sunday school curriculum
Friends and Heroes is the epic animated tale of two young people in the First Century - Macky and Portia - whose idealism and friendship leads them across the ancient world, from the fabled Egyptian port of Alexandria, to the besieged city of Jerusalem and finally, to the very heart of the Empire: Rome. As they fight for justice and even survival against the might of the Roman Empire, they become friends and then, in turn, heroes.
Through Macky and Portia, Friends and Heroes brings the inspiring stories of the Old and New Testament to a new, worldwide generation of children in the Twenty-First Century, whatever their faith or background. Like our heroes, children will be empowered by what they see and hear, as they share the courage and compassion and the everyday dangers faced by Macky and his friends.
Based in a fascinating and turbulent period of history, 69-71AD, Friends and Heroes
places Bible stories in a vivid historical context. It uses animated adventure stories
to introduce a new generation of children, whatever their faith, to the stories of the Old and New Testaments in an appealing, fresh and memorable way. Children love the stories: "Friends and Heroes rocks!" said one recent e-mail. Boys are strongly attracted by the central male characters, the danger and the exciting action!This approach - of setting Bible stories in living contexts amongst the people who kept them alive, by passing them on ‘down the line’ to children - runs throughout as a constant motif. It demonstrates the reasons why these stories were preserved and the impact the stories and their preservation had on those who kept them alive. It introduces Biblical stories in an appealing, fresh and memorable way, creating a clear connection between the religious themes and exciting adventure stories by the innovative use of combined 2D and 3D animation. Cartoon-style 2D animation tells the adventure stories, mixing seamlessly to 3D animation for the Bible stories, two or three of which are interwoven in each episode.
The adventure stories take place almost two thousand years ago, yet Macky and the gang will appeal to today’s children; they are attractive, inspirational, and very real characters…. funny and brave, but just like us in the Twenty-First Century, they don’t always get things right! They face similar issues and dilemmas to those faced by youngsters today. Their experiences, combined with the stories they tell, will help foster respect for and kindness to others, as well as encouraging tolerance.Friends and Heroes seeks to empower children to listen to their conscience and to make good decisions about respect, kindness, compassion, faith and tolerance, based on knowledge and not ignorance.
