From the Rector – Making Christmas & Epiphany Traditions
Today is the tenth day of Christmas and I have a confession to make: I’m great at “keeping Advent” and having family traditions to prepare for Christmas, but I’ve really fallen down on the job of creating ways to celebrate the whole season of Christmas as a family – and the only Epiphany tradition we have is to chalk the front door. (You can read more about that here – and copies of the liturgy for chalking your door will be available on Sunday.)
So this year I began looking at some of my favorite Christian formation blogs and websites to see what I could find. Two ideas caught my attention and I thought I would share them with you as possible new traditions for you family too.
The first is a way to really celebrate the whole 12 Days of Christmas (for planning for next year!). The author
of the article wanted a way to bring her family closer and mark each day of Christmastide, and so she got a set of twelve nesting boxes and filled each one with gifts that called for time they could spend together as a family – things like games, crafts, cocoa mixes, movies, etc. They would then open one box each day to mark the 12 Days. I’m not sure if I’ll go searching for a set of nesting boxes (though that would be cute) – maybe I’ll just wrap twelve gifts and set them in a special stack on our window seat – but I love this idea because it feels like a continuation of our existing tradition of opening the doors of our Advent box for a small treat every day. The Twelve Days of Christmas by Tina Clark.
The second is an Epiphany tradition that I’m looking forward to beginning this year! It’s called Guiding Stars and offers a way for each member of your family to pick a word of faith that will guide you in the coming year – just like the wild star guided the Magi to the Christ child. It’s most appropriate for kids 10+ and teens, but also has suggestions for variations of how to do it with younger children to establish the tradition earlier.
My hope for all of this in this Christmas season – and in this new year – is that we continue to find ways both big and small to keep God at the center of our lives.
Yours in God’s peace,
Kristin+
Formation
Bible Study during Epiphanytide
Join Kristin+ for a weekly Bible study during the season of Epiphany. Along with Episcopalians everywhere, we will participate in The Good Book Club by reading St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans.
The daily reading schedule, along with an intro to Romans, will be available this Sunday for everyone to pick up and begin reading individually. We will then meet weekly for reflection and conversation on the previous week’s readings.
There’s great information at The Good Book Club and you can watch below to see a video about it from our Presiding Bishop.
This Bible Study will meet the following Mondays from 10:30-11:30 am at the Starbucks on Ridgeville Blvd: 1/14, 1/21, 1/28, 2/4, 2/11, 2/18, 2/25, 3/4.
Why Romans?
After diving deep into the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts during the Good Book Club in 2018, we will delve into the Letter to the Romans, written by the Apostle Paul in 56-57 CE. Romans shares Paul’s attempt to explain how this new expression of faith is rooted in Judaism but is available to all of humanity. As Paul writes to the new community of Christians in Rome, he explores the concepts of salvation, the power of God, and grace. Many biblical scholars consider Romans to be Paul’s most important theological treatise. While Romans is not always easy reading, this sixth book of the Bible articulates what it means to be a disciple of Christ and how that translates into daily life—lessons to inform and inspire followers of Christ from the beginning to the 21st century.
Youth Group
How do you make water holy? What was Jesus like as a kid? What was it like to be a disciple? The theme of Youth Group this year is the “Big Questions”. To get us started, we opened the floor and spent an evening asking any and all questions – 43 questions to be exact! In order to tackle so many questions, they were grouped into broad themes such as World Religions, Church History/Denominations, Faith in Action, and 5 others. Each 2nd Sunday meeting, we focus on one or more theme and spend time learning and discussing the answers to our “Big Questions”. At our December meeting, we discussed liturgy, worship, sacraments, and seasons of the church year – and took a field trip to the Sacristy and around the Church to help answer some of our questions! We then shared Eucharist around a table, passing the bread and wine to each other. Our next 2nd Sunday meeting theme is “The Bible”.
Our 4th Sunday fellowship activities have been very festive! In November, we baked holiday cookies, and in December we had our very own Christmas Party featuring the dulcet tones of the Jingle Cats holiday album and a fun gift exchange game! Check out the pics below J
-Kara, Bobby, and Kristin
WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Office Schedule
Monday – Wednesday 10-4. Thursday 1-5.
Guest Preacher This Sunday!
Please join in welcoming The Rev. Barbara Sears today as our guest preacher. Deacon Barbara was ordained to the diaconate in 1995. She has served five parishes, including St. James (2009-2012). She is now officially retired, but still active in parish ministry on an as-needed basis, and in the formation of new deacons. Barbara and her husband Bill live in Westminster at Carroll Lutheran Village. They enjoy traveling out West and taking walks, especially on the C&O Canal towpath.
Notice of Annual Meeting
The 2018 St. James’ Episcopal Church Annual Meeting will be Sunday, January 27, 2019 at 9:30 am. If you are a ministry chairperson you will receive an email requesting your report be turned in by January 16, 2019.
Candidates for the Vestry Class of 2019-2022
The Vestry Nominating Committee is very excited to announce the candidates for the Vestry Class of 2019-2022: Ty Conlon, Bill Ellis, Steve Stowell, Andrew Gobien.
Return Advent Wreath Forms
Have you pulled apart your Advent wreath yet? If so, please return the metal form to the box in the narthex and we will store them for reuse next year!
St. James’ Nursery School Pajama Days – January 7 and 8
Our nursery school is collecting items which are used by children at bath/bedtime for their Pajama Days project this year. The items will be delivered to Mt. Airy Net to be distributed to local families in need. If you’d like to donate please leave your items in the parish office this Sunday. Suggested items are: toothbrush, toothpaste, bar or liquid soap, and shampoo.
Prayer Rotation
Please join the Daughters of the King in praying for each parishioner in rotation during 2018 by taking this notice home and by posting it where it will remind you to pray on a daily basis for the needs and blessings of:
Donald and Carey Staley
Steve Stowell
Richard and Susan Straus (Bethany)
A member of the Daughters of the King will be contacting you this week for special prayer requests.
Readings for the Epiphany, January 6, 2019 :
Isaiah 60:1-6
Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14
Ephesians 3:1-12
Matthew 2:1-12
Commemorations for the week of January 6, 2019:
