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Weekly Devotional

November 30, 2009

God’s Peace be with you all.

Psalm 90:12-17  ² So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.  ¹³ Turn, O LORD! How long? Have compassion on your servants!  ¹⁴ Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.  ¹⁵ Make us glad as many days as you have afflicted us, and as many years as we have seen evil.  ¹⁶ Let your work be manifest to your servants, and your glorious power to their children.  ¹⁷ Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands -- O prosper the work of our hands!

            I don’t know about you, but I really enjoyed watching the children decorate the Chrismon tree yesterday at church.  What a joy it was to watch them really get into decorating a part of the church, and learning about the different symbols that we use to remind us of God.  For those of you that didn’t get a chance to inspect the tree, I invite you to do so at one of our upcoming Advent Services.

An interesting fact about Chrismons is that they are a Lutheran tradition and invention.  They were dreamed up at Ascension Lutheran Church in Danville, VA by Frances Kiku Kipps Spencer in 1957.  Mrs. Spencer was looking for a better way to decorate the church than the traditional colored ornaments.  She came up with the first designs and then they grew from there.  Additions over the years have brought Chrismons to the point where they are now.  Not only do they represent theological symbols for God, but they also give the church a way to celebrate Christmas both before and after December 25. 

            Below is a little information about Chrismons from Ascension Lutheran’s website.  I hope you find it interesting and helpful as well.

“According to the dictionary, a chrismon is a monogram of Christ. But the chrismons as ornaments are more than monograms; they may also tell about Jesus Christ. As the designs grew in number, they included references to the life, ministry, activities, nature and teaching of Jesus. Thus the Chrismons as symbols always point beyond themselves to God. Indeed, the vital feature of the concept is that each design must proclaim some truth about God as seen in Jesus. As the years passed, the Chrismons idea spread beyond Christmas. The ornaments have become meaningful decorations in homes and public places throughout the entire year. People employ them in table settings, in shadow boxes, on bookmarks, and on banners.” 

from http://www.chrismon.org/site/chrismon.htm

In our prayers this week:

Doris, Mary Netta, Ann, Joseph, Kim, Lisa, Robert, Evelyn, Sharon, Gail, Carol, and Catherine

God’s Peace,

Pastor Judson