Your Shrove Tuesday event instructions...as ‘Pancake Day’, is a celebration that heralds the...

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Pause with PancakesYour Shrove Tuesday event instructions

We believe in life before death

Use Pause with Pancakes with Count Your Blessings, Christian Aid’s Lent calendar which offers daily opportunities to give, act and pray. Count Your Blessings comes in both adult and child versions, so the whole family can get involved.

Order yours at caid.org.uk/lent

Inside you’ll find:• A plan for your Pause with

Pancakes event

• A Shrove Tuesday reflection

• A pancake recipe

• A story about Christian Aid’s work in South Sudan

• Fundraising ideas

• Ways to send us the money you’ve raised


What’s your Shrove Tuesday tradition?This year, we invite you to gather your church, school or youth group to reflect on the Lent journey to Easter. Join us and raise funds for some of the world’s poorest people while raising awareness about the dangerous journeys many are forced to take as they flee persecution and conflict. How you structure your event is up to you – you’ll find plenty of meaningful and fun ideas in this resource.

What is Shrove Tuesday?How much will the people at your event know about the history of Shrove Tuesday? Here’s some interesting information for you to share with them. You could ask whether the children are giving anything up for Lent to start discussion.

• Shrove Tuesday, which you might know better as ‘Pancake Day’, is a celebration that heralds the beginning of Lent.

• Lent, the 40 days that mark the run up to Easter, is traditionally a time when Christians count their blessings and try to live more simply.

• The idea of Lent started 1,700 years ago in the fourth century. Back then, baptisms took place on Easter Sunday and the people being baptised were often adults. The 40 days of Lent gave them time to prepare for baptism

and often they fasted – went without food – to help them think about what they were about to do. Other members of the church would fast too, because it helped them reflect on all they had and to be thankful.

• Traditionally, Christians gave up meat, fat, eggs and dairy products for Lent, which is why they made pancakes beforehand – to use up any they had in store.

• Today, people often give up chocolate and other treats.

How to plan your Pause with Pancakes event

A Shrove Tuesday reflection

A pancake-making liturgy

Pancake recipe

A story about Christian Aid’s work in South Sudan

Fundraising ideas

Ways to send us the money you’ve raised

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Contents


We’ve put together all the information you need to host a fun and inspiring event for children, young people and their families at the start of their Lent journey.

Simply follow our steps and your event is sure to be a success.

Step 1: Invite everyone! Whether you’re organising your event in church, in school or for a group such as Brownies, Cubs or the youth club, it’s really easy to adapt this event plan.

Step 2: Plan your activities Read through this resource and get ready to lead everyone through the event. Pick which of our crowd-pleasing fundraising ideas you’ll use.

Step 3: Choose your location Whether it’s in the church hall on Shrove Tuesday, with your youth group during half-term, or at school before the children break up, get it booked soon.

Step 4: Spread the word Tell your congregation and invite families. Don’t forget to print off posters at caid.org.uk/lent and put them up to remind people to save the date. Ask for a suggested donation for entry and remind people to bring money for your fundraising activities.

Step 5: Gather all the ingredients Just tick off items from this list to ensure you have everything. Don’t worry if making pancakes isn’t practical for your group – simply make them in advance. See the recipe on page 6.

ChecklistFor the batter (makes 6 pancakes – multiply quantities for your group):

o 55g plain flour

o 1 large egg

o 100ml milk mixed with 40ml water

o 25g oil or butter

o a pinch of salt

o tasty toppings such as lemons, sugar, jam, chocolate spread, honey, etc.

For the cooking during the Pause with Pancakes liturgy:

o enough bowls and sieves for the groups who will make pancakes

o frying pans

o whisks, ladles, spatulas and any other utensils you use to make pancakes

o kitchen paper

o printed copies of the liturgy on page 4 for readers

For the meal after the Pause with Pancakes liturgy:

oextra pancakes! Make some in advance, to make sure you have enough for everybody.

o plates and cutlery – please be kind to the environment and try not to use disposable items

o Christian Aid collecting tins, or a basket or plate

o a copy of Count Your Blessings (adult or child versions) for everyone. Contact your local Christian Aid office for yours, call 0870 078 7788 or email [email protected]

o whatever else you need for your chosen fundraising ideas.

Plan your event

Be sure to

buy Fairtrade

products

where you can!


This opening reflection will set the tone for your event and help your group think about their Lent journeys.

Read out the bold text to your group and guide them to participate using the instructions. You’ll find options for church and language suitable for all faiths if you are doing it in school.

Gather everyone in a circle in a central space large enough to spread out.

Pausing with Pancakes: our opening reflection

Read out Life is a journey. We’re always heading out to new things – new experiences, new people, new lessons to learn. Today, we’re gathering to get ready for Lent, a special time to think about what kind of people God calls us to be.

If you’re holding your event in school, you could say that Lent is ‘a special time to think about what kind of neighbours we want to be’.

Instruct the group Take the hand of the person next to you – feel the warmth and the strength.

Read out God gives us each other and when we love and look after each other, even though the path is winding and sometimes you can’t see over the next hill, it’s easier, with others, to find your way.

Instruct the group Now, let go and take a step back, make the circle wider.

Read out Imagine all the people who need love – maybe they’re hungry or sad or scared or lonely – maybe they’d just like to be included or listened to. Maybe they have no safe place to call home. And now, in your imagination, bring them into the circle.

Instruct the group Stretch your hands out towards each other, but don’t touch.

Read out Imagine the circle just got wider. Let’s have a prayer.

The journey into Lent begins tomorrow, God. We’ve gathered with our friends to think about where our lives need to go and how we can walk together and welcome others. Thank you for always watching over us. Help us remember that we do not walk alone. Amen.

If you’re doing your event in a school, use this alternative reflection:

The journey into Lent begins tomorrow. We’ve gathered with our friends to think about where our lives need to go and how we can walk together and welcome others. Remember, we do not walk alone. Love spurs us on and teachers and friends walk beside us. Help us remember that we are all neighbours, called to share.


Once you’ve welcomed the group and begun the reflection, you can move on to our pancake-making liturgy. You have two options, either demonstrating to the group or getting everyone to participate, depending on what’s practical for your event. Choose two people to lead the liturgy, and then either make pancakes in front of everybody or divide up the group to make their own pancakes.

Option 1 Demonstrating:You will need a central table with the ingredients and utensils set out. After the liturgy and the batter are completed, the mix can be taken to the kitchen and used to make pancakes.

Option 2Group participation: Divide the group into smaller groups of two-to-four people. Send each group to tables set up with the ingredients and utensils. Once you’ve set up the pancake-making table or tables, have your readers read out the reflections (on the right). Either ask each group to add the ingredients along with each reading, or demonstrate at the central table.

Making the batter: our pancake-making liturgy

Reader 1: Today we make pancakes and we think about the mix. We come just as we are. Some bits good, some bits bad: we’re not always sure what is right and wrong. We are, each one of us, a mixture called ‘life’.

Reader 2: Sometimes we like what we have. We’re happy where we are. We like being comfortable and we’re not eager to change.

Reader 1: Sifting in flour So, we sift in some flour, smoothing out the lumps and bumps – the things we regret and the wrong things we’ve done.

Reader 2: Adding a pinch of salt And we add a dash of salt, to make the ‘ordinary’ better with God’s love.

Reader 1: Adding milk And we add in some milk, because we all need God’s strength for our journey.

Reader 2: Adding egg And we add an egg, the symbol of new life, and look forward to new possibilities.

Reader 1: Mixing We mix it all together. We use up the ingredients of the past to give us strength, and to move on towards the future as we journey through Lent.

All: As we share this food, we will share our hunger for justice. We will eat together so that we learn how to share. We will gain strength for the journey so that we can walk together and find others who hunger for life.

Once the liturgy is completed, invite everyone to collect a pancake. Give each person a plate. When they come up to get their pancake, the person providing the pancake should speak these words:

‘May this food give you strength for your journey. Remember all you have and all you have to share’

‘May this food give you strength for your journey.

Remember all you have and all you have to share’


Pancake recipe

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IngredientsMakes 6 pancakes - multiply for your group!

55g plain flour

1 large egg

100ml milk mixed with 40ml water

25g oil or butter

a pinch of salt

tasty toppings such as lemons, sugar, jam, chocolate spread, honey, etc.

Method

Put the flour, egg and milk in a bowl or large jug. Add a pinch of salt.

Wipe a frying pan with some oiled kitchen paper and then set it over a medium heat.

Whisk the mix into a smooth batter. If you’re making these before the event you can set the batter aside, but it’s fine to start cooking straight away too.

When the pan’s hot, cook your pancakes for 1 minute on each side until golden.

Our Pause with Pancakes reflection involves making at least one batch of pancakes with your group using this recipe. You can also split your audience up into smaller groups and get them making their own – if so, simply multiply the ingredients by the number of people you expect to come.

Make sure to buy Fairtrade products for your toppings where you can!

If making pancakes isn’t practical for your group, don’t worry! You can make the pancakes in advance using the same recipe and use the activities in this resource as reflections only. We recommend having plenty of pancakes already made up to give out at the end of the session.


How the money you raise will change livesEunice’s storyThanks to the support of volunteers like you, we were able to help Eunice and his family. Share this story at your event to inspire the group.

Christian Aid works with people of all faiths and none, in close to 40 countries around the world. In many of these countries, large numbers of people have no safe place to call home. People are forced to leave their homes for a lot of reasons – sometimes there is war and fighting and people need to leave their homes to be safe. Other times, natural disasters can destroy people’s homes and land.

In South Sudan, a country in Africa, there has been lots of fighting since it gained independence in 2011. Many people have had to leave their homes.

Eunice is a young boy who lives with his family in South Sudan. One day, soldiers came to his village, which was very dangerous, so he had to run away and hide with his family in a swamp. One member of his family, Michael, is 80 years old and has very bad eyesight, so he had to be guided through the water to safety.

When the soldiers were gone, Eunice and his family returned home, but they found that everything they owned had been destroyed. Can you imagine how horrible that was for them? The good news was that Christian Aid could give Eunice’s family new fishing hooks, which they use to catch fish to eat from the big lake near their home. Eunice is now being taught how to fish, so he’ll be able to feed himself and his family when he grows up. Without these hooks, Eunice and his family would be hungry.

When we give money to Christian Aid, we are making a difference to the lives of people all over the world, most of whom we will never meet. Thinking about other people – people we know and people we don’t – and living lives that love and respect them, helps us to be good neighbours.

You will all get a copy of Count Your Blessings to take home with you. Count Your Blessings is a calendar for Lent with something new to read every day. Look at it each day to help you think about our lives here and the lives of our brothers and sisters around the world. Think about changes we can make in our own lives that might make a difference to people on the other side of the world.

Your Shrove Tuesday fundraising goalCould your community raise a life-changing £245 this Shrove Tuesday?

£245 could bring important change for people in South Sudan who’ve had to flee their homes. Your generosity would cover the cost of food in the local community, ensuring everyone can have nutritious meals. It would also provide a family like Eunice’s with the shelter, fishing supplies and farming tools that they need to survive today and thrive tomorrow.

We’ve plenty of exciting fundraising ideas for you to pick from on page 8.

Eunice in South Sudan is learning to fish, an important skill for the future.


Fundraising ideasWhat do you wish wasn’t happening in the world? By raising money for Christian Aid at your Pause with Pancakes event you’re bringing a just world closer.

Don’t forget to make sure the children and young people see how important their fundraising is. Tell them Eunice’s story and make the link between the money you’re raising and our journey to justice.

Hold a pancake-flipping contestHow many times can you flip a pancake in one minute?

Charge £2 to enter the competition.

Assign one person to time and another to count flips. Mark names up on a leader board and the top name at the end of your event wins a prize. Frying pans at the ready!

Get sponsored to flip it fast!Arrange for your children and young people to be sponsored 50p per pancake flip over just one minute. You’ll need a timer, a sponsorship form for each child and sharp reflexes!

Host a great pancake bake offDecorate a show-stopping pancake using a range of fruit and Fairtrade toppings.

Participants could donate £1 to enter the competition.

Award a Fairtrade Easter Egg to the winner, for them to eat at Easter. You can buy these at traidcraft.co.uk

Run a pancake raceWhy not run a pancake race? Each competitor donates £1 to enter.

You’ll need frying pans, pancakes and aprons (and chefs’ hats, if possible) for each runner. The winner is the first person to cross the line with their pancake still intact! We recommend a straight course.

Tea and pancake morningInvite friends, family and your local community to share your pancakes over some Fairtrade tea and coffee. Encourage donations at the door or have collecting plates on the tables. Don’t forget to sell any that are left over for a suggested donation!

Thank youThank you so much for joining us this Shrove Tuesday. We hope your event was thought-provoking and fun, and set your group up for your journey through Lent. The money you raise for Christian Aid will transform the lives of many more people like Eunice across the world.

We’d love to hear what you thought of our Shrove Tuesday resource! Please email [email protected] to tell us your feedback.

Eng and Wales charity no. 1105851 Company no. 5171525 Scot charity no. SC039150 Christian Aid Ireland: NI charity no. NIC101631 Company no. N1059154 and ROI charity no. 20014162 Company no. 426928. The Christian Aid name and logo are registered trademarks of Christian Aid. © Christian Aid January 2017. Christian Aid is a key member of Act Alliance. Front cover and inside spread photos: Christian Aid/Esme Allen. Liturgy text used with permission of Wild Goose Publications © (authors - Judith Jessop, Ruth Burgess and Sally Foster-Fulton). J17053

Paying in your money!

Collect the money and write a cheque to Christian Aid, and send to:Christian Aid, 35 Lower Marsh, London, SE1 7RL Please write ‘Pancake event’ on the back.

Call 020 7523 2269, quoting A027999.

Visit caid.org.uk/lent and click ‘pay in’

By giving to Christian Aid you are helping to overturn

poverty and injustice across the world.

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