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Labor of Love

April 5th, 2017 by Kathryn Carroll

March came in with its blizzard more like a polar bear than a lion, but it left like the lamb of the Palm/Passion/Easter story. Spring and Easter always coincide and are represented by all kinds of new, infant life: baby bunnies, chicks, ducks, and yes, this year, April brings a baby giraffe. Back in February, six weeks seemed like an awfully long time and who knew that it would coincide with the length of a giraffe’s labor? But now we may wonder if it was enough time to be ready for the final push toward (re)birth. Lord only knows. And each of us has our own seasons and gestational timelines which may not coincide with the liturgical calendar. Without the rhythm of our Faith’s ancient story, we may never pause to consider the continuous cycle of time and transformational hope; a circle dance with God without beginning or end.

I hope that you have had a chance to dance, or play, or sing, or pray with your family in presence with God this Lenten season. And I hope that you can find a way to approach the cross with your children in guileless adoration on Palm Sunday, to the companionship of God’s daily bread next Thursday, to the compassion of Good Friday and hopeful vigil before Easter dawn. Children may not know all of the steps to the dance, but they can join in just by holding your hand. And if you feel that you’re still a wallflower, God’s hands are open and extended to embrace you as well; in joy, in sorrow, in fear, in hope, and in resurrection.

If you would like a nice, low-tech visual and tactile storytelling tool for children which follows the Holy Week narrative, please come to the Dale Room between 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. on Sunday and make A Holy Week Box. We have all of the needed supplies for you to make one to take home. If you have older children or youth, come and make a clay Tenebrae Candelabra to use during Holy Week or Good Friday family devotions, or pick up a Stations of the Cross coloring and devotional booklet.

Kathryn Carroll

Kathryn Carroll is Director of Christ Church's Children and Families Ministry