Inter-generational Ministry – November 2018

Hello, Church Family,

October has come and gone, and oh, the fun we had. They have been God’s bright, shining pumpkins all month long. The wonderful ways we have shared and learned about God’s love for us and how we can share it with others. We were able to help send a family to Moon Beach Camp for a much-needed spiritual retreat.

We had an awesome crew volunteering in our community for Whistle Stop. This crew was on the receiving end of all the supplies used at the numerous stations along the route. This included sorting through the supply bins, making sure tables got put back, dumping out any unused water and PowerAde buckets, and the always-wet job of washing out over 500 five- gallon buckets. It was our first year contributing to our community this way, and we would definitely love to do it again.

Our early-release Wednesdays group is shaping up to be such a wonderful group of girls. This past month they have made potholders to use as a fundraiser for a new kitchen stove for the church. They were also instrumental in getting our Halloween party set-up for all of our friends. This is such fun way to build relationships inter-generationally!

New to our church this year is the children-lead children’s chat. Some of you may have already had the opportunity to see our 3rd – 5th graders lead their first children’s chat with their teacher, Cheryl Drevlow. Our 8th and 9th grade students may have also wowed you with their children’s chat. With the guidance of their teacher Alissa Hulstrand, these young men stretched the limits of their knowledge by having to plan, prepare, and perform their lesson in front of their younger peers. This is new and scary territory for some of young people; be sure to give them words of encouragement when you see them.

We hope you are all enjoying the voices of our Sunday school children’s choir, led by Diana Mann and Katherine Swanson. We value you as our church family audience and feel fortunate to have the opportunity to do this for you.

One of our main focuses with our junior and senior high youth is teaching them ways they can grow into more leadership roles in our church. We currently have our students ushering and now hosting coffee hour.

Our 8th and 9th grade students are really taking their spiritual growth to a new level. This year they have taken on the Samaritan’s Purse Project. They made an announcement during service to the congregation, and they made a special presentation to the younger Sunday school students. They have taken up special collections, gone shopping, and will be assembling the boxes and preparing them for shipment. Thank you to everyone who has supported them through your donations.

Our younger Sunday school students are learning the value of remembering and taking time for those who are aging and are no longer able to be with us in church. This past month our children spent some time singing to them and playing games with them. This year we shared with them the loss we had since they last visited. By doing this they are beginning to understand that just because they are small, they are never too small to make a difference in another person’s life. This is yet another way intergenerational ministry works within our church family. We are looking forward to our busy month as we prepare for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Important dates to remember

November 4th – Sunday school classes will be making decorations for our Thanksgiving dinner. They will do this during Sunday school time. Teachers will need to be with their classes for this project.
November 7th – Early release Wednesday – We are making lap robes and putting together more lap robe kits. We could use a couple of extra adults to help
supervise. Carol Eder from the Women’s Association will be hosting this project. These lap robes will be going to our friends at the nursing homes.
November 11th- This is our Thanksgiving dinner. We will be showing a Thanksgiving movie for children, while our adults help clean up the kitchen. Sunday school students will also be in singing in church that day, and the senior high youth will be working as need in the kitchen. Our junior high youth will be ushering.
November 18th–Eileen VanPernis will be hosting a Christmas-decoration-making party. All adults and
children are welcome. Meet in the dining room at 9:30 a.m.; Sunday school students will go down after the morning opening.

We are a busy and growing Intergenerational church. Your prayers for the growth of our church are working. Please continue to bless us with your love and support as we enter into our Holiday Season.

Jill Zifko,

Inter-generational
Ministry Coordinator