Hello Chapel Hill Families!

Our COVID Task Force met on Monday and voted to lift masking recommendations. Therefore, CH Kids are no longer required to mask in Sunday School.  Additionally, we will have the option to receive communion in worship by method of intinction for the first time since pre-pandemic times! HALLELUJIAH! Pre-packaged communion will still be available if you are more comfortable with that method.

On Sunday we heard the story of “Jairus’s Daughter” AND Pastor Lisa used Resurrection eggs in reverse to prepare us for Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent.  The kids had lots of good questions. Over the next two months we will be exploring the final days of Jesus’ life as we approach Easter.  I hope you will join us this Sunday for “10 Men with Skin Disease” (Luke 17:11-19) at 9:30AM in the children’s wing.

I also passed out coloring mats with Bible verse stickers for them to mark each day of Lent.  These are available to pick up during the week during office hours 8:00-4:30. I will have some out on Ash Wednesday, and I will also be passing them out again on Sunday.

Ash Wednesday is TODAY! Nursery will be available during the 6:30PM service for children birth-preschool aged. School aged children are invited to attend the service and receive ashes with their families.

The children will be waving palms and singing on Palm Sunday, April 10th. We started rehearsing the song on February 27th during Sunday school and will continue to practice each week leading up to Palm Sunday. If your child is interested in having a small solo, please let me know. I would love for kids to come rehearse as much as possible in the next several weeks. If you are unable to attend Sunday school to practice, here is a link to the song we will be singing. Please practice with them at home when you can. We are encouraging kids to sing during both services. This is the same day as our Easter Egg Hunt and Luncheon provided by the CH Youth. I hope you will join us for this time of fellowship!

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 March is, “LENT”.

Today, Ash Wednesday, officially begins the church season of Lent. Lent is the time Christians spend preparing for Easter by spending time with God. It’s forty days (minus Sundays) of fasting, giving, and connecting. For the next forty days, your children will learn about stories that lead Jesus to Easter. Help your kids remember that as we all journey closer to Easter, God is always with us, loving us deeply.

Our Scripture passage for this week is a healing story. The Common English Bible translation describes the recipients of healing as “ten men with skin diseases” (Luke 17:12). The word commonly translated as leprosy in the New Testament was used for many kinds of skin diseases ranging from psoriasis to leprosy. Regardless of what particular skin disease the men had, the effect on their lives would have been the same. They were required to live outside of the community, essentially in quarantine. When people approached them they were required to shout, “Unclean, unclean.”

Jesus does not physically touch any of the men. Instead he tells them to go and show themselves to the priest. If a person with a skin disease got better, a priest cleared the person before he or she could come out of quarantine. As the men left Jesus, they were healed. One of the men, upon noticing this, begins to praise God. Although all ten men were healed, only one of them returns to thank Jesus. In this man’s response, we find a model for responding to God’s unconditional love—praise and thankfulness.

For the season of Lent, set an intention for more connection with God and your community. Is there something keeping you from connection? Do not add shame to this Lenten practice. God loves you unconditionally. Just be open to God’s desires for you—to have connection and meaningful relationships.