Activities for celebrating secular and sacred seasons of the year
Many of our experiences in life happen when several generations are together—at church, at home, in our communities. Holidays and family events are times for celebration, learning, rituals, food, and fun. This edition of Faithful Celebrations focuses on Mardi Gras/Carnival, Shrove Tuesday, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, and Pentecost. It includes plenty of activities to learn more about each of these sacred seasons or days in a church setting, at home, camp, or anywhere in-between. This abundance of ideas allows you to create meaningful celebrations within a faith context throughout the months of February, March, and April.
Each event to be celebrated includes key ideas, a cluster of activities to experience the key ideas, materials needed, full instructions for implementation, background history and information, music, art, recipes, and prayer resources to use in a small, intimate or large, multi-generational group. For children, youth, adults, or any combination of ages, any of these activities can take place in any setting. Reproducibles, such as a Lenten calendar, role playing cards, and art patterns are available at www.churchpublishing.org for ease of use.
Sharon Ely Pearson a retired Christian educator, editor, and author with 35-plus years of experience in Christian formation on the local, judicatory, and church-wide level. Known for her knowledge of published curricula across the church, she has written or edited numerous books. She is a graduate of Virginia Theological Seminary and a lifelong Episcopalian. She lives in Norwalk, Connecticut.
“The events and seasons of the church year are powerful faith forming experiences for all ages in the congregation and for families at home. Faithful Celebrations helps churches and families make these events central to their faith life with flexible ideas and activities to celebrate the seasons. Churches can use Faithful Celebrations to gather families and all the generations to learn, pray, and celebrate each season, and to equip families to celebrate the seasons at home. This resource is a great way to introduce or enhance family-centered and intergenerational experiences at church.”––John Roberto, Author, Reimagining Faith Formation for the 21st Century
“Faithful Celebrations is filled with fresh, practical ideas for encountering God during the holy time from Lent through Pentecost. Pearson has compiled engaging faith activities that connect with Christian traditions, worship, and prayer. The celebrations and rituals in this book foster learning and strengthen relationships with groups of any size––from small families to all-church gatherings.”––Christine V. Hides, Director of Ministries with Children and Youth, Northbrook United Methodist Church, Northbrook, Illinois and blogger at “Bless Each One”
“Having been in charge of celebrating these events for many years, I thought I was already doing everything possible! After reading Faithful Celebrations, I am empowered by the background information to do a better job of teaching the ‘why’ we are celebrating and am excited to implement several fresh ideas to make the events more meaningful.”––Katherine Gould, Christian Formation Director, Christ Episcopal Church, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
“Anyone who holds and reads Faithful Celebrations will want the season from Mardi Gras through Pentecost to not end, as there is a plethora of ideas for recognizing and celebrating this season in one’s congregation, home and community. I especially appreciate the comprehensive menu and easy steps for planning worship, crafts, food, games, music, storytelling and Bible study – for ALL ages – together. Faithful Celebrations meets the growing need for the “how to” meaningfully bring all the generations together to celebrate the seasons of the church year. On a personal note, when I read that Sharon Ely Pearson is the editor, I am already confident that Faithful Celebrations is a useful, fresh, and theological sound resource that will be immediately utilized and shared in my network of faith formation leaders.”––Linda Staats, Curator of “Home Grown Faith” and The Generosity Project Coordinator for the ELCA
