Spring Children's Magazine

"My food," said Jesus,
"is to do the will of Him who sent me and to
finish His work.”(John 4:34)

A Blessed Paschal Feast to Everyone!

As part of our Lenten discipline, the Barretts
are trying to examine plastic use in our lives.
Theodore had a unit on the environment in
his class at school and it got him thinking
about plastic in the oceans and the impact on
fish and other marine life. In order to be part
of the solution, we have been using the
"three-legged stool" of prayer, fasting, and
almsgiving to inform our reflections and
actions. So here is what we have been
attempting:
Prayer: We have put together a small set of
prayers to say every day, which includes the Trisagion prayers, Psalm 103, and the Apolitikion from the
Service for the Environment:
“As God, who gave all things their existence with your word, you laid down our laws and govern them with
your steady hand, unto your glory, O Lord; now, at the intercessions of the holy Theotokos, maintain without
blemish all the elements, O Savior, that bind the earth all together, and save our entire world.”
We also have watched "The Green Patriarch", detailing the spiritual and environmental leadership of His All
Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qmumu80w4Ow
We are also planning to watch "The Face of God: A Film on the Orthodox Church and Climate
Change": https://faceofgodfilm.com/
Fasting: We are trying to identify plastic items that we use a lot that could be replaced with non-plastic
options, and disposing of plastics in more effective ways. So far, our baby steps have been:
• switching to bamboo toothbrushes (which meant we decided to turn down the little plastic bag
and plastic toothbrush, etc. at our last dentist visit...still working on turning down the plastic toy
prizes...)
• replacing plastic baggies in lunches with silicone or reusable/recyclable containers
• trying to use alternatives to plastic wrap
• participating in Terracycle recycling programs (so far just two: Bic's program to recycle old pens
and office items, and Tom's of Maine's program to recycle toiletry containers like shampoo,
deodorant, and toothpaste tubes): https://www.terracycle.com/en-US/
Almsgiving: We are (still) researching an organization to give money to that supports cleaning up the oceans
or is actively providing alternatives to plastic use (e.g. alternative packaging). We would like to donate our
time to picking up garbage in our neighborhood, much of which is plastic packaging and wrappers.
As we are very new to this project, we would love to hear of any ways your families are tackling this
problem! God's rich blessings to you all as we finish out the fast and prepare for Christ's joyous
Resurrection!
In Christ,
Theodore, Katherine, Richard and Megan

JOY PACKS revisited:
We were so happy to hear from many of
you about the success of your bulbs.
Here are a few pictures of the googly
eyes as well.

Eastern Christian Publications Announces
The Home Church
by Fr. Philip Halikias
This book is an attempt to heal the schism of the Church
of Christ by starting at the “Home Church” of mixed
Orthodox and Catholic marriages. It is Fr. Halikias’
doctoral thesis from his studies at the Boston University
School of Theology. According to Archbishop
Elpidophoros of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of
America, “Father Halikias has made an important
contribution, not only to married life, but to ecumenical
relations. His study and assessments of the relationships
of love and marriage between the ‘two lungs’ of
Christianity are as illuminating as they are substantive.”
Bishop Peter Libasci comments: “Father Halikias has
made a great contribution to the formation of the
baptized in the understanding of the Sacrament of
Marriage and family life. Grateful for its publication, I
plan to provide copies of The Home Church to our
Diocesan Office of Faith Formation and our Diocesan Office of Family Life as well as to
our pastors as a reliable means of assisting them in their mission today.” 166 pages with
several color images. $20.00.
Please use the order form below and send with payment to:
Eastern Christian Publications
PO Box 146
Fairfax, VA 22038-0146
Or fax your order to 703-691-0513. You can order online at
https://ecpubs.com/product/the-home-church/
Name:
Street:
City:
Order Form – The Home Church
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_________________________________________________________
_______________ State: ___ Zip: ________ Country _______________
Credit Card # ___________________________ Expiration Date: ______ Code:______
Please send me ______ copies of The Home Church @ $20.00 =
$________
For 5 or more copies, 30% bulk discount: _______ copies @ $14.00 = $________
Shipping: United States: 10% of the total – minimum $7.00
$________
Shipping: International: 25% of the total – minimum $15.00
$________
TOTAL THIS ORDER:
$________

I've been helping my
dad cook dinner lately,
so I attached some
pictures since the theme
for the issue of this
magazine is food. In the
first picture, I was
making tofu and in the
second I was making
curry.
--, Julia Rowe

My dad has been giving me and my sister cooking lessons! This is the
way I described it, titled Beginner Cook!
-- Madeleine Rowe
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes about 2 dozen
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup brown brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 tablespoons pumpkin purée
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)
o
Thank you Miss Eleni for these tasty Lenten goodies!
Combine the shortening and sugars until mixed well (mixture will be thick). Add the vanilla and pumpkin and mix until
smooth.
Combine all the dry ingredients and add to the rest mixing just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Bake rounded balls of dough on an ungreased cookie sheet at 350ºF for about 12-17 minutes or just until they start to puff up a
little. Cool slightly before removing from pan.

Bon Appetit! with the Barretts
Instead of having pizza delivered during COVID, we have taken to
making it at home. This has resulted in a great excitement and
interest in all aspects of what goes into a pizza, from the dough to
the sauce to all the different toppings. Here are some of our
creations:
Since we did not cover the
camera in tomato sauce during
production, Theodore did his
best to recreate the experience
for you in his virtual kitchen.

Brie Dip with Honey & Walnuts
7 oz brie cheese, sliced in ~ ¼” pieces
2 Tbsp honey
2 tsp chopped walnuts
1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Lay cheese horizontal in square 8” pan, stacking &
overlapping them.
3. Drizzle honey over cheese.
4. Sprinkle walnuts.
5. Bake for 15 minutes.
6. Serve hot with crackers.
S’mores Dip
1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. Empty a bag of chocolate morsels in a cast iron pan.
3. Empty a bag of butterscotch morsels over the chocolate
morsels.
4. Cover the top with regular size marshmallows.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until top gets dark golden brown.
6. Remove from oven and enjoy right out of the pan with graham
crackers.
Thank you Carol Salvo for these tasty treats.

Certain foods, and when to eat them.
The morning should start with a light repast, pancakes, so nice and fat, fluffy
scrambled eggs are an option as well, and Danishes do have a wonderful smell.
Hot muffins perhaps, are the menu today, come along, come along, and join in
the fray. Brunch is a crunch between breakfast and lunch, and perhaps should
begin with a gaudy fruit punch, then hash browns and sandwiches also are good,
and the points of eggs Benedict must be understood. Luncheon is next with Cole
slaw galore; homemade is better than bought from the store. Cucumber salad is
deliciously
Cool, and noodles unravel like string from the spool. Dinner is served, the waiter
cries out, and soup is poured out like tea from the spout, tiny sandwiches,
cucumber and cheese, the pickiest of toddlers will please. Macaroni and cheese and
oysters on ice, all of the above are exceedingly nice. Dessert aha! Is last of all, nut
fudge is first, (at last thinks the toddler this is the end, the thing beyond, but he
does not stay in his stupor for long, the cakes come on, lemon and chocolate, jelly
and cream, is this the end of this wonderful dream? No! Look here come the
candy and fruit. What comes next but few can see. Midnight snack is a hurried
delight for it occurs at the end of the night. So pop in some noodles to microwave
and cheddar cheese must not be scathed, with red sauce galore, you have before
you, an accomplishment finer than any at school, but now I see I have come to the
end so I will desist and say farewell.
By Ella Tandilyan