or duct tape), poke a hole through each side of the top just below the lid, and attach a string for wearing. Even easier than the bottle? Take a toilet paper tube, cover with duct tape, and fold each end to seal. 
6. Alternate craft idea: Make a Healing Prayerbook – Cut the back and front from heavy paper and copy the pages and cut out; pattern is on the next 3 pages. Children can write in the names of people they want to pray for. They can decorate with stickers. To bind simply twist a pipe cleaner around the top.
7. Close with prayer, praying especially for anyone known by a student to be sick.
