The purpose of this book is to call your attention to twenty men and women whose lives can provide inspiration and examples for those trying to follow Christ today as best they can. They are real, flesh-and-blood people, human beings with the same weaknesses we all possess as human beings, but with an inner strength and purposefulness that can serve as examples to us in the daily struggle that is life today.

A major part of the annual worship experiences in the Catholic Church revolves around the commemoration of the saints. This book gives a brief history of these outstanding personalities who have been enrolled in the church's "hall of fame." They cover the period from the first to the twentieth century. Some are household names as St. Peter, the first pope, St. Patrick of Ireland, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Therese, the Little Flower, of France and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton of Baltimore, Maryland. Some others are lesser known to us but equally known to the Lord, to whom they dedicated their lives, love and daily service. Their way of life can be both a guide and inspiration to us on our pilgrim journey through this world. Just as there are four seasons in our calendar year, so there are four seasons in the church year. These are Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter. This book gives a short commentary on the weekday scripture readings for these four liturgical seasons. Many people have found these spiritual thoughts enlightening and very helpful in living the particular seasons in union with the liturgy of the church.

ROOTS is a joint initiative by all the mainstream churches in the UK and Ireland, providing lectionary-based resources for all-age worship and learning. Over 10,000 local churches subscribe to its regular magazine and online programmes. Its first published resource, Prayer and Prayer Activities was enthusiastically received. Now, for occasions throughout the church year when fresh ideas and inspiration are needed, here is a versatile resource for all-age worship. It offers complete service outlines and imaginative worship ideas for every season and holy day from Advent Sunday to Christ the King with many extras in between including: • Pancake Day• Mothering Sunday and Father’s Day • Harvest • Going back to school• Halloween • Christingle All the texts can be downloaded or projected from the accompanying CD-ROM.

With humor and a prayerful spirit, Jeanne Hunt taps into her experience and creativity as mother, grandmother, catechist, artist, and writer to show us in easy and practical ways how to look deeper at these ordinary things surrounding us in order to enter into the sacred way. She encourages parents and grandparents, teachers, and religious educators to use this as a handy resource for celebrating in your home and classroom settings the seasons and special people of the calendar year and the church's liturgical year. She offers hundreds of activities, rituals, and prayers to make living our faith tangible, spiritually enriching--and fun! Activities include a New Year's campout, morning prayer for Christian Unity week, a Lent poor box, an Emmaus walk, a Pentecost meal, an All Saints' festival, a St. John the Baptist Advent wreath--and many more.

This resource for children's work offers material on the major festivals of the Christian year, some well known saints days and a selection of the "new names" in the three-year lectionary. Each chapter includes: an introductory illustration relating to the person or festival; a biblical, historical and/or bibliographical introduction to the saint or festival; a summary of the main themes of the story or festival to be explored in the activity ideas; craft, music, games or cookery ideas; suggestions for how the material can be incorporated into Church worship or a school assembly.

A guide to help clergy and worship planners use the seasonal material for the Church of England, Common Worship: Times and Seasons. Covering Advent to Candlemas, it includes an introduction to the history and theology of the Christian year, background information for each part of the season, and practical tips and case studies.