Epiphelmas!

On Sunday evening we gathered for an Epiphelmas service at Christ Church! The idea for an Epiphelmas service was brought to our Church from England by our previous Choir Director and this was our second time offering it. I have to say - I'm in love!

Similar to a Service of Lessons and Carols, this service highlights some of the major moments of the Epiphany season, beginning with the Visit of the Magi and ending with the Presentation at the Temple. Each moment was celebrated with a reading of the scriptural account, poetry, an anthem by the Choir and a hymn. We also reaffirmed our Baptismal vows after hearing the account of Jesus' baptism by John and were sprinkled with Holy Water by our priest.

The service ends with candlelight, echoing the Church's practice at Candlemas, as we remembered the Presentation at the Temple.

Although we hadn't advertised it as such, this is a lovely service for children. Many of the stories we read were ones that children in our atria know, and with Rev. Peter dousing us with water and each of us holding a lit candle there was a lot going on! Luckily one wonderful family did attend, and I loved capturing a few photos of their girls.

It was a beautiful service and I look forward to celebrating it again next year!

Happy Epiphany!

When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.      Matthew 2:9-12

Need a reminder about the day and season of Epiphany?  Check out Epiphany - Growing Time!

Want to see pictures of my Epiphany star?  Take a look at the post Epiphany Star.

Would you like to see some photos of of the places we will be hearing about in Church in the season of Epiphany?  Read The Sea of Galilee.

Epiphany Star

My friend Betty reminded me that I wanted to post an update on our Epiphany star on the blog this year. I decided to buy this star last year when I was putting away the Christmas decorations. You can read about the idea in the post Try This: Epiphany.

I brought out the Epiphany star on January 6th this year. It did exactly what I hoped it would do! I love having this beautiful light in our home, especially when it is cold and dark outside. I also love having a visual reminder of the season of Epiphany and a sign of the light of Christ in our living room. I keep it on all day and evening and we have really been enjoying it.

For a refresher on the season of Epiphany, read Epiphany - Growing Time! I'm praying for many blessings for you and yours this season!

Epiphany Celebration

With Epiphany falling on a Sunday, we had to work with several interruptions in the True Vine Atrium last week. Children and catechists were coming and going to lead and to observe the Chalking of the Church and procession at the 10:30 service.  Somehow, we still managed to have a very nice morning together!

In honor of Epiphany, we prepared a little celebration for our atrium. To be clear - this is not a Catechesis of the Good Shepherd work, but something we put together ourselves based on an idea from a friend.

We had pondered the scripture and worked with the material of the three wise men the Sunday before Christmas. In atrium last week we remembered the significance of strangers from a foreign land coming to honor Jesus. We wondered at this sign that Jesus' light wasn't just for people in one country or even in one time but for all people and all time. In fact, since that day Jesus' light has spread around the world and across time to us today!

To celebrate this good news, children who were not involved in the Church celebration had the time to choose a country and make a flag to represent it and it's people. We hung these flags in our prayer corner.

After returning from the celebration downstairs, we talked again about the gifts the wise men brought to Jesus and their significance and passed around little samples of each gift. For our celebration, everyone took part in a procession, led by children carrying the Good Shepherd statue and our star lantern. Children carried the three gifts and we sang "We Three Kings" as we processed in and set the prayer table. Once gathered we prayed together, with the children offering special prayers for the countries represented by the flags, and other countries of the world.

It was a sweet morning, and a welcome reminder to me that God can work through imperfect plans and less than ideal schedules!

Happy Epiphany!

Happy Epiphany! Because it is unusual for Epiphany to fall on a Sunday, we had a special celebration in our 10:30 service today led by Rev. Peter.

The three Magi, the Royal Page and the Star from our Christmas Eve Pageant reappeared! We began our service with a blessing of our sanctuary. Each Magi wrote her initial on the lintel of the door.

Caspar

Melchior

and Balthasar.

Rev. Peter added the years. (He didn't need the step ladder!)

The Star led the way down the aisle as we sang "We Three Kings."

To learn more about the season of Epiphany, read Epiphany - Growing Time! Many blessings to you as we head into this lovely season! 

The Sea of Galilee

The Sea of Galilee at sunrise.

It's amazing traveling the familiar path of the Church Year after a trip to Israel! This Epiphany, my mind keeps returning to the Sea of Galilee. There, more than any other place, I felt a real sense of the presence of  Jesus. The smallness of the region and the rural landscape have left a lasting impression on me.

As you walk along the Sea of Galilee its easy to imagine Jesus walking here too. Along these shores Jesus called simple fishermen to follow him, and they dropped their nets and followed. In nearby fields Jesus taught rural people with metaphors for the kingdom that they understood - growing wheat and baking bread.

Looking to shore from our boat.

In these small communities around the Sea, Jesus found (and was found) by people on the fringes of society and he healed them and restored them to the community. And around this small Sea, news of Jesus' teaching and power traveled from town to town, and the crowds following him were so large that Jesus had to perform miracles just to feed them! 

The trip also brought home a geography lesson I remember learning when studying Mark. Standing along the Sea of Galilee it is easy to imagine Jesus' ministry unfolding among common people in rural places. And it is easy to see the tension building as Jesus strikes out to Jerusalem to face the political and religious leaders who feared him.

The Southern tip of the Sea of Galilee.

In this season of Epiphany as you hear scriptural accounts of Jesus' ministry unfolding, draw to mind these images and your own of this small but beautiful place. 

Epiphany Celebration

In past years we have combined the lower two atria for a Christmas celebration on our first Sunday back after the holiday break. It is a lovely celebration - you can learn more about it and see photos from last year's celebration here. This year, we decided to have the Good Shepherd children celebrate Christmas on their own. Instead of taking the older children downstairs to join them, we held an informal celebration of Epiphany in the True Vine Atrium this year.

While the children were familiar with the scriptural account of the Wise Men's visit to Jesus, they hadn't yet learned about the feast of Epiphany. Because the feast is always celebrated on a specific date (January 6th) it seldom occurs on a Sunday and has usually already passed by the time we return to atrium after break.

This year I thought I would clarify the fact that the season of Christmas is always celebrated for 12 days, and it ends with the coming of the Wise Men at the feast of Epiphany on January 6th. To celebrate this special day, I wanted to get a star shaped candle holder like one that we have had and enjoyed in the Good Shepherd Atrium for several years. I found the star lantern to the right at Pier One, and bought the stand separately so that we could hang it. I have to admit that finding something beautiful that compliments our work in atrium is one of the special joys of being a catechist! The children loved it!

Before our celebration, we spent some time talking about the liturgical calendar and some of the details of the 12 days of Christmas and the feast of Epiphany that you can't see when looking at our calendar material. We had a beautiful procession, led by a child carrying our new star, as we sang "We Three Kings" together. Then we changed our prayer table cloth from blue (we hadn't been together since Advent) to white in honor of the feast day of Epiphany.

Once we were all gathered, and our star candle was lit, I presented the scripture reading of the Wise Men visiting Jesus, using the figures and environment that we have for this work (pictured). Afterward we had a very rich conversation about the Wise Men's visit.

I think this will be a new tradition in the True Vine Atrium, and we may add some additional parts to it in years to come. The children were definitely ready to celebrate the feast of Epiphany, and this little gathering seemed to be satisfying to all of us.

Eve of the Epiphany!

Happy Twelfth Night! Throughout the Christmas season I've wanted to make a nature nativity which I learned about on my friend Sheila's wonderful blog, Explore and Express. Just in the nick of time, my daughter and I made one today and I am enjoying it so much! You can check out this link to learn how to make a nature nativity of your own! It is a great project for children, and Sheila has some beautiful photos of nature nativity scenes made by the children in her Advent Club. With the addition of Wise Men (which could be taken from your nativity scene, or made from clothes pins or clay) it would be a lovely centerpiece for your table in the season ahead!

Tomorrow is Epiphany, when we remember the Wise Men's visit to the baby Jesus. In December in the True Vine Atrium when we celebrated Christmas, we laid out all of the materials for the Infancy Narratives and looked at them together. One of the themes that the children explored was the presence of the Holy Spirit. It was so wonderful to see the children's eyes light up as they talked about the star as the Holy Spirit at work. What a beautiful metaphor for our lives today as we seek to follow Jesus.

Light a candle at dinner tomorrow or just before bed, and read Matthew 2:1-12 as a family. Ponder the story together. I wonder how the Wise Men knew to follow that star? Do you think it was a difficult journey? What kept them going? I wonder how we might be like the Wise Men?

May the great star of Epiphany brighten your day tomorrow and lead you closer to Jesus in the season ahead!

Parables in the Atrium

Growing Time is parable time in the atrium! A parable is a short story which illustrates a lesson or a truth, and Jesus shared a lot of them with his followers! In the Good Shepherd Atrium, we hear parables about the Kingdom of God and learn what life with God is like. In the True Vine Atrium, we begin to synthesize the kingdom parables and we discover the moral parables, which teach us how to live.

I love pondering parables with the children. With parables, Jesus uses ordinary things to open up the mysteries of God. Parables naturally respect the capacity of each person because with their many layers of meaning, each person is free to hear and respond to exactly those meanings that he or she is ready to receive.

When we present parables to the children, we resist the urge to "explain" the meaning, because simple explanations take away the power of the parable and limit the child's ability to interpret for him or herself. Instead of restricting the parable we want to open it up for the children to ponder. Jesus' parables seem to lead to mediation quite naturally, and children often respond with a sense of wonder, and a feeling of deep peace.

Check back soon for more about the parables we share with the children in the atrium, and a little insight into the tiny seed you see in the photo above!

Try This! Candlemas

Candlemas is this Wednesday, February 2nd, forty days after Christmas. On this day we remember the surprising events that surrounded Jesus' Presentation in the Temple as a baby, recorded in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 2:21-40). We have recently meditated on this scripture with many of the children in the True Vine and Good Shepherd Atria. We learned about Simeon and Anna, two devout Jewish elders who recognized Jesus as the Messiah. Because the prophet Simeon called Jesus "a light to enlighten the nations," candles are at the center of this celebration. To learn more about Candlemas, see this post at Building Faith, the online Christian Education Community of Church Publishing.

Celebrate Candlemas with your family this year! It would be fun to read the scriptural account from Luke together before dinner or at bedtime. Children could act out the story as you read, or use toy figures you have on hand to visualize it. Try eating dinner by candlelight - collect all the candles you have in your house or buy a cheap bag of tea lights for the center of the table. You could gather to pray together, and light a candle for each prayer concern or thanksgiving. (Young children can light a candle from a lit taper with careful supervision). Or come to Church to celebrate Candlemas this year!

At Christ Church, we will be gathering on this special day for a Solemn Choral Evensong.  The evening begins at 6:30 pm and includes discussion of the feast day and service, candle-lighting, a procession, the sung service of Evensong, and a potluck supper.  (You can call the Church Office to figure out what to bring!)
 
Evensong is a beautiful service for tweens and teens. It may be a bit too late for those of you with young children - find a sitter, or play "rock, paper, scissors" to decide who gets to come!  If we have interest, I would be happy to provide child care for services like this in the future.

Whichever path you choose, find a few moments to enjoy the light of Christ this Candlemas!

Epiphany - Growing Time!

Our Magi material from the True Vine Atrium

Epiphany began on January 6th with the celebration of Jesus' surprising visit from the Magi. With these mysterious visitors from afar came the realization that Jesus was born to reveal God's love to the entire world, not just the faithful community that awaited him. Jesus is a light to enlighten the nations! My beautiful new Epiphany star and all of the candles we have been lighting at our house are good reminders of the light of Jesus and our call to follow!

The season of Epiphany continues for four to nine weeks, depending upon the date of Easter. This year, Epiphany ends on March 9th, when we begin our preparation for Easter with Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent.  I'm sure you've noticed that in Epiphany, green returns to the sanctuary!  We have green hangings from the pulpit and lectern, a green dossal curtain (left), and a green stole and chasuble for Rev. Peter.

In the atrium, we often call this season "Growing Time," because in it we can grow into all of the wonderful discoveries we made in the rich and exciting seasons of Advent and Christmas. We also grow in our ministries and mission - getting on with the work we have been called to do.  We hear the scriptural accounts of Jesus beginning his ministry, calling his disciples, and teaching his people about the Kingdom of God.  Through the stories Jesus tells and through the many miracles he performs, Jesus teaches those who follow the good news of what life is like in God's Kingdom.

Epiphany is growing time!  For Jesus, there were people to heal and feed, unjust boundaries to break, and parables to teach. What is God calling you to this Epiphany?

Epiphany Star

I love our new Epiphany Star! 

Read more about it here-  Try This: Epiphany

Try This: Epiphany

On a previous blog, Kate commented that she likes ideas that help her to bring the atrium home. I do too, and after reading her comment, I began searching (in my many books and blogs, and in my heart!) for some way to bring the season of Epiphany home this year.  After all, we have the wreath for Advent and the Nativity Scene for Christmas!

I decided to order this star shaped paper lantern with a light inside to hang in our living room during the season of Epiphany. On January 6th, after saying goodbye to the Christmas decorations, we can put up this special star in honor of the light that led the Magi to Jesus on the feast of Epiphany. I love the idea that it will remain throughout the season, until Lent begins, reminding us that Jesus is the light of the world, and helping us to follow Jesus in the season of Epiphany.

Unfortunately I had this brainstorm at noon on January 6th and couldn't find the kind of star I wanted anywhere!  Until the one I've ordered arrives, we are using some paper stars I made as room decorations for my daughter this Christmas. These are easy to make and would be great to use for an Epiphany tradition as well. I learned how to make them on a beautiful blog called The Magic Onions.

On Epiphany, our family read Matthew 2:1-12, which tells about the Magi, and talked a bit about it.  Then we prayed the Collect for Epiphany from the Book of Common Prayer and hung the stars. It was simple but lovely!

I'm hoping to find a way to integrate symbols of all the seasons into our home this year.  As we travel through the Church year together, I'll be sure to share my ideas on the blog.  Is there something you could do to make the season of Epiphany special for your family?  How about hanging a star in the living room, putting a special book from the library on a coffee table, or lighting a pretty white candle at dinner each night?  What will you do?!

Want to learn a bit more about the Season of Epiphany?  Check back soon!