Lesson No. ( 47 ) Loving and Helping the Poor Anba Abraam, the Bishop of Fayoum

References

The Life of Anba Abraam - Al Mahaba Bookshop

Notes for Servants

«         He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord and the Lord will repay him for his deed.

«         Do you give your tithes to the Lord like the Jews or do you give more like the children of God?

Objectives

General: Love for the poor and helping them.

Specific:

The children will be able to...

1. Understand the meaning of need.
2. Have love and compassion on those who are unfortunate.
3. Learn that God will give us a reward in heaven when we look after the poor.

Bible Verse

                                   "Give every man that asketh of thee."

(Luke 6:30)

Teaching Aids

1. A picture of Anba Abraam.
2. Video.

Instructions

(1) Review last week's lesson.

(2) Who remembers the verse?

(3) Remind the children about the church occasions for the coming week.

(4) Servant, try to develop the virtue of love for the poor in this lesson by making a special collection box for the needy or some canned food for the food bank.

(5) Servant may start the lesson by the story of the Rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31).

(6) Teacher should prepare the appropriate questions to emphasize the objectives during the lesson.

Story Time

There was a holy man named Anba Abraam.  He was the Bishop of Fayoum.  Anba Abraam was a righteous man, he loved all people and especially the poor.

One day, a poor woman asked him for some money to buy food for her children.  At that time he did not have any money, but he had a new shawl that was  given to him as a gift. Anba Abraam gave the shawl to the poor woman.  He said to her, "Take this shawl, sell it and buy what you need."

Another day, a poor man came to him and asked him for a pound to buy cloth for his children during the winter.  Anba Abraam had only one pound in his pocket; he gave it to him and stayed without money.

This virtue was one of the good qualities of Anba Abraam.  He loved the poor and the strangers and he entertained them and he gave them food, served them, sat with them, and ate with them.  Once, he found out that the cook did not give the poor their share of meat when he served them dinner, Anba Abraam dismissed the cook and appointed another cook and ordered him to give them what they wanted.

Discussion

1 - Follow up the story by talking about it with the children.

2 - Continue the discussion while they do the activity.

Learning Activities

Activity Sheet.