Saturday, September 06, 2014

When ginger bear went to @efteling

http://ift.tt/1rhe16W

My family loves efteling, so we just had to take ginger bear there.

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Saturday, August 09, 2014

Some liturgy for the renaming of an adult

A friend of mine recently changed her name, and we marked the occasion with a little ceremony. This is my first attempt of liturgy writing, as I did alot of searching online and couldn't find anything suitable. So I'm saving it here for other people to use, it's adapted from The Church of England's baptism liturgy in Common Worship:

Jane's celebration of taking on a new name.

The blessing of the new name

Today we are celebrating the decision to take on a new name. We open with some words of

scripture:

Genesis 17:

5 No longer shall your name be Abram,* but your name shall be Abraham;* for I have made you

the ancestor of a multitude of nations.

6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from

you.

7 I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their

generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring* after you.

15 God said to Abraham, ‘As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her

name.

16 I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise

to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.’


Addressing the person with the new name: What is the name you have decide to take?

[Answer from Jane]

Jane, we thank God for your new name and what it represents to you. We ask God to bless

your new name and this new chapter in your life.

Jane is now going to renew her baptismal vows in her new name to represent her continued

commitment to Christ.

Prayer over the water

Praise God who made heaven and earth,

All: who keeps his promise for ever.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

All: It is right to give thanks and praise.

We thank you, almighty God, for the gift of water

to sustain, refresh and cleanse all life.

Over water the Holy Spirit moved in the beginning of creation.

Through water you led the children of Israel

from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land.

In water your Son Jesus received the baptism of John

and was anointed by the Holy Spirit as the Messiah, the Christ,

to lead us from the death of sin to newness of life.

We thank you, Father, for the water of baptism.

In it we are buried with Christ in his death.

By it we share in his resurrection.

Through it we are reborn by the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, in joyful obedience to your Son,

we baptize into his fellowship those who come to him in faith.

Now sanctify this water that, by the power of your Holy Spirit,

they may be cleansed from sin and born again.

Renewed in your image, may they walk by the light of faith

and continue for ever in the risen life of Jesus Christ our Lord;

to whom with you and the Holy Spirit

be all honour and glory, now and for ever.

All: Amen.

Renewal of baptism vows

In baptism, God calls us out of darkness into his marvellous light.

To follow Christ means dying to sin and rising to new life with him.

Therefore I ask:

Jane, Do you reject the devil and all rebellion against God?

All: I reject them.

Jane, Do you renounce the deceit and corruption of evil?

All: I renounce them.

Jane, Do you repent of the sins that separate us from God and neighbour?

All: I repent of them.

Jane, Do you turn to Christ as Saviour?

All: I turn to Christ.

Jane, Do you submit to Christ as Lord?

All: I submit to Christ.

Jane, Do you come to Christ, the way, the truth and the life?

All: I come to Christ.

May God, who has given you the desire to follow Christ,

give you the strength to continue in the Way.

The Profession of Faith

The president addresses the congregation

Brothers and sisters, I ask you to profess the faith of the Church.

Do you believe and trust in God the Father?

All: I believe in God, the Father almighty,

creator of heaven and earth.

Do you believe and trust in his Son Jesus Christ?

All: I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried;

he descended to the dead.

On the third day he rose again;

he ascended into heaven,

he is seated at the right hand of the Father,

and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

Do you believe and trust in the Holy Spirit?

All: I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic Church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting.

Amen.

The president says

Almighty God,

we thank you for our fellowship in the household of faith

with all who have been baptized into your name.

Keep us faithful to our baptism,

and so make us ready for that day

when the whole creation shall be made perfect in your Son,

our Saviour Jesus Christ.

All: Amen.

[Sprinkle Jane with water to represent baptism]

May Christ dwell in our hearts through faith,

that we may be rooted and grounded in love

and bring forth the fruit of the Spirit.

All: Amen.

Some alternate words to the 'giving away' bit of a wedding ceremony

When we got married, I didn't want to be given away. But I still wanted my dad to walk me down the aisle, and I wanted some way to reflect the creation of our new families. I'm saving them here in case anyone else ever needs them.

I found this on www.offbeatbride.com

PARENTAL BLESSING

Priest: Sharon and Ashley, your daughter, Alex, has chosen to share her life with Tom. Will you receive him as your son, and at all times give him your support and understanding?
Sharon and Ashley: We will.

Priest: Eunice and Norman, your son, Tom, has chosen to share his life with Alex. Will you receive her as your daughter, and at all times give her your support and understanding?
Eunice and Norman: We will.

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Thoughts from Summer




The diet has begun again in earnest. Fed up of being out of breath when I walk up and down stairs. with Tom for two hours into town and back last night. Have the blisters to prove it.

Town in the evening sunshine was charming.  People not quite spilling out of bars because it was a Tuesday.  So it was quiet and glowing in the sunshine. I looked for odd architectural details above the buildings like drain spouts shaped like dragons.

The wind was warm as it whooshed past us gently. We even went home via the national rose test beds in the park. Now slightly past their best, there was still a heady scent rising in the heat.

On the stairs at the station today I caught a glimpse of star covered socks above brogues in that ever increasing gap between shoe and cropped skinny trousers that men are wearing. It surprised me and made me smile because the socks were fun and the trousers sombre. 

I created wedding flowers for a friend of a friend this weekend gone, and the flowers there made me smile. It was the first bride to say “I trust you, do whatever you think’s best – but please may it have a little yellow” So we had pompon Viking chrysanthemums, September flower in blue and white, gyposphilia, yellow limionum, sunflowers, yellow spray roses, nephrolepis leaves,  yellow ilios roses, high and mighty yellow and red roses, and yellow red and orange gerberas. The buttonholes were nephrolepis tops, peach carnations, limionum and pompon Viking chrysanthemums. The bouquet, peach carnations, ilios roses, nephrolepis tops yellow spray roses, gypsophilia and limionium, with lots of buttons and brooches on wires throughout, wrapped in ivory satin. I didn’t get a good picture of that, must ask the bride.

The most fun part was decorating a willow arch under which the couple would say their vows. I was really pleased with the way it turned out, whole stems of September flowers appearing from the ground between the willow. 

Now there is a cloud of gypsophilia on my table and a stem of pompon – and I think those little yellow lovelies are my new favourite.

I haven’t managed to get on with much sewing yet. The bodice is complete bar embroidery and trim. I need to spend some serious time cutting out the panels for the skirt, but we’re off to France soon so I’m rapidly running out of time. I will try and squeeze some in when we get back – perhaps I can take the cutting out and tacking to Tom’s mum’s when we go down for her birthday.

I still need to pack for France. Camping this time, on the lawn again like previous years. I’m rather worried now we’ve forgotten something.

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Monday, May 12, 2014

Sewing

What with my sister requesting Anna's coronation dress from Frozen for our upcoming trip to Efteling, and the same sister asking me to make my own and another's bridesmaid dress for her April wedding, I thought I better get some sewing practice in. Here's a guide for me to refer back to.

What Ellie wants me to make next - I have until August

I'm making a Cambie dress from Sewaholic, in a loud green peacock feather on black print. With a lime green lining. As you do. I may well even sew a ruffle on the lining to make the full skirt fuller.

This is the fabric for my dress

Sew (see what I did there) far, I have impressed myself by finishing my bodice seams with a turned under seam, and am pondering what finish to use with the skirt seams. Even more impressive as you can't see them because it will be fully lined. I want no fraying here!

I have sewn in my first pockets, and have understitched the pockets so there's a nice crisp edge to the top fabric. The pattern didn't call for this, so I feel extra smug for adding it in.

I'm going to need to read this tutorial from Sewaholic to help with adding the lining as it has a clever trick to make the zip look awesome. This one might be helpful too.

I am just loving the sewing. The thrum and the whirr of the machine is so soothing.

Friday, April 25, 2014

A better resurrection

http://ift.tt/1fg80aK

A better resurrection “…So we enter a world where we know something new about healing, which is that probably we will never really be healed, although we may well be resurrected. What we are offered is a new life, not a patched-up old life.I struggle to get my mind fully around this, just as I struggle to imagine writing the story that John writes of Jesus’s resurrection. There are memories, and actions, which I would like to be able to wipe out, to fully expunge from the record. I would like the ‘forgiveness’ or which Jesus speaks to mean that these things cease to be. But I think that that is not what is on offer. I suspect, reading this story, that forgiveness actually means that I will carry these holes in me forward for ever. A hole in my side wrenched by a mercifully lance and cruel damage inflicted intentionally to hurt me. They are mine forever.I am not offered that these things will vanish. Instead, what I am offered is that they will become for my good, and for the good of others. If, in some ways, they will always define me, they will also become creative. I think, and I say this very tentatively, I think this is true. I suspect that the more I try to turn my face towards all that is good and positive, the truer it becomes.”

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