With only a dozen or so school days left, summer is just around the corner! I wanted to share some important dates and info with you - so get out your calendars and smartphones!
On May 29, we will be having a Celebration Day at the new church property on Highway 50. This will be a casual 10:45AM service (care provided for 3-5 year olds), followed by lunch on the grounds! Check out your bulletin to see what to bring.
That means that there are only 2 more Sundays before our Summer Sundays schedule begins (more on that in a minute). Will you take a moment in the next 2 Sundays to say a special "thank you" to your children's Sunday School teachers? We have wonderful teachers who love the kids so much and put lots of time, energy, and effort into their classes each week. A note or story about something your child has learned would mean so much.
VBS is coming May 31-June 3. You (and your friends) can sign-up at www.columbiagrace.org! We are looking forward to a fun week as always! Your family won't want to miss it! VBS Sunday will be June 5 during the 2nd service. Children will sit with their families in the VBS celebration service. The nursery will be opened this hour, NO classes in the children's building. (During the 1st service, nursery and preschool classes will meet as usual with all K-5th grade children upstairs.)
June 12 will begin our Summer Sundays schedule. Nursery and preschool classes will meet as usual. All K-5th graders will meet for children's church in the chapel during the 9:15 service. 10:45 will be the Sunday School time for all elementary children. During the summer, we give our teachers the summer off to rest and re-energize. If you are willing and available to serve in a class for one or two Sundays during the summer, let me know and we'll get you plugged into the fun! (Yes, I already have some of you on "my list"!)
Camp dates are as follows:
Preteen (finished 5th or 6th grade): June 20 - 24 ($150) Absolute last day to sign up is June 5.
Middler (finished 3rd or 4th grade): June 27 - July 1 ($150) Absolute last day to sign up is June 12.
Primary (finished 1st or 2nd grade): July 11 - 14 ($135) Absolute last day to sign up is June 26.
This is a "spend the night away" camp at our Nazarene Campground in Dickson, TN. The kids who go from our church will all be together and will be with the counselors from our church. (Yes, we need parents to be counselors!) Please do not let money stop your child from one of the most important experiences of their life. We can find money if your child wants to go to camp! If you have any other questions, I will be more than happy to answer them! Camp is the best!! Once you are signed up, you will get a letter about a week out with last minute reminders and details.
July 17: Move up lunch for families of kids moving into the Student Ministry - In the Loft, following 2nd service
July 26: Nashville Shores - Meet at the church at 8:00AM. We will return to the church at 5:00PM
July 31: Promotion Sunday - All children who will be 3 before October 1st will move to their new classes. Also, new large group/small group format begins for K-5th graders. More details to follow!
Thanks for your support and for allowing me to serve you and your family! If there is ever anything I can do for you, please let me know! If you ever have concerns that need to be addressed, please tell me! I can't fix it, if I don't know it's broken! You are wonderful parents and it is my honor to help you raise people of God!
Showing posts with label Grace Kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grace Kids. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
A Faith to Share
This was originally an email written to the Grace Kids ministry team, but it shows the heart of our team so I wanted to share it here . . .
Hi, everyone! For Lent this year rather than "giving something up", I felt that I needed more to commit to a dedicated time of reading each day in the office. It is easy to come in and get in a "tizzy" with all of the plannng and people things that need to be done and the days just slip away. With that said, I wanted to share with you one of the nuggets I discovered this week . . . .
The chapter I was reading started off by asking what benefit do our children get from going to church/Sunday School over, say, worshipping at home as a family on Sundays. Or what about a baby in the nursery? Is that really important? Does it matter to a child's faith development at such a young age? The truth (and the goal) is that every activity is "grounded in the belief that we are sharing our faith". We should think of our teaching opportunities as invitations to children to come and soak up some of our faith in Jesus.
When we plan a party or other event where we invite people, there are always preparations to be made - the cleaning, the menu, the entertainment, etc. The same is true with our class planning. We want the room to be in good order, we must have a solid (Biblically based, relevant) plan, children deserve engaging activities. But the point of the party is not the menu and the entertainment. Those things only serve to point to the reason for celebrating - the birthday, anniversary, new baby, etc. In the same way our lesson planning and activities are merely the means to an end - the celebration of the Good News of Jesus and who he is to us!
What a privilege to have a captive audience with whom to share our faith each week! I bet your neighbors and co-workers don't come bustling in for an hour each week to hear you tell them everything you can about the God who made and loves them, but that is exactly what we, as teachers, get - kids who are ready to absorb everything we teach them (on purpose or not) about God.
Wow! Let's not pass up the opportunities that we have to take this captive audience and point them to Jesus! Let's us every means available! Let's employ all of their senses! Let's model in word and deed the love that can only come from God!
Then when someone asks "Does it really matter if my kids are in church this Sunday or Wednesday?"; we know that with God's help we can faithfully answer "Yes, they are invited to a celebration and they won't want to miss it!".
Hi, everyone! For Lent this year rather than "giving something up", I felt that I needed more to commit to a dedicated time of reading each day in the office. It is easy to come in and get in a "tizzy" with all of the plannng and people things that need to be done and the days just slip away. With that said, I wanted to share with you one of the nuggets I discovered this week . . . .
The chapter I was reading started off by asking what benefit do our children get from going to church/Sunday School over, say, worshipping at home as a family on Sundays. Or what about a baby in the nursery? Is that really important? Does it matter to a child's faith development at such a young age? The truth (and the goal) is that every activity is "grounded in the belief that we are sharing our faith". We should think of our teaching opportunities as invitations to children to come and soak up some of our faith in Jesus.
When we plan a party or other event where we invite people, there are always preparations to be made - the cleaning, the menu, the entertainment, etc. The same is true with our class planning. We want the room to be in good order, we must have a solid (Biblically based, relevant) plan, children deserve engaging activities. But the point of the party is not the menu and the entertainment. Those things only serve to point to the reason for celebrating - the birthday, anniversary, new baby, etc. In the same way our lesson planning and activities are merely the means to an end - the celebration of the Good News of Jesus and who he is to us!
What a privilege to have a captive audience with whom to share our faith each week! I bet your neighbors and co-workers don't come bustling in for an hour each week to hear you tell them everything you can about the God who made and loves them, but that is exactly what we, as teachers, get - kids who are ready to absorb everything we teach them (on purpose or not) about God.
Wow! Let's not pass up the opportunities that we have to take this captive audience and point them to Jesus! Let's us every means available! Let's employ all of their senses! Let's model in word and deed the love that can only come from God!
Then when someone asks "Does it really matter if my kids are in church this Sunday or Wednesday?"; we know that with God's help we can faithfully answer "Yes, they are invited to a celebration and they won't want to miss it!".
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