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Month: December 2017

Altar

Forgotten Altars? Take Another Look!

This little chapel sits in the corner of a larger room. A great deal of care has been taken with the chapel. There is an Advent stand with the Advent candles, a cross in the corner on the wall, the hymn board, the candles, and book stand on the altar, the altar linens and the altar hangings. The scene in the altar antependium is that of the manger in a circle or nimbus with the star. The various blues of the background indicate the shades of the nighttime sky. The charm comes in knowing that in this place, someone has taken care to ensure that the altar of the Lord is prepared for the services that will take place in this tiny chapel.

Trestle Embroidery Stand and Slate Frames

Trestle Embroidery Stand and Slate Frames

Embroiderer’s knight in shining armor – a true workhorse and fatigue saver. The trestles are set up about wide enough to have a chair positioned between each stand. Then the dressed slate frame is placed over the rails of the trestle stand. These are an embroiderer’s dream come true. The trestle stands and slate frames are handmade in Montana for Ecclesiastical Sewing.

Christmas Rose Digital Machine  Embroidery Design

The Christmas Rose

In Church symbolism, many objects are used to help teach the message of Christmas. The Christmas Rose or Messianic Rose is a particularly gentle yet elegant symbol. Helleborus Niger is a perennial plant that can actually grow in warmer parts of the USA. It is found naturally in Europe, where it blooms in cooler climates from February, but in warmer areas, it blooms as early as Christmas. This delicate white flower blooms from luscious evergreen foliage.

Just the smallest of notes….

Gaudete Sunday is the third Sunday in Advent and is a reprieve in this season–which by nature is a penitential season. Gaudete Sunday gives us a glimpse of the joy that awaits us and lightens the mood–one way this is done is with the change of the vestments from violet or blue to a rose color. Gaudete is the plural present active imperative of the Latin verb “to rejoice.”

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