“After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.” — Acts 1:9Celebrated 40 Days after the Resurrection of Our Lord June 13, 2024   The Feast of Holy Ascension is celebrated each year 40 days after Pascha (Easter). This is why the Feast is always celebrated on a Thursday and is one of the 12 Great Feasts in the Orthodox Church. Here you’ll find 10 fun ways to celebrate Ascension as a family in hopes that one of these ideas will spark some ideas for you as you live out the Liturgical Calendar. Perhaps they will become your annual tradition ..read more

Here’s a simple and fun activity for you to do this weekend as a family as you live Liturgically. Make “mud” brownies! I am always a fan of incorporating food into any feast day, especially for children! In addition to it being obviously yummy, it’s also a great sensory experience to help kids connect the healing element (mud) that Jesus used to heal the blind man! Story of the Healing of the blind man is in the Children’s Bible Reader (pictured) page 222 Here’s a fun challenge: Read the story of the healing of the blind man in the scriptures (John 9:1-38) beforehand and eat the brownies wit ..read more

Image of the Children’s Bible Reader of the Story of Jesus Healing the Blind Man “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.” — John 9:25Commemorated the 6th Sunday after Pascha June 9th, 2024 Sunday of the Blind Man - On the 6th Sunday after Pascha, the Orthodox Church remembers the miracle of Christ healing the man who was blind since birth, the biblical story found in John 9:1-41. This is the last Sunday of the Paschal period before the Feast of the Ascension, which will follow on Thursday of this week. The Leave-taking of Pascha is ..read more

Paschal Season Bright week is the name given to the week following the Resurrection of our Lord. For Orthodox Christians, Bright Week begins a period of celebration that continues for 50 days until Pentecost ?One of my favorite aspects of Paschaltide is how we joyously greeting each other. We greet each other with “Christ is risen” followed by “indeed He is risen” or “truly He is risen”! I feel a spark of joy every time I hear it! The joy and the feast continues!!!  There are some notable changes that happen during Bright Week + the Paschal season: ✨The services of Bright Week are done w ..read more

Although I prefer to shop small (please do) but I also know that Amazon is such a convenient option when you need something last minute. I compiled a few items in my Amazon storefront that can help you prepare your Pascha baskets! Feel free to shop my links, and know that I get a small commission if you do use them, so I appreciate that so very much! Shop here Not sure where to start when putting together a Pascha basket? Check out this blogpost: Learn more You might also like ..read more

As Pascha draws near, I wanted to create a printable/planner to help you stay organized for Holy Week, prepare sufficiently for attending services, and have a smooth and grace-filled Holy Week and Pascha! A little foresight and planning before Holy Week begins goes a long way so we have a heart like Mary and we can focus on the one thing needful and not be a frazzled mess like Martha running around stressed! Holy Week & Pascha Prep Planner Printable $2.99 Download Now Here is what you’ll get in the 12 page PDF download: ~ Sample Holy Week Planner ~ QR Codes for additional resources ~ Holy ..read more

Holy Week Guide As Orthodox Christians, we spend about 40 hours in church during Holy Week, soaking in all the beautiful sights, smells and sounds. Holy Week is a time where we have the opportunity to focus entirely on the rhythm of the Church. It is my absolute favorite week of the year! In this guide you will find many resources and information for each day of Holy Week to help guide your family through the Passion of our Lord. I’ve included activity suggestions (for the ambitious ones), book recommendations, as well as tips to help you prepare for Pascha so this Holy Week will be much smoot ..read more

There are a plethora of wonderful books on the market today for children to better understand our Orthodox Faith. Every year at Pascha, we gift our children a new book to add to our collection - usually surrounding the theme of the season. So for example, at Pascha, they get a Paschal themed book. It is a sustainable way for me to add to our family collection since books are my weakness, especially when it comes to good Orthodox books! We have collected quite a few over the past few years, so I wanted to compile a list of some of our favorites. This is not a complete or comprehensive list. Th ..read more

Print by Mirian Adams of The Green Paintbrush *Special thanks to Marian Adams of Draw Near Designs for creating this beautiful Pascha Basket print, which she made for the purposes of this blog post. You can find this print as a Pascha Basket Towel, Tea Towel, 8” x 10” print or set of 6 cards in their Lent Shop. As Great Lent comes to a close, the faithful begin to gather a special collection of foods which have been passed down through generations; the cherished custom of the blessing of the Paschal food eaten on Easter Sunday, or better known in the east as Pascha! Each of the following trad ..read more

and for those on the Old Calendar, just one difference, the Annunciation is on April 7th! There is a lot to expect this month, as we journey towards Pascha (May 5th). This particular season is very full for my family, so I’m conserving some energy in order to continue to live the Liturgical season most fully - preparing fasting meals, attending weekly services, preparing for Holy Week/Pascha! So I don’t have extra slides/links for this month like I usually do. If you are needing some extra resources, check out some of my blogposts below: Subscribe Sign up with your email address for more prac ..read more