Passing the peace is a special time during worship in which members of the congregation go from person to person sharing God's peace with one another, either with a handshake, touching a hand to the heart, or saying the words, 'Peace be with you', followed by the response, 'And also with you'. Here's a creative intergenerational idea for passing the peace:
You will need
Cardboard cut-outs of doves (one per member of the congregation)
Pens or pencils.
Steps
Invite each person to write their name on their own bird.
When it comes time to pass the peace, as you exchange words, also exchange birds. When you come to the next person, exchange birds again, and so on until it's time for everyone to take their seats again.
The worship leader invites a few people to call out the name written on the bird in their hand. Try to ask people from all corners of the room. Has anyone got their own name back? If you have people on Zoom, they too can be involved (see below).
End by pointing out that when we share God's peace, it spreads far and wide.
Invite each person to take note of the person they have ended up with, and to pray for them during the week.
How to include Zoom attendees
Write down the names of Zoom attendees on birds and set those in front of the Zoom camera. As people in the church go about swapping birds, encourage them to also come up to the camera and take a Zoomer's bird, wish them peace, and leave their own bird behind. At the end of the process, the worship leader picks up the remaining birds and allocates them to Zoomers.
Peace be with you.