Feast of the Presentation

Bishop Anthony came to St. James for the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple. It was wonderful to have our bishop with us for the feast! We also were blessed by having Father Gregory with us. Along with our three deacons and a visiting subdeacon the altar was quite full.

There were a lot of preparations to do for the bishop's visit and everyone worked together well. I just love that busy anticipation - it felt as though we were getting ready for Christmas all over again! Everything went beautifully during his visit thanks to everyone's hard work! 

After Liturgy Bishop Anthony blessed the candles as is custom at the Feast of the Presentation.

Bishop Anthony reminded us to carry the Light of Christ into the world.

 

 

This is where I was for a lot of the Liturgy. Heirarchical Divine Liturgy takes longer than a normal service and Leo was just too tired to last through all of it. It was rather peaceful up in the cry room with Leo sleeping like an angel while Bishop Anthony carried us all into Heaven.

 

Our church blesses the candles to be used in church for the following year. We brought our candles from home to be blessed for use in our prayer corner. We are still figuring out how to incorporate lighting candles again. Leo has gotten big enough to reach for the candles so it has been put on hold for now. Perhaps as he gets a little older...