Hello Chapel Hill Families!

2022 is already flying by. Hello February! We had a great turn out for Sled-In Movie Night. We had over 100 people attend and raised over $500 for VBS! If you are interested in volunteering for VBS, please visit our website for more information, and to sign up. Like last year, we will be limiting attendance to 250 kids. Leaders’ kids will be the first to register. We will open child registration to the public on Palm Sunday, April 10th.

On Sunday we heard the story of “Jesus Heals”.  We discussed how Jesus set out to share God’s love and his healing with EVERYONE. Our younger learners got to talk about the importance of including others and play a game called “Blob Tag”. Our older learners discussed ways that our church helps others.  I hope you will join  us this Sunday for “The Five Friends” (Luke 5:17-26) at 9:30AM in the children’s wing.

COVID UPDATE: Masking is required for children in Sunday school and unvaccinated adults. However, we are highly encouraging all people to wear masks at church right now as an added precaution due to the rising COVID numbers in our area. Thank you for helping us keep our church family healthy and in-person!

We sponsor cousins, Neema & Kikwete, 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 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.

On Palm Sunday, CH Kids will wave palms & sing during both services. CH Youth will be cooking lunch to raise funds for their Summer Mission Trips. Please join us for a kid-friendly lunch followed by our annual Easter Egg Hunt. Lunch will be served from 11:00AM-1:00PM. We will begin our Easter Egg Hunt for Toddlers and Preschoolers on the playground at Noon immediately followed by the Elementary School Egg Hunt at the 3 crosses. Join us for a fun morning of fellowship at Chapel Hill!

If you are interested in donating candy for this event, we will have collection bins at the entrances starting March 6th. Thank you!

We will be doing “Knights of North Castle” LIVE for VBS 2022 at Chapel Hill. We did this VBS virtually during 2020, but are excited to deck out the church with snow, Christmas trees, and castle décor this Summer. Child attendance will be capped at 250 kids. We will open child registration on Palm Sunday, April 10th and registration will close by Sunday, June 5th (unless we hit our 250 mark sooner). If you would like to help plan and prep for VBS this year, please contact me. If you would like to volunteer during the week, click here!

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, 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 February is, “WONDER”.

This Sunday, we will read about a man healed by Jesus. The man was paralyzed, lying on a cot. The crowds were thick with people wanting to get a glimpse of the man who could heal the sick and who taught with authority. Because the crowds were so great, the house where Jesus was teaching was surrounded on all sides. Four men, friends of the paralyzed man, carried him on his cot to where Jesus was. But how would they get him in to see Jesus? Should they just give up and turn away? No, they did something extraordinary to get their friend in front of Jesus. They lowered him, cot and all, through the roof tiles into the room where Jesus was!

Roofs at the time were significantly different than the ones we have today. They were less permanently constructed. The roof tiles were placed along with wooden beams and straw mats. This style of roof meant that roofs had to be routinely maintained based on weather and other factors. To make a hole in this house’s roof was a bold move, but not one of permanent destruction for the owner of the house.

What is more surprising about the story isn’t the hole in the roof, but rather Jesus’ response to the man on the cot. Jesus’ ministry was all about seeing, truly seeing, who was left out of the community and making ways for those people to be brought back into the community. This man was a whole person, and he was paralyzed. His inability to walk meant that he was often left out. He and his friends came to Jesus with the hopes that they’d all be able to be back together again, and Jesus did just that. Jesus’ ministry was filled with acts that gave people a sense of awe and wonder!

This month we will explore wonder through faith. Most of the time, we have engaged our faith through moments of wonder. I wonder what it will be like to see wonder through the lens of faith. How might you focus your prayers and service on faith this month? Spend some time with God and journal about what it means to you to be a person of wonder-filled faith.