September Newsletter

Dear Friends,

                It’s always exciting around Faith UMC, but especially as we gear up for our new worship service & new fall schedule, there’s an extra buzz of excitement!  There has been much work, planning, & preparation put into the new schedule by so many people.  Thank you to all who have worked hard, dreamed dreams, & shared your passions! 

                One of the questions about our new schedule has been around Sunday school…What makes this year different (besides having 2 opportunities for Sunday school)?  What can my children expect?  If I want to teach, what can I expect?  All great questions!  So, here’s what’s happening with Sunday school this year…

                We are moving into a rotation model of Sunday school…Which will be familiar to anyone who has helped with Vacation Bible School.  There will be 5 stations set up each week the children will rotate into.  Each week, the kids will experience 2 stations every week around our story of the month.  These stations might be cooking, science, art, music, games, or another way to hear the stories of God.  Kids can expect to be engaged and learn through a variety of styles.  Parents can expect that their kids will be cared for, loved, and taught stories about God’s love. 

                So what does this change for teachers?  Teachers get to become experts in their field…For example, if you’re teaching the art station, you will have the same project for 3-4 weeks as each groups of kids come to your classroom.  Instead of signing up to teach the whole year, teachers sign up for 3-4 weeks at a time (depending on how many Sundays there are in a month) for one section. 

                Our team of Sunday school directors which includes: Amanda Steenvoorden, Lori Johnson, Mindy Strumpf, & Stephanie Roque will be working on recruiting teachers & organizing the program for both services.  If you are interested in teaching, you can talk with them or contact me with any questions that you might have. 

                This is an exciting time, but with excitement comes a bit of nervous energy.  If you have any more questions about Sunday school or our children or youth ministries, please don’t hesitate to ask or join our children’s or youth ministry teams.  As always, you can stop by Panera (on LaGrange next to Borders) on Tuesday nights from 5-7pm for my office hours or set up another time to talk.  I’m so excited for what’s coming for Faith UMC as we continue to bring people to Jesus Christ through worship, education, mission, & fellowship.