Hello Chapel Hill Families!

The kids did so good singing during both services! I was so proud of how well they did, and so happy to see so many gathered together. We had our highest attendance since we have come back from our COVID break with 97 kids birth-5th grade!!! Thank you for joining us for lunch. The youth raised over $1,500.00 for their youth missions this summer. I hope everyone had a great time at the egg hunt. I couldn’t believe how quick they gathered up those eggs!

Last week’s Bible story was “Palm Sunday” (John 12:12-19). We walked through Holy Week during Godly Play. Talked about how things changed so drastically from one Sunday to another. We learned Jesus is the prince of peace, and that donkey’s are a symbol of peace. K-3rd grade made Peace Signs with water colors and painters tape. Our 4th and 5th graders got to use their choice of medium to create an image about our bible story for the day.

Just a friendly reminder that there will be no Sunday School on Easter Sunday this week. Nursery will be provided during all services for our infants-preschoolers. Kindergarteners and up are invited to attend church with their parents at either 8:00, 9:30, or 11:00 AM. I am prepping clipboards with coloring and activity sheets now, and Pastor Jeff will have a special children’s sermon with a sweet treat at the end for all the kids who come up.

If you would like to discuss the Easter story (John 20:1-18) with your kids at home, scroll down for some background information in the Bible Story Preview, and feel free to show them the Celebrate Wonder Video for further reflection and real life application.

I hope you will also join us for our other Holy Week services on Thursday and Friday. Nursery will be provided during the 7:00 services. Kindergarten and up are invited to attend with their parents.

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.

VBS CHILD REGISTRATION UPDATE: 113/250 REGISTERED

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. Child registration opened on Palm Sunday, April 10th and registration will close by Sunday, June 5th (unless we hit our 250 mark sooner) REGISTER YOUR CHILD TODAY!

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 Christian church has chosen to gather on Sunday mornings to remember that early Sunday morning many years ago when it was discovered the tomb was empty. We come together to praise God and give thanks for the empty tomb.

Although their accounts differ in details, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all give an account of the empty tomb. None of the gospels, however, describe the Resurrection itself. Jesus’ resurrection remains part of the mystery of our faith. We know that Jesus is alive because of the witness of those who experienced the presence of the risen Jesus and by our own experiences of Jesus’ presence with us.

In John’s account it is Mary Magdalene who discovers that the stone at the tomb has been rolled away. She runs to tell Peter and the other disciple that the tomb is empty. When the two disciples reach the tomb, they verify Mary’s account.

The story then returns to Mary Magdalene who encounters Jesus but mistakes him for the gardener. Only when Jesus speaks Mary’s name does she recognize him. Jesus tells Mary to go and tell the disciples, “I’m going up to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” Jesus, who was sent by God, is now returning to God.

Enjoy celebrating Easter with your children. Easter is a time to celebrate God’s great, never-ending love. Jesus is alive!

We’re no longer in the season of Lent. We are now in the midst of Easter! Say this resurrection prayer sometime this week:

Dear God of New Life, we give you thanks. We thank you for Jesus, for the witness of Mary Magdalene, and for the new life we encounter every time we surround ourselves with your children. May we remember that you are a God of resurrection anytime we feel we have hit a spiritual winter. Amen.