Beloved Friends and Families with Kids,
Last week we spent time exploring the ways counting can help us pray. We read most of Matthew 18 with the kids and saw all kinds of counting and math and numbers in the stories. Jesus invited his disciples to stop counting the wrongs of others and to stop ranking each other's status. He showed them how valuable each one of us is, and how to count each other as sacred. We tried a five-finger tap prayer for those of us who feel lots of energy through the day and a bouncing ball prayer for those who love to play. It was a beautiful morning together, and we are so thankful for the ways God invites us to pray in all kinds of ways. You can check out a more detailed explanation and ideas for counting with prayer here.
SUNDAY
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 start of worship and then be dismissed to head to their classrooms together. They can begin service with their families or sit with Pastor Mary and me in the front pews. If they are coming early with parents who are in a Sunday School class, they can be dropped off upstairs at 8:50 AM. This week we will continue to explore prayer with our kids, and our focus this Sunday is on trust as a form of prayer. Our kids and leaders will get to act out the story of Daniel and explore all the ways that trust is part of our everyday experience (even with eating!). We hope that families will spend time talking about prayer at home and all the ways we were created to communicate with God, both in speaking to God and in listening to God's voice in our lives.
Discussion Questions for the Table at Home:
Who is someone you have found to be really trustworthy?
Does God feel like someone you can trust? Why or why not?
How might speaking words of trust out loud in prayer help us to grow in trust?
YOUTH
This week our youth are invited to join our regular gathering after worship. We will get to work on the prayer installation for the congregation and pray as we work together. We love our youth and are so thankful for their presence in our church family!
Have a wonderful weekend, and thanks for being such a special community of families!
With deep affection for you,
Pastor Lindsay