Sunday Special EP 4

Hi, Friends!

Happy Palm Sunday! We had planned for our kid and adult choirs to sing together and lead us in worship this Sunday. So, there is an extra sadness in being apart this morning. But there is also an unexpected blessing that four weeks into quarantine, I am certain we have all been thinking of each other more and connecting as a church in new ways. So this morning, this Palm Sunday, we will rejoice and enter into Holy Week together even if we are six feet (or more) apart. I hope you will join us for each step of the way to Easter!

Pastor Mary and I have a new video in honor of Palm Sunday, and we pray it blesses all who watch! Brody shows up as usual, and we explain all sorts of props that kids can choose to bring to worship this morning in their own homes. 

Click here to watch the new video!

After you watch the video, you and your family members can use the following discussion prompts and activities to apply the lesson—woot!

Talk It Out

  • Recap: What happened on Palm Sunday?

  • Check In With Yourself: Are you feeling ready to celebrate and cheer for Jesus today? If not, what are you feeling today? Tell God about it!

  • Wonder: What are you wondering right now as you think about that first Palm Sunday when Jesus came riding into town on a donkey?

Apply It

Ways you can celebrate your own Palm Sunday:

  • Gather some leaves of any kind! If you can't find any leaves outside, you can make your own using paper, scissors, and glue/tape. You can trace your hand to make leaves if you want, or make any shape you like. You could also make a palm branch using anything else you have around the house—be creative!

  • Find a favorite coat, sweatshirt, robe, or blanket. We show Jesus honor by laying down things that are special to us.

  • Make a parade route through your house using your "cloak" and branches. You can walk the parade route shouting "Hosanna!" and anything else that you want to say to praise Jesus. You could also play this song as you go!

  • Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Jesus' path to the cross. Think about a time when you had to make a hard journey—maybe it's right now as you make this journey of social distancing and being home all the time. Ask God to help you get through this time. Draw a picture of a "road through quarantine" and draw pictures of blessings you have along the way.

Remember, you can talk to God about anything anytime! You can tell God how you feel, what you need, and anything else that is on your mind. And don't forget that thanking God can help us feel more calm and happy inside.

We are praying for you! Please remember to email/call/text with any prayer requests you have.   

Much love,

Pastors Lindsay and Mary




Special Request for Parents

Hi, Parents!

We have a very special and fun request for you in preparation for Easter. Would you be willing to make a short video of your child saying "Christ is Risen" or "Christ is Risen, indeed!" (their choice!)? We are going to string all the videos of our kids together to share with the church on Easter Sunday. It will be a special way to celebrate the goodness of Easter morning and include the voices of our younger church family members. Your child can shout, jump, dance, sit, sing—however they want to express their joy for the moment while proclaiming that Christ is risen.

All you need to do is text or email me your video clip by Wednesday, April 8th, and we will do the rest! If possible, hold your phone camera to capture the horizontal view. No names or identifying information will be used. Let me know if you have any questions.

Sending you so much ❤️!

Pastors Lindsay and Mary

FBCP Families | Weekday Wonders 3

Hi, Friends!

I hope that you are feeling loved today (and every day!) by your church family. You are a blessing to us as a staff and quite simply the best church family we could ask for. We hope the following resources will bless you if you need them (but feel free to ignore if you are a little overly resourced right now!). Know that they are coming to you with lots of love and support!

Without further ado, here are some weekday wonders for you that we are excited to share:

New Wonders

Food Scavenger Hunt

Here is another version of a neighborhood food scavenger hunt. Instead of bears in the windows, this hunt comes with pictures of food for kids to find posted. It's from a site I love called CookSmarts, and it's free! We would love to see photos if you end up going on a food hunt. 

Make a Stringed Instrument

Wishing you had signed your kid up for music lessons before quarantine life started? Not to fear! They can learn some science and some musical skills by making their own stringed instrument. And here is a fun link to this ukulele lesson taught by two adorable kids. 

Learn to Code

If you/your child wants to learn how to code for free, then head over to this amazing site for lessons and projects to create. 

Resource Hub

And, of course, our Thriving at Home page is still live and expanding. Let us know if you have something to add.

Sunday specials

Sunday video

This Sunday, Pastor Mary and I are sharing a video about Palm Sunday! We know the kids were supposed to sing in church, but we explain how they can have a Palm Sunday Parade at home (since we are being the church in our homes!). Brody thoroughly enjoyed waving his palm leaf, so we hope your kids enjoy their own celebration of Jesus. Oh, and you can always check out previous Sunday worship stuff at this page on our website.

Youth Hangout! 

We had so much fun seeing our youth last week, and we will continue to Zoom with them every Sunday at noon. Here is the meeting link that you can use each week to hop on the hangout. We are working on some fun things to do while we hang out, and we are working on some weekday gatherings in the coming weeks. Yay for youth—we love you!

Connection Corner

Parent Zoom

We had so much fun with our parent hangout last night! Our next zoom will be open to kids and parents, and we will send out information in our next email about how to join that. Yay for being able to at least see your beautiful faces and hear your familiar  voices!

Keep In Touch (safely!)

Pastor Mary and I will continue to reach out to families and make sure you have  what you need, but we are always a phone call, text, or email away! We can pray, tell you a joke, figure out a way to get you supplies, entertain your child so you can drink some coffee—whatever you need. You also will be hearing from someone else in the church who is one of our Connection Team leaders, and they are eager to come alongside you as well. 

Sending you so much love and virtual hugs!

So grateful for you,

Pastor Lindsay and Pastor Mary




Sunday Special EP 3

Hi, Friends!

Happy Sunday! It's hard to believe it's been three weeks since we were last together. In some ways, we feel like we see you often since we have been thinking of you nonstop! We hope you got the link to the third "Liturgy for the Living Room" from John Jay and that you are finding your own ways to create a new rhythm on Sunday mornings. Pastor Leslie gave some great tips for that in her Daily Encouragement from Saturday in case you missed it!

Pastor Mary and I have a new video for you today, and it's about something we think everyone can relate to: disappointment. We jump into the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis because it turns out he knows a thing or two about being disappointed. We hope you will join us!

Click here to watch the new video!

After you watch the video, you and your family members can use the following discussion prompts and activities to apply the lesson—woot!

Talk It Out

  • Recap: What were some reasons we can imagine Joseph was disappointed?

  • Check In With Yourself: How are you or others in your house feeling disappointed? Have you expressed that to God yet?

  • Wonder: What are you wondering right now as you think about dealing with disappointment? 

Apply It

Ways you can respond to disappointment:

  • On a sheet of paper, draw a line down the middle from top to bottom. On the left side, draw a sad face at the top and list things you are disappointed about. On the right side, draw a present at the top and  list things you are grateful for in this season. What are the special gifts God is giving you during this time? You could also post this somewhere for your family to see and add to.

  • Take a minute to express it with your body: stomp your feet or march around the room for a minute or two. After the time is up, then picture yourself handing your disappointment  to God and choose something fun or calming to do.

  • Use your blocks or legos to build a tower of disappointment. As you add blocks, name whatever it is you are feeling disappointed about. Then knock it down and rebuild it by naming something you are grateful or hopeful for as you add  each block.

  • Grab some paint and try to use colors and brushstrokes to reflect how you feel in your moment of disappointment. After you are done, say a prayer to God asking for help to deal with disappointment and to show you the good things He is doing in your life.

Remember, you can talk to God about anything anytime! You can tell God how you feel, what you need, and anything else that is on your mind. And don't forget that thanking God can help us feel more calm and happy inside.

We are praying for you! Please remember to email/call/text with any prayer requests you have.  

 

So much love,

Pastors Lindsay and Mary

FBCP Families | Weekday Wonders 2

Hi, Friends!

One of the best blessings of this strange time is that you and all the kiddos are on my heart in an amplified way. It is a joy to think about you and your families every time I get a new resource in my inbox or hear a good idea from another parent. You are shaping how I move through this season, and that is quite special and lovely. I know the same is certainly true for Pastor Mary, and I hope you have been able to receive her texts and emails full of so much sincere love for you. It's so fun for us to think about you all week!

We know you have lots coming at you, so here is how our communication will flow each week moving forward. On Sunday you can find our video on the Liturgy for the Living Room post, and we will continue to email it out with discussion questions and activities. On Monday we will send out a playlist of worship songs for your kids to listen/sing/dance to throughout the week. On Thursday we will send out the Weekly Wonder with some new resources and updates.

Also, Easter is approaching, and we are working hard to plan some special ways for everyone to observe Holy Week. Stay tuned for more on that, including a special Easter project for our kids!

Without further ado, here are some weekday wonders for you that we are excited to share; this week they are homegrown and easy to do! 

New Wonders

Make everyday life a game!

This fun and helpful idea is brought to you by Natalee, one of our wonderful parents at FBCP. All you need is some paper, a pen, and a few ideas to make a board game that has chores, school work, and random fun things to do throughout the day. Fill it with whatever works for your kids! She says her boys love to complete their board games and get stuff done. If you make one, send us a photo and tell us how it went!

Spread Some WINDOW Love to Your Neighbors

I saw this window full of encouraging words while driving through the neighborhood (Brody missed his car seat), and I thought your kids might also want to bless those who walk by. It's hard to see, but the hearts have sweet notes like "Give Thanks" and "Flatten the Curve." It would be fun to have your kids choose a blessing to pour out to your neighborhood and post them for all to see! You could even write our church website address and an invitation for people to connect with our community and join our Sunday liturgy. Send us pictures if you fill your windows with love!

Similarly, you can go on a bear and rainbow hunt! Check out these ideas to start in your neighborhood (or play along if other kids have already begun).

Create your own escape room!

You can download this set of materials to show you how to create an escape room! We would love to hear about any cool ideas you have (and if you are stuck inside your mastermind!).

Resource Hub

And, of course, our Thriving at Home page is still live and expanding. Let us know if you have something to add.

Sunday specials

sunday video

This Sunday, Pastor Mary and I are sharing a new video about how to respond to disappointment. We are following social distancing rules, but don't worry—Pastor Mary, Brody, the tent and I will all be in it. We can't wait to "see" you Sunday! Oh, and you can always check out previous Sunday worship stuff at this page on our website.

Youth Hangout! 

We had so much fun seeing our youth last week, and we will continue to Zoom with them every Sunday at noon. Here is the meeting link that you can use each week to hop on the hangout. We are planning some fun things to do while we hang out in addition to some weekday gatherings in the coming weeks. Yay for youth—we love you!

Connection Corner

Parent Zoom

We had so much fun with our little parent hangout on Wednesday! It was a time of much laughter and beautiful faces. I know some of you were unable to join at that time, so our next one will take place in the evening for those who can’t take a break to chat during the day. You can join us for our next Parent Hangout on Thursday, April 2, at 8pm by clicking this link and using the Zoom app. Let Pastor Lindsay know if you need help with that!

Keep In Touch (safely!)

Pastor Mary and I will continue to reach out to families and make sure you have  what you need, but we are always a phone call, text, or email away! We can pray, tell you a joke, figure out a way to get you supplies, entertain your child so you can drink some coffee—whatever you need. You also will be hearing from someone else in the church who is one of our Connection Team leaders, and they are eager to come alongside you as well. 

Sending you so much love and virtual hugs!




John Jay, Gretchen and Bill

From Bill E.

We all know the story of Noah's ark and the great flood. I look at what we are going thru as being on the ark. Darkness, loneliness, and isolation. But this isn't quite true. We are the family on the ark. We are close and connected to each other every day. We know that the floodwaters subsided, the clouds cleared and some have said, a rainbow appeared in the sky. This is God's promise to us, that he is with us always. Even though we are in troubled times...this too shall pass.

There will be rainbows again. 

(Bill’s reflection reminded me of this song below. One of my favorites. -Pastor John Jay)

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Sunday Special | EP 2

Hi, Friends!

It's Sunday morning, and we are worshipping with you in spirit and in love! We hope you got the link to the second "Liturgy for the Living Room" from John Jay and that you are finding your own ways to create a new rhythm on Sunday mornings. 

Pastor Mary and I are excited to bring you a new video today! It's all about building an altar, which is just a fancy way of describing a special place to hang out with God and pray. We think prayer and hanging out with God are going to be pretty important these days, and we looked at the story of Abraham in Genesis 12 for those who want to do some further reading. In Abraham's case, God called him to go somewhere new and trust that God was doing a great work in all of the uncertainty. We aren't going anywhere physically, but we are in a new kind of "place" in our lives. So, we are thinking about the ways God is calling us to trust that He is still working in this strange time. And in all of it, we are going to pray and hang out with God!

After you watch the video, you and your family members can use the following discussion prompts and activities to apply the lesson—woot!

Talk It Out

  • Recap: Why did Abraham build altars, and why might we build an altar?

  • Check In With Yourself: How are you feeling? What do you want to talk to God about in prayer?

  • Wonder: What are you wondering right now as you think about building an altar? 

Apply It

Ways you can build an altar to hang out with God:

  • Gather your Bible and maybe a comfy blanket.

  • Make a prayer chain by cutting strips of paper, writing down prayer requests on each strip, and gluing/taping/stapling them together. Then use it to help you pray to God. Don't forget to include praises!

  • Use sticky notes or notecards to write down some prayers. Post them somewhere so you can see them and pray. 

  • Use blocks or legos to build a prayer and blessing tower. As you add a block/lego, pray for something/someone and watch your prayers stack up!

  • Use a flashlight, lamp, or a candle (with adult supervision!) to help you settle into a special time with God.

  • Find some rocks from outside and use a marker to write down things you want to pray about. When you're hanging out at your altar, pick one stone up at a time and pray over that specific request. 

Remember, you can talk to God about anything anytime! You can tell God how you feel, what you need, and anything else that is on your mind. And don't forget that thanking God can help us feel more calm and happy inside. 

We are praying for you! Please remember to email/call/text with any prayer requests you have.  We love you and can’t wait to be with you again.

Sending so much love,

Pastors Lindsay and Mary

In Pasadena as it is in Heaven

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