for Trinity Sunday (May 30)

Names

Proverbs 8:1–4, 22–31 (Wisdom calls)
Psalm 8
Revelation 5:1–5 (2b “we boast in ... the glory of God”; 5b God’s love poured into our hearts)
John 16:12–15 (13 “‘When the Spirit of truth comes, ...’”)

The opportunities for playing with names are almost limitless. Encourage silliness as well as reverence and the concept of names reflecting relationship.

• Invite participants to share the names, titles, and nicknames used in their families and friend circles. Pet names can be an especially rich source of relationship, but be prepared for the affection-bearing putdown. It’s probably best not to allow participants to reveal the pet names of those not present, especially for young children to reveal what they’ve heard their parents call each other.
• Ask participants to share the secret names they call themselves, even if each only whispers it to one other person. Such names can found special bonds.
• The Hebrew name for Dame Wisdom is Hokhma. You can talk about how unwieldy that is compared to Sophia.

Musical ideas: “Tell Me Your Name” by Carolyn McDade (1998; on her CD “We Are the Land We Sing”)
“The Name Game” from the 1960s (“Banana fanna fo fanna,” etc.)