The #SMB Flat Jesus project at St. Mary-Basha Catholic School in Chandler was a huge success this summer. The Flat Jesus Project was created based on the children’s book, Flat Stanley (written by Jeff Brown). In the book, a boy named Stanley becomes flattened and is able to be mailed to different places, having all kinds of exciting adventures. From this idea grew the Flat Jesus project.
SMB Flat Jesus was a way for our school community to stay connected over the summer break. At the end of the 22-23 school year, each student received a Flat Jesus to color and cut out. The intent was for families to take Flat Jesus with them whether staying local or traveling, take a picture, and share with our school community.
“The project served as a great reminder that Jesus is with us always, no matter where we are or what we are doing,” said Kathleen Lyon, Principal of St. Mary-Basha. Lyon said, “We pride ourselves on being a close knit community that keeps our faith at the center of all that we do. This project is a fun example of our words in action”.
The Adventures of SMB Flat Jesus were posted weekly on the school social media sites all summer showing pictures and places visited at home and abroad. Soon everyone was tracking his locations and trying to guess where he would travel to next. Flat Jesus was spotted all across the United States, Europe and India.
He visited famous landmarks, cathedrals and even attended Mass at the Vatican. He visited local places including Vacation Bible Schools, the Grand Canyon, Police Department and Camp Invention hosted by St. Mary-Basha. Flat Jesus was ever present celebrating birthdays, graduations and family reunions. SMB Flat Jesus earned many frequent flyer points visiting 15 states and 10 countries over the eleven week summer break.
One of our third grade students used her skills learned in STREAM class and Apple training and created a movie playing hide and seek throughout her home. Flat Jesus popped up in the most unexpected places! All of the students were extremely creative in their photo shoots and decorating their travel companion.
“SMB Flat Jesus was a wonderful way to show our faith and to keep in touch with each other when we can sometimes have the loss of community in the Church over the summer when parishioners and families travel. I was thrilled to see and hear about Flat Jesus at several Masses and church events over the summer,” said Father Daniel McBride, Pastor of St. Mary’s Parish and St. Mary-Basha Catholic School.
To see all of the pictures and locations that SMB Flat Jesus visited this summer, check out our social media sites and search #SMBFlatJesus- Facebook: stmarybashacatholic.org and Instagram: @stmarybasha
