by Shelley Byrnes and Ebby Watkins
Happy New Year! As Advent starts us on our new liturgical year, we enter into an important season in the life of the church. As the weather gets colder and the already-short days get even shorter, we as Christians are called to mark this season through watching, preparing, and gathering. Just like people in the Bible were watching, preparing, and gathering as they waited for the baby Jesus to be born, we are watching, preparing, and gathering as we wait for Jesus to come again and as we look to encounter his spirit in our daily lives.
Here at St. John’s we have several offerings for parishioners of all ages, including families with children, to celebrate the season of Advent:
Watching
We are so lucky to have received the Imaging and Imagining Grant meant to help young people move further into our liturgy through art. (Click here to read last month’s E-vangelist article about this grant.) Our I&I leadership team (Beth Rhodes, Ben Steckelberg, Corrie Steckelberg, Wilhelm Steckelberg, Chris Sanders, Allison Brown, Ebby Watkins, and I) have been working to offer one installation during Advent and Christmas, with the next installation to be offered during Lent, Easter, and Pentecost.
Starting on the first Sunday of Advent (November 30), young people will be offered a gift of binoculars as they arrive to church at 10am to help them watch during this season of light! There will be special activities including “appearing words,” and scrolls with “special messages” to give our young folk an opportunity to celebrate Advent in their very own way. Adults should be watching each week in the church for something special as well!
Preparing
In his address at the diocesan convention earlier this month, our bishop, the Rt. Rev. Craig Loya, said:
On a day off last week, I took a long hike through William O’Brien State Park just north of Stillwater. At one point, the trail comes up out of the wooded river bluffs and onto a beautiful expanse of prairie. A sign describes the critical role the regular fires play in preserving the ecosystem. The prairie grasses can sustain the necessary trauma of the fire because the grass has such deep and interconnected roots.
Five years ago, in my first convention address, I outlined four core priorities that I hoped would shape our life together: discipleship, justice, faithful innovation, and congregational vitality. Discipleship–apprenticing our lives to the way of Jesus–is the foundational priority from which everything else is possible. Focusing on how we tether our hearts fully to the living God is how we grow deep and strong roots to weather the fires that inevitably wash over us. In this remnant season, we will be better served by strengthening our roots than always trying to fight the fires.
As Bishop Loya said, discipleship is the key to preparing our hearts for the living God. One of the ways we can grow our discipleship is through a spiritual practice—and an Advent wreath and Advent devotions are an excellent practice to begin with your family, or recommit to it if it is already part of your spiritual life together.
First, even preparation needs a little preparation of its own sometimes: on Saturday, November 29 at 10am in the Green Room, members of all ages are invited to help trim the greens, ribbons, and floral wire to prepare for our Advent Wreath Making Event. Many hands make light work—bring your garden cutters, scissors, and holiday playlists for a fun time! I will provide coffee, cider, and bagels. You bring the smiles!
Then, during coffee hour at 11am on Sunday, November 30, come to the Parish Hall (gym) to make an Advent wreath with fresh greens for your home, and to pick up Advent Devotions to go along with it. Bring your wreath forms if you have one or purchase one for $10. We also have candle sets available for $10 each.
This year, we’d also like to invite everyone to bring your Nativity Sets to the Advent Wreath Event! I have five sets that are each beautiful in their own way—one of which is made of olive wood that I purchased in Croatia! I can’t wait to share them all with you! Bring your family’s sets with a small card sharing why that set is special to you and/or where you got it. After everyone has had a chance to appreciate all the various sets, we will bless them before you take them home.
Gathering
In his convention address, Bishop Loya also reminded us: “The first Christians lived with a bold and immovable hope in the power of love, and it made their small little communities irresistible to a world that was coming unravelled.” And the same is true in our own little community 2000 years later: when we gather during Advent, we come together in love, and in a bold and immovable hope for the arrival of the coming Lord!
The most festive way we gather every year is at our Annual Parish Christmas Party. On Saturday, December 6, we’ll start at 4:30pm by the Kent Street Lobby for carol singing, hot cider, and a bonfire. Then at 5pm the children will move to their own party in the CYF area, stopping in the coat area to drop coats and shoes off. In the CYF area we will have crafts; a hamster trail and ball pit for the youngest ones; an indoor snowball fight for the older ones; and food for all! Before we start a Christmas movie, the bishop of Myra (St. Nicholas) will visit the children. Maybe St. Nicholas will leave some goodies in the children’s shoes as he leaves! (Please RSVP to me for the kids’ party so we have an accurate head count.)
All of this will happen while the adults celebrate in the Parish Hall with small plates prepared by St. John’s chefs. The youth group has joined with the LGBTQIA+ group to make cevapi, a savory sausage eaten in Croatia. We will provide both meat and a vegetarian version. It’s going to be a wonderful way to share one of our experiences from our youth group’s pilgrimage last summer.
Celebrating the Birth of Christ
The Epiphany pageant is going to be amazing once again this year. Written by members of the youth group, it centers around the Gospellers discussing how to record the birth of Jesus from their unique points of view. The pageant will take place during the 10am service on January 4, with practices on January 2 and 3.
We want to have a truly intergenerational Pageant this year, so here is your invitiation to let me know you’d like to participate. We have parts for all ages: speaking, non-speaking, and speaking in groups. We would love to have adults to help shepherd the youngest participants and to take over lines if someone becomes too nervous to speak them! If you have any theater arts experience, would like to gain some, or you are just a ham, please contact me! The more folks we have involved the more fun it will be.
A Year-Round Blessing
Thank you all for supporting the CYF ministries at SJE. It is such an honor to be a witness to the wonder, challenges, and growth of our young people. Just ask any of our CYF Committee members, Godly Play or Whirl Teachers, Youth Leaders, Acolyte leaders, or parents. They will tell you what a blessing it is to learn from our young people. If you are feeling called to discover more, contact me at [email protected].