Below are a series of resources to encourage faith within our homes. They were created by The Rev. Jennifer McNally, priest at Saint Anne’s Episcopal Church, Sunfish Lake and convener of dinner church Table 229, St. Paul, Minnesota, and me. Click on the image to download a .pdf of each sheet. Please share freely!
Ash Wednesday begins Lent, a season of repentance and renewal of our faith. On Ash Wednesday we remember with prayer, and with the tangible symbol of ashes, our mortal nature, our place in the cycle of life, and our dependence on God. The Lenten season of reflection and simplicity spans 40 days, not including Sundays. (Sundays always celebrate Jesus' resurrection.) This commemorates the 40 days Jesus spent fasting and praying in the desert at the beginning of his public ministry, as recorded by the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Though this season is solemn and reflective, it is also a time of preparing our spirits for all that is to come; a "spring cleaning" for the soul. As is said in Godly Play, Lent is a time spent “getting ready to come close to the mystery of Easter.”
Candlemas and the Feast of the Purification, celebrated on February 2, forty days after Christmas, commemorate both the presentation of Jesus in the Temple in accordance with Jewish practices and the blessing of candles which were used in the church and in homes throughout the year. A recognition of this date as significant began in Jerusalem in the 4th century where candles were carried in procession, then blessed, lit, and distributed to the people, to symbolize bringing the light of Christ into the world.
January 6 is the Feast of the Epiphany, sometimes called "Three Kings Day," and starts what some consider to be the Season of or after Epiphany, continuing until Ash Wednesday. In some cultures, January 6 is a large and festive end to the Christmas season; a day of presents, parades, and celebration. Epiphany is an invitation to follow stars, listen to dreams, and step out of what we have always known.
Christmas, or The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, is a season of twelve days when we remember and celebrate Jesus’ birth. Christmas was first celebrated in Rome in 336 CE and slowly spread. The date, December 25, as well as symbols such as candles and lights (symbolizing warmth and lasting life) and evergreens (symbolizing survival) were likely chosen to align with the already-existing pagan celebrations of the winter solstice. Though the various customs of Christmas have many different roots, the deep truth of Christmas, the truth that goes beyond facts or history, is what offers hope for our hearts and souls. During Christmas we remember the time God was born among us, as one of us, as Jesus.
Though Advent appears at the end of the secular calendar year, it is the beginning of the Christian year. The deep darkness of the natural world around us is an echo of the nurturing darkness of the dawning of Creation. It is in this holy space we begin re-telling our Sacred Stories. The word “Advent” comes from the Latin adventus, which means “coming” or “arrival.” Advent prepares us for, and leads us to, Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. Churches are often decorated in sarum blue during Advent, a color that honors Mary the mother of Jesus – an outward sign of our hope and expectation as we await, with her, the coming of the Christ. Sometimes royal purple is used in Advent as well. Advent is a season of waiting, wondering, and faithfully living in the in-between time: the time between remembering that God has already walked as one of us and God’s full in-breaking once again.
In the New Testament, the word "saints" describes the entire community of followers of The Way of Jesus. We all bear the word of God within us. From the very early church, followers whose faith and lives were particularly inspiring began to be described as "Saints" with a capital S. On All Saints' Day, November 1, we remember with gratitude those Saints whose lives and actions we look to as models for our own.
Saint Francis was born in 1182, the son of a wealthy merchant of Assisi, Italy. His early youth was a life of ease. As he grew, his encounters with beggars and lepers touched Francis' heart. Despite his father’s intense opposition, Francis decided to give up all material goods and devote himself to serving people living in poverty. Today we remember Francis for his compassion for people who were sick, his generosity to those in need, and for his love for animals and nature. Francis is celebrated every year on October 4. In the few writings he left, the wonder and joy he found in his faith shines most brightly in the “Canticle of the Creatures” (also known as “Canticle of the Sun”). The hymn “All Creatures of Our God and King,” still sung today*, was inspired by Francis’ canticle. One reason we honor his life and ministry with pet blessings and creation care is because his love of animals and the natural world was expressed so deeply in this canticle.
Blessings and prayers are practices that help ground and guide us. Prayer reminds us that our community extends beyond what we see in front of us, connecting us to something bigger than ourselves. Blessing reminds us of God's love in our lives. During times of transition and change, establishing a pattern of prayer and blessing can offer space to express worries and joys, hopes and dreams, and a time to both accept God's love and peace, and extend it to someone else. With these prayers and blessings, you are invited to create a practice of sitting in God’s presence, allowing yourself to be filled with God's hope.
On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit spread and moved among and within the people. But Pentecost is not just an ancient story, it is about us, here and now. It is about the ongoing life of the followers of Jesus. The Holy Spirit, one part of the Trinity, is offered in Scripture as a life-sustaining, energizing force, which not only guides us, but pushes us into all we are meant to be as people of God. The many symbols of Pentecost remind us that the Holy Spirit takes many forms, speaks many languages, moves in many ways, and offers unexpected gifts.
The hope of Jesus' resurrection on the third day following his crucifixion is at the heart of Christian belief and Easter Day is the celebration of the resurrection. It begins the joyful and celebratory Season of Easter, which includes Easter Sunday and the “Great 50 Days” that follow. The hope and promise of new life is welcomed with bells, flowers, and joyful shouts of “Alleluia, Christ is Risen!” to which one responds, "The Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!"
The Great Vigil of Easter follows the ancient practice of celebrating the Easter feast at sunset on Easter Eve. The Vigil begins in darkness and consists of four parts: The Light (kindling of new fire, lighting the Paschal candle); The Lessons readings from the Hebrew Scriptures and hymns); Baptism or the Renewal of Baptism; and then a celebratory Eucharist. The Great Vigil is a time of telling and living into the arc of our Great Story.
On Good Friday we commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus. It is a somber day of silence and prayer and is the only day of the church year we do not celebrate the Eucharist. The origin of the name "Good" Friday is unclear. Some believe it comes from an older name, "God's Friday". Good Friday was called Long Friday by the Anglo-Saxons, a name still used in some places. It is also called "Holy Friday" in some languages and Karfreitag (Sorrowful Friday) in German.
Maundy Thursday, or Holy Thursday, is the night of The Last Supper, the meal Jesus shared with his friends before he died. For Christians, this is one of the most sacred nights of the year. Maundy is from the Latin word for command," referring to Jesus' commandment to "Love one another". This is also the night Jesus shares bread and wine with his friends, asking them to do the same after his death: "Do this in remembrance of me". Shortly thereafter, Jesus is betrayed and arrested.
Palm Sunday is the first day of Holy Week, when Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem, as depicted in Matthew's Gospel, is recalled with processions and waving of palms. The processions traditionally include singing, and shouting of blessings and adorations such as "Hosanna!", which is an expression of praise and joy.