Reasons to “Rejoice ” this Advent

“Playtime” sounds like something for children, but families in our parishes were recently reminded that playtime can be important for adults and families, too! I especially
enjoyed seeing some of our teens hosting a couple of families playing Mrs. Hoagland’s version of “Family Feud”, where the Christmas-themed questions ranged from the
sublime (“Who was present at Jesus’ birth?”) to the silly (“Name Santa’s reindeer”)! The games helped “Big Kids” (adults) and their children have fun together with other families from our faith communities.

This “Gaudete” (Rejoice) Sunday is a perfect time to share with you about this experience, which was just one part of our Collaborative’s first Family Retreat, which was held at the LaSalette Retreat House and structured on a model of “Play, Ponder, and Pray.” This unique retreat day is one of the goals in our Local Pastoral Plan, “Go Therefore and Make Disciples,” under the priority of “Faith Formation of Adults and Families.” The content
was conceived by the creative mind of Maggie Hoagland (our Director of Faith Formation for Children), who was assisted in planning and implementing this faith-filled fun day by members of the Parishes of St. Martha and St. Mary. Like most retreats, it included time for prayer and plenty of good food and beverages! For the “ponder” portion of the day, one volunteer led the adults in a discussion while the other adult and teen leaders had a reflection activity with the children. Then we had a chapel visit for some prayer time centered on the advent wreath, and a crèche blessing was distributed for families to bless their manger scene at home. The day closed with story time and a visit from some special guests!

Advent and Christmas are very special times for children, but not just for children. The glow and excitement of children can remind us what an important gift it is that God comes to be with us. If you need an opportunity be lifted up by the children of our faith family, come to our collaborative Christmas Pageant this Sunday, 11:15 at St. Martha. Whether we live with our immediate families or are adult children reminiscing of past Christmases, we are all part of our Parish Families and the “extended family” in our Collaborative and the wider Church.

We look forward to celebrating Christmas with you in just over one week, unless you will be away, in which case we wish you safe travels! Be sure to hold onto this bulletin with the Christmas Mass schedule, or you can always check our website pwc.church and our Facebook pages.

Rejoice!