Month: September 2021

Choose Your Own Adventure – Kids Church Calendar (October)

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Ahoy mateys! We’re about to set sail on a grand adventure!

We’ll be learning this verse with our shipmates this month! CLICK HERE to learn the sign language for this verse.

Navigating life is a tough business, these are the skills we’re picking up this month:

October 3 – Week 1 – I can be wise by not choosing sides (favoritism)

October 10 – Thanksgiving and Baptism (NO Kids Church)

October 17 – Week 2 – I can be wise by choosing my words carefully

October 24 – Week 3 – I can be wise by choosing to do good

October 31 – PUMPKINS AND PIRATES EVENT  – a Sunday morning mainstage event for the whole family, dress up in your pirate-y best, bring your pumpkin and carving gear and strap in for some great sailing!

*Kids Church is available online (live through Zoom) and in-person. If you are planning to visit us in either capacity please contact our office for more information.

Jouth-Youth Activity Calendar for October

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It’s hard to believe that the leaves have turned and pumpkin (or apple) season has arrived. Please see the calendar below for Jouth/Youth activities for the month of October.

Due to the small size of our Jouth/Youth team, we’re asking parents to take turns helping out at our Jouth and Youth events. A current Vulnerable Sector Check is mandatory, if you’re not sure when yours expires please check with the office, we’d love to help you get an up-to-date one. Thanks in advance for your cooperation.

Jouth – Fear+Busters – God is bigger than our problems, my faith is stronger than my fear!

Youth – We Are One – (wk 1)Diversity was God’s idea! (wk 2)We are ALL equal! (wk 3) Open hearts lead to open doors!

Home Group Resource for “That You May Know” series

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As we’re getting into our new sermon series “That You May Know: finding and following Jesus in John’s letters”, we hope you’re beginning to follow along as individuals, in Home Groups or Triads. We’ve compiled a few resources to help with this.

Here is a great overview from the Bible Project:

Here is the schedule and corresponding scriptures:

  • Sept 19: John’s World, an introduction. 1 John 1:1-4
  • Sept 26: 1 John reading
  • Oct 3: God’s Light and Our Darkness. 1 John 1:5-2:2
  • Oct 11: Thanksgivng & Baptism
  • Oct 17: God’s New Commandment. 1 John 2:3-14
  • Oct 24: People of the Lie. 1 John 2:15-29
  • Oct 31: Born of God / Pirates & Pumpkins. 1 John 2:1-10
  • Nov 7: The Challenge of Love. 1 John 3:11-4:6
  • Nov 14: God’s Love. 1 John 4:7-5:5
  • Nov 21: The True God. 1 John 5:6-21

We encourage you to use a simple too for reflection. In most Home Group settings the goal isn’t so much inductive bible study or deep exegesis but rather encounter. We’re aiming to be present to the Holy Spirit as the Holy Spirit is present to us. This happens as we look at the text together. One simple tool that helps facilitate this is Lectio Divina. All of the passages are short enough to do this well (you could shorten them further if you choose). A number of Home Groups have used this tool effectively for a long time.

View or Download our guide to Lectio Divina here.

Lastly, RightNow Media has some great resources for more in depth study. Contact the office if you do not have login info for our church RightNow Media account. The “Mr. Phil Show” has some great content that is accessible for most kids, but also meaty enough that most adults will find it very helpful too!

 

Preparing for Kid’s and Youth in-person activities

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We’re excited and getting geared up to be starting in-person Kid’s church on Sept 19. There’s a lot swirling to get this going. At the same time there’s a lot swirling in our world. A few words about that:

First, let’s hold on to love. This is our priority as a church. Please know that you are loved. Period.

Second, we’re not giving in to fear. That isn’t the kind of spirit that God gives.

Third, we’re really excited to open up the doors to kid’s church again.

In order to do all three, AND to respect the restrictions and protocols the government has put in place, we’re going to do our best to provide a safe environment by using the following measures for our in-person gatherings, particularly where we intersect with our more vulnerable sectors:

  1. Masking, social distancing, and sanitization will remain our standard for Sunday morning gatherings, Kids Church, Jouth, Youth, and any other in-person public events.
  2. Rapid tests for anyone unvaccinated 24 hrs prior to working with vulnerable sector individuals – (kids, youth, vulnerable adults). This includes any volunteer who will be serving in close proximity (<2m) to other individuals for a period of time likely exceeding 10 minutes.  Individuals exhibiting a positive result will be asked to refrain from coming to whatever event they were volunteering for and will be encouraged to seek out further testing.  Rapid tests will be supplied by the church.
  3. Temperature testing for kids and youth attending in-person events – anyone displaying a temperature over 38C will be asked to return home.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the above protocols please direct them to our office.

 

Feature image credit: Vultar Bahr on Unsplash

That You May Know: Fall Series

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We’re excited to be jumping back into some of John’s writing. This Fall we’re going to be exploring his beautifully written letters – well actually, 1 John isn’t exactly a letter but that’s getting ahead of ourselves. This ancient Johannine Epistle is timely for us today – especially our current climate of tension, confusion, predictions, division, and temptations. John provides some sage advice in a beautiful way which we’re going to explore. We’re praying that we as a community will be formed and re-formed by the Holy Spirit us into the image of Christ which will help us love each other, our neighbours and God more fully.

If you’re in a Home Group or Triad, we encourage you to follow along. We will provide the passage of scripture we’re going to explore each week. Engaging with the specific scripture can be as simple as doing a Lectio Divina exercise together (Download our Lectio Divina resource guide).

To get into the mood, check out this overview video by the good folks at the Bible Project (you can access other Bible Project videos with our Right Now Media account – if you don’t have access, contact Andrew at the office and he’ll set you up).

 

Feature Image credit: Agnieszka Cymbalak on Unsplash