Waaaaaay to busy ....

We are moving... my Church family that is. The Church is going to be doing some MAJOR renovations and remodeling, a new driveway, parking lot and entrance too, as well as handicap assessable things throughout the building (elevator, removing steps in the church, bathrooms, etc.) SO, it's been a hectic few months here and will be for the next month or two as well. We are going into a downtown store front location, MUCH smaller, for about 8 months.

I've been making some announcements and making clip art for it as well as editing thousands of photos for a video for the upcoming fund raiser kickoff too. That, and packing up 160+ years of "stuff"... it's NOT exactly fun, fun, fun.

I already showed this one earlier, but the other one is our new temporary site (I made it for some stationary that Fr. Bill wanted for the new location) -







I'm thankful for photoshop elements!


And this is part of the mess of things that has kept me busy too. Some of the men from the Shelter helped carry up 25 years worth of financial records from the undercroft where I stored them. I went thru them, with the help of a friend from Church, Linda, who helped too (thanks so much Linda!!). Some boxes had to be kept fully for 7 years, so we still have quite a few boxes to re-store, but a lot more could be tossed and a few things from each year saved permanently.





So, when the shredder machine comes to a local bank in another month, we'll have a van load of old records to be put thru it. These photos are in black and white because I used them for the Church newsletter too, and I'm too lazy to get the colored copies off my work computer..*L*

Sooo, that's what's been keeping me away from art and too busy to hardly blog even...

This weekend I am looking forward to a break... Kentucky Derby Party on Saturday.. ohhh yeahhh!! *S*

Kaine & Jorden Visited This Weekend!

It was a fun weekend, with Kaine and Jorden down for a couple of days, and Kaine's girlfriend, Lauren coming over too. Airplane rides and wagon rides were a big hit with Jorden!








Jorden had a bit of a cold, so she and Kaine stayed home while John, Kasey, Lauren and I also went to the Thai One On dinner and slideshow at Church on Saturday night. The Nelson's had a great presentation on their 8 week trip in Thailand last year. We had some Thai dishes as well.. it was a pot-luck dinner so I brought some fruit ka-bobs. I guess you could call them a fruit assemblage..*L*




This and graphic kind of art stuff for work is as close as I am coming to be able to do anything artistic lately..sure miss it!

Thank you to Lauren too for helping with the craft table at the presentation... sorry there weren't more kids for you to have there, but I appreciate you doing it!

Something a Church Administrator/Treasurer Could Appreciate...

I was going through some old photos here and found this one I had snapped at the small church upnorth where our friend, Gene's burial was held. This small, friendly congregation hosted a nice reception following the burial. The church and the congregation are very small, it is a very small town as well. As one who deals with the statistics listed in this photo, I couldn't resist snapping the picture of it.
And the next time I may feel the need to mutter to myself about low numbers and offerings in our own services, I'll be reminded not to.

Sooo, since it's tax day, I suppose I better go make sure my bookwork is in order ... Lord, help me to be thankful for even the small things in life.

An (Almost) ALL ART SATURDAY! Hurrah!

It has been months since I've been able to take time to make art things..besides things for work, that is. Today I had the chance and I grabbed it!

My sister had given me a stainglass (kind of a tiffany style) lampshade that had been broken and she was going to toss it, I took it apart and decided to use the broken and unbroken pieces in some kind of assemblage art.



I had found at Good Will, a LOOONG time ago, this primitive head, made from some kind of wood, painted black.

For awhile now, these items have had me dreaming at night, of ideas to make with them.


So, today I decided to use the stainglass pieces and add them to that wooden head thing.



Here are some photos of the work in progress, and the head (finished for the time being)... I have a feeling God wants me to use this for some other purpose?? I have an large old light bulb I was thinking of using with this piece... still working that out in my head and heart, and needing to find out how to open that lightvbulb without breaking it to add some stuff inside it.




I always wonder that God is saying to me in and thru my assemblages... this one has me wondering still what the message may be.

Tuesday - Support Group - YAY!

Tuesday night is Support Group! ... and the steak & lobster special at Tubby's! YUM!! It was packed at Tubby's...guess the "secret" of the great specials is getting around!
Good friends, good meal, good time!

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And what was better yet, when we got home, we were glad to see the election results for our city!! Mayor Mel (my BIL), was re-elected again! Way to go Mel!!
And our friend, Gary won the seat as alderman!! (I couldn't vote for Gary, he was running in a different district than we live in, but I would have had I been in that district!) Congrats to both! Now on to continued, and even better city government again! *S*

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

Happy Easter Everyone!! Time to celebrate the Great 50 Days now!
The weeks following the celebration of Jesus' resurrection are called the Easter season, & also The Great 50 Days. Easter isn’t just one day but a season of fifty days leading up to Pentecost, which this year is on May 23rd.


Just as the calendar year is divided into the seasons of winter, spring, summer and fall, so does the Church divide its calendar into seasons like Advent, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, etc. The weeks following the celebration of Jesus' resurrection are often called the Easter season. There is, however, another phrase that was historically used to designate these days: The Great Fifty days.

The Great Fifty Days begins with Easter Sunday and concludes on the Day of Pentecost. (The word Pentecost comes from the Greek word for fifty.) The seven weeks that span the time between Jesus' resurrection and the sending of the Spirit are sometimes even called a "week of weeks."

During these fifty days several customs are observed in Church that assist in highlighting the festivity of the season.

* The paschal candle is moved from its normal place near the baptismal font to a prominent place near the altar.

* The liturgical color of white is used during the entire fifty days-longer than at any other time of the church year.

* The "Alleluia," which is omitted during the penitential season of Lent, is restored to the liturgy as the premier expression of joy celebrating Jesus' resurrection.

While such customs may or may not be celebrated in every Church, they point to the fact that the fifty days following Easter are a time of profound joy for the people of God.

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

The Lord is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

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UPDATED 11:38 a.m. after the Easter Sunday Celebration..
A photo by our daughter, Kasey K Photo
of the Church altar on Easter morning... beaaauuutiful!!

"This is the night..."

Holy Saturday, The Great Vigil of Easter ... "This is the night..", words from the Exsultet, that is sung at the beginning of the Vigil (after the lighting of the "new fire").

This is the night, when you brought our fathers, the children of Israel, out of bondage in Egypt, and led them through the Red Sea on dry land.

This is the night, when all who believe in Christ are delivered from the gloom of sin, and are restored to grace and holiness of life.

This is the night, when Christ broke the bonds of death and hell, and rose victorious from the grave.

How wonderful and beyond our knowing, O God, is your mercy and loving-kindness to us, that to redeem a slave, you gave a Son.

How holy is this night, when wickedness is put to flight, and sin is washed away. It restores innocence to the fallen, and joy to those who mourn. It casts out pride and hatred, and brings peace and concord.

How blessed is this night, when earth and heaven are joined and man is reconciled to God.

Consider joining your fellow Christians in the Tomb on Saturday night, where you can experience the Resurrection firsthand.
Color ... sound ... light ... water ... oil ... bread ... wine ... Jesus...

The Easter Vigil Service at Christ Episcopal, Delavan starts at 7 p.m. and will include:
FIRE: We light the new Paschal flame.
STORY: By candlelight, we hear the ancient tales of God’s works of salvation.
REFRESHMENT: We come to the water ourselves to reaffirm our own baptismal vows.
FEAST: We proclaim Easter! And then we are all invited to the table, old and young, dead and living, to share in the eternal meal of the Risen Christ.

ALL ARE WELCOME!

Maundy Thursday - Prayer Vigil of Visual Art & Prayer at the Altar of Repose

Our Maundy Thursday consists of a community service with footwashing (this year at Luther Memorial), then an all night prayer vigil at the Altar of Repose at Christ Episcopal Church. (People come in for an hour of prayer, all thru the night) Also an interactive Prayer Vigil of Visual Art, which features some assemblages and meditations on them, that I made. If you are in the area tonite after 8:30, until Friday night, come and see!

Here are some of the pre-prayer vigil photos I took after it was all set up.















And isn't the Altar of Repose BEEEAAAUUTIFUL with all the Easter Flowers set up in it! It smells really good too! Come and be a part of the Vigil here! ALL ARE WELCOME!