Sunday Special | EP 24

Happy Sunday, Friends!

Last week we led through a blessing of all the important places in your home in preparation for the start of school. This week we have some encouraging verses to share with you and ideas for ways you can use scripture to help you when you feel afraid or overwhelmed.  Make sure you see the printout below to make your own scripture cards!

Here is the handout with the verses that you can cut out. We also encourage you to write or type your own favorite verses from the Bible on notes, too.  (Here is the Google Doc version in case you want to make up some more!). We pray that you are inspired, comforted, and encouraged by the word of God!

We miss you and love you! Have a great week spreading compassion! 

Much love, 

Pastors Lindsay and Mary

FBCP Families | Weekday Wonders 22

Hi, Friends!

Happy Friday and congratulations to those who made it through their first week of school! We are praying for continued focus, joy, and help with learning to constantly flow to you from God. You are not alone, and we are here to help in any way we can. We have a few fun resources to share with you this week, and we hope that you will find time to rest and play with leisure as you allow God to recharge you for a new week ahead. 

New Wonders

Toilet Paper Rolls to the Rescue

This post has lots of ways you can use toilet paper rolls to make something super cool! There are ideas that are just silly, some that help us navigate our emotions, and some that are geared towards learning, Save those rolls!

Outdoor Cootie Catcher

Print and cut this out (or just steal the ideas!) to give your kids some new things to try doing outside. It works even if you're not in the woods, and kids could always come up with new ideas to add. My favorites: Finding ways to make music outside and being a garbage predator!)

For the Parents

This article has three simple reminders for parents who are navigating so much right now as the school year starts. There are certainly lots of parenting strategies and philosophies, so take what's helpful here and don't worry about the rest!

Sunday 

Drive-In Church

Plan to come around 10:00 AM to settle into a spot and greet your friends! We will have snacks and activity sheets ready for kids and youth. Parents, if you can remind your kids to grab their favorite coloring/drawing utensils, that would be awesome. We hope to see you there if that works for your family, but no matter what, we are praying for you and sending so much love.

Kid Video

This Sunday we are going to help kids place some encouraging words around their learning spaces to help them as they begin week two of virtual school. We are praying for parents, kids, and teachers as they settle into a new routine in some challenging circumstances. You are amazing!

Youth Zoom 

Our Middle and High School Youth Zoom is scheduled for 2PM to accommodate for those who are attending Drive-In Church. Here is the meeting link that you can use each week to hop on the hangout. We can't wait to hang out with our youth, and this week we are welcoming some new six graders!


Sending you so much love and virtual hugs!

With gratitude for you,

Pastor Lindsay & Pastor Mary

Sunday Special | EP 23

Happy Sunday, Friends!

We know that for many kids, school starts tomorrow but from an online platform. We are praying for all of our kids to feel encouraged and surrounded by all the love and support they need. We know they can do hard things with God's help, and we want to do all we can to come alongside them. Parents, we are praying for you, too, as you prepare to oversee their school experience at home. You're not alone in this, and we believe in you!

Today's video guides your children through a blessing of the spaces in their home. We hope that praying over the places they will inhabit and thinking about the different things they will do each day will help them feel ready and a little more at peace. 

We would love to pray over the phone or on Zoom or outside your house if that would encourage your child! Let us know if you'd like that and we can set up a time.

We miss you and love you! Have a great week spreading compassion! 

Much love, 

Pastors Lindsay and Mary

FBCP Families | Weekday Wonders 21

Hi, Friends!

We know kids and youth are getting ready to start a new school year remotely, and we are praying for all of our families who will be navigating the challenges that come with online learning. In lieu of a backpack blessing, we hope you are encouraged by our video this Sunday that leads kids through a blessing of their spaces at home. We have a new plan for kid ministry that we will launch in September, and we can't wait to share more in the coming weeks! Let us know if we can support you in any way we haven't thought of yet. We love you!

SINGING PROJECT

We are so excited  to invite kids and youth to help us create an intergenerational choir piece! Parents, if you missed my email last week, you can head on over to this page for instructions on how to record your child singing for this special project. We are aiming to get submissions turned in this week before school starts up!

OUTDOOR ADVENTURES

As kids will be inside on devices more with school starting up, you might want to have some tools to encourage them to enjoy the outdoors. This resource has some examples of outdoor activities to do in the fall, so see if there are any ideas you want to steal! This little outdoor activity tracker may be helpful, especially if your child likes to color and see progress on paper.

Sunday 

DRIVE-IN CHURCH

Plan to come around 10:00 AM to settle into a spot and greet your friends! We will have snacks and activity sheets ready for kids and youth. Parents, if you can remind your kids to grab their favorite coloring/drawing utensils, that would be awesome. We hope to see you there if that works for your family, but no matter what, we are praying for you and sending so much love.

KID VIDEO

This Sunday we have a special video that will show you how to bless your home as you prepare to start the school year. We know you won't have backpacks that we can bless, but you do have special places in your home where we can pray to bless the areas where learning and growth will happen!

YOUTH ZOOM

Our regular middle and high school Zoom time will continue but going forward we will be meeting at 2PM to accommodate for those who are attending Drive-In Church. Here is the meeting link that you can use each week to hop on the hangout. We can't wait to hang out with our youth!

Sending you so much love and virtual hugs!

With gratitude for you,

Pastor Lindsay & Pastor Mary


FBCP Singing Project

Dear Parents,

One way to share compassion is through blessings we pray over one another. We have always valued the language of benediction in our church, and John Jay sends us out of the liturgy with a blessing each week. So what better way to follow Compassion Camp than with a song of blessing?!

As she made song selections for Compassion Camp, Cynthia was inspired by this video, which brings kids together virtually to sing a blessing. We wanted to try it with our own kids, and as the idea unfolded, Pastor Leslie was eager to bring in the adult choir, too. So, we are excited to invite your kids and youth into this intergenerational scattered choir project right from your home! 

Here's how it will work:

  1. Have your child practice singing the song. Then make a video recording of them singing. All recording instructions are on this webpage. I know it has a lot of information, but we tried to break down each step so that you can record easily. Once you get to it, it shouldn't be too complicated!

  2. Send us the video recording by Saturday, August 15th.

  3. Our amazing music and video makers Harriet and Dustin will put it all together into a single video that will bless all who watch it!

We hope your child will participate so that their face and voice can be shared with our church family. If you have any questions, please just let us know! We are excited for our church family to come together in this special way; it will be a glimpse of our community that we all miss so much.

With joy,


Lindsay, Mary, Cynthia, and Leslie

P.S. Adults, you are welcome to do your own recording if you want to participate, too!

Sunday Special | EP 22

Happy Sunday, Friends!

We hope that some of you can join us for Drive-In Church this morning! We know that it might be hard for some kids to attend, but we have some things ready to pass out to any kids who come. No matter where you are, we are sending you so much love this morning!

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

TALK IT OUT

  • Recap: What was Elijah doing in the desert?

  • Check In With Yourself: How did you feel when you heard that God chose to whisper to Elijah?

  • Wonder: What are you wondering right now as you think about Elijah's choice to run away to the desert and how God used something quiet to get Elijah's attention?

APPLY IT

  • Set aside some time to be quiet with God—it could be while sitting in bed before you go to sleep, while walking around outside, or anywhere else you want to quiet yourself before God. Then see if you sense God telling you anything as you listen well. Try to do this even for a few minutes each day this week and see what God says.

  • Bake some bread and remember the story of Elijah! This recipe shows you how to make bread in a bag and it only takes a few simple ingredients and yeast.  As you eat your bread, thank God for all the compassion and love God has for you!

  • If you are like Elijah and feel more like giving up or complaining, tell God how you feel and then see if you can turn your complaint to a gratitude. God hears your frustrations and cares about them—and God also wants to help you do great things! Being thankful can help set us up to do great things with God.


We miss you and love you! Have a great week spreading compassion! 


Much love,

Pastors Lindsay and Mary

In Pasadena as it is in Heaven

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