Happy Campers!

Julie Simonton leads Vacation Bible School campers, photographed by Shannon Finney, Grace Episcopal Church, Alexandria, VA



It's summertime, and, for some children, that means a one-week tradition called Vacation Bible School. VBS mixes traditional day camp activities, like cooking and games, with religious instruction, including daily chapel services. With campers ranging in age from three year olds to tweens, and a volunteer teacher force comprised of parents and ministers, this week long intergenerational gathering is pure energy.

A Woman's Place

Bishop Jane, photographed March 2012 in Alexandria, VA by Shannon Finney

Since March is Women's History Month, it's a great time to celebrate a trailblazer in the Episcopal church,
the Rt. Rev. Jane Holmes Dixon. In 1992, she was consecrated in 1992 as Suffragan Bishop of he Episcopal Diocese of Washington. She is the second woman to take the office of bishop in the Episcopal Church, and the third in the worldwide Anglican Communion. Now retired, Bishop Jane is continuing to encourage
a new generation of women in church leadership. Recently, I photographedBishop Jane at Christ Church Alexandria, VA as she celebrated a special service for International Women's Day, proving, once
again, that a woman's place is wherever she chooses.

A Christmas Pageant

An annual holiday tradition is the children's Christmas Pageant. Some pageants feature splashy lighting and production numbers that rival Broadway shows, while others opt for the homespun feeling of little kids deciding to put on a show. One of my favorite pageants takes place at Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia, with the children portraying Mary and Joseph, the Shepherds in the field, and the animals who shared the stall where baby Jesus was born. I can't think of a better way to get in a Christmas mood:)

Picture of the Day: All in a Day's Work



Photograph by Shannon Finney, November 6, 2011, Alexandria, Virginia

A "must-see" event in the life of a church is a baptism. While this is a sacred rite of passage, in churches where children and infants are christened, this solemn moment is sometimes punctuated by the unexpected and the humorous, as in the photo above. Rector Pierce Klemmt of Christ Church in Old Town Alexandria, VA, though, handled this temperamental tot like a pro, and soon she was all smiles.