Approximately forty days after a child is born it is an Orthodox Church Tradition that a special service is offered in the Church which emulates the Old Testament custom in which the Blessed Virgin Mary brought Jesus into the Temple on the fortieth day after His birth and is commemorated on the Feast of the Presentation of Christ. The Forty Day Blessing essentially consists of prayers of joyful thanks for the safe delivery of mother and child. The service blesses the mother who has been absent from the sacramental life of the Church for forty days and formally presents the newborn child to the Church family for the first time as the priest formally brings the infant into the Sanctuary. This is an important tradition for parents to uphold. Parents must call the Church office at least one full week in advance to schedule the Forty Day Blessing service.
The Sunday after Thanksgiving I was able to witness this extaordinary experience. My niece and Godaughter was recieving this holy celebration. In the midst of all the tragedy that my family has endured over the past several weeks, this experience changed my outlook on certain things. It made me realize what is truly important and how important your faith really is. I was overwhelmed with emotion and truly blessed to be a part of such a special celebration.
Vocabulary
Custom- something in which a particular cultures does
commenorate-Recall and show respect for (someone or something) in a ceremony.
consist- include
tradition-an inherited action
extraordinary- special or amazing
emotion- strong feeling
Vocabulary activity
Children will play hangman using the provided sheets
SuperKids Hangman
Grammar point
studenst will use the correct form of verbs to describe particular actions
Grammar activity
Students will work in groups of three or four and play charades against another group to figure out what their teamates are acting out.
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