Family Ministries at Epiphany:

Christmas
Week of December 24, 2023

Merry Christmas!

Epiphany families,

The season of Advent has been full of beautiful moments with your children and teens -- from playing with creches and making advent wreaths out of play dough and birthday candles, to exploring real frankincense and myrrh; and from decorating cookies to preparing a worship service.

Your children are a gift.

We wish you joy and peace this Christmas, and always.

Merry Christmas,

Bryn

Pageant Visitors Always Welcome

If your child has not been part of pageant rehearsals, that doesn't mean they can't be part of the pageant on Christmas Eve. All child visitors who come to the 4pm service will be offered lamb ears or an angel halo and be welcomed to join the angels or shepherds for the pageant if they would like to. They simply follow their fellow angels or sheep (and the grownups with them). Just look for Heather at the back of the sanctuary prior to the service beginning.

Tiny Hollenbecks being handed halos and wings the very first time they stepped into Epiphany.

Christmas Pageant Schedule

This Sunday, please arrive at the church around 2:45pm and go to the Chapel to get on costumes. Children should be in their starting places (in the sanctuary) at 3pm for a final run-through. This final run-through always helps everyone remember the pageant and feel confident and calm.

Please make note of the unique Sunday schedule we will have on Christmas Eve

8am: Spoken Service for 4th Sunday of Advent
No 10am Service
3pm: Pageant Run-Through (please arrive a little early to get on costumes)
4pm: Family Christmas Eve Service with Pageant & Choristers
7pm: Christmas Eve Worship Service
10pm: Christmas Eve Worship Service

Midwinter:

Burning of the Greens on January 3

On Wednesday, January 3, we will celebrate our annual Midwinter @ Epiphany. This special "Midweek" is a beloved tradition at Epiphany. We gather in Hadley Hall for grilled cheese (a la Duane) sandwiches and soup, and then head into the Cloister Garden for a worshipful end to the Christmas season with the Burning of the Greens and Chalking of the Doors.

You are invited to save a small piece of your evergreen tree or wreath, and bring it to Midwinter. We burn these greens as we reflect in gratitude on the season.

We also welcome in the new year with the Chalking of the Door, asking God's blessing on 2024.

First Sunday Intergenerational Worship: January 7

On the first Sunday of every month, we all worship together (there are no separate Church School classes) and the children & youth are invited to take part in special ways throughout the 10am service. This is an important way in which the children experience the service, and all ages love working together. First Sunday Worship is special and well loved.

Would you child like to be a greeter, an usher, a reader ("lector"), or an element bearer on one of our First Sundays? These jobs are fun ways to help and take part in the service, and we teach children their simple roles "on the job" that morning.

We invite you to sign up your child for a role on January 7 or February 4 here: First Sunday Worship Jobs Sign-Up

Church School Resumes January 14

There is no Church School on December 31. We will have worship at 10am with baptisms.

Church School resumes on January 14, which is Martin Luther King Jr Weekend. Due to the holiday, we will have one all-age class in the chapel during the 10am service. Children will start the service in the sanctuary and join the procession with their teachers to the chapel. We will do a special Godly Play story on Martin Luther King and then do a service project together.

Regular classes (preschool-1st grade in Upper Parish Hall and 2-5th grade in the Chapel) will resume on January 22.