Special Children's E-news for Lent 2026

Special Lent & Holy Week 2026

Lent is for Kids

Come Help Us Bury the Alleluia

Families are invited to join us on Shrove Tuesday, Feb. 17 for the pancake supper and “burying” of the Alleluia. Why do we bury the Alleluia? The omission of alleluia during Lent goes back at least to the fifth century in the western church. The association of alleluia with Easter led to the custom of intentionally omitting it from the liturgy during the season of Lent, a kind of verbal fast which has the effect of creating a sense of anticipation and even greater joy when the familiar word of praise returns. We do not use it at church. We do not use it at home. We let it rest, as it were, during Lent, so that when it reappears on Easter, we may hear it anew. In fact, once it returns on Easter, we give it no rest at all, repeating it again and again, in celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. The custom of bidding it farewell developed in the Middle Ages in Babylon. Many churches embrace the practice of physically "burying" the alleluia. This ritual practice is especially delightful and meaningful for children. Children will have an opportunity to decorate and bury the Alleluia during the pancake supper. We hope you will join us!

Lenten Wednesdays: False Idols

This Lent, children in Kindergarten through 5th grade will spend time learning about things that can pull us away from God when we focus too much attention on them. Together, we will create our own False Idol Shrines to help us recognize what those distractions can be, adding a new “false idol” to the shrine each week. We will also focus on how we can grow closer to God by creating God’s Love Boxes, which we will fill with ideas and actions that help us keep God in our hearts. We will meet on Wednesdays at 7:00pm, February 25 - March 25. We will have a special preparing for Lent time on February 11 (7:00pm - 8:00pm) and our Ash Wednesday Service on February 18 at 5:30pm.

Lenten Wednesdays Offerings

Stations of The Cross – 5:00 p.m.

Eucharist – 6:00 p.m.

Soup Supper – 6:30

Lenten Programs – 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Compline – 8:00 p.m.

Please register your child to aid us in preparation of materials and volunteers.

Nursery Care for Lenten Wednesdays

Nursery Care will be available by reservation only for Infants- 4 years old from 6:00pm – 8:30pm. Please contact Allison Blalock to reserve a spot for your little one on Wednesday Evenings.

Contact

Allison Blalock

Holy Week for Children

It's Important

This time of year, our children will most assuredly be thinking about bunny rabbits, Easter eggs and baskets, and time home from school. In our excitement of preparing for Easter celebrations, we must not overlook the importance of this as a time to instill in children, through prayer and practice, the importance of Holy Week in their faith. Talking about death and grief with children is critical to their faith. It is necessary to give the proclamation, “Christ has died, and Christ is risen from the dead.”

Holy Week offering for families

Passion Experience for Families / April 1 / 6:00pm (Nursery Care Available)

Good Friday Stations / April 3 / 5:30pm (Nursery Care Available)

Easter Sunday Service / April 5 / 9:00am / Roper Hall (Nursery Care Available)

Butterfly Release Immediately Following 9:00am service at the Bell Tower

Passion Experience for Families

Wednesday, April 1

6:00pm to 8:00pm

Special Dinner Served

Kids and their families are invited to experience an amazing and thought-provoking Easter journey together. On this family mini retreat, you will experience the excitement surrounding Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem, the significance of the Last Supper, the darkness at Gethsemane, the confusion of Good Friday, the silence of Holy Saturday and the Joy of Easter. Families will walk together from station to station, experiencing this journey that provides opportunities for families to discuss their faith. We ask families attending to bring a picnic blanket that will be used at each station. We will share a special meal with Jesus and his disciples. Childcare provided. Please register for this event to help with our planning. If you have questions, contact Allison Blalock.

Contact

Allison Blalock

Good Friday / Stations of the Cross

The Stations of the Cross for Children and Families is a powerful way to contemplate, and enter into, the mystery of Jesus’ gift of himself to us. It takes the reflection on the passion out of our head and makes it an imaginative exercise. It involves our senses, our experience, and our emotions.

We will walk our campus to different locations for this outdoor service. Each location will represent a Station of The Cross. The stations will be marked with paintings the children of Transfiguration have created. This interactive experience is open to all who wish to participate.

Good Friday

April 3, 2026

5:30pm – 6:30pm

Flowering the Cross

Please join us Easter morning during the 9:00 family service in Roper Hall. You are encouraged to bring flowers from your home to help decorate our cross. Families will be invited to place their flowers on the cross at the beginning of the service. The decorated cross will be placed outside for out butterfly release immediately following the service.