CEDAR LAKE – “Do you want to put an ornament there?” asked Zara Fagen. “Wait, I’ll be right back,” said seven-year-old Eva Fagen.
The mother and daughter creative combination carefully assembled an object rich in symbolism for the Advent and Christmas seasons. Like other families working on wreaths at the Crafting with a Purpose session at Holy Name of Jesus hall, the “learning part” of the exercise was eclipsed by the “fellowship part” on Nov. 11.
“Are you glad that you came here today?” asked Zara Fagen of her daughter, who returned with a sprig of twigs frosted with artificial snow.
“Yes,” she said. “They had a lot of decorations to pick and choose from – I picked out what I liked,” Eva Fagen said. “I feel proud of my work.”
Headed home, she predicted her siblings would say, “cool,” after seeing her handiwork.
Other Holy Name parishioners, the Rusin family collaborated on a 12-inch artificial wreath. Chris, 7, Kinga, 10, and their mom Sylwia added ornaments and other trimmings to the piece that they said would be placed prominently in their home as the Advent season neared.
“We go to church here and the kids wanted to do something different,” said Sylwia Rusin. “They’re kids … but my daughter is an altar server and they both like to help out. We also decorate the church when they ask for volunteers.”
Sylwia Rusin, a native of Poland, complimented her daughter and son for their polite, cooperative ways. She believes such Catholic customs are a hedge against a noisy secular culture.
“This is a time to prepare before the Christmas season … although (retailers) have been selling ‘holiday’ items since probably July,” she laughingly said.
Leticia Kotso, chairperson of Holy Name’s Crafting with a Purpose ministry, spent hours melting candles in preparation for the growing number of people registering for the creative workshop. Originally, she had planned to carry out that task with the help of those attending. Instead, to ensure safety and resourceful use of the wax, she divvied it up at home into small jars.
By the time the nearly three dozen parish crafters arrived for the session to queue up for their art materials, Kotso found she had just enough containers, each filled with a purple or pink beeswax. She walked about the church hall praising the work of young and old alike, and offering technical pointers about the garnishing of the seasonal decorations.
“The Advent candles that were used on the altar last year, we melted down and were used for the jars that everyone took home today,” said Kotso. “They took home a little piece of Holy Name’s faith.”
She added, “By the grace of God, we just covered the number of candles we needed.”
Supplies were donated, repurposed or purchased from dollar stores, according to Kotso.
Just like the traditional Christmas tree, wreaths are believed to have their origins among the Germanic and Eastern European peoples with pagan customs, some of which were adapted by Christians and shared with subsequent generations.
Kotso and her fellow parishioners prepared a “Celebrating At Home” booklet and Advent prayer sheet that included historical vignettes about wreaths and candles. Those who picked out candles were sure to find a pink one, which is one of the four candles on an advent wreath, and symbolizes joy or “Gaudete,” as is the Latin name for the third Sunday in Advent.
The first and second weeks in Advent are represented by purple, and the themes of hope and faith. The pink candle is followed by one more purple one, reminding the faithful to pray and do penance before the arrival of the Christ Child on the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas), which is symbolized by a white candle.
And who would have thought that the crafting event would have out drawn attendance expectations? Coordinators observed a growing appeal for the traditional, home-grown, and those endeavors that strive to repurpose.
“One of the goals of this particular workshop was that we get back to the basics ¬ get out all of the commercialism of it,” said Kotso, whose daughter Rebecca, 14, crafted and assisted at the workshop. “We try to remember why we do this … I think the fact that there was such a great turnout is a testament to Holy Name’s spiritual faith and desire to pass on traditions.”
The Advent wreath artisans workshop morphed from an original offering of a small prayer shall-making group, according to Cindy Varenkamp, music minister, liturgist and parish mission facilitator.
“Saturday morning seems to be a time when people are interested in such events; I feel absolutely wonderful about this,” Varenkamp said.
She continued, “The Crafting With a Purpose ministry is part of the larger umbrella of our evangelization commission. The whole purpose of it is to do social outreach and ministry … Yes, you’ve got to have fun.”
Completing her decorated ring of greenery, Holy Name church secretary Rose Marsh looked around at the engaged crafters and said this was a fine example of how her parish has been “rebooting ministries” post pandemic.
“Evangelization and getting people involved from the parish (creates) fellowship,” explained Marsh.
Parishioner Bert Doolin said she looks forward to bringing home her newly made seasonal centerpiece. “I thought they did a great job; (Kotso) knew what she was talking about. It was very informative.”
Caption: Rusin siblings Chris (left), 7, and Kinga, 10, display the Advent wreath they decorated at a workshop at Holy Name of Jesus on Nov. 11. The Cedar Lake parish hall played host to the Crafting with a Purpose session, where coordinators reminded participants about the faith-affirming meaning of the festive trim. (Anthony D. Alonzo photo)