Happy Easter 2013!

May God's blessing be with you and yours on this holy day!

Happy Easter!

Butterflies!

Holy Week has begun! In addition to attending Holy Week services and preparing our Maundy Thursday Service for Families, I'm quietly getting ready for Easter morning.  We are making a new banner with the "A" word on it this year which has got me scratching my head a bit. I'm so grateful to the many parishioners who have been cutting out butterflies. A small group will be meeting on Saturday morning to put the banner together. If you're local and want to help let me know - we could use you!  I can't wait to see how it turns out! Pictures to follow.

Blessings to you and yours this Holy Week.

As We Approach Holy Week...

Last Sunday in the True Vine Atrium the children created some lovely artwork. We used it decorate our prayer table and the children shared their work during our prayer. When I first read the psalm to the left with the artist I asked her "when do we open our eyes?" I was thinking of waking up each morning, as I always do with this scripture reading. The child surprised me by saying "when we are born!" We thought together about the beauty of the newborn proclaiming God's praise for the gift of life. I  was still pondering this response at prayer time, when I asked the group the same question. Wasn't I surprised when another child's first thought was for the moment of our birth?  It is such a blessing to ponder scripture with children!

We are drawing close to Holy Week! This Sunday we will be participating in the Last Supper Celebration in atrium. I love walking through the scripture together with the children as we share matzo and drink grape juice. You can learn more about this celebration in the post Last Supper Celebration. You can also see photos of last year's celebration here.

Our Family Maundy Thursday Service is coming up! We will gather at 5:30 pm in the Chapel on Thursday, March 28th for foot washing and Holy Communion. Holy Week is not an easy fit for the spirituality of young children, but this service speaks to them in a meaningful way with scripture they know and an acknowledgement of the death and resurrection of Jesus in a way that isn't frightening. It was designed especially with young children in mind - short and to the point! If you are local please plan to bring your family to this special gathering.

Photos from the Good Shepherd Atrium

For the last two weeks, I've had the pleasure of working in the Good Shepherd Atrium. I enjoy the children at this age so much! It was really lovely to be with them and to present some of the Lenten works. We have been focusing on the Good Shepherd, the Last Supper (called the Cenacle) and the City of Jerusalem - some of my all time favorite works! When I wasn't busy doing presentations, I couldn't resist the chance to snap a few photos of the children for you to enjoy.

Learning the procedure for gluing.

Feeling proud of the lenten prayer chain he created by himself!

Matching large and small crosses with a magnifying glass.

Arranging flowers. (Thank you parents!)

Sorting nuts.

I think he's noticing that pretty watch!

Inserting golf tees in foam.

Tracing at the light table.

Lovely concentration.

Tracing a sheep after hearing the found sheep presentation.

Lent Photo-a-Day Project

"Lift"

Lent is underway! I love this season of reflection, in the atrium and at home. For our Wednesday evening gatherings at Christ Church we've been reading and discussing "Naked Spirituality: A Life with God in 12 Simple Words" by Brian D. McLaren, which has been challenging and interesting.

"Settle"

I've also been participating in the Lenten Photo-a-Day Challenge from Rethink Church of the United Methodist Church. For each day in Lent, a word and a reflection on that word are offered.

"Injustice"

The challenge is to find or create an image that embodies what the day's word means to you. Generally I've been trying to take a new photo each day, but I've also used past photos for some words.

"Cover"

This practice has been so meaningful to me. I love reading the reflection and pondering the word throughout the day until some idea or image comes to mind. I thought I would share some of my photos with you here.

"Vision"

I've also enjoyed seeing the photos other people have been taking. You can view photos by people participating in the challenge from around the world on the Rethink Church Pinterest page.

"Hear"

Have you found any special ways to mark the days of Lent this year? I pray that this season will be one of renewal and blessing for all of us!

"Return"