Wonder Box paper lotus

I watched a good video a while back of a workshop given at General Assembly this year called "Wonderbox: Integrated, Meaningful Time for All Ages." The presenter was Rev. Christina Leone (from my birth town of Annapolis, MD!). (I'll post the link below; it's an hour long, but very worth a watch.) The concept of her Time for All Ages idea draws much from Spirit Play (which she mentions herself in the presentation), and seems like a good fit for our congregation. We're trying it for the first time this Sunday.

The Story for All Ages this week is the parable of the Buddha and the flower:

Who can help me with the Wonder Box today? Anyone willing to open it and see what’s inside?

Ah, I see we have a flower. This is a folded paper flower, maybe a folded paper lotus. This isn’t the only lotus in this room. Can anyone else see another?

Today’s Time for All Ages story is about the Buddha, Sidhartha Gautama, and his “Flower Sermon.”

The story goes that one day, the Buddha was scheduled to speak before thousands of his disciples. They were all gathered waiting for him, waiting to receive his wisdom.

The Buddha entered. Maybe a hush fell over the crowd. But the Buddha…said nothing. He said nothing, but he held out a flower. He looked at the flower. The disciples…didn’t know what to do.

One delivered a lecture on the meaning of the flower.

One composed a poem about the flower and recited it.

One shared a parable on what the flower could symbolize.

Still, the Buddha stayed silent, and simply…looked.

Finally, the disciple Mahakashyapa looked. He was also silent. And then, he smiled.

The Buddha handed Mahakashyapa the flower, and he said to his followers, “What could be said, I have said to you. And what could not be said, but what had to be known wordlessly, for one’s own self, I have given to Mahakashyapa.”

And our Wonder Box item is a paper lotus, made using these directions:

We don't have a dedicated Wonder Box yet, but that will be fun little thrift store trip in the next couple of days.