Faith Formation at Home
During this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, we as a faith community are not able to gather for in person worship and formation. This page is for information and resources on how to practice your faith at home.
During this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, we as a faith community are not able to gather for in person worship and formation. This page is for information and resources on how to practice your faith at home.
Home Altar
Making a home altar is a way you can designate a sacred space in the home. Making a home altar is easy and can be as simple or elaborate as one would like it to be. A table or a shelf can be used for your home altar. Items that have symbolic meaning can be added to the altar (candles, bowl of water, Bible, icons, prayer book(s), cross, flowers). The home altar is the sacred space in which members of the household can come to for prayer and devotion each day.
Making a home altar is a way you can designate a sacred space in the home. Making a home altar is easy and can be as simple or elaborate as one would like it to be. A table or a shelf can be used for your home altar. Items that have symbolic meaning can be added to the altar (candles, bowl of water, Bible, icons, prayer book(s), cross, flowers). The home altar is the sacred space in which members of the household can come to for prayer and devotion each day.
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Daily Prayer
The Daily Office is a regular devotion principally of the offices of Morning and Evening Prayer. These services are found in our Book of Common Prayer. The Daily Office can be led by either clergy or lay people. The Daily Offices consist of set prayers, canticles, psalm(s), and three Bible readings (Hebrew bible, Epistle, New Testament). If you have never prayed the Daily Office before or are a little confused on how to pray it, Forward Movement produces the Daily Office on their website that automatically gives you the correct office based on your device's time zone. This resource can be found here. Church Publishing has also offered a free PDF of the BCP. That resource can be downloaded below. The Episcopal Church has also offered a PDF of prayers for self, church, community and the world. Included are prayers for daily use, spritual communion, for the sick and their families, at the time of death, and prayers of the people for public worship. This resource can be downloaded below. 
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Sunday Worship
Each week, we provide a video recording for Sunday worship for people to view and follow along at home. A written bulletin is provided each week in our newsletter. Subscribe here for the newsletter. The Sunday worship videos are provided on our parish YouTube page. | ||||
Faith at Home with All Ages
As we practice our faith at home it is important for devotion, reflection, and activities for all members of the household. This section has resources to do this.
Forward Movement and Forma, two organizations of The Episcopal Church, has the Faith @ Home website. This site has lectionary based readings and reflections. The weekly and daily reflections offer offer age-group based reflections and responses to a weekly passage from the Bible. Faith @ Home can be accessed here.
The Illustrated Ministry organization has been offering free, weekly faith formation resources for all ages during the pandemic. To receive these free resources enter your email address on the Illustrated Ministry website to be added to the distribution list. Illustrated Ministry can be accessed here.
Faith Inkubators offers a five-step faith practice that can be incorporated into your household's routine.
Praying with Lectio Divina (Divine Reading) is a contemplative practice of reading scripture, meditation, and prayer. This practice has four steps:
As we practice our faith at home it is important for devotion, reflection, and activities for all members of the household. This section has resources to do this.
Forward Movement and Forma, two organizations of The Episcopal Church, has the Faith @ Home website. This site has lectionary based readings and reflections. The weekly and daily reflections offer offer age-group based reflections and responses to a weekly passage from the Bible. Faith @ Home can be accessed here.
The Illustrated Ministry organization has been offering free, weekly faith formation resources for all ages during the pandemic. To receive these free resources enter your email address on the Illustrated Ministry website to be added to the distribution list. Illustrated Ministry can be accessed here.
Faith Inkubators offers a five-step faith practice that can be incorporated into your household's routine.
- Share your highs and lows
- Read a Bible verse or story
- Talk about how the Bible reading might relate to your highs and lows
- Pray for one another's highs and lows
- Bless one another
Praying with Lectio Divina (Divine Reading) is a contemplative practice of reading scripture, meditation, and prayer. This practice has four steps:
- Read the scripture four times and after each time offer a word or phrase that reaches out or touches the hearer
- Meditate on the word or phrase for sever minutes in silence
- Pray
- Contemplate
Supporting Good Mental Health
Practicing our faith at home has become more important as we have transitioned to staying at home in order to keep ourselves and others healthy. While staying at home is a good practice to prevent the spread of COVID-19, it can and does come with some cost to our mental health. The Church of England has offered a PDF resource, titled Supporting Good Mental Health, that has reflections on aspects of mental health for thirteen days. That resource can be found at the end of this section.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Lexington offers support through the WarmLine. This is a call-line that provides non-crisis emotional and coping support to community members. Each operator provide supportive listening, practical coping skills, and share community resource information. This line is open Monday-Friday 10AM-4PM and Monday-Saturday 5PM-9PM. The phone number is: (877)-840-5167.
If you, a friend, or a family member is in crisis call 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This line is available 24/7 and is staffed by trained counselors.
Ways of Dealing with Loneliness and Isolation
Helping Children and Teens
Children and Teenagers also experience anixety and uncertainty about COVD-19. They too have had their lives disrupted and may have anxiety about this time in their lives. Seattle Children's Hospital has an article on how to help children and teens cope with anxiety. This article can be accessed here. The article also has links to additional resources.
Practicing our faith at home has become more important as we have transitioned to staying at home in order to keep ourselves and others healthy. While staying at home is a good practice to prevent the spread of COVID-19, it can and does come with some cost to our mental health. The Church of England has offered a PDF resource, titled Supporting Good Mental Health, that has reflections on aspects of mental health for thirteen days. That resource can be found at the end of this section.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Lexington offers support through the WarmLine. This is a call-line that provides non-crisis emotional and coping support to community members. Each operator provide supportive listening, practical coping skills, and share community resource information. This line is open Monday-Friday 10AM-4PM and Monday-Saturday 5PM-9PM. The phone number is: (877)-840-5167.
If you, a friend, or a family member is in crisis call 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This line is available 24/7 and is staffed by trained counselors.
Ways of Dealing with Loneliness and Isolation
- Pray to God, Jesus, or a saint. This can be done at home or at the church Monday-Friday from 12PM-1PM & 5:30PM-6:30PM. Pray for hope, faith, and strength.
- Name your feelings when talking with other people. An example exercise is to say: "I feel alone, because I cannot be with my church family."
- Focus on the things that you can change and not on the things you cannot change.
- Check in with yourself physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Keep track of when you last exercised, connected with someone else, enjoyed a hobby, cooked a favorite food, and prayed.
- Check in with others. Contact your family and friends through whatever method you choose. We have analog and digital means to connect with other people.
Helping Children and Teens
Children and Teenagers also experience anixety and uncertainty about COVD-19. They too have had their lives disrupted and may have anxiety about this time in their lives. Seattle Children's Hospital has an article on how to help children and teens cope with anxiety. This article can be accessed here. The article also has links to additional resources.
| Supporting Good Mental Health Church of England |
