Dear Parents and Grandparents,

The Season of Advent is about to begin! Prepare with your children and grandchildren for the coming of our Lord.... How, you ask?

First, commit to practice some simple devotions with your family that SHOWS your children the importance of our faith in Jesus. Click here for more about celebrating Advent at home. 

Second, make an Advent wreath this Sunday in Tyler Hall--before or after formation--or take home the materials to put together later in the week. Use the wreath in your devotions at home.

Third, ALL K thru 5th grade children should be at the GodlyPlay room at 9:30 this Sunday. They  will hear and work with the meaning of first half of the Advent/Christmas story and will continue next Sunday with the whole story. This is essential preparation for participation in the Christmas Play on the 17th. 

Notify me by this Sunday if your child or grandchild will participate in the play in the play.

On the 17th, have your children at the Baptism font at 9:30 for rehearsal. The play will take the place of the sermon at the 11:00 liturgy.

I encourage you to try using the Advent devotions described below at home with your children as we approach Christmas.

Be in touch with me about the Christmas Play.    :- )  

Much peace and joy be with you in this season of interior preparation and wondrous anticipation,

John+

Rev. John Jenkins

Asst. to the Priest in Charge

Celebrating Advent at Home with Children

(by The Rev. Canon Frank Logue)

Daily devotions practiced at home are the best way for parents to teach children to value our faith in Jesus. To recapture the season of Advent as a time for preparing for the second coming of Christ even as we prepare to celebrate his birth in Bethlehem, an Advent Wreath can help.  

To assist in these devotions, I created a booklet with a brief liturgy based on a Service of Light in the Prayer Book: Celebrating Advent in the Home

These daily devotions are a way to incorporate liturgy into your daily life. The liturgy takes five minutes or less, yet permits a family to bring the Christian year into the home with a tangible reminder of the new church year, which starts this coming Sunday. 

If you want to use this Advent devotion to launch you or your family into more daily practices of faith, I suggest the website growchristians.org for resources for families. Started by two friends of mine, the website has grown into a helpful resource with honest discussions of the challenges and joys of bringing faith home. 

The Rev. Canon Frank Logue

Canon to the Ordinary

Episcopal Diocese of Georgia