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Flat Jesus

 

My Flat Jesus arrived this week just as it seemed that all the blogs started sharing this ministry of St. James Episcopal Church in Birmingham, Michigan. Meant to be a fun way to bring Jesus along with you on your summer vacation and adventures, I first learned of Flat Jesus about a month ago when I kept seeing him pop up on various friends’ Facebook pages . . . in Ireland, Maine, the beach, the car, and yes – churches. He arrived in a plain brown envelope, with an evangelical message stuck on the front: “Do not bend. Flat Jesus enclosed.”

 

It took a little investigation, and with the help of Google and Facebook I tracked down where I could have my own Flat Jesus to join me on my travels at home and abroad. My first insight into this phenomena was through Elizabeth Kaeton’s blog, Telling Secrets. I believe she was really the first to break this story!

Of course, Flat Jesus has his roots in Flat Stanley, a childhood favorite book. And before Flat Jesus, was Flat Andy, of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. Started awhile ago, anyone can get a Flat Andy by simply downloading him from their website. Coloring and lamination on your own.

St. James sends along some instructions (printed on the back of Flat Jesus):

  • Take your Flat Jesus everywhere with you this summer and takes lots of pictures.
  • You can upload your pictures through Facebook
  • Talk with your family about what you and Flat Jesus experienced.

Since I’ve had Flat Jesus, he has come along with me to preach and visited with my dad at his Assisted Living apartment. (Dad just shook his head.)

 

 

About the Author

  • Sharon Ely Pearson recently retired as Editor & Christian Formation Specialist with Church Publishing Incorporated (CPI) with 35+ years of experience in Christian formation on the local, judicatory, and church-wide level. Known for her knowledge of the variety of published curricula across the Church, she has also had her hand in the birthing of numerous books, including the best-seller, Call on Me: A Prayer Book for Young People and the 6-book series of Faithful Celebrations: Making Time for God. A graduate of Virginia Theological Seminary (2003) and a lifelong Episcopalian, she lives in Norwalk, Connecticut with her husband John, a 17.5 lb. cat named Shadow, and Chobe, a 7-year-old, tennis-ball-fetching, rescue black lab. They have two adult children (both teachers) and a 5-year-old granddaughter who is a budding environmental activist. Follow her at www.rowsofsharon.com.

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