Monday @ Montpelier: June 3

We are officially on summer break over here at the Montpelier Atrium! But break doesn’t mean the work has stopped. On the contrary: Catechists and volunteers have kicked it into high gear in terms of getting ready for the 2024-2025 year of spiritual formation at Montpelier.

Celebrating
2023-2024 Atrium Highlights:

Between August 2023 to May 2024, we regularly served over 15 children between Levels I & II.

Consistently, 5 families have gathered on Sunday afternoons for atrium & potluck dinner, and this community has grown in connection, love, and care for one another.

Our atrium has been utilized by families from a variety of backgrounds and faith traditions.

We raised more than $1700 via our Gofundme.

We were able to make our topographical Jerusalem map in time for Easter, and completed the Cenacle work for use during Easter season and Pentecost.

We gathered outside the atrium to mark liturgical seasons and feasts with community events, including

• making candle-holders and saffron buns as we learned about St. Lucy

• doing a last-supper reenactment & foot washing for Holy Week

• making hot crossed buns to eat on Easter morning

• celebrating the Liturgy of the Light at Easter

• celebrating the Feast of Pentecost

We painted 25+ peg dolls to complete works for the Mystery of the Incarnation and the Paschal Mystery.

We completed several whole categories of works, including Geography of Israel, the Gestures of Eucharist, the Holy Bible, and the History of the Kingdom of God. This means over 20 intricate works that have led the children into connection with

• the person of Christ;

• the power of the Word of God;

• the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Eucharist;

• God’s great love, as evidenced by His plan for us (spanning creation, redemption, and eventually the parousia); and

• the invitation to both partake of God’s Creation & co-create His Kingdom on Earth.

Incalculable hours of labor were invested in crafting beautiful materials for the atrium, and utilized a vast array of community skills: sewing, embroidery, pottery, painting, hand lettering, wood working, moulding, map-making, and writing (to name a few).

Gearing Up for
the Upcoming Atrium Year

If you’ve seen our video over on Instagram @montpelieratrium, you’ve already seen the upheaval that is the atrium at the moment! (see below)

Within the whirlwind of the atrium year, things like organization, inventory, future-planning, and material up-fit/repair fall through the cracks. These are the things we are focusing on this summer so that we are in tip-top shape for the coming year.

Material focus:

We have a number of materials that are partially made that we will be working hard to complete over the next two months. These include:

• the Nativity (or The Adoration of the Shepherds)

• the Visitation

• the Adoration of the Magi

• the Flight to Egypt

• the Pearl of Great Price

• the Eucharistic Presence

• the Hidden Treasure

• Kingdom of God parables poster

• Holy Bible: deuterocanonical books

We have much of the foundational materials for these works, but we are in need of replenishing consumable materials like glue, paper, tape, printer paper & ink, paint etc.

We also need help reimbursing non-funded costs that were made in good faith this spring: materials for the Liturgy of Light, the Feast of Pentecost, new organizational systems for student work/art, and lamination.

Our laminator broke this spring and we would love to replace that. We are also looking to get a heavy-duty paper cutter and stapler for the atrium, eventually.

Please help us in shouldering these costs by contributing to our Gofundme. Every donation of any size is helpful.

Operations Update:

As we grow as a community (in closeness and in size!), and look towards adding new children to the atrium this fall, there are a number of things that need to be considered and updated for this next season together.

• Consistent child safety and supervision practices

• Additional catechists and assistants in the atrium

• More comprehensive communication

• Consistent contributions/funding for daily operations as well as additional materials

• Opportunities for training and teaching

This spring, I exchanged volunteer hours with a local Anglican church in order to take advantage of their child safety training and to update my credentials, including a background check.

Please contact me any time to receive official documents verifying my child safety credentials.
Your children’s safety is important to us.

Between a new Slack channel for Montpelier Atrium communication, more consistent updates via @montpelieratrium on Instagram, and more frequent updates throughout our revamped website, these changes feel a little daunting.

Please bear with us as we grow this atrium and the community it serves. We crave your help in the forms of participation and sharing of your gifts; honest feedback; and sharing our information/updates with others that you think might be interested.

The 2023-2024 Atrium Year was so much more than we could have asked for or imagined, and we have seen God’s generosity at work in the miraculous as well as through His Body, the “big C” Church (that means you!).

We can’t wait to see what is to come, and look forward to sharing it with you, our community.