Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Advent Wreath DIY

     Sunday marks the first Sunday of Advent, so I came up with a few options for how you can make your own Advent Wreath at home. So before we get started, let's go over a few things we need to know before we start making wreaths. 

First, one of the most important parts of the wreath is the candles. We use candles a lot in church. Not only does it help set the tone, but we can also use it to help invite the Holy Spirit into our space. For Advent, it helps represent Christ’s coming into the world. Plus, if we look at the Gospel of John, we see how Jesus is often associated with light, and Jesus even declares it himself in chapter 8. So basically, candles = Jesus. 

Next, let’s think about the wreath itself. The circular shape is what is important here. The circle represents eternal life that is promised through Jesus. I have seen a few alternative wreaths that aren’t in a circle, for instance, people have put their advent candles on a log or in some sort of a line. You’re not going to go to advent jail for using one of those alternatives, but at least we have some background on why we use the round, wreath shape. 

Another thing to keep in mind is using some sort of evergreen branches. We use these to remind us of God’s faithfulness, even in death. You will notice if you’ve been to a funeral here, Pastor Repp will have some sort of evergreen branch with him, and dips it into the baptismal font, then sprinkles the water on the casket or urn of the departed. It’s the same connection with the wreath here. Now, I got really lucky and the maintenance people at my apartment complex actually trimmed a lot of the trees and bushes and forgot to clean up after themselves, so I have lots of trimmings. But, if you don’t have access to real evergreens, fake is fine. But I will say the real stuff smells really good and so it adds that aromatic reminder as well to the whole wreath. 

The last thing we need to talk about is the colors. You will notice at Grace we always use blue candles and use blue for anything advent related. Blue is used to represent hope, which is perfect for advent. In Advent, we wait at home for the coming of Christ. Now, you may notice other places will use purple or even pink for their candles. Purple is used to represent royalty. Obviously, that fits right in with Jesus, seeing as though we think of him as the King of Kings, or even remembering the Sunday right before Advent when we celebrate Christ the King Sunday. However, you may remember that purple is also used during Lent. In that season, purple is seen as a color of repentance. While repentance is still important all the time, it's a different focus for a different season. Therefore, we tend not to use purple candles. There is also often a pink candle that would be used on the 3rd Sunday of Advent. This is associated with rejoicing, coming specifically from Philippians 4. That reading used to be read every year on the 3rd Sunday of Advent, but now we have gone away from that and only have it once every 3 years, so that’s why we don’t use the pink candle. So even though we use blue candles here at Grace, you will totally be OK if you use the purple and pink candles. 

So today I have 3 different examples of wreaths I have made that I think you will be able to do at home. 

The Bowl Wreath


   The first option I did was what I call "The Bowl Wreath." This checks a lot of the boxes we need for a wreath. The bowl itself is circular, so that takes care of the roundness we get from a standard wreath. I also really like this bowl because I'm pretty sure it's made from natural wood. I found it at Goodwill for $2, but it had a name and date on it, so my assumption is that it was someone's shop project from school. I also filled the bowl with some of the clippings I found. I will note that I added some moss to the bottom, just to give it a bit more filling. Then all I needed to do was add my candles. Now, you may notice I didn’t add any blue to this wreath, but that is an easy fix. Blue can be added to the glass part of the candles, by painting them or adding washi tape. Or if you have any other small blue decorations to add in with the clippings, that works too!

The Plate Wreath


    The second option I made was what I call “The Plate Wreath.” Again, since the plate is round, we get the circular shape that we want for our wreaths. Then I added the clippings to make a base for my wreath. You may notice I tried to lay them down in a circular pattern to keep with the theme. Then I added my candles. The jars that are holding the candles are actually old yogurt jars. So if you want, you can use any sort of jars you want, like mason jars, or I’ve even seen small terra cotta planters used before too. With my jars, I also added a band of blue washi tape on them, so I was able to sneak in the blue that way. Again you can use blue candles, or even a blue plate to get the color in if you want.

The Foam Wreath

The third option will give you the most traditional looking wreath, and it’s what I am calling “The Foam Wreath.” I start out with a foam wreath base that I got at the dollar store. You can also get similar bases at any craft store. The first thing I did was to take a box cutter to make little wells for the candles to sit in. Then, to cover up the green foam, I first wrapped it in white ribbon. Now, the ribbon doesn’t need to be perfect, because we will be adding more later. Also, since I made the little wells for the candles, I cut into the ribbon so the candles would be able to go through. The next step after the ribbon is to add the evergreen garland. Now, if you have trimmings and you want to take the time to add real evergreens to your wreath, go for it. I just do not have the skill or the time to add all sorts of little branches to this kind of a wreath. So, I got the garland from the dollar store as well to still have the evergreen feel. The nice thing about the garland is that’s basically just wire, so to attach it to the wreath, I just have to twist it like the ties we have on bread bags. Then I just kept wrapping until I ran out of garland. It’s not incredibly long, so you don’t have to cut the garland if you don’t want to. Now the last step is to add the candles. I would say that for mine, I would prefer to hot glue the candles in place or have some sort of stabilizer like that. You may not need to do it on your wreath, depending on what kinds of candles you use, but for mine, I will add that later.

I will also note that for all of these wreaths I used real candles. I know sometimes when we have little members of our family, having real flames around isn’t the safest option, so feel free to use battery-powered candles as well.

    Now you have a few options to choose from, but the last question is, when do we use these? The first option is to light them when we light them during Sunday morning worship. We will do this in the beginning of the service. There will be a prayer, then the candles will be lit, and then will sing Light One Candle to Watch for Messiah. That would be the time to also light yours at home. 

We will also be having midweek Advent Evening Prayer services. When you join us for that, you can light your wreath then as well. 

The other option is to light your wreath during dinner time. If you keep your wreath on your kitchen or dining room table, you can light your wreath, do a table blessing, and have your wreath there for your meal as well. 

If you want more information about Advent Wreaths, the ELCA put out a great resource for us to use, and you can find that here: https://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/What_is_the_Advent_Wreath_and_how_is_it_used_in_worship.pdf?_ga=2.215979664.685635515.1605115736-804971421.1600879570 

I hope this gives you some good ideas for how to make an advent wreath for your home if you don’t already have one! If you do make one, feel free to send me pictures!


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Wednesday, February 26, 2020

40 Songs for 40 Days

I'm one of those people who always has to have some sort of music playing. At work, I'll have my headphones on all day, I can't workout without my playlists, and I even have song selections for when I'm just cleaning around the house. I'm not always the most precise when it comes to expressing myself and my feelings (we all know I'm not shy, this is a whole other issue). If I become frustrated it's easier for me to show it than to explain it. Music gives me a way to put words to what I'm feeling or experiencing. Because I'm not the only one that connects to their favorite songs in this way, I've been looking for more ways to incorporate this in church.

Last year, I made a playlist with covers of all my favorite Christmas Hymns. I was really inspired by our Hops and Hymns events we put on. Everyone knows the songs and sings along, but we were in a whole new context of being located inside of a bar instead of a sanctuary, and we also have this cool dynamic when we have our assortment of musicians who come with everything from mandolins, and flutes, and various percussion instruments. It's this really cool version of church where everyone truly comes as they are and only offers what they can. With that in mind, I was looking for covers of these hymns, trying to find a way to put a new spin on all of our favorites. 

Once that was done, I started looking forward to Lent. My first thought was to do the same thing - find covers of all my favorite hymns. I learned that while many of the hymns are available on Spotify, most of them are performed by choirs or organs. Now, I have a great appreciation for both versions, but the songs I was finding were very similar to what we typically hear on Sunday mornings, which defeated the purpose of trying to put a new spin on these songs. 

Then I noticed a new trend emerging in youth and young adult ministry - taking the secular songs we already know and putting them in the context of our faith. I saw many different advent playlists along these lines. While I haven't seen many for Lent, I'm hoping this trend continues. So, when I saw this kind of playlist, I knew this would be right up my alley. 

So here we are, now with this playlist of 40 songs for 40 days. Now, this isn't all hymns, or all secular songs, but rather a mix of those and some contemporary Christian songs as well. Sometimes when you find a good song, you just have to include it and not worry about the rules you set for yourself. I tried my best to get a mix of different genres and decades, but if you look through the playlist, you'll definitely see the bias of a Millenial who listened to a lot of alternative throughout high school. To balance that out, I'll list my songs below, highlighting a few of my favorite selections and why I included them. Then, if you have your own favorites you think should go on the next playlist, feel free to comment or shoot me an e-mail at gracelife@glccu.org. 

40 SONGS FOR 40 DAYS

1. Dust in the Wind - Damned Anthem - Dust in the Wind is one of those songs that every youth director, pastor, or religion professor loves to use to show scripture in popular music. It's one of those songs that has become a cliche for a reason. While I agree this song belongs on this type of playlist, I've already heard the Kansas version a million times, and plus I think this cover is a pretty cool and different take on what we normally hear. 
2. Shake It Out - Florence + The Machine
3. Ghosts that We Knew - Mumford & Sons
4. Why - Skinny Living
5. I'm with You - Avril Lavigne
6. Washed by the Water - NEEDTOBREATHE -
 I will admit when I first found NEEDTOBREATHE I had no idea they were a Christian band. They pulled a Switchfoot on me, where you think they're this cool alternative band, but really there's lots of hidden theology in some of their more popular songs. This one is a little bit more obvious than others, but I would highly recommend checking out more of their stuff.
7. What I've Done - Linkin Park
8. All These Things That I've Done - The Killers
9. Fix You - Coldplay
10. Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season) - The Byrds
11. You Found Me - The Fray
12. Wherever You Will Go - The Calling
13. Your Guardian Angel - The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
14. Wake Me up When September Ends - Green Day
15. Everyday - Dave Matthews Band
16. Hero - Enrique Iglesias - I'm sure this is one of those songs, where when you see it on the playlist you think, "Really Caitlyn??" YES! REALLY! Is this one of the cheesiest love songs of all time? DEFINITELY. Does it still have a spot on this playlist? YES! There are lines in there where he's sympathizing with the one he loves. Would you die for the one you love? We don't always have an answer to that question, but we 100% know Jesus would.  Would you swear that you'll always be mine, or would you lie? Would you run and hide? Hmm, that sounds an awful lot like something Jesus wants to know before he gets arrested. And guess what, the disciples do lie, they do run, and they do hide. All in all, I can see this as a last plea from Jesus, trying to tell us how much he loves us, but knows we can never love him the same way. Yet despite all of that, he will continue to love us and sacrifice for us. 
17. She Will Be Loved - Maroon 5
18. Wake Me Up - Avicii
19. Bring Me To Life - Evanescence
20. Shelter from the Storm - Bob Dylan
21. Don't Carry It All - The Decemberists
22. Creation Song - Josh Garrels
23. Jesus Walks - Kanye West - I will admit, I have a really hard time with putting Kanye West on this playlist. However I think this song does a great job of calling out the sins we have in our society, and Lent is all about repentance. Not only does Kanye tell us that "We at war/We at war with terrorism, racism/But most of all we at war with ourselves." He also reminds us that "the hustlers, killers, murderers, drug dealers, even the scrippers/(Jesus walks for them)/To the victims of welfare feel we livin' in Hell here, hell yeah/(Jesus walks for them)." The people in our society that are in the margins still are loved by Jesus, Jesus is there for every single one of them. We should be too.
24. Dust to Dust - The Civil Wars
25. Change on the Rise - Avi Kaplan
26. I Want Jesus to Walk With Me - Sharon Irving
27. Life is Hard - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
28. Through the Night of Doubt & Sorrow - Luke Morton
29. Were You There (When They Crucified My Lord) - Johnny Cash
30. Garden - NEEDTOBREATHE
31. Brokenness Aside - All Sons & Daughters
32. Welcome to the Black Parade - My Chemical Romance - I'm 1000% sure this is not what MCR intended with this song, but you know when you make a great song people use it for all sorts of unintended reasons. Right off the bat, I see Jesus as the father in this story. He knows he's going to have to leave, but wants to make sure his child will remember him and carry on his legacy. The part that really gets me is "Give a cheer for all the broken/Listen here, because it's who we are/I'm just a man, I'm not a hero/Just a boy, who had to sing this song/I'm just a man, I'm not a hero." I think a lot of times as Christians we feel this pressure that we have to be perfect. If we aren't the hero, if we're broken, then there's something wrong with our faith. I don't think that's the case. If it were so easy for us to be perfect and heroic we wouldn't need church, we wouldn't need Jesus.
33. Blackbird - The Beatles
34. Mercy Now - Mary Gauthier
35. Demons - Imagine Dragons
36. Shallow - Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper
37. Resurrect Me - Skrizzly Adams
38. Float On - Modest Mouse
39. Dreaming with a Broken Heart - John Mayer
40. Beautiful - Christina Aguilera

Now, I didn't put a synopsis for every song, but I did carefully select each and every song on here. If you want more info on a song, feel free to hit me up!

One way I recommend using this is listening to this playlist with your family - which songs really resonate with you? What songs do you see the Lenten connections? Which connections are harder to make? Another way to use it is by doing what I do - keep it on in the background intentionally. This way when I'm doing ordinary daily tasks, like doing the dishes, I still have this thing that I know I have a spiritual connection to pushing me throughout the day. I can really focus on the music and the words when I feel drawn in, but I can just have it there supporting me throughout the day even when I may not be as focused. 

Thank you to all those who sent me their ideas while I was creating this! I definitely could not have done this alone. If you have your own ideas for songs that could go on this playlist or future playlists, please let me know! They are so much better when it's a collaborative effort. 
You can check out the full playlist here: