Willow Street Stories
Willow Street Stories
Introduction: About Willow Street
Chapter 1: Stories within Stories
Chapter 2: Battle Scenes
Chapter 3: Batteries and Wires
Chapter 4: A Story about Arts and Crafts
Chapter 5: Artists At Work
Chapter 6: Music of the Stars
Chapter 7: Pluto and the Parables
Chapter 8: A Psalm about Home
Chapter 9: A Psalm and a Piano Lesson
Chapter 10: The Art Gallery
Chapter 11: A Wedding Gift
Chapter 12: An Easter Egg Hunt
Introduction: About Willow Street
Every generation comes to the Bible with its own eyes. For many generations, the Bible has been the first book that children learned to read; the book that traveled with families across oceans and continents; the book that inspired artists to create paintings, poetry and music. In our generation, many people are taking a fresh look at the themes in the Bible. And so this is a book that introduces the Bible to children of a millennial generation.
Stories are set on Willow Street, a quiet city street like many others, with a small neighborhood church and a local corner store. A place that blends old-fashioned and modern life, it is a good setting for this book about Bible stories. It is a place where stories from the Bible are part of daily life. At church. In conversations with family. In music lessons. At an art gallery.
This is a book of stories within stories. The wonderful thing about the Bible is the way each story, poem and prayer can be the starting point for our own conversations, stories and work.
In the words of one of the characters in this story, Willow Street is a place where families have lived for generations. And it is a place where newcomers quickly feel welcome. The Bible can be the same way. You can soon feel at home exploring and asking questions of your own.
Chapter 1: Stories within Stories
Jeremiah was in church with his grandfather and his aunt and uncle. The church was called WillowStreetChurch. It was on Willow Street where Jeremiah lived.He had gone to this church ever since he was a baby. Now he was ten years old.
While everyone in the church was singing, Jeremiah saw his friend Corey and waved. He looked around to see who else was there. Sammy and his sister Emmanuelle were sitting near the front with their mother and father. Sarah was there with her mother.The Sunday School teacher, Ms. Campbell, was sitting nearby.
After the singing, the pastor said, “Children can go downstairs with Ms. Campbell for Sunday School now.”He didn’t really need to say it. Every week they went to Sunday School after the singing time.
Down the stairs they went, chattering happily.
In the Sunday School room, they found pink heart-shaped cookies and pink and red and white paper. “Oh no, Valentines Day is coming up” said Corey. “Mushy valentines. Pink cookies. Hearts everywhere. The horror!”
Laughing, Ms. Campbell said “Yes! And we’re going to read a love story in honor of Valentines Day.”
“Really?” Jeremiah said. Every week they read a story or poem from the Bible. What kind of love story would they read, he wondered.
“Ugh, a mushy love story?” said Corey.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “It’s not mushy. Not even romantic. Who wants to read first?”
“Fine, I’ll read,” said Corey.
Ms. Campbell gave story papers to everyone. Corey began reading:
Jesus told people “Love your neighbor.”
“Who is my neighbor?” some people asked.
“Let me tell you a story” Jesus said.
“Once there was a man who was travelling along a road. Robbers came and knocked the man down and stole everything he was carrying. He was hurt and he could hardly move and he had no money.”
Corey paused. “Who wants to read next?” asked Ms. Campbell. “I will,” said Jeremiah. So he read out loud:
“Two people walked by and didn’t help.”
“But a third man, who was from the countryof Samaria, stopped to help.”
“He used his own shirt to wrap the man’s wounds. He used his donkey to bring the man to an inn. He paid the innkeeper for the man’s room and for a meal, because the man’s money had been stolen.”
After Jesus told the story, he asked the people, “In your opinion, which one of these three acted like a neighbor toward the man attacked by the robbers?”
Someone answered Jesus, “The Samaritan. The one who was kind to him.”
Jesus replied, “You go, then, and do the same.”
Jeremiah finished reading and put down his paper.
“So what kind of love story is this?” asked Ms. Campbell.
Sarah answered first. “Friendship love,” she said.
“The ‘love your neighbor’ type of love,” said Emmanuelle.
“The kind of love that isn’t all mushy and valentiney,” said Corey. “It’s practical,”
“These are great answers,” said Ms. Campbell.“Jesus told lots of stories to explain how people can show love for other people.”
Ms. Campbell held up some paper hearts, one nested inside the other. “Notice that there is a story within a story. It starts out as a story about Jesus teaching a group of people. Jesus says “Love your neighbor.” When someone asks ‘Who is my neighbor?’ he answers with a story. When you learn about the Bible, you find a lot of stories within stories. Even stories within stories within stories.”
“Can we eat the cookies now?” asked Sammy. Corey was already munching on a pink heart.
“Oh yes!” said Ms. Campbell. “Let’s pass around the cookies. Then we’ll pass around the scissors, glue and glitter and start the craft project.”
Chapter 2: Battle Scenes
After the church service was over, Jeremiah and Corey walked to the corner store to buy some snacks while the adults were talking and drinking coffee at the church.
When they got there, a man they didn’t recognize was working in the store. Usually, Mr. or Mrs. Martinez, the store owners, were behind the counter, or one of their two sons.
“Hello,” he said. “We haven’t met yet. I’m Victor. I am Mr. Martinez’s nephew.”
“Oh, hello,” said Corey. “I’m Corey and this is Jeremiah.”
“It’s nice to meet you both,” said Victor. “I’ve just moved to Willow Street to work with my aunt and uncle. I’ll be working here in the store for a while.”
As they were talking, some older boys from their school came into the store. The boys were talking animatedly about a new action movie, called Jericho. “The battle scene is awesome!” one boy exclaimed. “I want to see it again,” another boy said. “It was so intense!”
Overhearing the conversation, Corey asked Jeremiah if he was going to see the movie.
“No,” Jeremiah answered. “Actually my grandfather doesn’t want me to see war movies.”
“Well, your grandfather is one of the most religious people I know,” said Corey.
“Yes,” said Jeremiah, “But sometimes I wish I could see the same movies that everyone gets to see.”
“Excuse me for jumping into your conversation,” said Victor, “But I’d like to say that I agree with your grandfather about war movies.”
“Oh?” said Jeremiah.
“Do you know anyone who was in the military during wartime?” Victor asked.
“Yes,” Jeremiah answered. My grandfather was in the Army in Vietnam. And my uncle is in the Marines and he has been all over the world. Iraq. Afghanistan.”
“And my father was in the Army.” said Corey.
“I just got back,” said Victor, quietly. “Three years overseas. And I don’t want to see or hear any more war stories for a while.”
“Oh!” said Jeremiah and Corey.
“But one thing is strange,” said Victor. “Jericho is actually based on a story from the Bible. There’s an old story about a battle in a city called Jericho. It’s an interesting and dramatic story, and I’m sure it makes a great movie, but it is also violent. I wonder what your grandfather says about Bible stories like Jericho.”
Corey and Jeremiah smiled.
“We can tell you what he’ll say,” Corey said.
Jeremiah straightened his shoulders and stood up tall, imitating his grandfather. “Boys, every story in the Bible is there for a reason. People need stories.”
Corey nodded. “He once told us something about how people naturally love adventure stories. Like in video games and comic books.”
“That’s interesting,” said Victor. “I’ll love to meet him sometime soon.”
“You will!” Jeremiah said. “My grandfather and I come to the store here a lot.”
“Good!” said Victor. “I’ll look forward to seeing you again soon. I think I’m going to learn a lot, living here on Willow Street.”
Chapter 3: Batteries and Wires
Later that afternoon, Jeremiah and Corey were sitting at the kitchen table with batteries, light bulbs, wires, paper clips, cardboard, scissors and tape spread out on the table. They were working on a school project.
“That looks fun!” said Jeremiah’s aunt, as she walked into the kitchen.
“I love this project,” said Corey happily. “Me too!” said Jeremiah.
They worked on the project while she started preparing dinner. Soon the project started to take shape. It was a circuit, with wires running from the batteries to the light bulbs and back again. Paper clips formed switches, so that moving a paper clip back and forth made the lights turn on and off.
“When is Granddad going to be home?” Jeremiah asked. “I want him to see this.”
“He should be home in a few minutes,” she answered.
“How come he doesn’t let you see war movies?” Corey asked.
“You can ask him yourself,” Jeremiah’s aunt answered, “He’s coming in now.”
Jeremiah’s grandfather came in and sat down at the table with the boys, admiring their project. “This is beautifully done!” he said as he tried out each of the paperclip switches in the circuit.
Corey asked his question. “How come you won’t let Jeremiah go see war movies? We were in the store today and some boys were talking about the Jericho movie. Jeremiah said you won’t let him go see it.”
“Are you going to see it?” the grandfather asked Corey.
“No, my mother won’t let me go either,” Corey answered. “But you were in the army. And you like old Bible stories. So why don’t you like the movie?”
“In a few years, you’ll both probably be allowed to choose some of the movies you want to see. But right now you are still pretty young,” Jeremiah’s aunt said.
His grandfather continued, “I don’t like war, and I’m interested in how the world can find ways to put an end to war. But I have a lot of respect for soldiers in the military. When I go to the veterans’ hall, I hear men telling stories that are amazing, stories from 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago.”
“So war stories are good?” Jeremiah asked.
“Some things aren’t very simple. The Bible stories like the Battle of Jericho story come from a long time ago. There was a tradition of storytelling in those days, just like there is a modern tradition of movies and books and video games now.”
Jeremiah’s aunt explained the story. “In the Jericho story, the people are fighting a battle. They were trying to go into a city that was surrounded by high walls. The story is that their leader, Joshua, blew a trumpet and the city walls came tumbling down.”
Corey said, “Oh! That happens in one of my video games too! You can make the walls of a fort come crashing down. ”
Jeremiah’s grandfather nodded. “Exactly! People love stories and games where there are problems to solve and barriers to overcome. Some stories and games are scary and loud and violent. But underneath the surface, there are still lots of good things to think about.”
Jeremiah said “There’s a new person working in the store who wants to meet you. His name is Victor. He is Mr. Martinez’s nephew.”
“Why don’t we go to the store for ice cream after dinner,” his grandfather suggested, and they all agreed.
Chapter 4: A Story about Arts and Crafts
It was Sunday again. Jeremiah, Corey, Sammy, Emmanuelle and Sarah were in Sunday School.Sarah’s nine-year-old cousin Ben was visiting and came to Sunday Schooltoo. He sat down at the table between Sarah and Sammy.
There were boxes with red, blue and purple yarn on the table.
“If there’s one thing our teacher likes,” said Sammy to Ben, “It’s arts and crafts. Well, two things. Bible stories and arts and crafts.”
“Hmmm, true!” said Ms. Campbell. “And today we are reading one of my favorite stories. It is a Bible story about arts and crafts.” She gave a story paper to each child. “Who wants to read?” she asked.
“Me!” said Sarah.She began to read.
“While Moses and the people were travelling in the desert, God gave them an intriguing command.”
Sarah paused. “What’s that word?” she asked.
“Intriguing,” said Ms. Campbell. “It means interesting and a little bit surprising.”
Sarah continued reading.
“God told Moses, ‘Even though you are not settled in your future home yet, I want to you build a place to worship. It will be a tent, and you can carry it from place to place with you while you travel through the desert.It will be beautiful, decorated with lovely stones and fabrics and wood. When you go there to worship, I, the Lord, will be there with you.’”
“Nice,” said Ms. Campbell. “Who wants to read next?”
“Me!” said Jeremiah.Jeremiah read:
“So everyone helped with the project. The women spun yarns. They wove beautiful red, blue and purple fabrics. The men carved stones and wood. Everyone used their skills to create a beautiful place. Soon the place of worship was ready.”
“It was a tent that could be folded up and carried when the people moved from place to place. Inside the tent, there were beautifully crafted items, made by the people, woven by their hands and carved from beautiful wood and stones. Wherever they travelled, they unfolded the tent and created a beautiful place for worship.”
Ben raised his hand. “Can I ask a question?” he asked.
“Yes, of course,” said Ms. Campbell.
“Who is Moses?” asked Ben. “And why were people travelling in the desert? What desert?”
Sarah took her cousin Ben over to a chart on the wall. “See this timeline?” she asked. “All the main people in the Bible stories that we read are on this timeline. See, here’s a card that says Moses. There are a whole bunch of stories about him. And here’s a map of the places in the Bible stories.” Sarah pointed to a spot on the map and looked back at Ms. Campbell. “Is this the desert?”
Ms. Campbell walked over to the map. “Yes, this is the desert. The story is that the Jewish people were slaves, here,” she said, pointing to a spot on the map. “And Moses led them to freedom. After they left slavery, they lived and travelled in the desert for forty years before they settled, here,” she said, as she pointed to another spot on the map.
“Slaves?” Ben said, his eyes wide. “Like ... In this country ... when there was slavery?”
“Yes,” said Ms. Campbell. “In fact, the American slaves read about Moses and thought of him as a symbol of freedom. There are lots offreedom songs and stories about Moses that come out of American slavery days.”
“Oh,” said Ben. “That’s interesting.”
While they were talking, Jeremiah, Corey and Emmanuelle started sorting the different colors of yarn on the table. “What do we do with this yarn?” asked Emmanuelle.
“This is the craft project we are doing today,” said Ms. Campbell. “The story talks about the creativity of the people. It mentions that they wove fabrics from blue, purple and red yarns, and so we’ll do some weaving with these yarns as our craft project this week.”
Soon everyone was having fun with the yarn.
Before the class ended, Ms. Campbell gave Ben a folder with some other story papers. “Here are some of the other stories we’ve read,” she said. “The Bible has lots of stories, spread out over thousands of years of history, so it takes a while to know who’s who. But these are some favorites that are good for starting out.”
“Thank you!” said Ben. “My family is going to come to Willow Street again at Easter time so I’ll visit again.”
Chapter 5: Artists At Work
It was a Friday afternoon, and Jeremiah was at the hardware store with his grandfather, buying wood for a project. They were going to make a table that would be a gift for a cousin who was getting married.Jeremiah’s grandfather had drawn a picture of the table, with measurements, and was picking out boards in various sizes and laying the pieces on a long metal cart.