This is a re-post of a previous blog entry. But it fits! Just change the "12" to a "15." And, if you've signed up for the youth group to do the blessing with you on Wednesday, we'll see you then!

Merry Christmas!
I hope the season has been filled with joy, love and wonder at the Incarnation for you and your family!

Tomorrow is Epiphany, and it's customary in many homes (especially in Western Europe) to mark the lintel above the front door with symbols of blessing. You can do it, too!

Mark the front door (or somewhere on the door frame) with these symbols: the date, abbreviation of the phrase Christus Mansionem Benedicat ("Christ bless this home" - which are also the initials of traditional names for the Magi - Casper, Melchior and Balthasar), and four crosses (representing the four seasons).

Order the symbols in the following way: 20 + C + M + B + 12

In the new year, this marking serves as a blessing over the entire household. Be as artistic and creative as you want! Get a jump start on an art project tonight and post it tomorrow night - use markers or do a collage on a piece of cardboard! Alternatively, the marking may be made with chalk, for those who like to keep things simple.

And don't forget the prayer of blessing!
One person, or the whole household together, prays:

Be our shelter, Lord, when we are at home, our companion when we are away, and our welcome guest when we return. And at last receive us into the dwelling place you have prepared for us in your father's house, where you live forever and ever. Amen

Back to School - Blessing of Backpacks

Invite your friends, classmates, teammates, neighbors, teachers, students...

Blessing of the Backpacks

It's that time of year again: the first day of school is just around the corner!

Here at CtK we want to bless students (of all ages) and teachers as they head back to the classrooms. So, all students, teachers, professors, and everyone else headed back to school, are invited to bring their backpacks/school bags/brief cases to worship with them THIS SUNDAY, August 25th, at 10am for a blessing as the new school year begins.

A thousand thank yous!

Last Sunday during the "Blessed to be a Blessing" distribution of funds, Dawn Byrd made an appeal to join her in supporting and volunteering at the Bozeman Community Café. The café serves a hot meal every evening to residents of Gallatin County who are in need of food assistance. Christ the King serves dinner at the café on the first Sunday of the month. Our next host date is May 5, 2013.

Dawn informed me this morning that she received $900 from nine households of the congregation.
Dawn's contribution plus the $900 received adds up to $1000.

A thousand thank yous goes out to the ten households who decided to give their "Blessed to be a Blessing" 100 dollar bill to Bozeman Community Café.

Many of you who gave have volunteered at the café before. Half of you who gave are new volunteers.

Your gift of money plus volunteer hours will help Christ the King stand in partnership with the Gallatin Valley Food Bank in addressing hunger here in the Gallatin Valley.

Presentation of our Lord

Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,
‘Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.’
Luke 2:28-32

Today we celebrate the Presentation of our Lord, when Mary and Joseph traveled to Jerusalem to dedicate Jesus at the Temple forty days after his birth in Bethlehem.
It is there they were met by Simeon, who was promised by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
Simeon’s words, from Luke 2:28-32, have been passed down throughout the ages as the Nunc Dimittis, from the Latin, referring to the words “Lord, now you are dismissing your servant in peace.”
May our eyes, like Simeon’s, see the Lord’s salvation that has been prepared in the presence of all peoples.

The Twelfth Day of Christmas: House Blessing Preparation

Merry Christmas!
I hope the season has been filled with joy, love and wonder at the Incarnation for you and your family!

Tomorrow is Epiphany, and it's customary in many homes (especially in Western Europe) to mark the lintel above the front door with symbols of blessing. You can do it, too!

Mark the front door (or somewhere on the door frame) with these symbols: the date, abbreviation of the phrase Christus Mansionem Benedicat ("Christ bless this home" - which are also the initials of traditional names for the Magi - Casper, Melchior and Balthasar), and four crosses (representing the four seasons).

Order the symbols in the following way: 20 + C + M + B + 12

In the new year, this marking serves as a blessing over the entire household. Be as artistic and creative as you want! Get a jump start on an art project tonight and post it tomorrow night - use markers or do a collage on a piece of cardboard! Alternatively, the marking may be made with chalk, for those who like to keep things simple.

And don't forget the prayer of blessing!
One person, or the whole household together, prays:

Be our shelter, Lord, when we are at home, our companion when we are away, and our welcome guest when we return. And at last receive us into the dwelling place you have prepared for us in your father's house, where you live forever and ever. Amen

Chalking the Door
(from http://mugsmettlesandmeanderings.blogspot.com/2011/01/traditional-epiphany-house-blessing.html)

A Silent Witness

It is customary, especially in Central Europe, for the faithful to bless their houses at the Epiphany with chalk. They write over their front door: 20 + C + M + B + 11. Obviously, the digits, which appear at the beginning and end of the line, designate the New Year. ‘CMB’ stands for the traditional names of the Magi (Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar) and also signifies the Latin prayer Christus Mansionem Benedicat or ‘May Christ bless this dwelling!’

We blessed our home in the beginning of 2010. Little did we know then how many visitors would inquire about the numbers and letters written above our front door. It has created some spirit filled conversations with neighbors and sales people alike.

The Epiphany blessing has become a witness to our Christian faith.

May Christ bless this dwelling. Indeed!

Your offering at work

Earlier this week we learned in the church office of a young person who out of the kindness of her heart, took in an elderly person who had no immediate family.

The elderly friend has now become ill and is in need of life saving surgery.
The kind young person wants to accompany her friend to the city where the surgery will take place.

Using resources here in Bozeman and elsewhere in the state of Montana, we were able to secure lodging for the kind young person, so she could support her new elderly friend as this person prepares to undergo surgery.

None of this could have happened without your generous weekly offerings.
A portion of the monthly offering (less than one percent) is set aside in our “Good Samaritan Fund.”

Members and friends of Christ the King have benefitted from this fund to help people in need. And total strangers, too! Bags of groceries, tanks of gas, a month’s rent, a late electric bill, and emergency shelter have all been made available through the Good Samaritan Fund.

A colleague who helped coordinate the assistance said, “Last week both these persons were feeling like their faith was being tested. Your assistance will help to remind them that there are caring people in Montana who are willing to lend a hand, and to help restore someone’s shattered faith.”

This is your Christ the King offering at work, bearing witness to the hope we have in Christ Jesus.

Blessing of the Backpacks this Sunday, 9am

The Belgrade School District began classes for the 2011-2012 school year today. Bozeman Schools and MSU launch the fall term on Monday. Are you ready? I, for one, am not feeling particularly ready for summer to be over. That said, the fall is always an exciting time to begin new learning challenges, catch up with folks who traveled a lot over the summer, and recognize with awe and amazement how quickly some of those students are growing!
This Sunday, August 28th, during worship at 9am, backpacks and school bags - and most importantly students, teachers, and other school-types - will be blessed. So, if you're heading back to the classroom, bring your own school bag with you to worship for the blessing!

Decorations - and a Blessing for the Christmas Tree

Is your Christmas tree up yet? Ours is not, partly because I'd really like to get the multiplying dust bunnies out from under the sofa before we bring anything else into the family room, partly because the days just fly by and we never seem to get to the task (that, and Grant and I are a little more tired than we used to be during Advent... I have renewed appreciation and admiration for all you parents, especially those parenting more than one child!).

I must confess, I don't feel like I need a whole lot of decorations up this year, as I could spend hours just sitting and watching our seven-week old daughter. That's probably predictable, and maybe a little corny, but I think it may be good for me, too - to think about what this season of anticipation is really about, to be thankful for life and love, to do just one thing at a time, to be forced to slow down.

One of the Advent devotions Grant and I are reading together is titled "Hurry Up and Wait." Do you feel that push/pull in your life these days? Stores would have us hurry up and shop, here at church we ponder what it means to wait on God. With all of the commitments of the season - at work, at school, with friends and family, even at church, it can feel like we hurry from one thing to the next without even being able to catch our breath sometimes. Some of us even like it that way. Maybe that's why God came down as a baby - to convince us to slow down enough to notice the little things, to break into our lives with a schedule we can't adjust by sheer force of will (a baby is hungry when a baby is hungry, after all, convenient timing or not), to be as vulnerable as we are, to encourage us to love.

Maybe I'll appreciate our Christmas tree, and all the other gifts of the season, all the more when it finally is up, having been made to wait.

Here's a blessing for the Christmas tree at your house. It is adapted from Sundays and Seasons Year A 2008 © 2007 Augsburg Fortress. Even if your tree's been up for weeks, it's not to late to bless it!

This reading and blessing may be used when the tree is first lit, or at any other appropriate time.

Psalm 96:11-13
Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
let the sea thunder and all that is in it;
Let the field be joyful and all that is therein.
Then shall all the trees of the wood shout for joy at your coming, O Lord,
for you come to judge the earth.
You will judge the world with righteousness
and the peoples with your truth.

Blessing
Be praised, O God, for the blessings around us that point to you.
Be praised, O God, for the signs of this holy season that awaken us in wonder.
Praise for the steadfast green of this tree, like your love, O God, enduring all seasons.
Praise for the light that illumines our darkness, like Christ, who brings light to the world.
Join our voices with those of the tree and of all creation, who sing at your coming:
Glory to God in the highest,
And peace to God’s people on earth.
Amen

Saying good bye to beloved companions

On Friday, May 7th Lindean and I were faced with the difficult decision to put two of our beloved pets down.

Droopy the Beagle was an old dog, with lumps and bumps. He came into my life in 2001, after my first marriage fell apart. We quickly became good companions.

Indigo the Cat came into Lindean’s life eleven years ago while she was on internship at Christ the King. Pastor Shelley and Lindean went to an animal shelter looking for a cat. Indigo laid her paws on Lindean and sighed. Lindean said “I think I’ve just been chosen.”

This sad event has not been easy for us. We have been comforted by a book called “For Everything a Season: 75 rituals in Daily Life.”

Below you will find the order for “Blessing for the Death of a Pet.”

God bless you as you remember your beloved pets.

Welcome
For everything there is a season, and time for every matter under heaven.
Welcome to this time of sharing our sadness and saying good-bye to (name).

Prayer
Creator God, you made (name) and all creatures, large and small. Thank you for (name) and for all the ways (name) blessed me/us, Be here now, as I/we say good-bye and give (name)back to you. Amen.

Bible Text
And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind…” And it was so. God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:24-25

Reflection
Share all your fondest memories of your pet or write in a journal, perhaps writing a letter to your pet. Talk or write about what will be different in your life now. Allow yourself and others to grieve this loss openly and for as long as it is necessary. If you have children who are concerned about where their pet is now, assure them that God loves all God’s creatures.

Ritual Action
If you are allowed to bury pets on your property, dig a grave for your pet, wrap it in a special blanket and bury it. If your pet must be cremated, bring the ashes home and mix them with dirt in the ground or in a planter. As you bury your pet or mix its ashes in the ground, say these words. Good-bye (name). Thank you for being with me/us. Now I/we give you back to your Creator.

Then plant something that will bloom or bear fruit as a yearly reminder of the joy and nourishment your pet brought to your life.



Blessing
May the God of creation be with us in our sadness and comfort our spirits. Amen!

Twelfth Night

Today is the 12th day of Christmas - and in keeping with the Jewish observance of time, Epiphany begins at sundown. We really do encourage you to bless your dwelling this year - it can serve as a visual prayer every time you go through your front door.
Here's a brief service (all you need is a piece of chalk!) you can do at your house. If you don't have any chalk, you can do what I did a few years ago: write the symbols on a piece of paper then cover it with clear packing tape (like a poor girl's laminating...) and stick that above the door.
You might also want to check out this great post over at The Painted Prayerbook.
Blessings!!

Epiphany House Blessing

Many Christian households gather together on the Day of Epiphany (January 6th) to bless their homes for the new year. You will need a piece of chalk, or piece of cardboard and art supplies, to mark the lintel above the doorway with symbols of blessing.

All make the Sign of the Cross (in remembrance of their baptism).

Head of Household Peace be to this house and to all who dwell here, in the name of the Lord.
All Blessed be God forever.

Reader In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a Father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-5, 14)

Using chalk, or a piece of cardboard that has been decorated with crayons or colored markers and designs, write on the outside of your house, above or next to the front door, these symbols: the date, abbreviation of the phrase Christus Mansionem Benedicat, “Christ bless this home” (which is also the initials of traditional names for the three Magi—Casper, Melchior, and Balthasar), and four crosses.
Order the symbols in the following way: 20 + C + M + B + 10 (the current year), with the four crosses representing the four seasons.
In the new year, this marking serves as a blessing over the entire household.

Head of Household: Be our shelter, Lord, when we are at home, our companion when we are away, and our welcome guest when we return. Bless this house and all who inhabit it, with health, goodness of heart, gentleness and the keeping of your law. Fill us with the light of Christ, that our love for each other may go out to all. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen