Celebrating the true meaning of Maundy Thursday lies in acts of service. Loving others by serving them is the commandment that Jesus gave His disciples as He was giving them final, heartfelt instructions before He was betrayed. Below you’ll find a list of 25 acts of service that you and your children can do to observe Maundy Thursday, loving others by serving them with simple acts of kindness.
Be sure to explain to your children that true acts of service are done knowing that you will not be paid back–and not expecting to receive anything in return.
Maundy Thursday Acts of Service for Kids
Maundy Thursday acts of service for kids include ways that they can serve others by simple acts of kindness.
- Make a sibling’s bed.
- Clean up a sibling’s mess.
- Hold the door for someone.
- Pick up trash around the neighborhood.
- Get an elderly neighbor’s mail or newspaper and take it to their door.
- Hang out in the grocery store parking lot; take people’s carts and put them in the corral for them.
- Clean out the garage.
- Wash the family cars.
- Choose a couple of nice toys and books to take to the children’s hospital.
- Help a clothes closet ministry by hanging and sorting clothes.
Maundy Thursday Acts of Service for Adults
Maundy Thursday acts of service for adults offer ways to get out of your comfort zone and seek out people who need to be ministered to with simple gifts of time and love.
- Make dinner or dessert for another family and take it to them.
- Vacuum a new mom’s home.
- Do maintenance/upkeep/painting at your church.
- Take an older person to their doctor’s appointment. Take them to lunch too.
- Volunteer at a local ministry.
- Take baked goods/breakfast foods to your local fire hall. They make sacrifices every day.
- Take snacks and a cooler full of iced drinks to the ICU waiting room at the nearest hospital. Pray with the people there for their loved ones.
- Pay for the person’s lunch behind you at the drive-thru.
- Just for today, serve your family with your undivided attention by turning off your smartphone.
- Take a single mom’s car for an oil change.
- Give blood.
- Rock someone else’s baby. Do it for an exhausted new mom, or check with your local hospital to see if they allow volunteers in the neo-natal unit.
- Help a neighbor with a home project they have been putting off.
- Head over to the nearest senior center and listen to someone who wants to talk.
- Serve your child’s teacher by helping in his/her classroom.
Discover the meaning of Maundy Thursday HERE and learn why we celebrate it.
