December 14 Class Update: Advent into Christmas

Advent Greetings!

During our most recent class, we experienced a modified version of our customary Religious Education Christmas Pageant, watching scenes from the account of Christ's Birth from the Gospel according to St. Luke, and even listening to Cardinal George's proclamation of the story in Luke 2 set to music, recorded at the Cardinal's Christmas Concert a few years ago.

I also shared a few anecdotes and stories, including the meaning of Gaudete Sunday and some traditions from other cultures that are customary in December, like St. Lucy's Day and the Feast of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe.

We also watched two more videos in the series on the Mass.

There is no activity to do in the meantime, but I will send out a message for a short activity to do once we get to January.

If you are interested in doing any of the optional extra credit opportunities, please refer to the November 30 and December 7 class website updates for more information.

One other extra credit opportunity is to watch the entirety of The Nativity Story, a 2006 movie starring Keisha Castle-Hughes as Mary the Blessed Mother and Oscar Isaac as St. Joseph, rated PG.

Another extra credit opportunity is to watch the video recording of Taize prayer from January 1.  It's about 55 minutes long.

I also want to note two service opportunities.

The first weekend of January is the monthly collection of diapers and wipes.  If you and your parents go to the store to shop for these items, this counts for a Confirmation service project.  They aren't scheduled to be picked up until January 5, so you're welcome to buy them and drop them off at Church between 8 and 4 PM on January 3 or 4.  You can also drop them off before 8:30 on January 5.

And the monthly food drive for St. Martin's food pantry is the weekend of January 15-16.  If you and your parents pick up nonperishable food items at the store, this also counts for a Confirmation service project.

Please note the following change to our class schedule:

Because of a required meeting on the evening of January 18 at OPRFHS for 8th graders starting there in 2022, we plan to excuse all the 8th graders from attending RE class that evening.

We will make up that missed class on two separate dates.

We will meet via Zoom on Tuesday, January 4, starting at 7 PM.  This class will last no longer than 40 minutes, and may end in 30 minutes.  During this time, we'll unpack the meaning of the Christmas Season, which starts on the evening of December 24 and lasts until January 9.  I also plan to play some music on the piano to celebrate the Christmas Season.

We'll be back in-person on January 11 at our usual time from 6:45-8:00.  Then, we'll meet again as usual on January 25.

Our second make-up class will be on Tuesday, February 1, from 7-8 PM.  For now, the plan is to meet virtually on Zoom, but if we get access to our classroom that day, I will let you know.

I sent Zoom session access info via e-mail to the parents closer to the date.

This schedule change only applies to the grade 8 class on Tuesday.  For any other younger children that you have in the RE program, the schedule remains the same:  They are off from class on January 4, and they will resume class on January 11, and then meet on January 18 and 25, then off on February 1.

I thank you in advance for your adaptability with this schedule change so that we can accommodate the January 18 meeting while also providing a way to maximize our time of faith learning, especially for the Christmas Season.

Please contact me if you have any questions about the schedule changes or for any other reason.

I pray that you and your families enjoy a restful break, and that you are blessed in the celebrations as Advent Season gives way to Christmas Season, along with Epiphany Day, and as 2021 gives way to 2022.

We remain connected as One Church: All my relations.

And keep up the Party.

God's blessings,

Paul

Nativity scene from Mexico in Paul's home

Here's the rose colored candle in Ascension's Advent wreath, celebrating Gaudete Sunday, at the midpoint of Advent 2021.  Let us rejoice that our salvation draws nearer.

P.S. Here are some links to resources that were part of our class last Tuesday.

We watched Mat and Savanna Shaw sing "Mary, Did you Know?"

Please feel free to visit their YouTube Channel for lots of other great music.

We watched two scenes from this condensed version of the 2006 movie The Nativity Story.

The whole video is about 16 minutes long, and we watched from the 3:25 mark to the 6:00 mark, which includes the scenes of Gabriel's annunciation to Mary and Mary's arrival at the home of Elizabeth and Zechariah.

We listened to Cardinal George's proclamation of Luke 2:1-14.

We watched Linus's monologue about the meaning of Christmas from A Charlie Brown Christmas.

We watched two videos from the series on the Mass: the Penitential Rite and the Gloria and the Opening Prayer, or Collect.  Having watched these two videos, we have finished the three videos on the Introductory Rites.

Remember that the words of the Gloria echo the song of the angels to the shepherds the night Christ was born.