Tag Archives: Easter

Celebrating Easter at Home

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This is the day to fill our home altars with flowers! If there is anything blooming outside, create a bouquet (be sure to ask the owner of the property before you cut a branch or flower) or make some paper flowers. Put on some uplifting music and watch a livestream of a worship service. If your church is not offering one, you can watch the National Cathedral in Washington, DC.

Here are some ideas to do at home:

Make Resurrection Rolls

Ingredients (and what they symbolize): 1 (8 ounce or 12 ounce) package refrigerated crescent rolls (the bigger size makes it a little easier to wrap around the marshmallow) = the wrapping of Jesus’ body or the tomb); 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon = spices used to anoint Jesus’ body; 8 large marshmallows = body of Jesus; 1/4 cup butter, melted = oils of embalming; oven = tomb

Directions: Separate rolls into eight triangles. Combine sugar and cinnamon. Dip each marshmallow into butter, roll in cinnamon-sugar and place on a triangle. Pinch dough around marshmallow, sealing all edges. Make sure to seal well or all the marshmallow will escape. Dip tops of dough into remaining butter and cinnamon-sugar. Place with sugar side up in greased muffin cups. It helps to use jumbo muffin tins so that the juice doesn’t overflow.
Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes or until rolls are golden brown. Allow to cool slightly then eat warm. There will be a surprise inside – the tomb is empty!

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A Household Holy Week

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As we prepare to journey to Jerusalem next week in our homes, many have been sharing ways to create a sacred space at home. How might we use these spaces for Holy Week? What objects might we place on our altars each day to remember the final week of Jesus with his disciples?

The concept of a Holy Week Box is not new, in fact I had gathered supplies to put together bags to give out to our households at my church based on what Building Faith had posted a few years ago. The original idea came from Camille LeBron Powell in the UK some years ago. Due to health and safety concerns, these won’t be distributed this year (and we’ll save them for next year). So I’ve transferred and adapted the concept into one that individuals and families can create on their own. Follow along below, or download the document here which includes the readings.

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Planning Intergenerational Formation

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Four of the volumes of my Faithful Celebration series books.

Many of the formative experiences in life happen when several generations are together. Think about it – when were you fully engaged in learning about Jesus or living out your Baptismal Covenant? Surely it wasn’t when you were alone. Perhaps it was in serving others or immersed in a worship service. Most likely there was more than one generation present. In our society we tend to separate people by age mainly for education and employment. In the recent past, Christian formation programs have made the same separation of generations, but more and more formation educators are offering programs in which adults and children learn together. It is a way to pass on faith – generation to generation. Old learn from young, and young learn from old.

While Sunday mornings may still sadly be the most segregated time in our country (at least for mainline church-goers), it is the most generationally diverse time many of us experience all week. Our worship involved young and old, and every age in-between at worship.

My colleague Eduardo Solomón Rivera recently shared his 7 Steps Toward Intergenerational Discipleship in the Episcopal Church Foundation’s March 2019 newsletter. He shares:

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Immersed in the Way of Love

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The Way of Love

Over the past several months, The  Way of Love has always been on my desk in one form or another. As part of the Presiding Bishop’s Working Group to create resources for the Church  based on the seven practices of following Jesus. It’s been fun (and quite a ride) working with a creative bunch of Christian educators from across the Episcopal Church. I’ve created two particular resources for Church Publishing: The Way of Love for Families and An Intergenerational Gathering for the Way of Love. I was also excited to work with Mary Bea Sullivan of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Birmingham, Alabama in bringing her Living the Way of Love: A 40-Day Devotional to publication in record time.

Many have asked for children and youth ministry resources for The Way of Love. You can certainly adapt the Families and Intergenerational materials I created above to fit your needs. Gratefully, many of you have been creating your own, or tweaking what exists to fit your ministries. Keep checking back to The Way of Love “official” website where seasonal resources are continually being updated and offered. Much of The Way of Love is created for “open space” sharing, meaning if you have created something – submit it to The Way of Love email addressor through this form. Those of us (myself included) on The Way of Love Working Group will review and be in touch if this is something shareable on the website so others can learn and use also.

Are you aware of these newly posted resources? Chris Sikkema has been Traveling the Way of Love. His first episode focused on Bless. Join him in the second episode from Jackson Hole, Wyoming where he focuses on Rest. Love the Tetons!

Resources for Eastertide are now available, with a focus on Go. Here you will find images to use as well as ideas for evangelism – yes, going out into the world to spread the Good News of Jesus in the neighborhood. If you tapped into any Way of Love resource during Lent, there is a “Test Kitchen” of Life Transformed on Facebook, where you can share how you are practicing Go and hear what others are doing.

Receiving Jesus RGB

And stay tuned for a September book by Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde of Washington on Receiving Jesus: The Way of Love. It is available for pre-order now here.

Faithful Celebrations: At Church, Home, or School

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I’m always encouraging “my” authors to promote their books on their blogs and social media. Well, I need to take my own advice – so I’m pleased to share that the first book in a new series that I have been working on has just been published! All books are available at Church Publishing Incorporated as well as Amazon – and I’d love you to write a review on this page!

“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. Churches can use Faithful Celebrations to gather families and all the generations to learn, pray, and celebrate each season, and to equip families to celebrate the seasons at home. 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 

Faithful Celebrations is a series of five books for families and congregations to “Make Time for God” at various times of the year. With a combination of sacred and secular holidays and seasons covered, each book offers something for all ages to do (mostly) together. From recipes and craft projects, to prayers and liturgies with Bible stories, each “chapter” focuses on a particular event such as Advent, All Hallow’s Eve, or Valentine’s Day. The ideas can be put together for an intergenerational all-church event, a family celebration, or a block-party in your neighborhood. Continue reading Faithful Celebrations: At Church, Home, or School →