Our Love and Grace groups (children who were 5 and 6 in the fall of 2019) will hold their Milestone Celebration with parents in Grundy Hall on March 29.

The Reaching Out Together Milestone invites children to look past themselves and differences they see in people to see common elements, look for ways to show kindness to new friends and see each person they meet as a child of God.

During the Sunday School year guests have visited each group and shared something about themselves.

One guest who uses a walker for safe mobility asked the children if they saw anything different about her and the group was puzzled by the question. They saw the person, not the walker. May we all reach out in this way using the example of this group of children.

Orr children in the Love and Grace group continue their Milestone year as they Reach Out to new friends and experiences. On Nov. 18, guests will visit each group so they can learn about each other and celebrate each person’s uniqueness.

Guest visits will happen each month with different people arriving as guests and leaving as friends. The milestone celebration will be held on April 7.

In April at their Milestone Celebration the children in the Love and Grace groups, along with their parents, will create Manna bags to give to the homeless as a caring act of reaching out. To make the manna bags, the following supplies are needed: 16 or 20 oz. bottles of water, Protein bars (chewy not crunchy) and 4 oz. plastic containers of fruit.

Manna bags, named for the food provided by God in the desert during the Israelites time of wandering, are bags that contain healthy foods or items needed by those living on the streets. Families at the Milestone celebration will be encouraged to carry these in their car to give away when they see someone in need.

Your donation before the Milestone of the three items is appreciated. You will find the collection bin at the Children’s Welcome Desk.

Young Children & Worship begins a new season August 20

A new season of Young Children and Worship begins August 20.  This ministry is offered during both 8:30 and 11:00 worship services and meets in Room CW-110 which is located in the Children’s Ministry Wing.  Mickey Fitts and Deb O’Brien serve as YC&W worship leaders each week.  The groups begin worship in the Sanctuary and dismiss to YC&W after the “Time with Children” or Baptism.  Groups will meet weekly through August 2018.

Click here to register your child!  If you or your child have been participating with us, we ask that you please re-register.

Young Children and Worship (YC&W) is a ministry of worship preparation for young children and their parents.  Parents and their children who are ages 4, 5, or 6 and not entering 1^st grade this fall (Faith, Love, and Grace Sunday School classes) are invited to participate.  It provides a transition time from the church nursery to the hour-long worship service in the Sanctuary, in which our 1^st graders fully participate.

Participation in YC&W  is optional (parent’s choice) as a support to families.  Young children are always welcome to attend the entire Sanctuary worship service at any time parents feel they are ready to participate fully.  We know, however, that it is helpful for some children to have a child-friendly introduction to the traditions, the order of worship, and the elements of worship.

Parents whose children participate in YC&W are also asked to be “helpers” at least one Sunday per month.  This helps equip parents as they guide their child in worship, and also helps parents meet their child’s peer group “community of belonging.”  When you register your child, there will be an opportunity to select your preferences.  A schedule of helpers will be created and communicated by the end of August and will begin in September.