Hello Chapel Hill Families!

I hope everyone enjoyed their Spring Break! This past Sunday, we continued practicing our Palm Sunday song “Praise Ye the Lord”, and started learning the stories of Holy Week with “The Last Supper”.  I hope you will join us this Sunday for “In the Garden” (Matthew 26:36-46) at 9:30AM in the children’s wing.

We will be celebrating two important ladies in Children’s Ministry on Sunday. Yesterday was Pastor Lisa’s birthday, and our Nursery Director, Laura Fuller, has a Birthday on Friday. If your children would like to make a card for either of these ladies and give it to them on Sunday, I’m sure it will brighten their day!

I passed out coloring mats with Bible verse stickers for the kids to mark each day of Lent.  These are available to pick up during the week during office hours 8:00-4:30. I will also have them available on Sunday if you would like to do this with your kids at home.

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 no longer required for children in the children’s wing as of 3/6/22. We are so thankful to see the kids faces again!

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”.

The story of Jesus’ visit to the garden of Gethsemane to pray before his arrest and death is one that appears in all four Gospels. As is often the case, the story differs slightly in each account. But in every account, Jesus displays his humanness.

We are told Jesus knows his time of death is drawing near. When Jesus goes to the garden to pray, we see him sad and anxious as he contemplates the events to come. Jesus also wants human companionship. He takes Peter, James, and John with him as he goes further into the garden. Jesus begs his closest friends to stay awake with him. The disciples failed in the task that Jesus gave them and instead of praying they fell asleep.

There is something comforting in knowing Jesus has experienced human emotions such as sadness and anxiety. Jesus knows how it feels to be a human. Just as we can be comforted by these thoughts, we can also learn from Jesus’ example in the way he responded to these emotions. Jesus prayed. We also can pray and receive comfort when we are sad and anxious.

There is another thing we can learn from Jesus’ prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. Prayer does not mean always getting what you want. Jesus asked God to take away his suffering. We know that isn’t what happened. Jesus ultimately prayed for God’s will to be done rather than his. Just as Jesus turned his troubles over to God, we can too.

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.