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!

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!

Advent Begins - Try This!

This Sunday we begin a new year in the Church and we start the season of advent! Observing advent is a great way to resist the busyness and commercialism of the holidays and to prepare for a meaningful Christmas. For a great overview of the season of Advent, take a look at this video from Busted Halo.

At Church, we will begin the season with a Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser for our Pantry Shelf Outreach program. This Friday, November 30th at 6:00 pm join us for dinner and advent wreath making! You can make an advent wreath for your home - everything will be provided for only $10! If you already have a wreath, pick up new candles and take a look at the daily meditation books and calendars that will be available. **

Sharon Pearson posted an article about advent calendars on her wonderful blog Building Faith. She includes links to some great online calendars for the season that you might like to explore. I'm really excited to try these very cool templates for Praying in Color from Sybil Macbeth. If you haven't heard about praying in color check out her books or blog to learn more. You might also like the Advent Conspiracy - take a look at the site and watch the promo video to discover ways to make Christmas more meaningful this year.

Now is the time to figure out how to make this advent special for you and your family. It doesn't have to be much - light your wreath at dinner, say a special prayer together at bedtime, create a prayer wall out of post it notes that everyone can help build or make a prayer chain to mark the days until Christmas. Make time to volunteer and donate money to those in need during this holy season. Take a little time now to decide how you would like to grow closer to God this advent! You'll be glad you did!

**Don't worry - wreaths, candles, booklets and calendars will be available in the Front Hall at Church on Sunday if you can't make it to the Spaghetti Dinner!

Try This! Easter Garden

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

The Cross

The Tomb on Good Friday

The Empty Tomb

Christ is Risen! Alleluia!

My daughter and I made this Easter Garden on Holy Saturday. I'd planned to start much earlier in Lent but always seem to leave these things to the last minute! It is lovely to have around and a great reminder of the season. I've tried lighting tea light candles along the "path" in the evening which is beautiful! It feels a bit too big for the kitchen table, but I think I'll keep it there for now, and try to to find another place for the weeks ahead.

I read about Easter Gardens at several beautiful blogs, including A Holy Experience and St Theophan Academy. I made the butterfly with directions from Flame: Creative Children's Ministry. The plants came from Home Depot and the pot from Target. My daughter and I made the cross from sticks and the tomb from aluminum foil covered in sculpey. It was easy to make and fun to do! Try it! 

Holy Week with Children

As we make our way through Holy Week, I thought I would repost some great advice from last year on talking about the events of Good Friday and Easter with children. 

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Today I am so happy to share a very helpful article reposted from the blog "So Who's Hosanna Anyway?" Confessions of a Christian Educator and Mother, by Dr. Elizabeth L. Windsor. 

Thinking Ahead to Holy Week

  by Dr. Elizabeth L. Windsor

It is hard to believe that Palm Sunday is almost here (April 17th). And if Palm Sunday is almost here, then Holy Week isn’t far behind! Parents, especially those of young children, are often confused as to how best handle the crucifixion as we tell the story of the Easter miracle.

The events of Jesus' death are shocking and violent, but we cannot fully live into Easter if we have not experienced Jesus' death. There are ways to approach this with children that make it easier to share the whole story. Here are some of the things I have learned in twenty-five years as an educator and a parent:

1. Children - even very young ones - know that bad things happen. The Easter message is that good always triumphs over evil - even if it doesn't seem to at the moment. This is a message children can hear and understand.

2. When you talk about the crucifixion, always continue immediately with the Resurrection. I have found the following kinds of language helpful: "Jesus loved people so much that some people were scared by it and they put Jesus to death on a cross. But love is so strong, that not even death can destroy it, so God raised Jesus from the dead.”

3. If your children are visual learner, you may only want to share the story in words - the shorter the better. Use art that reveals the empty tomb instead of Jesus on the Cross as you tell the story.

4. Some children are curious about how crucifixion actually kills. They will ask questions such as "Did it hurt?" ("Yes"), "How does crucifixion kill someone?" ("Slow suffocation"). You do not need to dwell on the gore, but an honest answer that is short and to the point is helpful to children and allows you to move on to the resurrection.

5. Other children worry that Jesus was alone. He wasn't - his mother and the Beloved Disciple were there, along with other women. Two other men were crucified with him. And most importantly, God was with Jesus.

Experiencing the events of Holy Week and Easter can be a powerful way for children to share in the defining moment of our Christian faith while being held in a safe and familiar environment. The events of Holy Week are all great places for embodied learning – we shout and parade with Jesus on Palm Sunday, have our feet washed, taste bread and wine, strip the altar and raise the joyous “Alleluias” on Easter Day. With careful planning, parents can help children experience the mystery and wonder of both Holy Week and Easter.

Dr. Elizabeth L. Windsor is the Director of Christian Education at Sudbury United Methodist Church, in Sudbury, Massachusetts. The mother of two (22 and 11), and step-mother of one (16), she has been a professional Christian educator for the past 22 years. She blogs at “So Who’s Hosanna Anyway?" and is a contributor to the online Christian Education Community Building Faith. 

Thanks so much Dr. Elizabeth for sharing your wisdom with us on Thoughts from the Sheepfold!

Try This! Lenten Prayer Garden

Last year I wrote about a meditation garden I made for my family to explore during the season of Lent. You can see photos of it and read about the supplies I collected to use in the garden in this post on observing Lent at Home. This year, I revisited the idea and made a few changes.

Last Lent, I set the meditation garden, prayer ideas, and supplies on a table in a quiet corner of our dining room for family members to use during the day.  Just before Lent began this year, my husband Mark asked if there were any candles we could light at dinner time as we do in Advent. I thought again of our meditation garden and decided to adapt it for meal time use. I found a smaller bowl to hold the sand, and bought some purple tea light candles to use in the garden. I kept a small bowl of stones on the kitchen table with the garden but left the other supplies in the dinning room to be brought out as needed.

Each night at dinner we light a candle and pray together. I have been adapting the prayer ideas I created for individual use for our little group, and bringing in supplies as needed. Most often, we each choose a rock and pray for a special concern or a thanksgiving before adding it to the garden. Other times I have left a little verse of scripture in the garden and we have prayed with it before adding our rocks.

There are so many ways to pray with this garden before meals! I love using it this way. It has really set Lent apart for our family and it is helping us to pray together in new ways.

Two wonderful blogging friends of mine, Sheila at Explore and Express, and Storyteller at Wonderful in an Easter kind of Way are collecting links with ideas for preparing for Easter. I am listing this post in their Lenten Link-Up Party. Click here to see all of the great posts they have collected!  

Resources for Lent

Lent is underway! Has the more quiet, contemplative feeling of the season taken hold in your life and family yet? Here are a few resources to help you on your Lenten journey!

• Read previous posts from Thoughts from the Sheepfold that teach about Lent, or that share ideas for living Lent with your family.

• Follow Christ Church parishioners and our priest, the Rev. Peter Faass who are blogging daily reflections on the book "A Practical Christianity" by Jane Shaw at Peter's Musings. 

• Join Christ Church in a Carbon Fast for Lent! Check out the daily calendar of ideas and participate!

• Explore a beautiful blog written by catechists from St. Philip's Episcopal Church, in Durham, NC called St. Philip's Atrium. I particularly recommend a recent post Beyond Chocolate: Parent Empower-Lent.

• Take part in Lent Madness! Each day you can learn about two saints and vote for your favorite! This is a tournament-like single elimination bracket like March Madness and would be fun for youth as well as adults.

• Check out these wonderful two minute videos by the Brothers of the Society of St. John the Evangelist on Living a Rule of Life. They are posting a new video each day in Lent.

• Visit Journey to the Cross for a beautiful online devotion each day in Lent.

Bring the season of Lent to life for yourself and for your family!

Try This! Prayer Beads for Lent

At our Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, we made prayer beads to use during Lent. Having a string of beads can be a wonderful way to encourage prayer and can help you grow closer to God in this holy season.

The prayer beads we made have a stationary bead on one end, called the Lord’s Prayer bead. This bead can be a reminder to start your day with the Lord’s Prayer. Our bead chain includes ten movable beads that can be pulled and will stay in place so that you can keep track of anything that you are doing (or not doing!) this Lent. Carry the beads in your pocket and let them remind you throughout the day of your desire to pray, and of God’s desire to be closer to you. At the end of each day, move all the beads away from the Lord’s Prayer bead and let the next day be a new beginning!

Here are some ways that you can use your beads. Pick and choose from these ideas, and find other ways of praying with your beads on your own. (Leave a comment with your ideas below!)

• Use the beads to keep track of your prayers during the day. Each time you find your beads in your pocket, take them out, move a bead, and say a prayer.  You may like to make a commitment to pray ten times each day. Move a bead each time that you pray. 
• Choose one specific person or thing to prayer for during the day. Move a bead each time that you pray for that person or thing. Watch how your prayers change over the course of the day.
• Use the beads to keep track of good deeds that you do in Lent. When you are kind to a friend or family member, when you help a stranger, when you share something with someone in need, move a bead and pray that God will bless the other person and will continue to help you to be a blessing to others.
• Use the beads to keep track of sacrifices you are making in Lent. For example, if you are giving up gum, move one bead every time you reach for or wish you had a piece of gum, and say a prayer asking God to be your desire and your strength.
• Use the beads to keep track of any Lenten discipline that you are taking on – such as reading the Bible, or being kind to a sibling. Move a bead each time you do the activity. Pray that God will give you inspiration and strength to do all that you hope to do this Lent.
• Assign specific prayers, types of prayers, or people you want to pray for to the beads and say your prayers in a row, like a rosary. Check the Book of Common Prayer for prayer ideas.
• Share a smaller string of beads with your young child, and make a plan with him or her to pray together several times each day. Let the child move a bead each time you pray together. 

May God bless you and may you be a blessing to others this Lent!

Children in atrium will have the chance to make prayer beads as a work this Sunday. If you would like to make a bead chain at home, easy to follow directions for sacrifice beads can be found at The Little Ways. I have adapted these slightly, as I have described and pictured above. Photos from Shrove Tuesday will be coming soon!


****Two wonderful blogging friends of mine, Sheila at Explore and Express, and Storyteller at Wonderful in an Easter kind of Way are collecting links with ideas for preparing for Easter. I am listing this post in their Lenten Link-Up Party. Click here to see all of the great posts they have collected!  

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!

Advent and Christmas at Home

In this season of Advent is there a feeling of peace in your home? If not, you are not alone! This is such a busy time of year, and with so much to do it can be hard to create that quiet sense of expectancy and joy that Advent offers. And yet, with Christmas just around the corner, now is the perfect time to cultivate spiritual moments with your family.

My Mom is a deeply spiritual person, and has always had a gift for sharing the spirit of God with others. Looking back on my childhood, I'm amazed at the way that she juggled her many tasks, and still made herself present and available to my brother and me. She always seemed to find joy in each moment (she still does!!). And somehow she did all this without me noticing her effort!

Mom also had a special gift for creating moments of quiet peace and joy in our home around the holidays. I remember Sunday evening "services" we held as a family, praying and lighting our Advent wreath, choosing charities for our Christmas donations, and many evenings sitting together by our tree. Somehow in the midst of Christmas craziness Mom created moments where we could experience the wonder of Jesus and love of God as a family.

As an adult, I realize what a special Mom I have, and just how difficult it is celebrate Advent and Christmas at home. I read a lovely blog called The Magic Onions which often helps me to remember the joy of the present moment. Recently on the blog, the post Creating a Christmas Mood from another blog called Waldorf in the Home was recommended. I enjoyed reading this article so much that I wanted to pass it on to you.

The author, Esther Leisher tells us that creating a Christmas mood at home begins with preparing ourselves. This is something my mother knew well! Children are sensitive to our feelings, and I've noticed how quickly my anxiety and my excitement can pass through the house. This article is a great reminder that having a peaceful and open spirit in the holidays can help to create an atmosphere where contentment and joy can dwell.

Esther's suggestion that we create a dramatic moment for Christmas is such a good one, and again reminds me of so many special moments from my childhood. I loved hearing about the beautiful candle lighting ritual Esther created for her family and how it evolved as her children grew.

If you would like to learn more, I encourage you to read Creating a Christmas Mood and look for insights and ideas that can help you create spiritual moments in your own family. It doesn't have to be difficult! Simple things like gathering around the tree in the evening, lighting candles, singing songs, reading from the Bible, and praying together can awaken your family to God's presence! Make a plan and give it a try!

Many blessings to you and your family this Advent!

The Paschal Candle in our Church

In my last post, I talked a bit about the symbols from the paschal candle that we decorate in the atrium as a part of our Liturgy of Light Celebration. I mentioned that this candle is quite a bit different than the one we see in Church. My blogging friend Storyteller asked about the Church's candle and I thought I would include a few photos of it here.

Our candle was painted by a former priest of the parish and is oil filled and reusable. The paschal candle has a cross in the center without the year, a thistle above (symbol of the suffering of Christ) and flames below (symbol of the light of Christ and of the Holy Spirit).

In the atrium, our desire is always to point toward our practice in Church as a way of enabling children to fully participate in our worship and in the Christian life. Thus, it would probably be more appropriate for us to decorate our paschal candle in the atrium as our Church candle is decorated. However, I love the traditional design and words so much and find that they speak so powerfully to the children that I haven't had the heart to adapt them. 

So for now, a little explanation is sometimes necessary when the children see the paschal candle in the Sanctuary. Parents and Caregivers - feel free to comment upon or ask about the differences between the candles when you are sitting with your children in Church!

Lent at Home!

I have finally put together some things around my house for our family observance of Lent and thought I would share them with you here.

One thing I've done is put the shepherd and sheep from my Nativity Scene back on the mantle to remind us of the Good Shepherd. At Christmas this year, my Mom gave me the set that my Grandmother made for our family in the 1960's and I have really enjoyed having it. My reluctance to put it away gave me the idea to enjoy it as a reminder of the Good Shepherd. I sometimes light a candle next to the Good Shepherd it in the evening. Isn't it beautiful?

I also put together a meditation garden for my family this year. I made several of these a few years ago as Confirmation gifts for two young women who are special to me. I've seen nature tables and meditation gardens around on the web, but the idea really came together for me after our Church used the book and Leader's Guide for "My Faith, My Life", a wonderful Confirmation program by Jenifer Gamber. She has the confirmands work with a garden like this each week at their meetings. I utilized some of her ideas and added some of my own to make a set of cards with suggestions for praying with the meditation garden.

Here are some of the supplies I have pulled together for our family. You can see I have stones (for building paths and "altars," representing prayers concerns, etc.). I also have a bottle of water and of scented oil, and a few shells as symbols of baptism. The shells can be used to make impressions in the sand, can be arranged in the garden, or can hold water or oil. The candles remind us of Jesus - the light of the world. I found some little pieces of fence to make shapes and paths in the sand. There is a stick with some pine cones attached that I found on a walk. I also added some small wooden shapes with pieces of scripture written on them that I received at Vacation Bible School once.

The lenten prayer chain we made on Shrove Tuesday is hanging in the window in our kitchen. I am really enjoying this lenten discipline. My husband had the wonderful idea of tearing off the day's prayer focus in the morning so that we can pray with it throughout the day, and then pray together with it before dinner. Such a little thing but it has made a big difference!

Are you doing something for lent with your family this year? If not, it isn't too late! Check out the resources for lent listed here for more ideas. Pick something and go for it!

Resources for Observing Lent at Home

I've come across many wonderful resources for observing Lent at home as I've read around the web this month. I thought I would share a few here for you to explore:

Living Montessori Now - A amazing resource for everything Montessori. Deb has written a compilation post with great ideas and links for observing Lent.

Explore and Express - A great blog written by Sheila in Germany which has several posts on Lent this year. Sheila teaches with Godly Play, another Montessori-based Christan Formation Program.

Building Faith - The Online Christian Education Community of Church Publishing Inc. has several lovely Lenten reflections, and a great article on keeping Lent in your Household.

And of course, check back with Thoughts from the Sheepfold to learn what we are doing in atrium this season.

Feel free to comment with your own ideas for observing Lent at home, and share other blogs that offer Lenten resources.

Try This! Lent

Today is Ash Wednesday, and the season of Lent has begun. On Sunday during Christian Formation classes the children decorated the letters of the word "Alleluia" --that word of joy and praise that we do not say in Lent. (I've gotten myself in a bit of a pickle by not telling you about this before Lent began - please bear with me!)  At the end of our 10:30 service, the children processed up the aisle with the decorated letters and lined up to form the "A" word.  Then we put all the letters into a box and tucked them away in the Sacristy for the season of Lent. On Easter morning, we will see the word again, both in our worship and in a beautiful banner hanging in the Church, made from the letters the children decorated on Sunday. We've done this for several years, and I always enjoy it. It is a concrete way for the children to understand the more prayerful and reflective tone of Lent. They take it seriously, and carefully avoid the "A" word at all cost! Be sure that you do too! (That was my last slip, I promise!)

Lent is a time to grow closer to God through prayer. Last night at our Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper we made paper prayer chains with the children. I'll admit, this was not the most thrilling craft we've done at the Pancake Supper, but I'm really excited about it.  Cathy Wolford, a wonderful member of our parish, wrote out 35 ideas for prayer this Lent. She also provided five spaces to write your own prayers.  We cut up the slips of prayer suggestions and made them into chains. For every day in Lent (except for Sunday, which is a "little Easter") your family is invited to rip off a ring and pray for the intention listed.

As I said, I didn't have high hopes for this little project, but I've come away pretty excited about it. It is a very easy way to observe Lent on your own or with children, and I think it will help set a prayerful tone for this special season. If you are the parent of teenagers who are not all that interested in Lent (as I am!), this may be particularly helpful! In my family, we will be using the links to focus our prayers before dinner.    

If you didn't get your paper prayer chain at the Supper last night, we will have the supplies available at Church tonight for our Ash Wednesday services and on Sunday.  Take a packet home and make it up to share with your family this Lent. In my next post, I'll share some wonderful ideas for bringing Lent into your home from friends around the web!

Don't forget the 5:30 pm Ash Wednesday Service for Families today!  I hope to see you there!

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 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!

Celebrating Advent in the Atrium

Last Sunday (Nov.28th) was the beginning of the season of advent, the time the Church sets aside for us to prepare for the great feast of Christmas. Each season of the Church year is represented by a color, and the liturgical color for advent is blue. You will see blue in Church on Rev. Peter's chasuble, hanging from the pulpit and lectern, and behind the altar on the dossal curtain.


TRY THIS: This Sunday in Church, mention the change in liturgical color to your children and give them a chance to share what they know.  Notice the places where you see blue together, and take a look at our beautiful advent wreath.

In the atrium, we have a handful of seasonal celebrations throughout the year and we really enjoy them. Last Sunday in the two lower atria, we celebrated the beginning of advent with a procession and changed the cloth on our prayer tables from green to blue.  We also set up our advent wreaths and lit the first blue candle for the the first Sunday of advent.  Here are some pictures from the True Vine Atrium celebration for you to enjoy!

The procession. Each person carries something we will need for our celebration.

Placing the wreath.

Placing the candles into the wreath.

Each person adds some greenery to the wreath.

Adding the greenery.

Each week we sing a special advent song before lighting the candles.

Our first candle is lit!

Have you checked out our new Church webpage?  Click here to take a look!