Advent III: Mary's Special Sunday
Celebration In The Seriousness
Dear Friends,
Gaudete Sunday is here! This Sunday, we say in Godly Play, we remember that even during serious times, we can still have celebration. No one, after all, can be serious all the time – though I certainly made a go at constant seriousness as a child!
This is also the Sunday when we remember the Mother Mary and when we celebrate her in the rose pink that signifies her in our stories, for without the Mother Mary, we would not have the Baby Jesus, who was coming then and is still coming now.
For me, the funny thing about Mary and the deep reverence that I and so many others have for her is that I was raised in a way that pushed her aside. Celebrating Mary smacked of a sort of big-C Catholic saint situation that my community wasn’t really on board with (and interdenominational tensions are a conversation for another time). At the same time, it was in my home community, an ELCA church in Staten Island, that I first learned a setting of the Magnificat, Mary’s radical song of thanksgiving, that stays with me always -
The Magnificat is one of my favorite pieces of scripture and one that it’s easy to engage children and young people around with the right tools. I particularly love Pray-as You Go’s “Living the Magnificat Retreat” for adults and older children. With younger children, Mary is a wonderful mirror for exploring our emotions and our understanding of who God is, in words, pictures, or using other materials. How does God act? What about God makes you feel happy? What would you thank God for?
As I discussed a bit a few years ago as we began the new liturgical year, the color coded nature of our calendar can also be quite appealing to children, and so it’s worth being attuned to these little signifiers. Sitting in with our youngest Sunday School students this past week, they love to look at our Circle of the Church Year and its colors, so make this Sunday Special. Wear pink, look for it in your environment, dig out your pink crayons, or even make a fancy pink drink of prink pancakes. Mary’s Sunday is a special day for celebration, so make it feel that way.
Since Gaudete Sunday is a chance to feel a little sillier in the serious time that is Advent, another giggle-worthy little snippet: Shepherds with Boomwhackers! This is sure to make everyone laugh, and is a unique take on the Carol of the Bells -
This week, I am excited and grateful to be sharing Godly Play’s Advent story with my new congregation, going deeper into this time of preparation with them. With a move on my plate, a job across the state from where I live, and much more, I do feel like those people in the Godly Play story rushing around, unable to see the season unfolding around me. It’s time to step back, to breathe, and be present in it. It’s easy to miss this time the Church set aside for us to prepare, but we owe it to ourselves to take at least a little time.
How are you being present in this season? If you haven’t checked it out yet, I highly recommend Traci Smith’s “Faithful Families for Advent and Christmas,” which offers some bite size, take what you need suggestions for living into this time. And, as a bonus, she recently announced that she’s publishing a companion book for Lent and Easter!
May you have a joyous Gaudete Sunday and, because I’m a millennial, I offer you this mandatory meme:
With Wonder,
A. Bird
P.S. Did you catch my recent article on Building Faith on Neurodiversity in the Classroom? I’ll also be speaking on this subject next month for Province I and am excited to explore this topic more.