Hello Chapel Hill Families!

I hope everyone had a great Easter weekend. This Sunday, Traci Sharp will be leading Godly Play and worship time for us, and I will start the next week.

If you are interested in helping to make VBS happen this year for our kids, please join us for a planning meeting on Sunday, April 16th after the 9:30 service in the choir room. I have broken up tasks into 5 groups: Snacks, Station Supplies, Volunteer Management, Music/Assembly Team, and Decorations. Hopefully after this meeting, we will have a better idea of whether VBS is possible this summer. Child registration is paused until this meeting happens.

In April, our Faith word is RESURRECTION which means “Hope in God’s promise  for new life in Jesus”. Our Memory Verse is Luke 24:6a “He isn’t here, but has been raised”. Bible Lessons include:

• April 16th – “Emmaus” (Luke 24:13-35)
• April 23rd – “Thomas” (John 20:19-31)
• April 30th – “Ascension” (Luke 24:50-53)

KDIC & PRESCHOOL ENROLLMENT

Kids Day in Christ and Chapel Hill Preschool opened their enrollment to current families and Chapel Hill members on February 1st. If you have young children interested in attending these programs, please click the links below to get them signed up. These programs fill fast, and are now open to the public to fill the last few spots.

Summer KDIC

KDIC 2023-2024

Preschool 2023-2024

Lunch Bunch 2023-2024 (Extended Preschool Day)

VBS 2023

Save the Date for VBS at Chapel Hill! Volunteer Registration is now OPEN! Child attendance will be limited to 250 children. To ensure your child gets a spot, join our team to receive a link for EARLY child registration. We will open child registration after our April 16th meeting, and will close once we fill all our spots.  We filled all 250 spots before Memorial Day last year, so do not delay!

Information for our new families:

• Our volunteers are supposed to arrive by 9:00, but life happens and sometimes they are running late. Please try to drop off kids between 9:15 and 9:30 AM to avoid waiting on them to arrive.
• Please walk your children back to their classrooms at drop off. We want our volunteers to see who goes with which kid to help speed up our pick up time.
• Don’t forget your pick-up ticket. You will show this to get back to the children’s wing and again to their teacher to pick them up.
• Remember that kids are now promoted to their next grade level so check that their name tags show they are in the right group. Please let Ryan know if it is incorrect.

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.

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,

Bekah

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 April is “RESURRECTION”.

The Gospels contain multiple stories of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances. Of these, the appearance on the road to Emmaus is one of the most detailed. Two of Jesus’ disciples are walking to Emmaus. These two men, one of whom is named Cleopas, are among the extended group of Jesus’ followers.

It was the first day of the week – the day of Jesus’ resurrection – and as the disciples walked along, they were discussing everything that had happened. Then Jesus joined them, but the men did not recognize him. In response to Jesus’ question concerning what they were talking about, the men proceed to tell him about Jesus. As readers, we can appreciate the irony in the question one of the disciples asks Jesus. We know that, in fact, Jesus is the one who truly knows and understands what has happened!

When the trio reached Emmaus, Jesus acted as if he were continuing on. Jesus was following hospitality etiquette of the time. In Near Eastern cultures, a guest was obligated to turn down an invitation of hospitality until it is vigorously repeated. The disciples insist and Jesus accepts their offer of hospitality. As they are sharing a meal, Jesus “took” the bread, “blessed” it, “broke” it, and “gave” it to them. These actions are Jesus’ signature; these same verbs are used in the telling of the feeding of the five thousand, and the sharing of the Lord’s Supper. It is through Jesus’ actions, rather than his words, that the disciples finally recognize him.

As Jesus’ followers, our actions often have a bigger impact than our words. The Resurrection is quite the action that demonstrated the power of faith. This story can teach that although there is great wonder there is also great assurance through action. Belief is active, and Jesus calls us to have an active faith. The disciples on the road to Emmaus had a hard time believing, but when they saw faith in action they were assured.

Go for a walk and see what you notice. Invite a friend to walk with you. Share your joys and concerns of the week and enjoy nature.