Jr. DOK Gathering
In preparation for Lent, the Mary & Martha Chapter of the Junior Daughters of the King shared in an Agape Meal on Saturday, February 23rd. This is a meal of Christian fellowship that mirrors the meals Jesus shared with his disciples and others throughout His ministry. Fellowship and community are celebrated around the theme of a meal that can include items such as bread, cheese, olives, grapes, and juice with scripture and music intertwined. Following the meal, the girls prepared and packaged homemade granola as an outreach for Miracle Place in Indianapolis. The afternoon concluded with the girls reviewing the JOY (Jesus, Others, You) and the Five Finger Prayer formats and creating a Lenten Prayer Chain with 40 days of prayer topics. For questions regarding the Jr. Daughters of the King (for girls in 3rd grade through age 18), please contact co-directresses, Ruth Everett or Kristine Canter at mmjrdok@gmail.com.
Boy Scout Sunday 2019
On Sunday, February 10th, Holy Family celebrated Boy Scout Sunday. The Boy Scouts of America designates the Sunday that falls closest to February 8th (Scouting Anniversary Day) as Scout Sunday, which is the primary date to recognize the contributions of young people and adults to Scouting. Father Bruce blessed scouts and scout leaders in attendance from Troops 199 and 109 during the 10 AM service.
Celebrating The Reverend Patrick Burke
On Sunday, January 13th, Holy Family welcomed The Reverend Patrick Burke to celebrate both worship services and preach the homily. Patrick served as Youth Director at Holy Family for many years and was recently ordained a priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis. During the worship service, Patrick blessed the water in Holy Family’s Baptismal font and sprinkled those in attendance with holy water. Following the 10 AM service, Patrick and his family were honored at a reception held in their honor.
View more photos from Father Patrick’s celebration HERE.
Christmas 2018
Holy Family celebrated the birth of our Lord with three worship services – 5 PM Children’s Service and 11 PM Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning, the unique “Pajama Eucharist” was held at 10 PM when participants are encouraged to “come as they are,” even if that means in pajamas and robes. For more information about worship at Holy Family, please contact the church office. admin@hfec.org
Click below to view photos and videos from Christmas at Holy Family.
- Holy Family Christmas Photos
- 5 PM Christmas Eve Children’s Service
- Christmas Eve Children’s Homily
- Children’s Choir – Still, Still, Still
- Christmas Eve Midnight Mass Homily
- Christmas Day Homily
- Christmas Message – Pajama Eucharist
Confirmation: December 2018
On Sunday, December 16th, The Rt. Reverend Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, Bishop of the Diocese of Indianapolis, visited Holy Family. Bishop Jennifer celebrated both morning worship services, led an open discussion with congregation members during Christian formation hour, and shared fellowship during a reception following the services. Bishop Jennifer also confirmed or received three members of Holy Family during the 10 AM worship service. Bishop Jennifer spent time meeting with the vestry and finished her visit by contributing to Holy Family’s new podcast called Shortcut to Sunday. It was a busy and joy-filled day for all who attended. For more information about being confirmed in or received to the Episcopal church, please contact Deacon Cathy Scott or Father Bruce Gray.
For more photos from Confirmation and Bishop Jennifer’s visit, please click HERE.
Ingathering Sunday 2018
Holy Family offered to God its hopes, dreams, and financial pledges on Sunday, October 28th. Holy Family’s Celebrating Generosity stewardship efforts coninue as pledges for the 2019 operating budget are turned into the church office. Pledges may be made online by clicking HERE. Please contact the church office for more information. admin@hfec.org
Pet Blessing 2018
On Sunday, September 30th, Holy Family held its annual pet blessing during the 10 AM worship service in the outdoor chapel. Many dogs, and a few cats, attended the service with their humans and received a blessing in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals. Photos from this special service can be viewed by clicking HERE.
In addition to the pet blessing, this day was also named Social Media Sunday by the wider Episcopal Church. Members and guests of Holy Family were encouraged to share special photos and moments from the day on social media using the hashtag #SMS18.
Bench Blessing
On Sunday, September 23rd, representatives from Girl Scout Troop 183 in Fishers participated in a special ceremony to bless the playground bench they donated to Holy Family. The scouts gathered over 400 pounds of bottle and container caps and lids that were recycled and transformed into the bench. The bench was a gift to the church in thanksgiving for using the space for Girl Scout meetings over the past five years. Following the blessing, the scouts chatted with Father Bruce, Mother Cathy, and members of the congregation about the project.
Education Sunday 2018
Holy family kicked off the Christian Formation year with a multi-generational formation festival. Participants from all levels of Sunday school, youth group, and adult formation engaged in interactive team building activities centered around a farm theme. Participants spent ten minutes learning about each other by separating into groups such as “sweet” or “salty” and “hand-held Bible” or “electronic app” before breaking into smaller groups for continued work together. Participants were required to utilize effective coordination, communication, and trust to achieve a common goal. Finally, the larger group was broken into their appropriate formation age groups to discuss upcoming curriculum in their classes. For more information about Christian formation at Holy Family, please contact the following leaders:
Children’s Ministry: Jolene Johnston jjohnston@hfec.org
Youth Ministry: Marty Blake mblake@hfec.org
Adult Formation: The Reverend Bruce W. Gray bgray@hfec.org
For more photos from Education Sunday at Holy Family, please click HERE.
Confirmation Celebration 2018
On Sunday, July 1st, Holy Family recognized its 2018 Confirmands with a blessing during the 10 AM worship service. The blessing was given by Holy Family’s rector, the Reverend Bruce W. Gray. Additional information about the sacrament of Confirmation was presented by Holy Family’s Deacon, The Reverend Cathy Scott, and Confirmation teacher, Bob Murray (pictured above).
Following the service, a reception was held in their honor. Each Confirmand was presented with a certificate and Book of Common Prayer signed by The Rt. Rev. Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, Bishop of the Diocese of Indianapolis. For more information about being Confirmed in, Received in, or Reaffirmed to the Episcopal Church, please contact Father Bruce. bgray@hfec.org
2018 Confirmands (from left to right)::
Sarah Cleaver, Shannon Luce,
Sarah Cleaver, Shannon Luce,
Chris Brown, Eliza Wilson, and Thomas Canter