Monday, December 30, 2013

Christmas Eve 2013


We celebrated Christmas Eve in our usual style at Christ Church! The pageant was wonderful! Here are some photos from rehearsal and Christmas Eve along with our thanks to all who led and participated this year!

The Angel Gabriel speaks with Mary.

Thank you to our amazing Director Graham Lanz, who persevered through illness to lead rehearsal!

The Angel of the Lord tells the shepherds the good news.

Thank you to Kathleen Nitschke, and Kate and John Malarney for organizing our rehearsal lunches and to all of the families who brought food to share!

Mary and baby Jesus.
Joseph.















Thanks Dwayne, Beth and family for bringing the live animals!


Herbie the camel was a hit as usual!


 Thank you to Music Director Will Gotmer and assistant Ruth Mercer for leading our wonderful Pageant Choir and Junior Choir!

The Pageant Choir




The Junior Choir

Thank you to Erin Pawlak for her incredible work with our very old and mismatched costumes and props!

Getting ready to go on the big night!

Shepherds and animals wait.

The Holy Family and the star.

The Magi and the Royal Page.



Many thanks to the Rev. Peter Faass, for leading us in worship and being our Celebrant!


And a very special thank you to all of the children and youth who participated in our pageant, and the parents and grandparents who made it possible!

A multitude of the Heavenly Host!


Merry Christmas Everyone!

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Blessing of the Animals 2013

We had a wonderful celebration of St. Francis's feast day early in October! The service of Holy Eucharist was enhanced with an animal blessing and some exotic animal visitors. I have been so busy I forgot to post the pictures. Here are some photos to give you a feel for this wonder-filled service!

Many dogs raised their voices in song this year!
We had a great group of dogs, a number of cats, and some rodents too!
Sandy loves Church!
Our preacher Carol and her support team.
My dog Sydney enjoyed the service tremendously!
Carol our preacher, Rev. Peter our celebrant, and friends!
Our Christ Church girls are not afraid of spiders!
Look at that smile!
All creatures great and small...
The exotic animal parade!
Rev. Peter could not get far enough away from this snake!
This wallaby youngster was in its mother's pouch
at last year's blessing!
The Yak! It took a little coaxing to get him down the aisle
and then he didn't want to leave.
What a beauty!
At the end of the service animals came
 forward with their family for a blessing.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Pet Blessing Sunday!







Join us this Sunday, October 6th at 10:30 am as we celebrate the feast of St. Francis with a service of Holy Eucharist and Blessing of the Animals!


Bring your pets (on a leash or in a cage) to Church! 



There will be a parade of exotic animals during the service!


Everyone will be invited to bring their pets forward for a blessing.  


See you Sunday!

Christian formation will begin at 9:15 am as usual and atrium will end early so that everyone can enjoy the service. The Nursery will be open from 9:00 am until the conclusion of the 10:30 service.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Atrium Beginnings

Flower arranging is a peaceful work.

For me it has been a very joyful beginning to atrium this year! We've had two wonderful new children to draw into our atrium and many lovely returning children to guide along the way. We are blessed to have Marilyn Wright joining us in the True Vine Atrium this year. Marilyn was one of my first Catechesis of the Good Shepherd trainers and she is an accomplished Montessorian and catechist. Her deep understanding of the Catechesis and her gentle guiding spirit are making such a difference in our atrium this year and I find I am already learning so much working with her.

As we begin the new year, we've been creating opportunities for the children to become engaged in the materials provided in the atrium. There are such riches in each work to be discovered. We present each material to the children, but often the deepest learnings are made by the children themselves while working on their own. It was a joy to see the children working peacefully with many different materials this week. I am so thankful for all three of our atria and for all of our beautiful materials made by Christ Church's catechists and parishioners!

I took a few pictures of our little group working on Sunday and thought I would share them with you here. We have made a beginning!

Many hands have set the model altar already this year.

Deep concentration is needed to find the unfamiliar names of Israel on the pin maps.

Matching the cards describing the articles we find on
 the altar is a work that seems to satisfy the children.

The Good Shepherd is a familiar friend to children
 moving up from the Good Shepherd Atrium.

Friday, September 20, 2013

Christian Formation Begins This Sunday!


It's that time again! Many parishioners have been hard at work preparing for a new year of Christian Formation at Christ Church. This Sunday, September 22nd, atrium and Christian formation classes for all ages will begin at 9:15 am! Here is a quick peek at what we are offering and where to find it:


The Nursery
The Nursery is open from 9:00 am until the conclusion of the 10:30 service (approximately 11:45 am) and is staffed by our two wonderful child care providers - Julie Esmond and Camille Bowers. The Nursery is in room 2 on the second floor, down the hall from the True Vine Atrium.

Atrium 
Atrium runs from 9:15 am - 11:10 am.  Children join their parents in Church at the exchange of the Peace and participate in Holy Communion.

Good Shepherd Atrium (preschool and kindergarten) - led by Deb Schelling, Sarah Gage and Kathleen Nitschke. The Good Shepherd Atrium is at the bottom of the center stairwell in the basement. Children need to have a short orientation before beginning in the Good Shepherd Atrium for the first time, and this group has shortened session for the first few weeks. This schedule will be sent families directly.

True Vine Atrium (first through third grade) - led by Leslie Swaim-Fox and Marilyn Wright. The True Vine Atrium is room 1 on the second floor at the top of the south staircase.

Golden Thread Atrium (fourth and fifth grade) - led by Lynn Winkelman and Dennis Harrison. The Golden Thread Atrium is room 6 located at the top of the center staircase on the second floor.



Youth Classes
Youth classes meet from 9:15 am - 10:15 am. Youth attend the 10:30 service in the sanctuary, and serve as acolytes, choir members, ushers and more.

Rite 13 Youth Class (sixth, seventh, and eighth grade) - led by Katie Ong-Landini and Mischelle Lohr. This group meets in room 7 which is the long narrow room down the hall from the Golden Thread Atrium on the second floor.

Journey to Adulthood Youth Class (ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade) - led by Graham Lanz and Amy McKenney. This group meets in room 8 on the second floor at the top of the stairwell by the red front doors.

Adult Forum
Adult Forum meets from 9:15 am - 10:15 am. This Sunday Rev. Peter will be leading a forum called "What I Did on My Sabbatical" in the Chapel.

We can't wait to see you Sunday!

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Homecoming 2013

Last Sunday we began a new program year at Christ Church! The 10:30 service of Holy Eucharist was beautiful and was led by our beloved Rev. Peter who has returned from his Sabbatical! Welcome home Rev. Peter!











Afterward we gathered for a picnic on the lawn. The food was great and the bouncy house was awesome!







I was busy registering families for the new year of Christian Formation ahead, but managed to snap some photos of old and new friends throughout the afternoon! Here are some of the smiles I gathered along the way.


Check back soon for a run down of formation classes and atria beginning this Sunday, September 22nd!