Dedication of churches

Imagine you and your family built a house for yourselves but you couldn't move in until you picked the perfect day to celebrate all your hard work! In a similar way, when a church is built, it's not used for worship immediately like you would think.

When we build a church, we take time to celebrate its completion by dedicating it to God. This is like saying, "This is God's house now." We don't just barge in and start using it! We want to make sure everything is perfect before giving it to God.

To dedicate a church, we plan special ceremonies with lots of prayers, blessings, and singing. We also invite important people like bishops, priests, and other community members to be a part of the celebration. When everyone arrives, we make sure the church is clean, shiny, and decorated with flowers.

During the ceremony, the bishop blesses every corner of the church with holy water and oil. He says special prayers to ask God to bless the building and all who enter. We also set up an altar where we place a Bible, candles, and other holy things. This is where we will worship God from now on.

Then, we place a chalice (a special cup) on the altar, which is used to hold Holy Communion, which is a special part of the church service where we eat bread and drink wine to remember Jesus. The bishop fills the chalice with wine and says special prayers over it. We also put a very old and important document in the wall called the "foundation stone," which reminds everyone of the special day the church was built.

Finally, we celebrate with a big feast! Everyone who came brings food to share, and we eat, sing, and dance. This is a special day because we have given God a brand new house to worship in, and we will continue to celebrate our dedication every year!