Positive tomorrow's cultural fest

Program description: Youth LEAD Cultural Holiday Party at Positive Tomorrows; December 19, 2014

Youth LEAD (Leaders Engaging Across Differences) hosted a cultural holiday party at Positive Tomorrows, a school for homeless children in Oklahoma City. The goal of Youth LEAD is to bring together diverse teens to connect with each other, reflect on their similarities and differences and act in the community to make social change. The eager group of Youth LEADers decided that their fall semester project would be to share the joy of the holiday season with a group of young, deserving students while broadening their horizon about different cultures.

The Youth LEADers worked throughout the fall semester to plan a unique program for the Positive Tomorrows students to include food, cultural customs, maps of areas where certain cultures originated and traditional attire. The teens sought out donations from local businesses to provide gifts and cultural food for the young students. Each student was encouraged to try at least one bite of food from each culture while learning about the world around them. Foods included tamales, samosas, hummus and pita bread, Asian soda and fortune cookies. All of the participants had a wonderful time learning about new cultures, meeting people who are different from them, trying new foods and departing with a gift bag that included books donated by the Metropolitan Library System and toiletry items.

Photo Link:  Pictures by Pierce S. and Shannon Presti.

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"This Is My Wish" - Jordin Sparks

This is my wish

My wish for the world

That peace would find its way

To every boy and girl

This is the time

The time for harmony

Let love be the song

That everybody sings

...

I hear the sweetest sound

The sound of hope to come

Together we can bring

Good will to everyone."

Happy holidays. See you in 2015

"This Is My Wish" - Jordin Sparks

This is my wish

My wish for the world

That peace would find its way

To every boy and girl

This is the time

The time for harmony

Let love be the song

That everybody sings

...

I hear the sweetest sound

The sound of hope to come

Together we can bring

Good will to everyone."

Wishing you happy holidays and a prosperous new year

"This Is My Wish" - Jordin Sparks This is my wish My wish for the world That peace would find its way To every boy and girl This is the time The time for harmony Let love be the song That everybody sings ... I hear the sweetest sound The sound of hope to come Together we can bring Good will to everyone."

Day 20: Bells By Professor Carol on Dec 19, 2014 03:00 am Bells of St. Nicholas Church at Narikala, Tbilisi, Georgia Bells! Now, here’s a beautiful (and serious) topic. Bells are ancient. They are used virtually everywhere in the world. And they have played important roles throughout history, especially to sound alerts in times of danger. Plus, consider the mechanics and chemistry of casting bells – especially bells that weigh hundreds of pounds! Let’s think primarily about bells in Christian worship. Bells were the Christian Church’s first alarm clocks. Our modern word “clock” come from an Old Dutch word for bell – clocke (klok) (Old North French cloque and Medieval Latin clocca). The tolling of the bells was one way that people in earlier history could tell time. And “time” meant time for worship services! As far back as Medieval France, a set pattern of bell-ringing would announce worship: for example, bells rang to mark the “hours” known as Matins (6.00 a.m.), Midi (12:00 noon), and Vespers (6.00 p.m). These are three of the eight (yes 8!) daily worship services known as Offices that were regularly observed in earlier Christian history (and are still observed by many). Various regions promoted bells in different ways: Russian Christians (Eastern Orthodox) developed a huge love of church bells and called them “singing icons.” Russian bells ring in patterns, not specific melodies, and they had enormous influence on people’s devotional lives. You can hear actual zvons (bell sounds) here. Bell-ringing is complicated, too. Here’s a good introduction to “change-ringing.” Now, let’s think a bit smaller-scale. What about those beautiful polished handbells that are a favorite in so many churches? Handbell choirs are always a big hit, and they offer a cross-generational opportunity to make music in worship. But they aren’t modern either. Handbells date far back, certainly to 5th-century Celtic missionaries, who placed them in religious buildings. Medieval illuminations (those pretty decorative pictures inside the capital letters in manuscripts) show chimes of handbells. Handbells also helped double the tenor line in choirs. Finely tuned handbells such as the ones we hear today were developed around 1700. You can explore the anatomy of the modern handbell here and watch an accomplished group of ringers in this video: Or, if you’re tastes run to something a little crazier, try this: What about “jingle” bells? Here’s another practical bell, better named harness bells. In the centuries when horses were the primary way to move goods (and roads were dark and narrow), harness bells warned other travelers of an approach. In cases of trouble with a wagon, it’s said that bells would be given as a sign of appreciation for aid. To arrive with all harness bells in place meant the journey was safe – one possible origin for the phrase “I’ll be there with Bells on.” This Advent season, encourage your children to explore bell sounds. Let bells punctuate their favorite poems and songs. Or, try using bells as a community time-keeper, perhaps regulating some of your household activities by the tinkling sounds. One way or another, let those bells ring!

Today was a success and it would not have been possible without you all! 

We are forever grateful for your generous acts and contributions. Young lives were forever changed today and I believe that this is just the beginning of a great work. 

Thank you all again for joining the love through action movement!


We look forward to working more with you in the future to make a difference in the world around us! 
With Love,
Johnesha Hawkins
(Embrace Grace)

Embrace Grace YAC ALUMNI HOLIDAY PROJECT

Today was a success and it would not have been possible without you all! 

We are forever grateful for your generous acts and contributions. Young lives were forever changed today and I believe that this is just the beginning of a great work. 

Thank you all again for joining the love through action movement!


We look forward to working more with you in the future to make a difference in the world around us! 
With Love,
Johnesha Hawkins'11
(Embrace Grace)

Hanukkah begins today 12,16, 2014. YAC Agenda and minutes of meeting

YAC Meeting Agenda
DATE: 12/16/2014, 12:30  Seniors E-board @ Britton Elementary delivering Xmas Stockings.  Freshmen called after chapel for meeting.  Spanish III on field trip and Swim team away

There was a chapel announcement asking YAC members to bring a snack to share.  Thank you Miranda for bringing snacks for the meeting.

a. Reflection of YAC service hours earned through YAC meetings and projects:  Mrs. Clay

Seniors:  We took the initiative to volunteer and get others to join us.  We will go to college and continue to volunteer!  We can encourage ALL the members to join the meetings.  Jessika, Sindi, Cathy D.

Juniors:  None present

Sophomores:  We reflected and helped with the canned food drive.  We need to have more discussions about the particular project we are working on.  We need more school-wide involved project.

Freshmen:  What worked?  When we are organized and people come to the meetings.  When we are unorganized and uninformed, we loose interest and people stop coming.  To improve YAC we need to volunteer at more events, mentor little kids, have a mentorship program with another school and worked with the little kids in the Lower Division.

b. Bennett's poster:  We finished Bennett poster and took it to Mrs. France for LD teachers to sign it.

c. Xmas thank you Panetone for Teachers , Coaches and Staff:   Finished decorating cards.  Mrs. Clay will deliver them today.

January 19th is MLK Day.  Sign-up in sign-up genius if planning to attend.  We will have two shifts. Dress up in Disney attire.  Our goal is 80 volunteers in the morning and 80 volunteers in the afternoon

Morning Shift
Kat R
Natalie H

Lunch at near by "all you can eat' Chinese Food place.  Bring money for lunch if staying all day.  Mrs. Clay will provide transportation to the restaurant to up to 8 freshmen

Afternoon Shift
Kat R
Natalie H
Kira S.
Mariam S.
Safra S.

There will also be a 3-hour  Strategic Planning Fedex Time in January led by Casady's Development Director,  Evan Walter.  Date and Time TBA in January

Day 17: Hanukkah By Professor Carol on Dec 16, 2014 03:00 am Dnalor 01 (CC BY-SA 3.0) Growing up in Roanoke, Virginia the 1950s, I never saw a menorah, at least not in my neighborhood. I also didn’t know I was Jewish. My mother fled Brooklyn and her impoverished immigrant household in 1938 when she married a handsome, guitar-playing Gentile whose family had been dug into the West Virginia mountains for generations. She’d met him during the Depression when his family, like so many others, was thrown into New York City looking for work. I would be raised a Protestant, fully unaware of my own Jewish heritage or the existence of Hanukkah. Hanukkah begins today. Its most important symbol appears frequently in popular culture these days. Do you remember when menorahs began to be placed routinely next to crèches in school programs or on public squares at “holiday” time? It almost seems that some people critical of Christian practice (or intent on religion-neutral civic life) welcome the Menorah a more acceptable symbol. Anyone who thinks that doesn’t understand the Menorah. The Menorah is a power-packed symbol of a significant event in Jewish history when the Temple in Jerusalem was restored for Jewish worship in 165 BC after a period of pagan desecration. Rebuilt after its awful initial destruction in 586 BC, the Temple had become the site of sacrifices to Zeus. Finally, the Jews, led by Judas Maccabeus, launched a rebellion and kicked out the last of the pagans. Shortly thereafter, the process of rededication (חֲנֻכָּה, Hanukkah) was undertaken. A complex ceremony was necessary to purify the site and restore it to holiness. This ceremony commenced during Jerusalem’s winter season with what seemed an imprudent decision: sacred lamps would need to burn continuously, yet there was enough consecrated oil for only one day’s flame. Still, the first lamp was lit and, marvelously, the oil lasted through the entire eight-day period. That, at least, is the story that is told and retold through lighting the menorah. Hanukkah became an annual Feast, although a relatively minor one by Jewish standards. Yet it was important enough that Jesus traveled to Jerusalem to take part in it, as we learn in John 10: 22-23: Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. A couple of years ago, I was fortunate that my work with the Smithsonian took me for the first time to Jerusalem. People always had said to me that visiting Jerusalem was a life-changing experience. They in no way exaggerated. Walking the streets of that ancient city changed my perception of so many things. Places described in the Bible went from mere names to concrete reality. I can imagine Jesus walking in Solomon’s Colonnade more easily, knowing that it happened within a few feet of where I stood discussing Jewish history with the archeologist who helped us shoot footage for our Early Sacred Music course. Judaism and Christianity share much of the same history, but that doesn’t mean that menorahs and crèches belong side by side in Christmas displays. Hanukkah makes no sense as the Jewish version of an increasingly secularized Christmas. Quite the opposite, the Maccabees fought to preserve the integrity of Judaism against those who were trying to water it down into something more accommodating of modern trends. For Jews who remember the steadfastness of their Fathers, Hanukkah is a sacred time of quiet rededication. It, like so many Jewish holidays, has much to teach us. Precisely for this reason, many Christians are reexamining the cornerstones of Jewish tradition. Families who never before lit a menorah are taking up the practice, or finding ways to introduce their children to the meaning of Hanukkah. You’ll find plenty of scholarship on this issue too. Just get on line and search. You’ll also locate sources for songs, stories, recipes, and traditions of interaction during Hanukkah that can enrich every Christian’s life. All of this would have gratified my mother, who so long ago made a rash, youthful choice that shut her completely out of her Orthodox Jewish family. Ultimately those breeches would be healed, but it took four decades before I got to know my grandmother or most of the aunts, uncles, and cousins. Perhaps that’s why I particularly rejoice in the momentum leading many Christians to understand the rituals that Jesus himself valued and practiced.

Hanukkah begins today

Day 17: Hanukkah By Professor Carol on Dec 16, 2014 03:00 am Dnalor 01 (CC BY-SA 3.0) Growing up in Roanoke, Virginia the 1950s, I never saw a menorah, at least not in my neighborhood. I also didn’t know I was Jewish. My mother fled Brooklyn and her impoverished immigrant household in 1938 when she married a handsome, guitar-playing Gentile whose family had been dug into the West Virginia mountains for generations. She’d met him during the Depression when his family, like so many others, was thrown into New York City looking for work. I would be raised a Protestant, fully unaware of my own Jewish heritage or the existence of Hanukkah. Hanukkah begins today. Its most important symbol appears frequently in popular culture these days. Do you remember when menorahs began to be placed routinely next to crèches in school programs or on public squares at “holiday” time? It almost seems that some people critical of Christian practice (or intent on religion-neutral civic life) welcome the Menorah a more acceptable symbol. Anyone who thinks that doesn’t understand the Menorah. The Menorah is a power-packed symbol of a significant event in Jewish history when the Temple in Jerusalem was restored for Jewish worship in 165 BC after a period of pagan desecration. Rebuilt after its awful initial destruction in 586 BC, the Temple had become the site of sacrifices to Zeus. Finally, the Jews, led by Judas Maccabeus, launched a rebellion and kicked out the last of the pagans. Shortly thereafter, the process of rededication (חֲנֻכָּה, Hanukkah) was undertaken. A complex ceremony was necessary to purify the site and restore it to holiness. This ceremony commenced during Jerusalem’s winter season with what seemed an imprudent decision: sacred lamps would need to burn continuously, yet there was enough consecrated oil for only one day’s flame. Still, the first lamp was lit and, marvelously, the oil lasted through the entire eight-day period. That, at least, is the story that is told and retold through lighting the menorah. Hanukkah became an annual Feast, although a relatively minor one by Jewish standards. Yet it was important enough that Jesus traveled to Jerusalem to take part in it, as we learn in John 10: 22-23: Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. A couple of years ago, I was fortunate that my work with the Smithsonian took me for the first time to Jerusalem. People always had said to me that visiting Jerusalem was a life-changing experience. They in no way exaggerated. Walking the streets of that ancient city changed my perception of so many things. Places described in the Bible went from mere names to concrete reality. I can imagine Jesus walking in Solomon’s Colonnade more easily, knowing that it happened within a few feet of where I stood discussing Jewish history with the archeologist who helped us shoot footage for our Early Sacred Music course. Judaism and Christianity share much of the same history, but that doesn’t mean that menorahs and crèches belong side by side in Christmas displays. Hanukkah makes no sense as the Jewish version of an increasingly secularized Christmas. Quite the opposite, the Maccabees fought to preserve the integrity of Judaism against those who were trying to water it down into something more accommodating of modern trends. For Jews who remember the steadfastness of their Fathers, Hanukkah is a sacred time of quiet rededication. It, like so many Jewish holidays, has much to teach us. Precisely for this reason, many Christians are reexamining the cornerstones of Jewish tradition. Families who never before lit a menorah are taking up the practice, or finding ways to introduce their children to the meaning of Hanukkah. You’ll find plenty of scholarship on this issue too. Just get on line and search. You’ll also locate sources for songs, stories, recipes, and traditions of interaction during Hanukkah that can enrich every Christian’s life. All of this would have gratified my mother, who so long ago made a rash, youthful choice that shut her completely out of her Orthodox Jewish family. Ultimately those breeches would be healed, but it took four decades before I got to know my grandmother or most of the aunts, uncles, and cousins. Perhaps that’s why I particularly rejoice in the momentum leading many Christians to understand the rituals that Jesus himself valued and practiced.

Embracing Grace Project receives Service-Learning YAC $100 Grant

If God gives you a vision I promise he'll put it in your hands..Christmas is coming to F.D. Moon Academy!! 

Embrace Grace would like to Thank EVERYONE who has contributed in any way to making this possible! Special thanks to our Athletes First family, Our Casady Family,and everyone who supported or participated in our Holiday Blowout event!! We Love you all!  Johnesha H.

Advisory makes holiday cards for Wounded Warriors

Mrs. Jew and Mrs. Clay advisory shared heritage snacks and made holiday cards for Wounded Warriors during 12/15/2014 advisory time.  HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Day 16: Nativity Scenes

By Professor Carol on Dec 15, 2014 03:00 am

My mother called it a crèche. I wondered what kind of a word crèche was, but didn’t ask.

Ours had a rickety wooden stable and an even more rickety pressboard manger. The figures of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, two sheep, a camel, two shepherds, and a token wise man were made of soft ceramic. Best of all was a kindly angel who could be hooked and unhooked from the top of the stable. Crouched beneath our Christmas tree, I played with them endlessly. I still have the drastically chipped remnants of those figures.

Germany: Baroque Nativity Scene – Andreas Praefcke (CC BY 3.0)

Embracing Grace Project recives Service-Learning YAC Grant

Nativity Scenes are such precious items. Whether yours is an elaborate heirloom, or something made by a child in first grade, they are irreplaceable treasures. And they have a noble history. Let’s take a closer look.

First the name: the French term crèche, comes fromcripia, a low Latin word for cradle. The Germans call it aKrippe, but the Italians use a different root: presepe,from the verb praesepire, which means to “enclose or fence in,” referring to the place where animals were kept.

Nativity Scenes can be tracked to the 7th century, while frescoes of the manger scene date back centuries earlier. But it was a live reenactment of Christ’s birth staged by St. Francis of Assisi in 1223 that really put the Nativity Scene on the map. In the Italian town of Greccio, St. Francis used local shepherds, real animals, and a manger to teach the townspeople the sacred story. So if your church or community happens to stage a “live Nativity Scene,” be proud of the fact that you’re continuing a nearly 800-year-old tradition.

Eventually Nativity Scenes became a kind of status symbol for the wealthy. And not surprisingly, the materials varied from wood, cloth, and straw to porcelain, bronze, and silver. You may want to consult the Friends of the Creche.

There are many colorful traditions surrounding the Nativity Scene. The Italians set up presepi on December 8, the Feast day of the Immaculate Conception, although some churches and families wait until Christmas Eve. In an old German tradition, figures are added in each week until Epiphany (January 6), when the Three Kings appear. The Spanish have colorful traditions and one town, Alicante, has a Nativity Scene Movement and boasts a Nativity Scene Museum.

Nativity Scenes are an important form of folk art . . . and not just European folk art. People from every corner of the globe make Nativity Scenes using local material, be it bark, nuts, cloth, or clay. One of my favorites comes from Arizona and depicts Joseph and Mary as Native Americans, surrounded by feathered warriors.

My own revelation of the importance of Nativity Scenes came well into adulthood when I wandered into theDresdener Museum für Sächsische Volkskunst (The Dresden Museum for Saxon Folk Art). I blinked in astonishment to find an entire floor filled with Nativity Scenes. Intricate and complex, some were bejeweled. One had scores of figures winding down a two-foot tall “mountainside.” Several replicated the flora of the Middle East in fine detail.

Advent is a fine time to explore Nativity Scenes around the world. As we do, we will treasure the crèchebeneath our own Christmas tree all the more

December, Saturday of Service: Debate Tournament and Urban Mission Santa's Store