When the congregation voted on this year’s budget in February, a conscious decision was made to vote for it by putting out the challenge to ourselves to grow in the areas where more funds are needed.
As our children grow in grace and faith, we are expanding the Sunday school Godly Play and Wednesday Night Alive programs to meet them in their journeys. So far we are using the class room that Dr. Jerome Berryman has loaned us for the pre-K and Kindergarten. Last summer volunteers equipped a second class room with the basics for our 1st and 2nd grade kids. The funds were given by a major gift of one family and through gifts of lessons by friends, parents and extended family in honor of the children. The cost of this room was about $ 7,000.
This year the children’s programs are in need of substantial support in several areas: 1. A new Godly Play room is being put together for the 3rd and 4th grades. 2. The pre-K/ toddler room needs major improvements since it is one of the most heavily used rooms for multiple purposes: Sunday school for toddlers, nursery, TV room, Wednesday Night Alive, German Saturday School, Parents’ Night Out, and now the newly inaugurated Wednesday Night Alive Summer Style. 3. The Sunday school class room for grades 1 and 2 needs further development with new lessons and a budget for books. 4. In the near future we will have to replace Jerome Berryman’s classroom which has been on loan to us for the last 2 or 3 years. Currently we are looking at roughly $ 12,000 for our immediate needs (excluding replacing Jerome Berryman’s materials and furniture.)
We invite the entire congregation and especially families with young children to consider giving toward nurturing of the gifts of the Spirit according to their abilities. The exciting news is that $ 7,000 have been pledged already so that we can go ahead and begin to do some work. Part of the proceeds from the tag sale was used to buy the first set of lesson materials and kits. A task force has formed to raise the funds still needed. We encourage the whole congregation to respond to the invitations by the Children’s Programs Development task force. In the coming weeks please look out for the materials put out, for lists of items needed, and for new ideas to celebrate baptisms and their anniversaries, and other milestone events in the young people’s lives such as birthdays, graduation to the next grade etc. Together we will grow in faith, love and obedience to the will of God and become ever more the Body of Christ.