tradition

The Second Sunday of Advent

Rachel Chimits

As Christmas quickly approaches, many of us harbor hopes for a better, brighter holiday than ever filled with joy, but how do we hold on to that hope through the holidays and beyond? 

The holidays seem to herald their approach these days through the Hallmark channel.

The First Sunday of Advent

Rachel Chimits

Known as the ‘hope of the prophets,’ this first marker of Advent is a reminder that God does not ignore our world’s darkness and that we strain toward a future hope not yet realized.

Most people in the U.S. are at least vaguely acquainted with the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, if only from popular culture references or the cult classic movie Tombstone.

Ash Wednesday: From Dust Unto Dust

Rachel Chimits

A strange little holiday is coming up, and if you haven’t celebrated it before, should you and how would you?

Almighty God, you have created us out of the dust of the earth. Grant that these ashes may be to us a sign of our mortality and penitence, that we may remember that it is only by your gracious gift that we are given everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Savior.

Celebrating Christmas in India

Rachel Chimits

Believers around the world are gathering together not only to remember the Savior’s birth and his promise of eternal redemption but also to care for the widow and orphan.

In preparation for Christmas, our partners in India hold skits where children in their orphanage, and any from the neighborhood who want to participate, have the chance to act out the Christmas story.

Taking St. Nick Off the Naughty List

Rachel Chimits

Santa is a potentially controversial figure among Christians, but perhaps there’s a better perspective we could take on his story.

Perhaps no Christmas figure is more maligned that Saint Nicholas.

The man who began as a generous church leader, trying to inspire others to care for the poor, evolved into a magical sprite in a reindeer-drawn sled used by parents to bribe children into obedience.

Advent: The Adoration of the Magi

Rachel Chimits

Worshiping and delighting in Jesus at Christmas sounds all well and good, but how do we find the time and the right frame of mind to do this amid the holiday chaos?

In 1480, Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned to paint an altarpiece for the Augustinian monks of San Donato. He completed detailed drawings of the painting’s figures and scene, but then he left the city.

The painting would be finished years later by an unknown artist.