Farewell to the A-word!

Last Sunday we bid farewell to our old friend "A______a."  We have observed the tradition of putting away the A-word on the last Sunday before Lent begins for many years, which reflects our Church's liturgical practice of ceasing to use that festive word during the contemplative season of Lent.

It was a quiet Sunday due to yet another Sunday morning snow fall, but the children enjoyed decorating the letters during Christian formation and we all processed up the aisle with the word during the final hymn.

After putting the letters together so that the congregation could see the word, Rev. Peter walked down the line and collected them in a basket and we covered them with a piece of black felt. They were left on the altar and later moved to the Sacristy.

The letters the children decorated will reappear on Easter morning as a large banner across the front of the Church. Until then, keep the A-word to yourself!

Celebrating Easter

We celebrated Easter in the atrium with the Liturgy of Light on Sunday. It was a great morning! I wish I had pictures of the celebration itself, but I was too busy to pick up the camera. Instead I have some photos from our feast afterward. Thank you so much parents for donating food and drinks. The children really do enjoy eating together.

You can read more about the Liturgy of Light celebration, which in based on the Easter Vigil service, in this previous post.

Remember - the season of Easter is 50 days! We have until Pentecost (May 19th) to live in the joy of the Resurrection. What ideas do you have for keeping Easter in your family life? It can be as simple as lighting a white candle at meals or saying a special prayer together before bed time. 

Easter is a great season in the atrium. We can't wait to see your children on Sunday mornings!

 

Happy Easter!

Butterflies, continued!

My last post included many photos of the Church decorated with butterflies. I forgot the most important picture - the only one I have of the crew setting up the spectacle! Here it is - a photo of Will and Katie busy creating our butterfly Easter. Thanks again to both of them, and to Mimi, Anne, Chris and Callie for their help on Holy Saturday!

Butterflies!

Our butterflies were a big hit this Easter! Many thanks to Will, Katie, Mimi, Anne, Callie, and Chris who helped to hang our decorations for Easter on Holy Saturday. It was a big job on a busy day and I really appreciated it! Thank you also to the many parishioners who cut out over a hundred butterflies for our Easter celebration this year.

Butterflies over the congregation.

Holy Week and Easter at Christ Church

Palm Sunday processional cross.

It was a wonderful Holy Week and Easter at Christ Church this year! The older I get the more I look forward to appreciate each of the Holy Week services and I think the Easter Vigil is my favorite service of the year. I wanted to post some pictures from our week. Unfortunately, I don't have photos of every service, but am including what I do have for you to enjoy!

Monday Sung Compline.

The altar for Sung Compline.

Foot washing from the Maundy Thursday Service for families.

More foot washing.

Good Friday altar.

Good Friday cross.

First fire of Easter at the Easter Vigil.

Lighting the paschal candle for the Easter Vigil procession.

Baptism at the Easter Vigil.

Easter Day with butterflies!

Baptismal font and paschal candle at Easter.

The Easter Egg Hunt after Church.

Visiting with the Easter Bunny at the Egg Hunt.

Having fun with the Easter Bunny!

Thank you to everyone who helped to make our Holy Week and Easter services possible, and to everyone who attended!

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.

Saying Goodbye to Alleluia!

It's that time again! Lent begins on Wednesday and so on Sunday we said goodbye to our old friend "Alleluia." At Christ Church, we refrain from using this word of celebration throughout the more sober season of Lent and find that it makes our Easter "alleluias" all the more joyful.

During the recessional hymn, children gathered in the front hall to get ready!

The children processed up the aisle and lined up in front of the Church so that we could see the "alleluia."

Then Rev. Peter collected our butterflys and tucked them away in the sacristy. We won't see them again until Easter morning.

This year the "alleluia" we put away looked a little different than in the past. You can see pictures of last year's "Farewell to Alleluia!"  and the final alleluia banner in other posts. We have something new planned for Easter morning this year! Stay tuned!

Living Lent As A Family

Lent is just around the corner! It begins on Ash Wednesday, which is February 13th this year. As you prepare for the season, here are some ideas from Thoughts From the Sheepfold to consider.

Farewell Alleluia!

The children in our Church create an alleluia banner each year and "bury" it the Sunday before Lent begins. As a Church we forego the use of this celebratory word for the season of Lent and bring it (and the banner!) out again on Easter Sunday! This is an idea that you could easily adapt for your family at home!

Lenten Prayer Garden

Check out the link above for an directions for creating a meditation garden in your home, and ideas for using it in Lent. We bring ours out every Lent and really love having it for prayer. You can see how I adapted this idea last year in the post Try This: Lenten Prayer Garden.

Lenten Prayer Chain

We made these simple prayer chains two years ago at our Shrove Tuesday pancake supper and found them to be a really meaningful way to pray together as a family in Lent. I'm making some adaptations to the prayers to share with the Church again this year.

Prayer Beads for Lent

Last year, we made these prayer beads on Shrove Tuesday and in atrium and enjoyed having them as a reminder to draw closer to God in Lent. Easy instructions for making prayer beads are linked to the post.

Easter Garden

My daughter and I made this Easter Garden last year during Holy Week, but it would be a great project to begin in Lent and could be added to throughout the season. For example you could add a new plant each week, and the tomb and the pathway as the season progresses. The cross could be brought into the garden on Good Friday, and the butterfly on Easter Sunday. It would also be lovely to bring some blooms into the arrangement for the season of Easter. 

Practical Life in Lent

We love to create practical life work that is appropriate to the Church season for our atria. Here is a look at some trays we put together for Lent several years ago.

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Ash Wednesday Service for Families

Each year Rev. Peter and I offer a very short Ash Wednesday service for children at 5:30 pm in our Chapel. It is such a beautiful child-centered service and a wonderful way to begin Lent with children. If you are local I hope to see you there on February 13th!

Peace to you as you prepare to live a Holy Lent!