Hello Chapel Hill Families!

Today is the last day to donate candy for our annual Egg Hunt. Our youth will finish stuffing eggs this evening. Thank you so much for your generosity!

The kids have done a great job rehearsing our Palm Sunday song “Praise Ye the Lord”. They nailed it on the first round this past Sunday, and you all are in for a treat! Please plan on being here to sing for BOTH services if possible this week. If kids can arrive by 9:20AM that would give us time to run it through a couple of times before we head upstairs. We will only have Sunday school at 9:30 as usual, however, this week, we will keep them until the second performance for the 11:00 service. Please plan on picking up your kids immediately following our song so that you can all enjoy lunch provided by our CH youth before the big Easter Egg Hunt! Menu items include: hot dogs, mac & cheese, baked beans, chips, veggies, apple sauce and dessert.

The nursery children will begin their hunt at noon on the playground, then we will move to the North Lawn for the elementary hunt. A big Thank you to Heidi and our CH Youth who have been stuffing eggs with candy this past week. The youth will be hiding eggs, serving lunch, and facilitating yard games by the 3 crosses before and after the egg hunts. Please plan on joining us and supporting the CH Youth Mission trips this Summer for all their hard work!

Last week’s Bible story, “Peter’s Denial” (Matthew 26:69-75) taught us that when we make mistakes, we can always ask for forgiveness and try to do better. We talked about how doing a bad thing does not make you a bad person, and I may have preached about this a little more passionately that the kids needed. I just want them to know how loved they are and never want them to feel shame when they mess up. Guilt.. yes, but never shame. There is always hope to learn from our mistakes just like Peter did. We will continue talking about Holy Week on Palm Sunday and hear the story from John 12:12-19 between our singing performances.

If your kids have been 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. I hope you will join us for this time of fellowship on Sunday!

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.

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”.

This week’s Bible story is a familiar one – the story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. Each year, many of us celebrate Palm Sunday by waving palm branches and shouting, “Hosanna!”

In the version of the story from the Book of John, we focus on the crowd’s response to Jesus. The crowd waved palm branches and laid them on the road while Jesus rode in on a donkey. Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem was a time of celebration. The people were in need of a new leader and they looked to Jesus to fill that role. Many of the people in the crowd had been present when Jesus resurrected Lazarus. They were amazed by Jesus’ miracles and they couldn’t wait to see what else Jesus would do.

The celebration that occurred when Jesus entered Jerusalem was similar to the reception of military leaders returning victorious from battle. It is probable that some in the crowd expected Jesus to be a military ruler who would free them from the Roman emperor. Because we know the rest of the story, we are aware that Jesus is the leader of a quite different kind of kingdom. Jesus came as a peaceful leader to teach people to love and serve one another. Jesus entered Jerusalem riding humbly on a donkey rather than pompously on a warhorse.

The only people unhappy about Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem were the Pharisees. They were very upset that “the whole world” was there celebrating and following Jesus.

Just as the crowd celebrated Jesus on that day long ago, we continue to celebrate Jesus today.

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.