Pentecost

 Sunday is the feast of Pentecost , the birthday of the church  and an excuse for a party.

Here are a few menu suggestions:

Nine fruits Salad - I did not think anyone needed a recipe to make a fruit salad just include 9 different types to represent the fruits of the spirit.

Seven Layer Dip - to represent the gifts of the spirit.

The colour for Pentecost is red so any Red food is suitable. I have served Duck which is the traditional food for Whitsun and served it with a red sauce. I have also done Chicken Cacciatore.

Other seasonal foods at this time  are gooseberries, elderflower , new potatoes, peas and asparagus.

For dessert how about Flame cupcakes or have a look at Catholic cuisine for lots of ideas for cupcakes.

I usually make a large sponge cake and fill it with cream and red fruits. The top is decorated with 12 candles to represent the disciples and the tongues of fire, 9 strawberries to represent the fruits of the spirit, 7 sugar roses or flowers to represent the gifts of the spirit.

Belated post for Ascension Day.

Last Thursday was Ascension Day and I did not get around to writing the intended post.

 We usually go for a walk up a hill and spend some time considering the story of Jesus' ascension into heaven and what this means for us now. Picnic food is the order for the day and in recent years I have made a chocolate cloud cake by Nigella Lawson.

This year I  find that we are needing to review our traditions , the children are getting older and have schedules and commitments of their own and we have found that, living in the UK, life has a different rhythm. There  just does not always seem to be space in the diary for activities that we once did year to year.

So , that has been and continues to be our challenge - how do we celebrate the seasons of the church year with our pre teen and teenage children in a way that is meaningful and relevant to our current lifestyle? I have always maintained that the liturgical lifestyle has to be flexible and adapt to current family situation and I am now being challenged to let go of some cherished traditions and look for new ways to celebrate. It makes me sad as well as excited as this represents a different season of family life.

Last Thursday I did manage to remind the family of the significance of the day and we ate Cloud Pudding for dessert. Being around the table together is an important part of our family life and provides us with opportunity to talk and discuss important matters of life and faith, as well as to laugh and discuss the frivolous.  Food I believe is an essential element in worship - Jesus is often revealed to us in the breaking of bread.

As long as we continue to eat together we will continue to worship together.

A Day of Joy in the Middle of Lent

 

We are half way through Lent and Sunday is Refreshment Sunday - otherwise known as Mothering Sunday. In the true tradition of grace we are given a day of relaxation from stringent Lenten fasts and discipline for refreshment. In the past folk were given time off from work to go to their 'mother church' which also usually meant the opportunity to go home and visit family.

It is a shame that this has become the only aspect that is now celebrated - important though our mothers are. Like so many of our celebrations Mothering Sunday has become over commercialised and it's roots forgotten.

Sunday is also called Rose Sunday because rose pink is the colour of joy - a day to be joyful and anticipate that we are drawing closer to the season of unbridled joy; Easter.

Ideas for celebrating Refreshment Sunday ( other than taking your Mum out for lunch!):

• Relax your fasts and reflect on your what you have learnt so far this Lent. How will you continue to observe the rest of Lent ?
• Decorate your home with signs of spring - flowers, colours and budding twigs.
• Make rose decorated cup cakes.
• Honour all the motherly women who have blessed and influenced you in your faith.



Celebrating Lent - Resources for children.

Lent is the most difficult season to mark in a way that is full of meaning for children. Certainly it is the time that my family struggles with the most. Shrove Tuesday is this Tuesday (12th) which means Lent begins on Wednesday 13th. It is not far away and there is not much time left to plan!

These are some resources and ideas that have worked for our family:

Love Life Live Lent is excellent material produced by Church Publishing House.

Christian Aid produces material called Count your Blessings - also very good.

The Jelly Bean prayer - my kids loved this.

And this is my favourite - planting wheat grass.

There are lots of versions of the Stations of the Cross for children on the internet, this is the one that I have used. And here is a lovely idea for using the meditations.

I would be interested to hear which of these ideas you like and use - and what other suggestions you have. How does your family observe Lent?

Candlemas craft

The feast of Candlemas is this Saturday ( February 2nd).

 I found this lovely craft idea in Landscape magazine for making snowdrops from crepe paper.

Snowdrops are associated with Candlemas because they flower at this time of year and are a simple and beautiful symbol of hope - a precursor of spring and all that spring pledges of light, warmth and expectation.

Winter

"Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire:  it is the time for home." 
-  Edith Sitwell


Winter definately has it's pleasures! For example:

• Making home made Seville orange marmalade
• Watching the kids snowboarding down a local hill
• Homemade soup
• Rich, thick gravy casseroles
• Walking on a silent , frost veiled common
• Watching the birds in naked trees
• Feeding them in the garden
• Stunning red orange sunsets
• Open fires
• Toasting muffins
• Watching snowflakes
• Mulled wine
• Evenings in
• Rugs on the sofa
• Winter root vegetables

 

 

A Prayer for the New year

We were not up in time to see the dawn this New Year  ( too late to bed last night!).  But it is a glorious sunny morning  and after all the rain of previous days  this clear morning gives me hope.  This beautiful prayer comes from Christine Sine's blog - .Godspace.  God as this new year dawns, May we take time to see the newness you are giving birth to. May we not be blinded by the darkness that consumes our world. Or consumed by the fear that paralyzes our actions. May we remember, That out of winter’s darkness you bring forth light, That out of winter’s death you give birth to new life. May we remember, That which has been dormant will spring to life, That which has been pruned will sprout new strength. May we remember, You are the light by which we see, You are the fountain that gives us life. God as this new year emerges, May we give birth to that which honours you, May we bring to life that which allows your goodness to shine, May we give fresh expression to your eternal world, And in the depths of our hearts may we cry, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Amen

On the 7th day of Christmas

Books have always played a significant part in our family , especially at Christmas  time when we read from a pile of familiar stories and authors. This year I bought a new book for Christmas reading:

The Thirteen Days of Christmas

Jenny Overton, Shi...

Best Price £4.72
or Buy New £8.96

It is a delightful story by Jenny Overton  and  illustrated by Shirley Hughes. We have not finished reading it yet but I would highly recommend it.

What does your family read at Christmas ? I would be fascinated to hear - please leave a comment and let me know.

Stir up Sunday

This Sunday , the last before Advent is  known as Stir up Sunday and is traditionally the day to make the Christmas pudding.The name comes from the collect for day in the Common Book of Prayer -

Stir up, O Lord, the wills of your faithful people, that they bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by you be richly rewarded: through Jesus Christ Our Lord. 

Amen

I did a bit of reading and found out that:

•  your pudding should be stirred from east to west to remember the journey taken by the wise men 
•  should  have 13 ingredients to remember Christ and the disciples.

And , of course, it  should contain a sixpence bringing good luck to the finder!  My grandmother always put a sixpence in her's, I think nowadays it's a fifty pence piece!

I was surprised to see how many newspapers and food blogs, including my favourite one were running articles with plenty of pudding and cake recipes in time for this weekend. It seems that this tradition is still popular. We make a home made pudding in our family - my sister has made it this year but I thought I would put a non traditional one in the freezer for a another occasion. This weekend I will make my Christmas cake , the fruit is ready soaking and today I made homemade mincemeat.

Preparing for Advent with Soap and Water.

Advent is my favourite season and I have begun to plan how we will celebrate - mostly with familiar rituals that we have celebrated every year since the children were little. However, it is always a joy to discover new ideas. Over the last few days I have been reading about the tradition of cleaning ones house over Advent. In Scandinavian, Polish and Irish homes it is part of the preparation for Christmas to have a big clear up in readiness for visitors and the hospitality of the season. It mirrors  the internal clearing out and spiritual preparation of Advent which is a penitential season - albeit  also one of quiet joy and suppressed excitement. The idea reminded me of the Benedictine attitude to work - ora et labora - that work and prayer, contemplation and action  are essentially linked. The quiet , repetitive nature of  quotidian tasks can aid prayer and meditation.

Our house is in need of a thorough clean right now and as I think ahead to the busy Christmas season it seems like a good idea to use this time of preparation to do a few timely domestics. Cleaning out cupboards in the kitchen, the fridge, the freezer and stocking up on baking essentials ready for Advent baking are some of the jobs I'm tackling.  It feels good when the job is done and I can practice the presence of God in an act of service to those who will visit our home!

All Saints Day.

 November 1st is All Saints Day. I enjoy celebrating it because it has given us the opportunity to learn about and appreciate the many Christians who have set us an example of faith over the years. We have told stories around the fire, hosted dressed up parties and  played traditional games like apple bobbing. Last year we watched the film Chariots of Fire. This year I think it will be a quiet evening together at home - a film, home made doughnuts and toffee apples and lots of silly games.

Here are a few links to celebration ideas;

 Pumpkin decorating ideas

Saint O Lanterns

Garden lanterns or try these

Film suggestions
Amazing Grace
The Hiding Place
Molokai
Chariots of Fire

Story sites
 Storynory
Christian Heroes

Autumn thoughts.

Here are the links to a few autumnal posts I have enjoyed reading.

Autumn store cupboard essentials by the BBC Good Food site.

And  a couple of links to some interesting thoughts on Michaelmas the feast of Michael the Archangel - I found these thought provoking.

Malcolm Guite's sonnets are always reflective.

Michaelmas Dragons and Delight   this post pushed  me a little deeper into the symbolism of the feast.

Some lovely prayers for Autumn

The sacrament of the table.

I have just bought my self a new cook book .

Sacred Feasts from a Monastery Kitchen. by Brother Victor Antoine d'Avila- Latourette

I am fascinated by the link between food and spirituality. Food plays such an important part in celebration and hospitality. I also enjoy cooking  and providing my family and friends with good food. In his introduction brother  Victor -Antoine says:

  ' It  ( the book) is  imbued with the innumerable joys and ways of praising God daily through the practice of food spirituality in the humble sanctuary of the kitchen'

That link between prayer, worship, food and hospitality is what I have been and continue to learn about. Appreciating the seasonal produce that come into my kitchen and what is served from it are one way of demonstrating thankfulness to God from whom every gift is good and perfect.

Another cookbook I have enjoyed using is The Times Cookbook for Feasts and Festivals by C.J. Jackson

Since today is Michaelmas Day here are a few links to recipes for today's feast.

lots of lovely blackberry, apple and other seasonal  recipes at  BBC Good Food  - I tried blackberry and coconut squares

Catholic Cuisine as usual has plenty of ideas

I am roasting a duck ( they were half price at Sainsburys a while ago and this one has been in the freezer!) and also a chicken. Goose being out of our pocket range! I am going to try roasting some apples along side the chicken. I have also made an apple and blackberry pie - wondering if there is too much of an apple theme?

Celebrating Autumn

Next Saturday - September 29th is Michaelmas Day, a feast in honor Michael the archangel and, in English tradition, the last day of harvest. The hard work is over, the abundance of the land is gathered and stored and it is time to celebrate and give thanks.

 For most of us the significance of harvest is lost today since we gather our supplies from Sainsburys or Tescos and can usually find a variety what ever the season - no need to store, preserve, dry and put by for later. Autumn is my favourite season and despite the reliability of my local supermarket I both enjoy and feel an urge to gather and preserve at this time of year. We have been collecting wild apples and blackberries across our local common. So far I have made: apple sauce , blackberry jam, blackberry compote and for the first time blackberry gin (very easy to do - the recipe is the same as for sloe gin). And I have bought myself a proper old fashioned pie dish . Autumn seems the time of year to make pies.

The traditional  way to celebrate Michaelmas is to eat goose. Last year we had a family lunch with roast chicken followed by baked apples and blackberry compote. There is an old folk tale that tells of the devil being cast out of heaven and falling to earth to land in a bramble bush. Enraged he curses the bush and spits on it! Since then it is supposed to be unlucky to gather blackberry's after Michaelmas.

Ordinary Summer Time

'Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time.'  ~John Lubbock

So far this summer there has not been much opportunity or enough sunshine to lie in the grass. I remain absorbed in my return to practise course , on sunny days I take my books  and my lunch outside.

We celebrated Pentecost two weeks ago with friends and a large fruit filled,  flower strewn, candle blazing sponge cake representing the fruit, the gifts and the fire of the Holy Spirit. Now we are in ordinary time, when I wind down and take a deep breathe with God. It is good to be reminded that ( in the words of Michael Quoist)

'If only we knew how to look at life as God sees it we should realise that nothing is secular in the world, but that everything contributes to the building of the Kingdom of God'

Even ordinary summer things. Ordinary time is about taking time to learn to see life as God sees it.

Easter for 50 days

Easter is a season of fifty days and not a celebration of one day. Here are a couple of resources that I have found which help to keep Easter and the amazing and joyous implications of this season upper most in my thought and prayer life.

Lent and Beyond  is an Anglican prayer site - often inspiring and thought provoking

 I have mentioned the book 'Living Easter through the Year ' by John Pritchard before. I am using it again this year and highly recommend it.

I would very much like to hear of any ideas or resources that others use ......

An apology

My blog has been very neglected recently. I have started a return to practice for midwifery course and it is absorbing much of my time and thinking space. We still celebrate the seasons but I have little time to write about it! I am enjoying my first springtime Easter in a number of years - today I crystallised primroses and violets to decorate the Simnel cake with. We have shared much of this holy week with our church family and tomorrow we celebrate with my parents and sisters and their families.

I hope that before the end of the year I will have finished my course and will be back to regular blogging. In the meantime -

A very Happy Easter to any readers who drop by!

Ideas for St Valentines day..

Activities that promote discussion..

Listen to some stories of romance
 At Storynory you can download stories for free

Watch a romantic film.- obviously your choice will depend on the age of your kids , how about;
Love Story
Love Actually.
Cinderella - maybe a modern day version like Maid in Manhattan or Pretty Woman
Roman Holiday or another Audrey Hepburn film.
The Time Travellers Wife
Titanic
The Princess Bride
Shrek
.....the list is endless! A Disney list here

Make an appreciation tree. Cut out paper hearts, each heart should have the name of one family member on it, distribute them to family members who then write something they appreciate about every person on the heart with that person's name. Hang the hearts on a branch and place in a jug on the table.

I am going to give my family a quest this year - the one that can find the best definition of true love will win a chocolate heart.

Any other ideas?

St Valentine's Day.

We do not celebrate saints days except for one or two - St Valentines day is one of those exceptions. He is the patron saint of love and love is the very essence of God  who we worship in all our celebrations. To love as God loves is to what we aspire  in our relationships. In our commitment wary and self centred culture of today I would like my children to learn what true love is , and indeed remind myself  of its  height and depth and breadth.

'Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. it does not demand it's own way. It is not irritable, and keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices when ever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never looses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance'

1Corinthians 13:4-7

Red roses or heart shaped chocolate boxes do not feature in our celebrations; I do bake a heart shaped chocolate cake for dessert though! But activities that provoke interesting discussions become increasingly pertinent as my children head into the teenage years.

A happy discovery for someone who loves books was that the 14th of February is also International Book Giving Day  What better way to spread love and cheer around on a chilly February day than to give a book away. So, this year our St Valentines Day plans include leaving some books lying around for others to find, maybe in a cafe or a bus stop - I hope they are blessed.

Zoe at playing by the book  also has suggestions  that are relevant to the UK.

Do you celebrate St Valentine?  What do you do?

Our Candlemas plans.

To celebrate we are going to:

Make beeswax candles to decorate the house and our table.

The children are going to make and perform a shadow puppet  show of the story of the presentation. The theatre is already finished - made from a cardboard box and baking parchment.To make the puppet figures we use free downloaded colouring pages as templates and trace on to card.
(This idea comes from the book The Year and our Children by Mary Newland Reed.)

http://www.sermons4kids.com/simeon_abda_colorpg.htm
http://www.sermons4kids.com/simeon-anna-colorpg.htm
http://www.calvary-kids-pages.com/cm60.html
http://frontpage.velocity.net/roaminka/EACH/colorpages/presentation.gif

Share a fondue meal with friends. I also plan to serve pretzels to represent the arms of Simeon and black olives to represent Anna , who was a widow. (If you want more ideas for food to serve at Candlemas try Alice's blog.)

Listen to some great music.