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Celebrating St. Mary the Virgin

Today the Episcopal Church celebrates the Feast of St. Mary the Virgin. Last week we provided background on this feast and some suggestions for celebration.

Marian devotion has been a part of Christian practice from the earliest days. As a consequence, there are thousands of images of Mary – receiving the news of the annunciation, holding the infant Jesus, weeping by the cross. She has been venerated in every generation and across many cultures; liturgical artists have paid her homage in icons, statues, altars, frescoes and more. For a small sample of Marian imagery, this Wikipedia gallery is worth a look.

As a mother myself, I expected that one of the traditional images of Mary holding the infant Christ would stand out to me today. But what stood out instead was something quite different: a small illustration from a 13th century English book of hours. Continue reading “Celebrating St. Mary the Virgin”

5 Ways To Revive Your Family’s Faith This Fall

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Oh, I had so many good intentions of staying organized, on task and enriched this summer. Didn’t you? And are you now like me, looking at the calendar and seeing that summer is coming to a close and you’re still in your PJs?

It’s so easy to get out of routine in the summer time. And many times, that family routine of church, holidays and religious observances can get out of our habits as well. As the time for school approaches though, take heart! There is no better time, in my opinion, to start new traditions, get back into parish life, and dive into faith with your family–especially kids. Continue reading “5 Ways To Revive Your Family’s Faith This Fall”

The “S” Word (School is coming!)

After a full summer of amazing trips, family fun, and a decent amount of relaxation, our family is gearing up for the start of the “s” word. We’re lucky: School is not a completely dreaded activity for our kids, but one family tradition has helped, I think, to keep school from becoming synonymous with another s-word-not-to-be-named.

My husband and I have always worked full-time, so our children have had some sort of childcare year-around. We deliberately sought different care in the summer so they could have less structure and more time for play. But when the first day of school arrives, we celebrate like it’s a party. Continue reading “The “S” Word (School is coming!)”

Printable Back to School Prayer Bookmarks

Each year our church holds a Blessing of the Backpacks for our students and teachers. Since our church is smack dab in the middle of a three-college town, we have almost as many educators as we do students in attendance. To honor the wonderful new beginnings of the school year we try and create a meaningful gift to give to each student and teacher beginning a new year of learning and growing.

A few years ago my friend and artist Jeanetta Darley worked with me to design these easy-to-print bookmarks for us to give away. Continue reading “Printable Back to School Prayer Bookmarks”

Preparing to Celebrate St. Mary the Virgin

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How do Episcopalians celebrate The Blessed Mother Mary? Because we are both Protestant and Catholic, each of us can choose anywhere along the spectrum from not celebrating her at all to venerating her as much more than other saints. As long as we don’t worship Mary as a deity unto herself, we’re good. Continue reading “Preparing to Celebrate St. Mary the Virgin”

Celebrating the Transfiguration

Today the Episcopal Church celebrates the Feast of the Transfiguration. Last week we provided background on this feast and some suggestions for celebration. (Climb a mountain if you can!)

As a parent, what stands out to me in the story of the Transfiguration is something very simple: the attitude of the disciples.

Continue reading “Celebrating the Transfiguration”

Secret of a Pew Whisperer: Explain the Game

Cheers erupted in the living room as the long pass was caught, and the wide receiver made good progress down the field. “Don’t get too excited yet, guys, that flag is going to be Offensive Holding and we’re probably not going to keep any of that yardage,” I said.

The camera closed in on the official who hollered, “Offensive Holding!”

Three pairs of eyes swiveled over to me where I had been wandering through on my way to another part of the house. “How did you know that, Dad? You don’t even like football!” the girls asked. Continue reading “Secret of a Pew Whisperer: Explain the Game”

The Legacy of a Faith Community

mckenney villageMy husband David and I met when he was 17 and I was 14 at the Union of Black Episcopalians conference. I took one look at him and knew. Thankfully, so did he. He’s from Connecticut; I’m from Ohio. Twelve years later, we were married.

Our story of faith of love and faith is one I like to share, because our marriage is inextricably rooted in The Episcopal Church. We both came from families who were active in their respective churches. We both have fathers who are ordained in The Episcopal Church. We both have mothers who were lay leaders in our church communities. We were both acolytes. We both attended predominantly African-American Episcopal churches. So we both have first hand experience on what it’s like to be raised going to church every Sunday.

Recently, we were in Connecticut visiting David’s parents. Now that my father-in-law Walter is a Deacon, he and my mother-in-law Ida attend church where he’s currently serving. On Sunday, Ida decided she’d like to visit the church they attended for many years when David was young. We started to drive to the church and Dad said “by the way, the church isn’t where it used to be. There’s a new building near the retirement homes the church built.” Visibly surprised, David drove to the new building. Continue reading “The Legacy of a Faith Community”

In a broken world, I can teach my children honesty.

I’m a mother of two boys. One of my boys is a beautiful bi-racial boy and one of my boys is a beautiful white boy. One has spiral afro curls and dark brown eyes. One has fluffy white blond hair and pale blue eyes. They are my twins. We adopted our oldest son as a baby and when he was just seven months old, I found out I was pregnant. Life has been a roller coaster of crazy with two children 13 months apart,  but the joy I have gotten in watching these two boys become brothers is unmatched to anything I have ever experienced in my life. Continue reading “In a broken world, I can teach my children honesty.”

Preparing to celebrate the Transfiguration – and much more – at home

Next Saturday the church celebrates The Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord. Today our reflections and ideas for celebration come from Full Homely Divinity, a website which describes itself as “a website for the Anglican at the Altar and especially for the Anglican in the pew.” The author of the site prefers to remain anonymous for the sake of the glory of God, but has allowed us to republish these excerpts from reflections on the Feast of the Transfiguration. You can find the entire post on this feast here – longer than our usual posts, it contains great insights about the practice of prayer, the view of the feast in the Orthodox Church and more; I recommend it and the rest of the site highly. – ed.

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The feast of the Transfiguration commemorates a truly startling event, shortly before Jesus went up to Jerusalem to enter into his Passion. Continue reading “Preparing to celebrate the Transfiguration – and much more – at home”