August 14: Youth & Parent Kickoff! Rising 6th-12 Graders and Parents meet from 5:00-6:30 p.m.
August 28: Alight – 4th & 5th grade children’s fellowship begins (see below)
Sept. 11: Sunday School Kick-off and return to 8:30 and 11 o’clock worship services (see below)
WORSHIP
We will continue with one 10 o’clock worship service through August. Beginning Sunday, September 11th, we will return to two worship services at 8:30 am and 11:00 am with Sunday School classes offered for all ages during the hour in-between. We offer children’s take-home worship bags during both services with puzzles, coloring activities, and stickers to keep their hands busy as they listen and participate in worship. We look forward to our Blessing of the Backpacks for all students on Sunday, August 7th! Children will come back from WOW before the end of the service, and students of all ages will receive a blessing and a gift to keep with them and remind them of God’s love all throughout the school year.
WOW Children’s Worship
Worship Our Way is a Montessori-style children’s worship offered during the 10 o’clock service (11 o’clock service September through May). Children ages 3 (potty-trained) through 5th grade begin worshipping in the sanctuary with their families, and then are called forward to join Miss Jen and Miss Sarah for WOW. During WOW children continue to worship in a child-friendly way hearing a Bible story, responding and talking about it, singing, and praying. We do our best to end around the same time as the service in the sanctuary, but may be finishing when parents arrive. Parents are asked to wait in the hallway, and we will dismiss children by family as soon as we finish our worship time together! We will have 4 weeks of Orientation during WOW this year, beginning August 21st as we kick-off our WOW story schedule. Each week will build on each other as we learn 1.) about being in the space together, 2.) talking to God and each other, 3.) using the materials and singing, and then 4.) hear our first story. Parents are always welcome to join us in WOW, but Orientation is a great time for parents to join children who are unsure or trying WOW for the first time!
SUNDAY SCHOOL
Sunday School classes offer a time for children, youth, and adults to dive deeper into exploring the Bible stories and learning Christian practices. Our children’s and youth classes are offered by age group: Pre-K and Kindergarten, 1st & 2nd grades, 3rd & 4th grades, 5th to 8th grades, and 9th to 12th grades. We will kick-off Sunday School on Sunday, September 11th. Sunday School meets each week from 9:40 – 10:40 am. We are still looking for additional volunteers to join our Sunday School teaching teams! We teach in teams of 3 so that leaders can rotate who facilitates the class and so we can cover the class when teachers are out of town or out sick. If you are interested in joining a teaching team, please let me know!
3rd & 4th GRADE BIBLE & BIBLE DICTIONARY PRESENTATION
Rising 3rd and 4th graders will be recognized and presented with either a Bible (3rd) or a Bible Dictionary (4th) on Sunday, September 11th during the 11 o’clock service. We hope that many of the children will be there to receive their Bibles and Bible Dictionaries that day as we celebrate this special milestone on their faith journey!
ALIGHT
NEW! This Fall we will begin a monthly Sunday Fellowship Group for 4th and 5th graders. Once a month we will gather from 4-5 pm for recreation, mission projects, and fun to build our church friendships and learn more about actively following Jesus as disciples and living out our faith. Friends are welcome! Parent volunteers are welcome! Alight will meet on the following dates: August 28, September 25, October 23, November 20, January 22, February 26, March 26, April 23
ALL-CHURCH EVENTS
We have many all-church events – new and well-loved – planned for this year for fellowship, seasonal experiences, helping others, and growing our faith. Watch the Friday e-blast and the Children’s and Youth Ministry Weekly (which will start back in a couple weeks) for details on those events for your whole family to connect, learn, grow, and share God’s love this year!
