December 31

Peace be with you! I hope all of our families are doing well on this Seventh Day of Christmas! Christmastide begins on Christmas Day and ends on the Twelfth Day of Christmas, culminating with the arrival of the Magi to Bethlehem on Epiphany.

This Sunday our children will hear the “Epiphany” Godly Play story during children’s chapel. The feast of the Epiphany is sometimes called “little Christmas” in our church tradition. On Epiphany we welcome the three kings, the Magi, and remember the precious gifts they brought to the Christ Child.

Because the Magi brought blessings to the birth home of the Christ Child, there is long tradition of blessing homes on the feast of the Epiphany, which falls on January 6th each year.  An Epiphany House Blessing involves “chalking the door” to invoke Christ’s blessing on the family home and the people who live and visit there. We have Epiphany House Blessing Kits ready and we invite our families to pick up a kit at the table in the loggia (the long hallway by the playground) this Sunday!

Also, this coming Sunday we will begin our “Oreos in the Undercroft” gatherings for families with young children directly following the 10 am service.  “Oreos in the Undercroft” is Good Shepherd’s wintertime version of “Popsicles on the Playground”.  We hope you will join us for this informal time of family fellowship and fun!

I wish all of our families God’s abundant blessings in 2026—Happy New Year!!!

Many Blessings,

Patty