Ecclesia Church - Houston, Texas - holistic, missional, christian, community

This past weekend the kids were asked to lead us in worship.  They were called forward as Chris engaged them in conversation, offering us their clear, pure insight.  They then read the reading which engaged us in scripture for the week & asked us to viewe the stop action video they had worked on during Lent. Towards the end of the service children served communion and the 4th-6th grade class read the benediction that they wrote the week prior in class.  

Seeing the kids engage and be such a big part of all we do in the larger church gave adults a window into what our kids have to offer us and it gave the kids a clear cue that they are not disconnected or seperate from adults and "their" church, they are every bit a part of the church community. 

Here is...

Today's post is written from one parent (me) to another.  

It is intended to draw us into a conversation of how we create space in our families this season for Christ, how we create new traditions that help us breathe in the season, and how we conspire together to do the season differently.  

This past Sunday was the first Sunday of Advent.  And it marks the journey we begin towards the birth of Christ. At Ecclesia we use this time to also consider spending less, giving more & worshipping more fully.  Here is the Advent Conspiracy Video that helped to start it all. Give it a watch if you haven't already, or if you have because it is always a good reminder and has been updated for the year. 

Approaching the season of Advent with our children and...

We had an amazing time at HEAD HANDS HEART (camp for kids) last week. 

And we have the pictures to prove it.  

Click Here to see our kids camp photo stream.  

Click Here to see the smile booth photos from our photography workshops (password is 2115taft) 

If your child participated in a workshop and has not gotten their final proof back of their work.  I will be sending those out to the parents shortly. 

THANKS TO OUR KIDS & FAMILIES WHO PARTICIPATED IN CAMP.  

WE CAN HARDLY WAIT FOR NEXT YEAR!

This week I asked one of our loyal volunteers to share with us about a project that is near and dear to her heart & how she plans to spend her Summer. Emily Hazen is a teacher who serves twice monthly with our Kindergarten & 1st grade class at the 9AM service.  If your child attends that class, they know Emily well and likely have been very impacted by her teaching style and active presence in their lives.

Emily helped put on the Storybook campout to raise money for her project & the kids have been folding cranes for about 6 weeks as part of the story they heard and a way to show support for the library.  We plan on talking about the project more with the kids at HEAD HANDS HEART & letting the kids decide on ways to help her as she is in El Transito this...

Photos from the kids section of our Easter Festival at Jones Plaza.  

We celebrated well and had a lot of fun! 

On Palm Sunday the kids helped lead worship, read scripture & created

the Benediction for the 'big church'.  

Below are the Benedictions they created during the"Stations of the Cross

Poetry Station" led by Jayme Yeo.

Saturday, 5:00 pm

On Sunday, I heard rumors that Jesus was coming to Jersusalem.

It was a sunny day.

It was very crowded. There were

Lots and lots of people—

Looking, watching, waiting, listening, and pondering.

They were waving palms.

They were excited and nervous.

Jesus rode in on a donkey.

He had a beard, like pretty much all of the Beatles.

He had white clothes.

He was sad, because he wanted to go to Heaven.

He was excited to celebrate with the people.

He was happy to be among the souls that God created.

I was...