Recycling Church Icon Bulletins Project

I have always had a hard time just throwing away our weekly bulletins.  It seems disrespectful to me to throw away these icons.  I had a nice size pile of icons in a file folder waiting for an idea on how I could re-use them.  My daughter has always enjoyed working on craft projects with me - so I started an ongoing project with her when she was little.

I bought a spiral binder and sheet protectors.  Then we pulled out some construction paper, markers, scissors, glue, and scrapbooking scissors.  We went to work and created a book about the saints, feasts days, and angels of the Orthodox church.  We'd glue the front part of the icon bulletin onto the construction paper then cut out the back side of the bulletin (many times containing a description of the icon on the front) and glue it to the back side of the construction paper containing the icon on the front.  Each week after church, we'd come home and add another icon to her book.  Many years later, my kids have a decent collection of icons that they can flip through and read about at home.

This is a nice way to re-use these icon bulletins and bring the family together for a craft and discussion about the icons.

I organized the book the following way but feel free to tweak it to your liking:

1.  The Apostles:  They were the first ones to spread the message of Christ and salvation through Him.

2.  The Prophets:  They predicted and prophesied about the coming of Christ.

3.  The Martyrs:  Those that died because they refused to worship anyone but God.

4.  The Fathers and Hierarchs of the Church:  Those who excelled in explaining and defending the Christian faith.

5.  The Monastics:  Those who dedicated themselves to spiritual exercise , reaching, as far as possible, perfection in Christ.

6.  The Just:  Those who lived in the world, leading exemplary lives as clergy or laity with their families, becoming examples for imitation in society.

7.  Feast Days of the Orthodox Church

8.  Angels