Posts Tagged ‘Christmas’

  1. Why do Catholics have idols everywhere? That’s like in the 10 Commandments

    17 September, 2011 by Alexa Chipman

    I hear this a lot, but ultimately it is more of a decorating question than a difference in theology. When you walk into most Evangelical churches, you’ll see things like banners and maybe a picture or two. Often in the more progressive churches, there is a Powerpoint presentation during the service with additional images of nature and even statues of Biblical characters like you’d see in a Catholic church.

    If you walk into the average Roman Catholic church, you’ll see statues in almost all the corners, and a lot more sculptures in general lining the walls and altar area. If you spend most of your time in Evangelical style churches, it will be a bit of a shock to walk in and see what, on first glance, appear to be idols everywhere.

    3D—not a new thing
    Movies everywhere are trying to draw people back to the theatres by offering 3D experiences, so think of it that way. Instead of illustrations printed on banners, Catholics use 3D statues. What’s the difference? Well…one is flat…and one is round…and Christians have been doing it for centuries dating back to before there even were Evangelical churches. Are banners and modern illustrations better? Maybe, maybe not, it just means it is a different decorating aesthetic, that is all.

    Well we don’t use statues!
    Guess again—what do you probably put out every Christmas? A nativity scene or creche of some sort. I’ve seen Evangelical churches even do living creches which I think are awesome. What’s the difference between the little nativity on your table at Christmas and the big statues in Catholic churches? They’re bigger…

    But they have weird people I don’t know!
    It is easy to freak out at the word “saint” but really they are  men and women who trusted God that we can look up to and whose lives we can think about. I’ve seen little boys play with Abraham and King David dolls, nothing wrong with that—they are definitely not idols. Most of the statues will have a cheat sheet plaque to tell you who they are, and if not feel free to ask someone in the Church to tell you their story. Usually they were donated by someone for whom that particular person had special meaning. At the parish I attend, there is one of John the Baptist that has a lovely story with it, for example.

    Category Religious, The Church | Tags: ,,,,,, | 2 Comments

  2. Walk to Rivendell – Damp flat ground

    25 December, 2010 by Alexa Chipman

    Because sitting about working, mixing & writing 24/7 isn’t good for your health!

    Original Idea | Descriptions

    25 December, 2010 – 169 miles – Damp flat ground

    I went up to Reno to visit with family for Christmas, and my sister recommended Mayberry Park—yes that is the name. Basically it is the river walk near where her house is, and most importantly it is paved. Right now most trails are mudheaps / snowmelt.

    I did scramble down a few trails to get closer to the water in places where it seemed relatively dry and safe to do so. During the summer the river is crowded with swimmers. Despite relatively warm winter days, no-one was daft enough to jump in.

    In the shade there were still patches of snow, which I availed myself of as pictured above. Only missed once!

    Classic Reno in winter shots—sagebrush, distant snowy mountains, and trails with chaps in cowboy hats walking dogs (not pictured).

    After many attempts, I believe I finally managed to teach my mum how to take pictures with an iPhone! Yay!

    14 December, 2010 – 166 miles – Left Chetwood, in hilly meadows
    11 December, 2010 – 164 miles – Edge of Chetwood
    2 December, 2010 – 160 miles – Eastern Chetwood
    10 September, 2010 – 153 miles – Chetwood Near Archet
    1 August, 2010 – 148 miles – Camp in Chetwood
    8 May, 2010 – 120 miles – Near Cardolan
    7 May, 2010 – 118 miles – Riding north through a gap in hills
    28 April, 2010 – 115 miles – Captured in Barrow-downs
    21 February, 2010 – 105 miles – West of Barrow-downs
    24 January, 2010 – 101 miles – West of Barrow-downs
    17 January, 2010 – 98 miles – House of Tom Bombadil
    29 December, 2009 – 95 miles – Rescued by Tom Bombadil from Old Man Willow
    15 October, 2009 – 83 miles – Path In The Old Forest
    13 October, 2009 – 80 miles – Path In The Old Forest
    27 September, 2009 – 78 miles – The Old Forest Bonfire Glade
    3 September, 2009 – 76 miles – The Old Forest, path vanishes
    24 August, 2009 – 73 miles – Leaving Crickhollow

    Category Walk to Rivendell | Tags: ,,,, | No Comments

  3. Christmas in Reno

    by Alexa Chipman

    I stuffed my sister’s stocking, then when she got back from work around 11pm on Christmas Eve when we were all in bed, she stuffed the rest (she loves doing that). You can see her above opening her stocking this morning.

    Stockings also make great sock puppets! This was the first gathering of this branch of the family, so we had some kinks to work out—including everyone bringing boatloads of sweets. I think I have enough to last until Easter!

    My mum opening her stocking in front of the tree. The problem with anyone in our family is that if they receive a book, they turn into Hermione for the rest of the day, and forget to open up any other presents. She didn’t even notice me taking the picture as you can see.

    More stocking openings, we actually all ended up getting up around the same time, so we got to watch each other open stockings. Above is breakfast, which was fabulous!

    My pile of presents is above, I had some lovely gifts—notebooks for translations, soprano recorder from Germany, sheet music, and gift cards to our local art shop! On the right we’re starting to open presents.

    Category Travel | Tags: ,,,,, | No Comments

Older Entries