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SYNOPSIS
The debut album from the Brit Awards’ ‘Critic’s choice’ winner, with instantly recognisable ballads and love songs.
INTRODUCTION
This session is designed to explore issues surrounding identity and self-worth: to celebrate and encourage young people to be real about who they really are.
PREPARATION
You will need a selection of props, such as hats, wigs, speech bubbles, silly glasses etc for the photo booth activity. (You can find a variety of printable photo booth props available online.)
THE SESSION
Before your young people arrive, set up a photo booth where they can pose together in small groups, using the props and costumes to have their photographs taken. Display copies of the photos on a wall for the group to see, as you continue the session.
Introduce the theme by explaining that we know it can be fun to dress up or disguise ourselves (as we have done in this activity) – but what happens when we find ourselves unable to take the mask off? When we are more comfortable hiding who we really are?
TRACK 5: BEST FAKE SMILE
Play the track and ask your young people whether they have ever felt like the girl in the song, just putting on a smile and getting on with it. Are there times when this can be a good thing? Times when it is unhelpful? Does wearing a fake smile make you a fake friend or are these two separate issues? Is one more negative than the other?
Distribute Bibles and invite the group to look up the following verses: 1 Samuel 16:7, Psalm 139 and Hebrews 4:13. Ask them to discuss what these passages tell us about wearing a mask, and how God sees us.
Explain that from the beginning of time, humans have been trying to hide who we really are from God – Adam and Eve tried to hide from God when they had eaten from the tree. But the truth is that we cannot hide anything from God; he knows us better than we even know ourselves.
Ask your group to consider why it is that we hide ourselves from one another. We are very good at presenting the bits we like about ourselves to each other, but choose to keep other parts secret or hidden – why do you think that is? How would it transform our relationships with one another if we chose to take those masks off?
As you bring the session to a close, encourage your group to consider what you can do to create a ‘real’ community, where you can be genuine and real with one another and not under pressure to live up to a fake mask.
