On November 8 we will sing “Awake, my heart, and render” together which was originally penned in German by Paulus Gerhardt (1607-1676). Gerhardt was a Lutheran minister and prolific hymn writer (read more about him here). In this blog post (and there will be more like this one), we wanted to introduce you to the new hymn by giving you a recording and a coloring sheet (which you can download here) with the lyrics. That way you have the opportunity to worship with this new song up through Sunday Nov 8 and beyond!

While using their gifts in the Sunday liturgy is good and formative, there is an even greater opportunity that we have to disciple children ages 3-9 in an age-appropriate, exploratory way: CGS allows the child to explore the truths of God, their Good Shepherd, through all their senses, through the Scriptures, and through the Church’s worship.

This Fall we will meet together on Tuesday nights to study 1 Peter together and finish with three weeks covering the creeds of the church, how to use the Book of Common Prayer, and an introduction to the sacraments and the life and mission of the church. The book of 1 Peter was written to people sojourning through a land to which they did not belong and it answers many of the questions that you and I have about how to live as Christians who do not belong to this world. In our time together we will navigate the complicated space between withdrawing from the world and assimilation to it.

When we talk about an ‘ordinary’ in the liturgy, it refers to those parts that do not change. In a way, the ordinary portions serve as the ideal template on which hangs the other portions of the liturgy. This season is meant to invite us into a new ordinary, an ideal new reality, against which all other moveable parts of life are measured