'Christian Ed' Tagged Posts

Recommended Resources for Families These resources were written by Rev. Sarah Griffith Lund the Senior Pastor at First Congregational United Church of Christ (Indianapolis, Indiana) and Minister for Disabilities and Mental Health Justice for the National United Church of Christ.  Through vivid and powerful storytelling, Blessed Youth:   Breaking the Silence about Mental Illness with Children and Teens will remove the barriers of stigma and shame associated with mental illness in children and teens. Readers will know they are not alone and be…

Advent Devotionals Two Advent Devotionals are available as you enter the Sanctuary and near the office. One for families with conversations laid out to have around the dinner table and activities that help children and youth understand the story of Christ’s birth in expanding ways. The second is tailored to adults with a single devotion for each week of Advent and a variety of questions that can be explored as you progress through Advent. These devotionals connect with the Advent…

Hi families, Welcome back and Happy Fall! We are off to a great start this year with lots of smiling faces, some old and some new! We will be starting the service together with our church family weekly in the  Sanctuary.  Children are invited to sit with their families and will experience the beginning of the church service including a special message for all ages before being dismissed to church school.  We are asking that parents pick their children up…

This Tuesday, the leadership of Christian  Education and the church staff received a letter from our beloved Christian Education Director. Devon expressed to the congregation that given the current needs of her family and desire to be near her husband as he faces a difficult health diagnosis, she needs to resign from her position. We have known that this might be necessary for her and have wanted to be as supportive as possible in both her life and her ministry…

Intergenerational Sundays Beginning in October, our Congregation is returning to a tradition of first Sundays, Communion Sundays, encompassing all ages (with a new name). These services will be celebratory of our church family and embracing of our neighbors. Messages for All Ages will be a little longer with the Reflection being a little shorter with the messages from each being connected and anchored in scripture. Children and teens will be invited to participate in reading, taking the collection, greeting, lighting…

Hi Families!Welcome back to church school! This year we are excited to start off the year similar to how we were pre-covid! We are going back to the model where children will first be attending the service with their families before being dismissed to church school with the teachers where we will then gather in the lower hall (Covenant Hall) before going to our classes. The first Sunday of the month is going to be Family Sunday.On Family Sunday the…

Hi Families! Happy Summer! I wanted to first start off by thanking everyone who came to support our children in our annual Children’s day pageant.  It was the first one we were able to hold in the last few years due to Covid and it felt so good to be back!  Fun fact: The animals that the children used were all created by hand by them to use for our Christmas pageant.  If you remember, the Christmas pageant had to…

Hi families!I am excited that we will be having the first in-person Children’sSunday in two years on June 12. Practice for this will be taking placein church school during regular class time on May 29 and June 5.The kids have anxiously been waiting to show you their creationsthat they made for the Christmas pageant which we will beincorporating into our children’s day skit. Please join us afterwardon the side lawn for our annual ice cream social following theservice.June 12 will…

When looking up the definition of a Pastor in the dictionary it tells us that it means “a clergyperson serving a local church or parish.”  When I read that line it seems like such a standard description for such an important person.  A basic and even boring statement that could be used to describe anyone that has even the most basic of knowledge of the Bible or just any simpleton who can lead a group of people.  However, with conviction, I…

Hi Families! I am happy to announce that we are officially mask-free at church school!  Families have the option of doing whatever works best for their children, (either in masks or without masks) but now the masking is optional.  We will still continue to keep the windows open to allow for fresh air circulation and we will still social distance whenever possible as well as sanitize all items regularly. This year we will be celebrating Palm Sunday together as a…

The days are getting longer, the sun is feeling warmer and we are starting to plan for our annual Holy Week and Easter activities at church!  This year we hope to be able to do the Easter egg hunt outdoors (weather permitting) and while keeping socially distant, we hope to all be able to hunt at the same time!  Although we don’t know what the Easter service will look like at the time I am writing this, we are having…

Hello church families! As we continue to make our way through these unchartered covid waters, I want to thank you all for bearing with us and allowing us to continue to be flexible with our programming. We are working hard in these ever-changing times to continue to provide accommodations for classes and Spiritual learning for our littlest members of the church. At this time we have decided on meeting in person. Please Continue to follow the church school Facebook page…

Hi Families! This year we are trying something new for our Christmas Pageant.  If you are interested in having your child participate, below is the following format of how it will be taking place.  As always, please message me with any questions. My idea for the Christmas pageant is based upon the suggestions from the Covid crisis committee.  I have a cute book about the birth of Jesus as told from the animal’s point of view.  I have a list…

Hi families! It’s been so nice to have church school in person and to see all of your smiling faces!! As we head into the advent season we have a few announcements. If you have a child in the nursery or the preschool/ kindergarten classroom we are asking you to please send me a message by Fridays at 6 pm to let us know if your child will be attending church school for that Sunday.  We love to see each…