Faithful Celebrations

Description

• Experiential activities for celebrating the saints • For use in churches, schools, camps, and home settings Many of our experiences in life happen when several generations are together – at church, at home, in our communities. Often we only celebrate the saints on All Saints Sunday or when a particular saint is commemorated in a secular way. This volume in the Faithful Celebration series focuses on some well-known and some not-so-well-known saints, many who are not all officially "sainted" but certainly having lived a life of faith under difficult circumstances. Each event recalling a particular saint includes key ideas, a cluster of activities to experience the key ideas, materials needed, full instructions for implementation, background history and information, music, art, recipes, and prayer resources to use in a small, intimate or large multi-generational group. For children, youth, adults, or any combination of ages any of these activities can take place in any setting. Faithful Celebrations: Making Time for God with the Saints - Patrick of Ireland - Nicholas of Myra - Joan of Arc - Sebastian of Gaul - Absalom Jones of Philadelphia - Julian of Norwich - Emmegahbowh of White Earth

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Christian Education
• Philosophie et théologie
• Julián (desambiguación)
• Saint Patrick
• Saint Nicholas
• Julian
• All Saints
• Saints

Informations

• Publié par: Church Publishing Incorporated
• Date de parution: 17 juillet 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781640651838
• Langue: English

Extrait

Advance praise for Faithful Celebrations: Making Time for God with the Saints
Can these dusty old saints live? Yes Through intergenerational play, prayer, song, and action, you ll encounter anew some heroes of the faith. When you make time for saints-and one another-you truly do make time for God.
-Tim Schenck, Lent Madness creator and rector of St. John the Evangelist, Hingham, Massachusetts
Making Time for God with the Saints is a resource rich in ideas on well-known saints (Joan of Arc) and those not so well-known (Absalom Jones of Philadelphia). Included are fascinating studies and discussion prompts, ideas for food to share, and related activities. Some sections offer heavy topics that would make for particularly engaging intergenerational gatherings with youth and adults while also providing creative means for sharing the same story with children.
-Liz Perraud, Executive Director, GenOn Ministries
As we have come to expect from Faithful Celebrations , the latest volume in the series provides the right combination of historical background and creative engagement. The combination allows participants across generations to enter into our celebrations of the saints in new and playful ways that will capture their imaginations and stick in their memory throughout the year.
-Katherine A. Malloy, Associate for Lifelong Learning, Director of Christian Formation Resources, Virginia Theological Seminary
Praise for the Faithful Celebrations series
The events and seasons of the church year are powerful faith-forming experiences for all ages in the congregation and for families at home. Faithful Celebrations helps churches and families make these events central to their faith life with flexible ideas and activities to celebrate the seasons. . . . This resource is a great way to introduce or enhance family-centered and intergenerational experiences at church.
-John Roberto, Author, Reimagining Faith Formation for the 21st Century
These thoughtful, manageable activities will inspire creative celebrations and remind us that How does this occasion relate to my Christian faith? is a foundational question of discipleship-and that Spirit-filled joy helps us find our answer.
-Kyle Matthew Oliver, priest, educator, digital media communications program leader
Faithful Celebrations offers exactly what we ve come to expect from Sharon Pearson: creative, loving ways to meaningfully connect faith communities. Sharon s wisdom is a gift to all of us and a call to think more deeply about the myriad ways we can connect across generations. There is something for everyone-and every church-in these books
-Colette Potts, Director of Children s Ministries at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Falmouth, Massachusetts, and author of Love First: A Children s Ministry for the Whole Church
The church has often been mindful of holy days on the church calendar, but it has missed the opportunity to connect other holidays within American culture to God s work in the world. Faithful Celebrations offers many opportunities for the church and families at home to bring faith to their celebrations of these days and seasons.
-Kathy L. Dawson, Benton Family Associate Professor of Christian Education at Columbia Theological Seminary, 2015 Educator of the Year by the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators, and moderator of hope4ce.net
Sharon Ely Pearson offers everything one needs to joyfully celebrate traditionally secular holidays as disciples of Jesus Christ. The suggested readings, games, bible studies, and faith in action activities offer ample opportunities for members across generations to connect and grow in faith together.
-The Rev. Allison Sandlin Liles, managing editor of growchristians.org
Faithful Celebrations is a wonderfully creative, multicultural, and easy-to-use guide for families and congregations who want to go beyond the expected traditions and truly connect to reason for the season.
-Jerusalem Jackson Greer, mother, minister, author, and speaker
Anyone who holds and reads Faithful Celebrations will discover there is a plethora of ideas for recognizing and celebrating the seasons in one s congregation, home, and community. I especially appreciate the comprehensive menu and easy steps for planning worship, crafts, food, games, music, storytelling, and Bible study-for ALL ages-together.
-Linda Staats, Curator of Home Grown Faith and The Generosity Project Coordinator for the ELCA
Faith deepens as we gather at home and in community to eat, make, pray, and play together. Accessible and meaningful ideas for celebrations abound in these essential resources.
-Lizabeth Bougie, Director, Resource Center for Churches, Minneapolis, Minnesota
From ideas for collaborative art and age-appropriate variations for activities, the Faithful Celebrations series is more than just books of activity ideas for various holidays. These are books of ideas for bringing people of diverse ages together for meaningful gatherings that connect secular holidays with our Christian faith.
-Sarah Bentley Allred, seminarian at Virginia Theological Seminary
FAITHFUL
Celebrations
MAKING TIME FOR GOD WITH THE SAINTS
Edited by
SHARON ELY PEARSON
Copyright 2019 by Sharon Ely Pearson
Scripture texts referred to in this work are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible , copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, and are used by permission.
Acknowledgments: Faithful Celebrations is the work of many unnamed contributors, as well as Joanna Leiserson, Dina Strong, Sylvia DeVillers, Sara Fontana, Kathy Finely, Rita Mailander, Kathy Coffey, Dirk deVries, Sharon Ely Pearson, and Jim Wahler.
Illustrators: Sally Brewer Lawrence, Anne Kosel, Victoria Bergesen, Tom Lybeck, and Paula Becker
No part of this publication may otherwise be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Templates for duplication to accompany this book can be found at www.churchpublishing.org/faithfulcelebrations6 .
Church Publishing 19 East 34th Street New York, NY 10016 www.churchpublishing.org
Cover design by Jennifer Kopec, 2Pug Design Typeset by Rose Design
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Pearson, Sharon Ely, editor.
Title: Faithful celebrations : making time for God with the saints / edited by Sharon Ely Pearson.
Description: New York : Church Publishing, 2019. Series: Faithful celebrations
Identifiers: LCCN 2019008028 (print) LCCN 2019021802 (ebook) ISBN 9781640651838 (ebook) ISBN 9781640651821 (pbk.)
Subjects: LCSH: Christian saints-Miscellanea. Worship-Miscellanea.
Classification: LCC BV65 (ebook) LCC BV65 .F35 2019 (print) DDC 263/.98-dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019008028
Contents
Introduction
ABSALOM JONES OF PHILADELPHIA
PATRICK OF IRELAND
JULIAN OF NORWICH
JOAN OF ARC
ENMEGAHBOWH OF WHITE EARTH
NICHOLAS OF MYRA
Introduction

But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body s growth in building itself up in love.
-Ephesians 4:15-16
I n a small way, this book s intention is to help the Body of Christ grow in understanding and build itself up through love at church or home. Celebrations, gatherings, and rituals help members of every generation find both individual meaning and common ground, all through the medium of direct experience, no matter the age of the participant. Faithful Celebrations: Making Time for God with the Saints offers a multitude of ideas for planning an event focused on one or more of several saints that will bring families together and build strong communities of faith, whether it is in the home or a congregational setting. If you choose, you can focus on each saint close to the day of their feast day on the Christian calendar.
Through such occasions we can become better acquainted with our extended family-young and old together-in any setting. We can take steps toward making our congregation (or neighborhood) the warm, nurturing community we long for in our fragmented world. Older adults sometimes feel a sense of displacement in congregational life today, and younger people are increasingly looking to a variety of sources for spiritual nurture and faith practice. Singing, praying, eating, and creating memories together enhances our well-being and makes our connections to one another stronger. Undergirding our experiences is the presence of God among us, nurturing us and working through us to help us grow in the knowledge and love of Christ Jesus.
Through community celebrations, we can experience scripture and traditions in a fresh way that can give beauty and meaning to our daily lives. Within these pages you will find ideas to hold a theme-based event, or simply ideas to supplement other activities you have planned. This abundance allows you to choose only those activities that meet your congregation or family s particular needs-and fit your timeframe. Faithful Celebrations will help you and your family, whether it be at home or at church, learn more and experience these particular saints; some are well known, others may be new to you: Absalom Jones of Philadelphia-February 23 Patrick of Ireland-March 17 Julian of Norwich-May 8 Joan of Arc-May 30 Enmegahbowh of White Earth-June 12 Nicholas of Myra-December 6
You will find many more ideas for celebrating the saints in Faithful Celebrations: Making Time for God in Autumn (Church Publishing, 2018) including Francis of Assisi (October 6) and All Saints Day (November 1). St. Mary the Virgin (March 25-the Annunciation) is featured in Faithful Celebrations: Making Time for God fr