Children & Family Ministry - August 2026
Dearly beloved Children of God,
It has been a pleasure serving alongside you this year and especially these past few months as we have welcomed about one hundred children into our church! Your support and faithfulness through giving of prayer, time, and talents has blessed many people and helped to plant seeds of faith into the hearts of many young people. The “Be Bold!” Pre-teen/middle school Sunday school has just wrapped up the summer session. Students were seen, heard, and challenged to think deeply and wrestle with faith questions—taking simple Bible story knowledge to a deeper level.
Blessings in Christ,
Carrie Allio
Director of Children & Family Ministries
SUMMER & FALL EVENTS:
Monthly Children’s and Family Celebrations:
*August: Nature Explorer’s Club=Summer fun! Moraine Regatta (Moraine South Beach @ 10 am, August 1st)
*August: Blessing of the Backpacks (August 23rd @ 10 am service)
*September : All church picnic/Sunday School Kick-off (September 20th)
*October: Kids carnival room during the fall fest (Saturday, Oct. 17th)
UPCOMING EVENTS:
*November: Night in Bethlehem (Nov. 27th) –NO FLOAT; instead, we are creating an indoor “walk-through Bethlehem/living nativity + warm up center
*December: Gingerbread House Night (TBD)
LITTLE BLESSINGS PRESCHOOL Week
The Preschool Pilot Program in June was a positive experience which provided much useful feedback. Nine families allowed us to bless their families with a variety of creative activities, Bible lessons, songs, games, and nutritious food. Currently we are proceeding with opening a preschool. This desire, put on the hearts of several requires additional time and effort on my part and several interested session members. It seems like the Holy Spirit is moving through these hearts to reach into the community by providing for a need for quality Early Childhood Education. I am currently fulfilling online requirements for licensure through the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education while session is considering details on the business end.
All of this work, I believe, has been in line with the word of God and the workings of the Holy Spirit. Jesus compared hearts to soil in Matthew 13. My prayer is that as we continue to broadcast the love of God onto the hearts of many, it grows and develops into fruit. When I think of children, I think of the investment into the future that we cultivate now. Join me in praying that the seed of the word of God and love of Jesus takes root and thrives as we faithfully nurture what we have been entrusted to care for.
I am looking for a few people to team teach the K-2 Sunday school class. “If anyone has wondered, “what would it be like to teach Sunday School”, this is a great opportunity to try it out. There are three short term commitments that could fit into busy schedules. Sessions can be broken into Fall term (Sept.-Nov. ‘26), Winter term (Dec.-Feb. ’26-27), and Spring (March-May ‘27).
Additionally, we have been invited to reapply for the Angel Tear Grant!!!! I will be working on that for next year’s program funding and for the opening of a preschool. This past year, the grant through the Angel Tear Ministry offset costs and increased the budget of the children’s and family ministry by $9,000.