Hello Chapel Hill Families!

This Sunday,  we will continue the Advent season with “Mary’s Good News” (Luke 1:26-38). A new month brings a new Faith Word and Memory Verse. Our Faith Word for the month of December is “ADVENT”. As a spiritual practice each week, we will participate in the lighting of the Advent wreath during Sunday school. I have a few more Advent Guides and coloring sheets available if you would like to do some weekly activities with your kids at home. We also made paper chains to countdown the days to Christmas on Sunday. I have a few pre-cut sets left if you missed this week. I will have these resources available at the children’s check in area.

Sunday, November 28th was Kikwete’s birthday! We sponsor Kikwete and his cousin, Neema, who live in the Angel House Orphanage in Tanzania, Africa. We have pledged to give $90/month in order to provide food, clothing and schooling to these children at Angel House. Each Sunday, kids have the opportunity to bring money to put into our offering for Neema and Kikwete. Would you help us meet our goal by sending your child with $1.00 each week? Our kids did such a good job remembering to bring their offering last month! Our former Director of Children’s Ministries, Raegan Brane, has visited Angel House in the past. You can find out more information about the Grassroots Organization and Angel House by clicking HERE.

REMINDER:

If you have a 3rd, 4th or 5th grader that has a Deep Blue Bible, please help them remember to bring it with them to Sunday school each week! We don’t have many extras of that particular version at the church and they will be looking up and reading scripture every time they come to church from now on.

KDIC & PRESCHOOL 

Most classes are full, but we are accepting children for our wait list in case parents do not complete their enrollment. You can contact Debby Wilson for KDIC information at dwilson@chwichita.org and Mandi Johnston for preschool information at mjohnston@chwichita.org

Please share these links with your friends and family with little ones at home in need of a safe, loving place to care for them while they get a little break!

• 2021-2022 KDIC Fall Enrollment Link
• Preschool Enrollment Link
• Lunch Bunch Enrollment Link

We are searching for loving caregivers for our Kids Day in Christ program. Hours are Tuesday-Friday 9:00AM-2:00PM. Contact Debby Wilson if you are interested dwilson@chwichita.org

Don’t forget to check our Chapel Hill Kids Facebook Group regularly for the most up to date information. If you haven’t checked your child’s information on the birthday post from December 29th, please make sure you do so as soon as possible. I have marked it as an announcement so you can easily find it. If you have moved in the last year, please contact the office so that we have your correct address on file so they can receive some birthday mail. The office number is (316) 684-1117.

Blessings to you and your children,

Allison

Celebrate Wonder is a Sunday school curriculum that engages children’s natural sense of curiosity to help them understand God’s love. It creates a safe environment for kids to ask big questions — helping them explore the Bible in ways that feed their imagination and encourages creativity. Through carefully-selected Bible stories, songs, videos, and hands-on activities, Celebrate Wonder gives children the tools to explore their faith while incorporating it into their daily lives.

Each month, our weekly stories will align with a Faith Word. The Faith Word for the month of December is, “ADVENT”.

We are preparing for the second Sunday of Advent. In the lesson, we define Advent as a time when we wait and prepare for the birth of Jesus. Our spiritual practice for the next few Sundays will be on exploring Advent through presence.

Advent is the beginning of the church year. The church year (called the liturgical year) begins four Sundays prior to Christmas. It is traditionally a time of preparation and waiting for the birth of the Christ Child.

In our story this week, Mary is visited by the angel of the Lord, Gabriel, and told she will have a baby and she will name the baby Jesus. Mary is confused and probably afraid of Gabriel’s words. She is not married; how could she have a baby? Gabriel reassures her not to be afraid, that God is pleased with her. Mary accepts Gabriel’s words with joy and tells the angel she is a servant of God and will do what God wants her to do.

Mary then starts the time of waiting and preparing for the birth of Jesus. She has much to do, not just to prepare physically for the birth, but also to prepare herself spiritually. She had faith in God, so she presented herself to God to fulfill what God had planned. She was present, but how did she prepare? I’m sure she prepared in all the necessary ways: blankets, diapers, a place for him to sleep. How did she prepare her heart? Did she spend time in prayer? Did she share with people she knew would understand her unusual position of expecting a baby without being married?

Today we may wait and prepare in many ways for the birth of Jesus. We have Advent wreaths and calendars to mark off the days. We have Christmas programs and decorating to help us be present with God as we wait.

The second week of Advent, we light the candle of Love. As you light the candle, ask God to be present with you and hear your prayer. Lift up a name of someone who needs to feel God’s love today. Lift the name up in prayer throughout the day. In the evening, thank God for being present with you and hearing your prayer.