Tag: Connection

7 Ways to Savor the Holidays especially for families with children

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CandyCaneHeart_Holidays

1. Enjoy Traditional Foods

Cooking together is a great way to connect with children. Enjoying special recipes or buying traditional holiday foods is also a fun and delicious way to pass on your family history and culture!

2. Share Stories

The holidays are filled with wonderful stories to share. Take time to tell stories about past celebrations, snuggle up with treasured picture books, and ask children which stories they would like to revisit. Stories give holidays meaning.

3. Practice Rituals

Whether it is saying grace at dinnertime, sharing what you are grateful for at bedtime or lighting a candle with special words, having a centering practice as a family will make this season more spiritually renewing.

4. Spend Time Outdoors

Make sure you take time each day to go outdoors! Children need time to run around and play. Also, going out together in the darkness to see Christmas lights is a magical and memorable way to experience the wonder of this season.

5. Create Quiet Moments

Holidays can be noisy and overwhelming for all ages! Bring peace and comfort into your home by creating “quiet time” to read, draw, write, or simply sit together and share.

6. Give from the Heart

Encourage children to make or purchase thoughtful presents. Instead of spending lots of money, older family members will appreciate original artwork, photographs, homemade treats or experiences to be shared together next year.

7. Service to Others

Generosity is the true spirit of this season. There are many opportunities to be of service including gift drives, caroling in Senior Centers, doing errands for an elderly friend or relative, or decorating a tree with edible treats for the birds. Making service a priority during the holidays models for children the value of helping others.

Above all, do not let the commercialism and busyness of this season crowd out what matters most: Gratitude, Wonder & Love.

“To Know and To Be Known” First Church Boston

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Many Paths, One Love

The following is my sermon “To Know and to Be Known” delivered at First Church in Boston on September 15th, 2013. 

Listen to sermon on the First Church Boston website.

To Know and To Be Known

Rev. Amy Freedman
First Church in Boston
September 15, 2013

I am honored to stand before you today.  I am particularly grateful to Joyce and the Standing Committee for hiring me as your Consulting Minister.  For a long time, I’ve held the aspiration to be part of a ministry team.  So, I am delighted to be working with your talented Senior Minister, the Rev. Stephen Kendrick.  As you can imagine, although this is my first Sunday preaching here, this is not my first day on the job.  I have been attending some meetings.  It has been a pleasure getting to know your staff.  I am impressed by the skills of Catherine Bradfield and Zach Dunn as well as their team who I am still meeting. Plus, what a gift to get to know not one but two Ministerial Interns this year– Schuyler and David.  Together our ideas and energies are amplified—we are off to a good start.

Like the pilgrim in this morning’s story, my arrival here follows a long journey.  I carry with me the same longings for Peace, Love, and Joy.  Although unlike the pilgrim, my spirit is not weary.  Perhaps it is because I stopped at some of those storehouses along the way.

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