Oh, church family…You are so incredibly magical! Thank you so much for your support in getting the Fall Carnival back up and running. It was a spectacular day (in fact, I think the snow worked to our advantage), with oodles of kids and families filling our building! Kiddos were able to test their throwing arms with the Penny Toss, Bean Bag Throw, Ring Toss, and Balloon Bust; try their luck at the Duck Pond and test their wizardry skills with the Hogwarts Challenge. Creativity flowed at the Coloring and Face Painting stations, while screams were heard from the Youth Group’s Haunted Maze. Nary a tummy was left empty thanks to a fantastically overflowing Concessions Stand. All of this could not happen without the generosity of many. Generosity of time, heart, food, and financials. The children’s ministry is blessed beyond measure at Laurel UMC. Specifically, I’d like to thank Rebecca Love for planting the seed to bring the Carnival back into action and diving headlong into these shenanigans with me. As always, a great big thanks to our Sunday school teachers for their never-ending willingness to go along for the ride on these things, giving even more of their time. Thanks to Vera Ulschak (and friend), Linda Shelton, Sandy Western, Alex Amestoy, Mary Southworth, Lee, Christine Amestoy, and Sandy Thomae for hopping on board to man and run additional booths/games/ticket-distributing. As well as the youth who helped man booths and run the maze – you are a delight! And a HUGE thank you to Pam and Richard Figg (and all of their marvelous helping hands) for taking on the food portion of things. That is no small undertaking, and it’s much appreciated. An even BIGGER THANK YOU must go to everyone who donated food for the Carnival. Oh my goodness…We had more than enough to feed the many mouths on the 26th, with food to spare to feed the Youth Group some dinners and possibly the Sunday school kiddos on Dress Rehearsal day. Truly, an embarrassment of riches, is this congregation. To quote Bette Midler, you are the wind beneath my wings. Thank you all for your amazing hearts! On Sunday, October 27, the Sunday school also held their annual Costume and Pumpkin Carving Contests. This is one of our favorite days and the kids did not disappoint in their costuming! Congratulations to Mrs. Lester’s 4th-5th Grade class on their big win in the Pumpkin Carving Contest!
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And just like that, another year of VBS is behind us. What a week it was! Like a major holiday, a lot of planning and preparation go into this week, only to have it behind us in the blink of an eye (especially the disassembling…). THE STATS
We crafted, we played, we danced and sang, we journeyed through the Bible. First, it was a visit to Daniel and the Lions’ Den where the kids learned to Go Beyond with FAITH. Next, we were introduced to Queen Esther whom the kids got to witness taking a stand and learned to Go Beyond with BOLDNESS! We journeyed on to the New Testament for days 3 and 4, first witnessing the Good Samaritan helping a Fellow Traveler, learning to Go Beyond with KINDNESS. We wrapped up our week with Jesus Comforting Friends on the way to Emmaus, where we learned to Go Beyond with THANKFULNESS and HOPE. We talked a lot about doing the right thing even when no one is watching and especially when it is hard. We ended the week reminding the kiddos to go into this new school year boldly as themselves, to let their lights shine bright, and to not be afraid to step in if they see something that’s not okay. And do you know what else we did? We ate! Thank you so much for your generous donations of food! We put a call out early in the week and you more than answered! And thank you to everyone who checked in throughout the week; you are so very appreciated! THANK YOUS This glorious week of VBS could not happen without the help of so many. First, I’d like to thank the congregation, our church family, for making it possible for us to host Vacation Bible School for not only the children of our church, but those of our community. From the purchasing of the program itself, to your donations of craft items, food, and money, we very literally couldn’t do it without your support. Now I’d like to single out some folks who always go above and beyond in making this week happen. The Sunday before VBS (and in the weeks leading up), these folks always show up. Thank you to the Erbs, the Kellers, and Julie Lester for your hands-on (and brains-in) creativity and help in making the magic happen. A BIG thank you to AJ for creating the new puppet stand! Life will be SO much easier moving forward. And thank you to Allie, Mak, and Tommy for doing all kinds of cute creating ahead of VBS week! And, of course, thank you to each of our youth and adult volunteers who helped keep things flowing seamlessly each day. Your gifts of time, faith, patience, and love make this week complete. You’re truly out of this world! <3 Finally, the families. Thank you for sharing your kiddos with us! We look forward to seeing many of you in Sunday school! Becca P.S. The kickoff for the 2019-'20 Sunday school year is September 8 at 9am! If you can believe it, we are officially in Christmas program mode! We've had our first rehearsal and will officially be assigning roles during Chapel Time on November 12. If your child has a speaking part, please help them to study their lines and songs. There are five unique songs included in this program (Shepherds, the Innkeeper's Wife, Barn Animals, and Stars each have unique songs, the whole cast has one unique song to learn). There will also be several traditional songs sprinkled throughout - although these are mostly being tackled by our "heavenly choir members." Song sheets, will indicate who's singing what. Please note the rehearsal schedule for your calendars:
September 10 is a day jam-packed with awesomeness at Laurel UMC! In addition to it being the first day of Sunday school, Pastor Dolly will be doing a BLESSING OF THE BACKPACKS during the 10:15am worship service! This is for kids in ALL grades, and teachers are also invited to bring their schoolbags. (And if you haven't met Pastor Dolly yet, this is the perfect opportunity - she's FABULOUS!!) Also something to have on your radar: September 10 is also Grandparents' Day, and the church is inviting everyone to bring (preferably in a frame, so they can stand on their own) or send pictures of their grandparents to the church's email address to be included in a slideshow. (If the grandparents live close, have the kiddos invite them to join you at church, we'd love to celebrate them)! We look forward to seeing you! Have a marvelous Labor Day weekend, we'll see you on the 10th! Dear Families,I hope this finds you looking forward to back to school. I confess, I’m not quite sure how summer slipped by so quickly, but here we are! With the countdown officially ticking down to the first day of school, the kickoff to our 2017-’18 Sunday School year isn’t far behind. As we prepare to get back into our groove, we’ve got a few dates and some other tidbits to place on your radars.
Be In the Know:
Connect with LUMC:
For Our Sunday School Teachers: (Just in case you’re interested in volunteering in the classroom)
2017 VBS in Review
Another week of Vacation Bible School is in the books and it was a bit of a record-breaking kind of year! Here’s a look at how things went by the numbers: Day 1: 46 kids 32 youth & adult volunteers 1 real life superhero Day 2: 53 kids 33 youth & adult volunteers A day of discovering our own superpowers Day 3: 57 kids 36 youth & adult volunteers 1 real life superhero Day 4: 54 kids 36 youth & adult volunteers 1 real life superhero This year’s theme was Hero Central: Discover Your Strength in God, and it was just incredible! The kids really responded to the program – it truly was a spectacular week. Thank you, again, to everyone who helped in one capacity or another – whether it was donating food and supplies, money, or time – we know we couldn’t do this without your love and support! I am always especially appreciative of the folks who take the time to help turn my ideas into realities, ultimately creating an incredibly fun space for the kids. So, a shout out to the Amestoy, Erb, Keller, Lester, and Love families; and Miss Lauryn, I so appreciate you all! Now that everyone is settled into the back to school routine, it’s time for us to kick off our 2015-’16 Sunday School year! Sunday School begins on September 13, 2014 at 9:00am in the chapel The kiddos will start their mornings in the chapel from 9:00-9:15am, from there they will be released to their classrooms from 9:15-10:00am. Please send with them, their Bibles and completed registration forms. (Registration forms may also be submitted to the church office, completed online, or emailed to [email protected]). In the Know… Meet the Teachers: o Preschool – Leann Keller and Libby Erb o Kindergarten/1st Grade – Katherine Keller (still on the lookout for a co-teacher) o 2nd/3rd Grades – Leroy Haack (still on the lookout for a co-teacher) o 4th/5th Grades – Julie Lester o Junior High – Rebecca Stewart We’ve decided to take a pause from the Fall Carnival this year due to poor attendance the last few years. However, we will still be having our annual Costume Contest. We’ll let you know if that will be October 25 or November 1 (if you have an opinion either way, I’d love to hear it!) The teachers will also do a Pumpkin Carving Contest – the winning teacher’s classroom will receive treats and goodies the following week! Important Dates…
As you might have noticed above, we are still in need of co-teachers in several of our classes. Teaching in the Sunday school is pretty straight forward – we have a wonderful curriculum that will guide you through, and the kids are a lot of fun! If you’d like to learn more, please visit with me (Becca) for more information. Thank you for sharing your children with us, we look forward to seeing you and having another great Sunday School season! Sincerely, Rebecca Stewart Christian Education Director Laurel United Methodist Church [email protected] The leaves are falling, costumes are being chosen, it can only mean that it's once again time for Laurel UMC's Fall Carnival! You are invited to attend the Fall Carnival to be held on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2014 @ 11:30am-2:30pm. There will be concessions, games, and lots of fun for the family (including the fan favorite, "Scary" Maze)! There are no admission fees, tickets to play games are $0.25 a piece or 20 for $5. The kids are welcome to wear their costumes. We hope that you’ll invite your friends and neighbors to join in the fun! But the fun doesn't start at the Fall Carnival, no, it starts earlier that day when the kids are invited to wear their costumes to Sunday School, where we'll be holding out annual Costume Contest! See you there, bring a friend! It's hard to believe that another summer has come and gone, with the kids already settling back into the school year routine. The start of the regular school year means that the start of Sunday school is right around the corner! Laurel UMC's 2014-'15 Sunday school year will kickoff on September 7 at 9am in the Chapel. We'll gather there for 15 minutes and then send the kids off to their classrooms. Once again we'll be offering: Preschool, Kindergarten-1st Grade, 2nd-3rd Grade, 4th-5th Grade, and Junior High classes. (Psst...And, parents, if you're looking for something to fill that hour while the kids are in Sunday school, we've got the choir practicing during that time, as well as an Adult Study, Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense by N.T. Wright, that will be held in LUMC's library). On that first Sunday we'll also be holding a BBQ, sponsored by Family Ministries, and we're hoping you'll stick around for worship after Sunday school and take part in the festivities. Weather-permitting, we'll hold the barbecue on the church's lawn (otherwise we'll move things into the fellowship hall), with games for the kids (and the young at heart) to participate in. Family Ministries is providing the burgers and hot dogs, everyone else is asked to bring either a side dish or dessert. We hope you'll be able to come and join in the food, fellowship, and FUN! The Sunday school did things a little differently on Easter Sunday (April 20, 2014). It was a wonderful morning spent with our church family with an Easter Egg Hunt and Pancake Breakfast! The Youth arrived bright and early to hide a multitude of eggs for our kiddos in preschool-5th grade. They had a wonderful time searching and while all that was going on outside, we were preparing a delightful breakfast downstairs. It was a beautiful spring morning and all of that special togetherness was, of course, capped off with an outstanding Easter Worship Service in the sanctuary. We had a full crowd and choir, so many beautiful Easter lilies, and a service to treasure - in part because it was our last Easter service with Pastor Jones before his retirement this summer. Yes, it was a blessed and beautiful culmination of Holy Week, and we're so thankful for everyone who was able to take part in that. Christ is Risen! |
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