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!

Advent Prophecies in the Atrium

In Advent we spend time exploring prophecies from Hebrew Scripture. It seems quite appropriate as we prepare for Christmas to listen to the words that comforted and challenged those who watched and waited for the Messiah before Jesus was born.  In atrium we learn that prophets are those who listen very closely to God, and share God's plans with the people.  (It isn't too early to wonder if we might be prophets too!)  The prophecies are a marvelous way to discover more about Jesus.  The prophecy above is the first one that we learn, and it is always remembered and loved by the children.  The image of Jesus as the light is one that we hear often in the atrium, and one that resonates with the children.

There are five prophecies in all that we meditate upon in the Good Shepherd Atrium. In the True Vine Atrium we hear three more, and we spend time looking at the prophecies the children know from Level One as a whole. We wonder, what themes are woven through the prophecies? One of my favorites is the the theme of something great coming from something small: God coming to earth, not as a great warrior, but as a little baby. Tiny and unimportant Bethlehem as the birthplace of Jesus. A helpless baby named Everlasting Father and Mighty God!  This dichotomy of great and small is a delight to the children, and a concept we encounter throughout the year. God seems to love small things, perhaps small people most of all!

Children often extend their meditation by copying and illustrating the prophecies themselves. Older children like to find the prophecies in their Bibles.  







This Sunday is the third Sunday in Advent!  Light your pink candle and enjoy!