Grace Notes Articles

Amanda Kelly	2010 Articles
	Jan	Feb	Aug
Amanda Kelly is Director of Children's Ministries. More about Amanda

August 2010

Except for maybe a few parents, no one wants to celebrate the start of a new school year! So let's celebrate having had a wonderful summer with a day of fun for the whole family! Please join us Sunday, August 29 for a special guest and lots of fun activities! Brian Getz will be doing a special presentation of the Parable of the Talents during the 9:25am service. Brian does a special ministry that blends the power of God's Word with the fun of balloons - it's a service people of ALL AGES will enjoy! Afterwards, we hope you will join us for our Ice Cream Social. There will be hotdogs and ice cream, of course, but this year we are also planning some fun activities! There will be a bounce house and face painting for the kiddos and some fun carnival-style games for everyone. Invite your friends, and plan to hear a great lesson, eat some good food, and have a wonderful time!

February 2010

LET’S KEEP OUR CHILDREN SAFE!

We are blessed to have such a wonderful Nursery/Toddler facility at Grace UMC.  An even greater blessing is the presence of children in the nursery.  Because the number of children participating in the life of the church is growing (yay!), Grace UMC is implementing a more secure and structured “check in/check-out” policy throughout the building, beginning with our youngest parishioners.

The Nursery is only available for children ages birth – 4.  From age 5, the children are expected to sit for a short time in the worship service, and then are released with the rest of the children to Children’s Worship.  It is important to abide by this age limit as it hinders the effectiveness of the facility to accommodate the babies and toddlers if older children are present.  Four year olds are also welcome to attend Children’s Worship just let the nursery staff know and they will take your child to the Chapel at that time..

You may have already noticed that the furniture has been rearranged.  If you would please remove your child[ren]’s coat in the foyer area and utilize the cubbies for diaper bags and such, that alleviates the constant parade of adults in and out of the Nursery itself.  After removing your child[ren]’s coat and stashing their belongings, please hand your child to a nursery worker over the baby gate.  Our preference is for parents/guardians to remain in the foyer area.  Why are we requesting this?

1. Safety.  A room full of toddlers is by its very nature somewhat chaotic, and if the door is constantly being opened and closed as adults come in and out, it is difficult for the childcare workers to make sure that every child is leaving with the appropriate adult and that no children are slipping out without supervision.
2. Cleanliness.  Our shoes are covered with all kinds of germs and yucky stuff.  Toddlers spend a majority of their time on the floor and are still very prone to putting their hands (and everything else!) in their mouth.  The less traffic in the room, the cleaner the floor.

The Nursery also requires an information card on file for each of the children.  The information requested is: allergies, contact information while children are in the nursery, approved pick-up persons. We must, for insurance purposes, abide by the guardians' Approved Person Pickup-up list. Your child[ren]'s information card. If you know that someone not listed on your child[ren]'s card will be picking them up, you must notify a childcare worker.

The children at Grace UMC are very important members of our church family, and we want to do all we can to ensure they are able to learn about and experience God's grace and love in a safe environment. If you have any questions, please contact Amanday Kelly (Director of Children's Ministries) or Rev. Stacee.

“And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.”  (Mark 1:17)

The kids in Sunday School are learning about becoming disciples of Christ by learning about the calling of the very first disciples.  These were not perfect people or special people – the first disciples were simple fishermen! Jesus calls us to follow Him and share His story – we can all be His disciples and fish for people!

 

 

 

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January, 2010

What’s Going on in the Children’s Department?

The kids at Grace UMC have been VERY busy lately! The Children’s Choir did an amazing job singing at the Celebration of Lights - and looked fabulous in their costumes! They also sang beautifully at the Christmas Eve service. A big “Thank - you” to all of the parents for bringing their children to rehearsals!

In Sunday School, the kids have spent the month learning about the three wise men and their journey following the star of Bethlehem. Along the way, we have talked about the different ways Christmas is celebrated all over the world! Did you know that in Mexico they celebrate the news of Christ’s birth by ringing church bells, blowing whistles, and setting off fireworks at midnight on Christmas Eve? Or that in Ghana, instead of using evergreens in their décor, they decorate their homes with palm branches and beautiful flowers? Or that a lot of ‘our, American’ Christmas traditions actually originated in Germany?

Sunday evenings have also been busy at Grace UMC as we have had some special Graceful Arts programming. We had a family meal, and with the help of Dr. Kurt and Lisa Kingseed, each family got to make an advent wreath for their home. We also made decorations for the Rescue Mission’s Thanksgiving Dinner, Lisa Emry and Anita Miles helped the kids make Christmas Cards for several members of our congregation, and Jayna Beutler taught the kids the meaning of the Chrismonds and helped them make ornaments for our tree in the Children’s Area.

Those of you who were in service for our Special Guest, know that the biggest news coming out of the Children’s Department is that we have not only met, but exceeded our goal for our Heifer International Project! The kids raised over $175! That was enough to sponsor the gift of a goat and a couple of boxes of chicks to a less fortunate family over seas! The milk, cheese, and eggs will provide nourishment and income - and the training that Heifer International provides will truly impact an entire village! Thank you to all who helped by adding your extra coins to the kids’ banks! The next project the kids have decided to do is through Project Water - we are going to raise money to provide people in Africa and India with fresh water! Stay tuned for more details!

Programming Note: Starting in January, Graceful Arts will be from 5:30-7pm every Sunday. This will include Children’s Choir rehearsal, a snack, and a lesson with a craft or game. Don’t miss the fun!

If you would like to help in the Children’s Area - teaching, doing crafts, providing snacks, etc. - be sure to talk to Amanda Kelly!