I've reached the liturgy part of "Tragedies and Christian Congregations." Lots of great stuff, but so far, it all seems to be aimed at adults. I want to share what we did in Jr Church at a church in Kensington on the Sunday after Grenfell. @kmrodonnell @drkatiecross

We did the Hebrew Scriptures one year, New Testament the next, with breaks for festivals. We didn't follow the lectionary. By COMPLETE COINCIDENCE, the story chosen for that Sunday was the sack of Jerusalem. If it hadn't been something appropriate, I might have changed it.

But as it was, we went with that story. This church was not right up against Grenfell, like St Clement's, but many of the children were at school with survivors or victims of the fire. They knew children who had been in the fire, or had died. It was close to home.

I told the story, using the Beulah Land feltboard pieces. Putting up the flames around Jerusalem felt profound. Then we talked about the fire, and how the story was the same and how it was different.

We used open-ended wondering questions - "I wonder what the most important part of the story was." "I wonder how the people felt when they lost their home." etc.

Then we went out to the front of the church, where there was the church porch and an open paved space, and the pavement passing by. I gave them coloured chalks and said "draw or write what you would like to tell the neighbourhood about what's happened at Grenfell, or about God."

And I let them loose. We had pictures of people holding hands, words like "THERE IS ALWAYS HOPE," and so much more. By taking them outside, I made a connection with the story to the community, and gave the children some power: "you're telling adult passers-by something."

By using chalks, we created a temporary memorial - it lasted after the service, after the children had gone home, but we didn't have to make a decision about taking it down, because the weather did that for us.

If you're doing liturgy with a traumatised community, think about people of all ages. Think about how children process trauma and grief, and how you can empower them. Feeling in control makes such a difference when you're little.

This is relevant as churches may start to gather again and process the coronavirus pandemic. It has been - and continues to be - a formative childhood experience for a generation. How can you explore that with them liturgically?

Even if they haven't lost a loved one, they may experience a lot of the same emotions as bereavement - they have lost important things, there have been big changes, and changes involve loss. You can find out about how children react to bereavement here: https://www.childbereavementuk.org/supporting-bereaved-children-and-young-people

Some information from the Children's Society on childhood trauma, what it looks like, and what can help: https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/trauma-resource-leaflet.pdf