Tag Archives: Eucharist

Foundations of the [Episcopal] Christian Faith

August 21, 2020Adult Formation, Bible, Christianity, Confirmation, Discipleship, From the Archives, ResourcesAnglicanism, Baptism, Episcopal Church, Eucharist, faithSharon Ely Pearson

There was a time when dioceses created and published materials for their congregations for forming and empowering lay leadership. Granted, these were also times when adults regularly attended church, participated in adult education before or after worship, or attended traditional Wednesday night offerings of study. It was also a time when education was a priority exemplified in diocesan and church budget lines. In the 70s and 80s there was an educational focus on spiritual growth and discipleship with the creation of resources to assist that growth. Deja vu? Yes (and no).

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We Gather at This Table

May 27, 2020Book Review, Children's Ministries, Jesus, Parenting, Resources, StorytellingAnna Ostenso Moore, Eucharist, LGBTQ+, Peter KruegerSharon Ely Pearson

I’ve been waiting for this book ever since Today is a Baptism Day was released two years ago. Anna V. Ostenso Moore (author) and Peter Krueger (illustrator) have given young and old another gift with We Gather at This Table. With a gentle voice Anna shares how important it is for all ages to come together for the sharing of sacred stories, prayer, song, and fellowship. And during this time of being physically distant from each other, this book is especially touching as we recall how we can still find Jesus’ presence among us when we gather with those in our “safe circle” to share meals and tell stories of Jesus.

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Coming Soon to a Bookstore Near You

October 10, 2019Books Worth Reading, Children's Ministries, Resources, Youth MinistryAbsalom Jones Center for Racial Healing, antiracism, bible study, campus ministries, children's ministries, college students, dismantling racism, Episcopal Church, Eucharist, family faith, how to read the bible, prayer, The Way of Love, youth ministrySharon Ely Pearson

Whether you frequent your local bookstore, library, or Amazon for your reading pleasure bookmark this page for titles to look for in the first six months of 2020. This time of year (autumn) I am steeped deep into projects that will publish in the spring (January through June) as an editor. Spring 2020 will bring some (I believe) great titles for children, youth, and the adults who love them. It has been inspiring to work with authors with a passion for sharing the Good News with others beyond their own ministry settings. Hopefully you will find some that will fill a need in your home or ministry.

The Way of Love has been an initiative of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and the Episcopal Church since its launch at General Convention in 2018. Resources have been created from across the church, but these have mostly been created for adults and church events. The Very Best Day: The Way of Love for Children by Roger Hutchison fills the void by bringing the Way of Love in word and image to children. Through rhyming prose and the artwork we have come to love from Roger we now have a book designed specifically for children. Coming in January.

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A Child’s “Worship Bag”

April 7, 2016Children's Ministries, Parenting, WorshipAnne Kitch, Children's Ministry, Eucharist, faith at home, grandparenting, parenting, worship, worship bagsSharon Ely Pearson

This past Saturday I gave a workshop at the annual Spring Training event for the Episcopal Church in Connecticut. My presentation involved sharing ideas of how we can make worship more formational for children as well as how we can help parents make faith conversations and practices part of every day life at home. It occurred to me as I was putting some materials together for a “show & tell” that my process (and examples) make a great example of how to do both.

Basically, I gathered up all the supplies that I would put together in a “quiet bag” that I might bring to church with me if I had a preschooler or 8-year-old sitting alongside me in the pew for an entire worship service. What if we made such bags available to children to pick up before they entered our worship spaces? What if some of these objects were put into a “home box” and given to families for their use in at home or in the car? Continue reading A Child’s “Worship Bag” →

The Bread of Life

February 12, 2014DiscipleshipBread of Life, children's ministries, Communion bread, Diocese of Southwestern Virginia, Eucharist, God, Holy Communion, Jesus, wafersSharon Ely Pearson

Amy Frazier, an EfM mentor and Episcopalian in Roanoke, Virginia writes a wonderful reflection about bread (and wafers) and how we remember God . . .

As I tooled along I-81 south, various memories surfaced. Like many Episcopalians, I grew up Roman Catholic, and I once asked why we called the wafers “bread.” To my nine-year-old self, they weren’t “real bread,” like the bulkie rolls we got from the Jewish bakery. “Communion bread is made that way to remind us of the manna God gave the Israelites to eat in the desert,” Grammy Lou said. I remember thinking – God must have loved them a lot to give the Israelites so much manna, because it sure would take a lot of wafers to fill me up if I were hungry. And wafers might fill me up, but no way would they satisfy me like a bulkie roll and cream cheese!

Is that why we sometimes use wafers? To remind us that God gives to us abundantly, even during our desert times? To keep us longing for the real Bread of Life?

Read her whole article here: Episcopal Diocese of Southwestern Virginia.

How are you bread to others, and how are we constantly re-remembering the gifts we are given by those we love – and God?