Today is Saturday
Jul 04, 2009
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Home for the holidays |
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 26, 2008 | | | By Mark Marotta and Julia Boyle
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE
This time of year is filled with religious celebrations from one faith to another, but few places celebrate them all in harmony. Here in Bucks County, Ann’s Choice, a retirement community built and managed by Erickson, honors any faith and offers resources for the people who live there to celebrate their traditions.
A symbol of this cooperative effort, the nondenominational chapel at Ann’s Choice serves all faiths. Andy Christmas, worship leader for the Protestant Council at Ann’s Choice, says the chapel has three display cases, which show religious articles for the Jewish, Protestant, and Catholic faiths.
Happy Hanukkah
Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of the Lights, will begin at sundown on December 21. The eight-day celebration marks the rededication of the altar at the Temple of Jerusalem after a successful rebellion by the Maccabees against a ruler who had oppressed the Jews. According to Judaism 101, an online encyclopedia, there was enough oil to light the temple’s menorah for one day, but it lasted for eight.
Pastoral Ministries Manager Richard Haddon says a menorah will be set up in the main lobby of each clubhouse at Ann’s Choice for the Jewish holiday. There may be other decorations as well, such as dreidels and chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil.
Each night, volunteers will go to the clubhouses to say a prayer and sing a hymn, Haddon says.
Merry Christmas
The Protestant and Catholic faith communities will also have traditional services, as well as musical celebrations and decorations. Crèches will be set up for Christmas in each of the clubhouse lobbies. There will also be large trees, poinsettias, and mechanical carolers. | |
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Leading up to Christmas, a local Methodist church will give a concert at Ann’s Choice on December 1, and members of a bell choir from another church will perform on December 18. Catherine Janus, from the Ann’s Choice Catholic Council, says there will be an Advent Mass on December 11. From December 17–23, the Liturgy of the Hours will include special Advent antiphons, which are readings from Scripture.
During the Advent season, Janus says, a letter will be sent through the Catholic Council to members of the Catholic community, asking for a freewill donation to go to a needy family, the CYO of the local parish, or to a memorial fund.
“Last year, we collected approximately $1,500,” Janus says.
Last year, in conjunction with the parish, she adds, residents participated in the Walk to Bethlehem. The idea was to walk or do some exercise, and then mark it down as miles toward Bethlehem. The goal was to accumulate enough miles throughout the parish to cover the distance to Bethlehem.
“We actually reached Bethlehem before Christmas,” Janus says.
Holiday spirit
Bringing all faiths together, during December there will be an interfaith service, as well as a holiday program with both beautiful choral music and fun performances. A special dinner will be served for people who are not going away for the holidays.
“Ann’s Choice goes all out for the holidays. From the second that you walk in here, you see the flowers up,” says Christmas.
Janus says that people also decorate shelves outside their residence doors. And according to Christmas, residents can enter their homes in a decorating contest.
“It’s just magnificent,” Janus says. “Ann’s Choice just is permeated with the spirit of the holidays.”
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