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Preparing for Michaelmas
Phil James, of Dappled Thoughts, recently sent us a booklet on Michaelmas he wrote for his grandchildren. We are so impressed by this booklet and are very excited that he is letting us share it with you! We know you will really appreciate both his reflections on angels and what they mean for our understanding of reality, in addition to getting a glimpse into...
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What are the Ember Days?
The Michaelmas Ember Days are Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. In this post, we give an overview to the background of the Ember Days as well as their purpose (If you don’t have time to read anything else, do scroll down to the bottom of the post and read the poem Autumn Inaugural by Dana Gioia; it is rather perfect for these days). What are...
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On Baby Sleep Challenges, Psalm 127, and Monasticism
My first baby was not a good sleeper. During some of her early weeks, we had sung Psalm 127 at church and it was going through my head during a particularly desperate night. I was pleading with God to help her fall back to sleep, on the basis of verse 2, “It is vain that you rise up early or go late to rest....
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Godly Play at Christ the King, Part 1
For the past several years, Jennifer Downey has been developing the Godly Play program at our church, with the assistance of Michelle Abernathy. Godly Play is our Sunday School program for ages 2/3 to 5/6, held before Holy Communion. As the parent of a two year old who just started going this past year, I (Amanda) am very thankful for the emphasis on reverence in...
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The Churching of Women
I gave birth to my second daughter a little over three weeks ago. So Sunday, as part of the celebration of the Feast of the Transfiguration, our priest also wanted to include the Churching of Women. The Churching of Women liturgy is found after the Holy Matrimony section in the Prayer Book. It is headed “The Thanksgiving of Women after Child-birth, Commonly called the...
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Love In Our Midst: The Good Samaritan
God is raising the world up to glory, and bringing glory to the Earth. That is one of the hopes that come in the Gospel of Christ. But it is a hard statement to understand in the midst of all the chaos and heartache of this week's events in our country. What does God’s victory over the world and the evil one and sin...
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Building Family Culture: Vacations
Thank you to Sandy McNamara for contributing to our series on Family Culture. Sandy is the wife of our priest, Fr. Wayne McNamara, the mother of four, and a grandmother of four. She is an art historian and an educator and a founder of Dominion Academy of Dayton. It took root in my own childhood. My dad is still a history “buff.” At the...
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Family Culture and Sunday Tea
Our eldest child is seven now, which doesn’t seem so old, but in today’s society means he will soon be noticing more about the culture, asking us possibly difficult questions, paying more attention to his peers, and seeing how our family is different from others. The teen years are looming, in the not so distant future, and I have been thinking that now is...
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Kitchen Blessing Printable
Christ the King member and artist Michelle Abernathy created a lovely kitchen blessing for her home and is now sharing it as a free printable for personal use with the Homely Hours. Her to-do list contains the goal of making “prayerful beauty in small spaces.” Perhaps her Kitchen Blessing art may also add prayerful beauty to the small spaces in your home. The blessing...
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Trinity Sunday: A Few Traditions and Links
The Collect for Trinity Sunday “Almighty and everlasting God, who hast given unto us thy servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of the Divine Majesty to worship the Unity; We beseech thee that thou wouldest keep us steadfast in this faith, and evermore defend us from all adversities, who...
