Advent in the Atrium

We are having a really lovely advent in the True Vine Atrium! The children have been working so well with real focus and joy. All of the History of the Kingdom of God work that we did this fall has made a big impact on how we are seeing the infancy narratives and prophecies. I've been amazed by the depth of the connections the children are making.

On Advent two, we took a look at the prophecies we learned in Level One of the Catechesis and began to synthesize them. I wrote about this presentation and a bit about the role of prophecy in a previous post. The conversation was so rich this year - and the children quickly pointed out several themes they saw in the prophecies. They talked about "little and big," the presence of light and darkness, and the Kingdom of God in the prophecies.

Later in the morning two children presented the scripture and material telling of Mary's visit to Elizabeth to the group. As we pondered what more we might learn about Mary from this moment, we compared the very humble way that Mary saw herself with the amazing role she was given by God. One child connected our work with the prophecies and our thoughts about Mary together in a beautiful way: He said that God took all of that light and the whole kingdom of God and put them in Mary! I've been thinking about his words ever since. What a blessing it is to be in the atrium in advent!

Sculpey Figures

Several people have asked about the Infancy Narrative figures we recently replaced so I thought I'd post a few photos of them. We generally make our figures out of sculpey polymer clay built on an aluminum foil base. Scupey is a great clay to use and I think it is attractive to the children. We occasionally have trouble with chipping or with the necks breaking on the people when they are dropped, but overall the figures are pretty durable. In the photo above you can see the new shepherd and sheep we made.

This is the Heavenly Host who appear to the shepherds in the field.

This is our new Joseph and Mary from the birth of Jesus.

And here is our new wiseman.

Advent Preparations!

Take a look at these advent elves! As we began our ninth advent with the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd we found that it was time to replace many of the figures from our infancy narratives. Lynn, Sarah, Terri, Deb and I spent a day this week recreating wise men, Mary and Elizabeth, angels and sheep for little hands to hold this December. What a pleasure! Thank you to these special helpers!

Advent begins tomorrow! How will you be observing the season with your family this year? Check out the post, Advent Begins if you need some inspiration!

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!

Our Christmas Celebration

Here are some photos from our Christmas Celebration with the Good Shepherd and True Vine children yesterday. This is a laid back morning - we listen to the infancy narratives together while the children act out the scenes.  Children wear simple costumes and repeat back words from the scripture.  It's a nice chance for us to enjoy the infancy narratives as a whole with the younger children, after the excitement of the holidays is past.

I am just getting back into the swing of things here and should have some new posts for you soon.  Keep checking back, or better yet, subscribe to the blog via email with the form on the sidebar.  In the meantime, enjoy the photos!

Mary and Joesph with baby Jesus in Bethlehem.

The Angel Gabriel appears to the shepherds and sheep.

A multitude of the heavenly host appear to the shepherds.  (I love this one!)

Everyone gathers around baby Jesus to offer him gifts of our own.

The Christmas feast!  Thanks for the goodies parents!

 

The Infancy Narratives

Advent is the perfect time to introduce (or re-introduce) children to the person of Jesus.  In addition to geography works and prophecies, we spend a lot of time in Advent exploring the infancy narratives - the scripture that tells of the events surrounding Jesus' birth.  We aren't just telling cute baby stories or even just recalling historical events with the children. Instead we want to encourage the children to wonder at the mystery of incarnation - God loves humanity so much that God chose to become human and live as one of us. The infancy narratives teach us a lot about who Jesus is, and about how God works in the world.

Over the first three years in the Good Shepherd Atrium the children become familiar with the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary to tell her she will be mother to Jesus, Mary's visit to Elizabeth, the birth of Jesus and the visit of the Shepherds, Jesus' presentation at the Temple when he meets Simeon and Anna, and the visit of the Wise Men. We have many beautiful materials to help even the youngest children extend their meditation on these rich narratives - each includes 3-D figures and a simple environment to explore.  Often an adult (or another child) will read the scripture while the child moves the figures.

This week in the True Vine Atrium we celebrated the coming of Christmas by looking at the infancy narratives as a whole.  It was a beautiful experience, as the children brought together all that they have learned over their years in the atrium, and meditated once again on these beloved stories. We focused on the theme of the light of Christ and noticed how it spread - first to Mary, then to Elizabeth and John, to the shepherds, and to even to the wise men who traveled from so far away. I was amazed at the children's ability to sit in quiet joy and contemplate scripture, particularly at this exciting time of year!

As we grow close to Christmas, I wish you joy in quiet moments with your family.  Be alert for the light of Christ as the news of Jesus' birth spreads to you and yours this holiday season!