Hi Friends,
I imagine that you, like me, you have been hugging your kids a little extra this week and navigating some heavy conversations at home. I'm grateful that tomorrow we can gather as a church family to ground ourselves in love and hope as we process our collective grief. We are mindful that our kids are in an especially tender place as they try to make sense of the world around them. The last two Sundays we have made promises to love and support our kids during each baby dedication, and this Sunday is a chance to live that out in a more explicit way. We will take the first part of our worship service to offer a special blessing over our kids, so please come a little before 10:30 AM to settle in the sanctuary. Blessings are one of the simple but profound and sacred acts that we do to hold one another up and proclaim the power of life over death in Jesus. We will also be honoring our two high school seniors, so it will be a special morning together as the body of Christ. I hope to see you tomorrow and am here to pray with and for your family.
And as a reminder, over the next few weeks you can continue to play hymns at home and invite your kids to listen, too. This week's hymn is particularly timely given recent events, so I pray your family can find peace in singing it over one another.
KIDS
Our nursery room is open this Sunday for babies and toddlers four years old and under. Childcare will be open starting at 8:50 AM for those who are attending Sunday School before service.
Our kids five to ten years old will join us in the sanctuary for the first part of worship. They can sit with us in the front pews or with their parents, and then we will be dismissed to head to our kid spaces together. If they are coming early with parents who are in a Sunday School class, they can be dropped off upstairs at 8:50 AM. (If you need help finding the upstairs classrooms, just text Pastor Lindsay and we will help you find your way!)
In light of recent events, this week I want to share this resource that offers some tips on making space for conversation around school violence. It is geared toward youth but is easily adaptable to younger kids as well.
YOUTH
The youth will gather for our usual time of lunch and discussion after worship. We'll gather in the lobby after service ends, and you can pick your youth up at the front gate on Marengo at 1:30 PM (or text me if you want to pick them up on Union Street).
Have a wonderful weekend and a blessed Sunday of worship!
With love and gratitude for you,
Pastor Lindsay
P.S. Here is a prayer for your family to use—or I encourage you to invite your kids to help write a family prayer together.
Merciful God,
Tonight you hear and see us as we cry out for justice, peace, and goodness to prevail. Thank you that you understand our groans, sighs, and deep pains that words fail to express. Liberation is at the heart of your gospel, but there is still so much we are not free from. We see our country imploding and entangled in sin; the division feels permanent and the wounds too deep for healing.
But we proclaim that You alone are God and that You are good. You are enough for us even when we feel helpless and become weary. You remain enthroned above it all, but You also promise to be with us in the midst of chaos and fear. So we ask that your Spirit and Your Presence would fall afresh on us this evening. Where we have been wounded and re-traumatized, begin a work of divine healing. When anger threatens to consume us, draw us near to your heart and show us your path of righteousness. Steady our trembling hearts and calm our anxious minds so that we would experience deep rest and renewed strength.
These times call for us to root ourselves deeply in You and in the bond of love we share with one another. Knit us together as the body of Christ, and keep us on the path you have called us to follow together. We breathe in your peace and exhale our despair. As many breaths as it takes, settle us in You. And when we wake in the morning, would the sunrise renew our hope in the light of Christ.
Amen.