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During our month of saints, we are hearing the stories of seven different saints from Scripture and tradition and learning about the saints in as many ways as possible. Check out some suggestions here. Come back all this month, for posts about our saints and remember to share what you and your family learn about the saints this month on Facebook with a photo of your flat saint out and about and #CHFSaints.

You can find all blog posts in this series at the following links: Mary Magdalene, Saint Luke the Evangelist, Clare and Francis of Assisi, Monica and Augustine, ideas of All Saints Saint potluck.

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Dietrich Bonhoeffer (February 4, 1906—April 9, 1945)

Date remembered: April 9

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor and theologian during the Second World War. He wrote many books that challenged the church in Germany and remain important to us now. All of his books focused on the person and work of Jesus Christ. When the activities of the church came under strict government control and Christians outside of the national church were limited in their ability to gather, Bonhoeffer ran an underground seminary that trained ministers. This seminary, called Finkenwalde, was eventually forced to close.

We know a lot about Dietrich Bonhoeffer because he wrote quite a bit. His friend, Eberhard Bethge was the first to pen his biography. From what we know it is clear that Bonhoeffer was so resolved in his belief and trust in Christ, that Christ and cross were all that ultimately mattered. He died at the young age of 39 at the hands of the Nazis.

A timeline of Bonhoeffer’s life may be found here.

At Home Discussion

In Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith in Community, Bonhoeffer writes of the practice of confession: “In confession the break-through of the community takes place. Sin demands to have a man by himself [sic]. The more isolated a person is, the more destructive will be the power of sin over him […]. Sin wants to remain unknown. It shuns the light.” When we confess in the congregation, we acknowledge and bring our own sin to light.

Read the Prayer of Confession from the Book of Common Prayer together. Students may already have the prayer memorized from our saying it together in the weekly liturgy. If they do not, try to memorize a part of it: the first five lines, lines six through eight, or lines nine through the end.

Discuss the question:

Why do we confess our sins all together every week?

On Monday of VCS, we heard God promise Moses,

“I will take you as my people, and I will be your God.  You shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has freed you from the burdens of the Egyptians…” (Ex. 6:7).   We saw that, “Moses told this to the Israelites; but they would not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and their cruel slavery” (Ex. 6:9).

Moses and Aaron confronted Pharaoh with a message from the LORD:

(They received some help from the Cobras…)

How did Pharaoh respond?

Pharaoh is one hard-hearted king.  “Make bricks!” he said.

Even after he saw Moses’ staff turn into a snake, his answer remained, “make bricks!” And so we did.

We also worked hard to fill the Pharaoh’s storehouses.

We enjoyed a snack recalling Moses’ staff-turned-to-snake.

And we enjoyed one another.

Thanks be to God!

Don’t miss out on Vacation Church School this year!  We’ll sing, play, pray, and respond to the story of God’s faithfulness to the Israelites in Egypt.

Here’s an overview of what’s going on throughout the week.  

Kindergarten & 1st grade:  “Marching in the Light of God”

2nd & 3rd grade:  “God’s glory covers the whole earth”

3 & 4 year olds:  “God is love”

4th & 5th grade:  “ALLELUIA!”

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Each Wednesday during Lent, children of Holy Family take time to reflect on the story of the Last Supper.  This week, we gave special attention to Luke’s description of Jesus as he gave thanks for the bread and cup.  Luke’s words were familiar to us:

“Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, ‘Take this and divide it among yourselves…

“Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them…”

Jesus — it turns out — was in the habit of giving thanks for all kinds of God’s gifts, even ordinary gifts like bread and wine.   It is so easy to forget to give thanks!  We took time to practice offering  prayers of thanks for ordinary gifts.  We tried out words that Jesus himself may have used.

Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.

On waking up:  Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who opens the eyes of the blind.

Blessed are You, LORD, our God, King of the universe, through Whose word everything comes into being.

And we thought up a few of our own…

“Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the Universe, because you have given me a sister.” 

“Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the Universe, because you made the sun to give light to the world.” 

“Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the Universe, because you made wolves.”

“Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the Universe, because you made special flowers and roses.”

“Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the Universe, because you gave me my mom.”

Can you add to our list of thanksgivings?

Our Lenten Wednesdays program for children this year will draw us into the story of the Last Supper.   We invite children ages 3-12 to join us in the Parish Hall as we prepare for the feast!  We’ll sing, tell stories, take time to create, and take time to play.  Check out the list below to find out what we’ll be doing each Wednesday evening.   Want to lend a hand one week?  E-mail or call me at the parish office.

Adults will be in the nave learning about the Creed, and we’ll have nursery care available for children under age 3.

• February 20:  “The Lord is my light..” / Candle-making
  
• February 27:  Blessing before the feast / Baking Pretzels and praying hands 
• March 6:  Setting the table / A plate and a cup
• March 13:  One bread, one body / Baking the bread
• March 20:  Following Jesus / Washing Feet