Today we celebrated our daughter's upcoming 15th birthday with a "Blessing Ceremony ". This is a rite of passage ceremony that is inspired by the Latin American and Jewish “coming of age” traditions of the “quinceanera” and “Bar/Bat Mitzvah”. It acknowledges the beginning of the process of preparation for the transition from childhood to adulthood. This ceremony has two key components: the recognition of mentorship and a spoken blessing.
I came across this idea a while back when I was listening to a podcast on Oneplace.com. Since my husband and I had worked in Mexico for 17 years, we had become familiar with the Latin American tradition of the quinceanera, an elaborate "coming of age" rite of passage that takes place on a girl's 15th birthday. Although we never planned on having something as involved as a traditional quinceanera, we had always wanted to do something special to commemorate our girls' 15th birthdays. When our oldest daughter turned 14, I began to wonder what we would do for her quinceanera. When I heard Jim and Janet Weidmann interviewed on the podcast telling about the Blessings Ceremony they planned for each of their kids, I was thrilled. I knew that this is was the very thing I wanted to do for "Emma's" 15th birthday.
Unfortunately I didn't download the podcast. I couldn't remember the authors' names so every Google search I did to try and find the podcast or book in which this ceremony was described left me empty handed. I eventually did find the book online, but despite the promised delivery date range, it arrived yesterday afternoon -- after the ceremony. I'll look through it, though, and see if there is anything I can use for Marianne and Lizzy's ceremonies in a few years. The two key parts of the ceremony I did remember from the podcast were recognition of mentorship and a spoken blessing.
Mentorship: The need for wise counsel is a repeated theme in the book of Proverbs. As Emma approaches adulthood, Eric and I would like her to realize the importance of developing the lifelong habit of seeking and recognizing godly role models and counselors. For the past several years, I have prayed that God would bring iron-sharpens-iron friends and mentors into Emma’s life. About 6 months ago, I asked Emma to be thinking about women she would like to recognize as mentors who have made an impact on her and whose lives demonstrate a strong commitment to Christ. I asked Emma to chose 5 ladies who fit this description. As mentors, we asked these ladies to be available to Emma to teach, counsel, exhort, correct, advise, and encourage her in her walk with the Lord as He leads.
I invited these special women to a tea and asked them to bring a blessing, prayer, scripture, or poem to read to Emma during the ceremony. The importance of blessing is emphasized throughout the Bible. It is also a key component in rite of passage ceremonies in many different cultures.
My mom, Eric's mom, Emma's godmother, and Eric and I also prepared blessings to read. Eric's mom and Emma's godmother couldn't be at the ceremony because they live out of state, so they sent theirs via email and Lizzy and I read the blessings they prepared.
I thought it would be good also for Emma to write something to read to each of the mentors, telling them why she chose them and letting them know the important role they have played in her discipleship. She printed these off, cut a decorative edge around each one and tied it to a yellow rose.
A few days before the ceremony, we went shopping for a special outfit and for a special tea pot.
I got the idea of choosing a special tea pot from a blessing ceremony I read about on another blog. This was a lot of fun. After two days of looking, Emma ended up deciding on the very first teapot she came across. We call it the "Minnie Mouse tea pot". Emma says she chose it because it makes her smile. The fact that it makes her smile makes me smile.
I feel so blessed by the Lord that Emma has such wonderful ladies in her life that care so deeply about her and take time to invest in her life.
He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm. ~ Proverbs 13:20
I came across this idea a while back when I was listening to a podcast on Oneplace.com. Since my husband and I had worked in Mexico for 17 years, we had become familiar with the Latin American tradition of the quinceanera, an elaborate "coming of age" rite of passage that takes place on a girl's 15th birthday. Although we never planned on having something as involved as a traditional quinceanera, we had always wanted to do something special to commemorate our girls' 15th birthdays. When our oldest daughter turned 14, I began to wonder what we would do for her quinceanera. When I heard Jim and Janet Weidmann interviewed on the podcast telling about the Blessings Ceremony they planned for each of their kids, I was thrilled. I knew that this is was the very thing I wanted to do for "Emma's" 15th birthday.
Unfortunately I didn't download the podcast. I couldn't remember the authors' names so every Google search I did to try and find the podcast or book in which this ceremony was described left me empty handed. I eventually did find the book online, but despite the promised delivery date range, it arrived yesterday afternoon -- after the ceremony. I'll look through it, though, and see if there is anything I can use for Marianne and Lizzy's ceremonies in a few years. The two key parts of the ceremony I did remember from the podcast were recognition of mentorship and a spoken blessing.
Mentorship: The need for wise counsel is a repeated theme in the book of Proverbs. As Emma approaches adulthood, Eric and I would like her to realize the importance of developing the lifelong habit of seeking and recognizing godly role models and counselors. For the past several years, I have prayed that God would bring iron-sharpens-iron friends and mentors into Emma’s life. About 6 months ago, I asked Emma to be thinking about women she would like to recognize as mentors who have made an impact on her and whose lives demonstrate a strong commitment to Christ. I asked Emma to chose 5 ladies who fit this description. As mentors, we asked these ladies to be available to Emma to teach, counsel, exhort, correct, advise, and encourage her in her walk with the Lord as He leads.
I invited these special women to a tea and asked them to bring a blessing, prayer, scripture, or poem to read to Emma during the ceremony. The importance of blessing is emphasized throughout the Bible. It is also a key component in rite of passage ceremonies in many different cultures.
My mom, Eric's mom, Emma's godmother, and Eric and I also prepared blessings to read. Eric's mom and Emma's godmother couldn't be at the ceremony because they live out of state, so they sent theirs via email and Lizzy and I read the blessings they prepared.
I thought it would be good also for Emma to write something to read to each of the mentors, telling them why she chose them and letting them know the important role they have played in her discipleship. She printed these off, cut a decorative edge around each one and tied it to a yellow rose.
A few days before the ceremony, we went shopping for a special outfit and for a special tea pot.
I got the idea of choosing a special tea pot from a blessing ceremony I read about on another blog. This was a lot of fun. After two days of looking, Emma ended up deciding on the very first teapot she came across. We call it the "Minnie Mouse tea pot". Emma says she chose it because it makes her smile. The fact that it makes her smile makes me smile.
I feel so blessed by the Lord that Emma has such wonderful ladies in her life that care so deeply about her and take time to invest in her life.
He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm. ~ Proverbs 13:20
So beautiful! And boy, can that girl write! She should try to find a connection to a publisher sometime soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks Christine,
ReplyDeleteShe has entered and won the Young Author's contests at the district and state levels last year. She won at the district this year, but we are still waiting to find out about state. She wants to be a writer some day. It is her passion.
Maybe she can start by writing a piece for Guideposts or other Christine magazine? I don't know anything about the process, but it's all explained online. I found articles about it but never took the time to read them as I'm too busy with the two year old to think about contacting magazines. There are also Christian websites who can write for without pay--just to bless others and develop a writing resume.
ReplyDeleteHere is one that has at least one young writer--maybe on a guest basis only:
http://www.titus2atthewell.com/
Thanks Christine,
ReplyDeleteI looked at the website you mentioned and will have Emma contact them to see if they are open to submissions.