“We cherish and love you"
"Thank you"
"This church is your home”
“We promised to support your life in Christ, and WE DO”
“Together, small and big,
young and old,
we are the Body of Christ”
Let us share with you
, “the Adults of Saint Paul’s,
”
what these loving messages are about. We invite you to share them with our youngest members (4-11) throughout Advent and especially at the
11:00 AM service on Sunday, December 23.
At that service, the children will process and place the figures of our parish creche
for us
during the liturgy;
it will be their gift to the church to help all of us get ready to celebrate Christmas.
Each Sunday throughout Advent, the children will prepare. They will gather, just as pictured above, and practice processing and carefully placing each figure, animal, and star of the creche. They also will gather to hear and reflect on the story of Advent as presented in our GodlyPlay program, which is God's gift to the whole world through Christ's incarnation.
Each time they gather, we will communicate that the adults of the church have asked them, the children of the church, to perform this holy and honored work of setting the creche during worship to help all of us prepare for our Christmas Eve celebration! We will tell them that the adults of Saint Paul's cherish them and that they are full members who have important roles to play in our church and in our liturgy. This is holy work and these are powerful messages for them, holy gifts.
SO, whenever you encounter these children during Advent, please share these messages; it will make all the difference in the world to them! Thank them for their careful preparation and work for our church. Tell them how honored you are to have them place our creche in the church to help all of us prepare to celebrate Christmas. Tell them how much you look forward to singing hymns as they process with the creche figures, animals, and stars. Tell them and bless them. At the conclusion of their program on the 23rd, we will reaffirm these messages so that they know their cherished place in the life of Saint Paul's.
Consider also that at every single Baptism, each of us promises to uphold and support the person(s) baptized, especially children, in their life in Christ. Our unique approach to Advent formation and the involvement we ask of you is a profound way uphold our promises and affirm our children’s value before God and in our church family.
IF your child or grandchild (4-12) has not yet participated in formation, this is a perfect time to begin! We look forward to welcoming them. They will have a meaningful and wonderful experience of God’s love shared through all of us and in the life of Saint Paul’s. Please email your child’s name and age to Fr. Jenkins to enroll them today. We begin THIS Sunday at 9:30 AM in the Godly Play room.
With love and gratitude,
Ivey Coleman Kim Butler
Godly Play Leaders
