Breakfast with St. Nick

We are happy to report that our Breakfast with St. Nicholas raised over $500 for The Caring Place!  We also gave them plenty of hats, scarves and mittens from the "warming tree".

We'd like to thank everyone who came out and supported us-we had a great turnout!

We would especially like to thank those of you who provided donations for the meal and to those who cheerfully worked to make the event happen!

We pray that you all had a Jesus-filled Christmas and we welcome you to worship with us on Sunday, December 30th at 10:00am.  We will only have one service that day and there will be Sunday School for ages 2-5 only.  Of course, the nursery will be available, too!  

Christmas is coming....

As we prepare for the celebration of Christ's birth, we want to remind you of what we have planned for the children in the next 10 days....

This Sunday, December 23rd, we will have Sunday School, as usual.  Of course, the lessons will cover the Christmas story, which we love to hear, no matter what our age!

On Christmas Eve, our Family Service is at 6:00 p.m.  The Children's Choir and Youth Choir will be singing and the Praise Band will be leading worship.  Ms. Erin Utesch will be telling the Christmas story and the children will be invited to sit around her as she does so.  All of the children will have the opportunity to hang an ornament on a Christmas tree during the service.  At the end of the service, during "Silent Night", the children will return to their families and we will "light" candles (battery operated).  It will be a beautiful service and we would love to have you join us!

The nursery will be available during all three Christmas Eve services-a description of each can be found on our website.

Finally, on Sunday, December 30th, we will have one worship service at 10:00am.  There will be no Sunday School that day (except for 2s & 3s), but the nursery will, of course, be available.

We wish you hope, peace, joy and love this Christmas season!

Bible Sunday photos

During our 9:15 service on November 18th, ten 3rd grade children received their Bibles after attending 8 weeks of class.

After the presentation during the worship service, all of the Sunday School children celebrated with them:  we had cake and ice cream and watched A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.









We appreciate the time and efforts of our teachers and the support of the parents, who brought their children to church each week to attend the class!

Holly Days Caroling

All are welcome to join us on Friday December 7th to carol at Central Park Plaza stage.  Meet at 5:20 at the stage, we will carol at 5:30.  Esta will have booklets for everyone, so don't worry about knowing all the words!

At 7:00, come to the church for hot chocolate and cookies, followed by carol singing in the Sanctuary.  The community is invited to join us, so invite your friends and neighbors!

Bible Sunday

The 3rd graders who participated in the "Learning to Use My Bible" class received their Bibles this past Sunday, November 18th!  We had 10 children receive Bibles during the 9:15 service and all of the Sunday School children participated in a celebration during Sunday School time.  They had cake and ice cream and watched It's Thanksgiving, Charlie Brown.  Look for pictures soon!

We wish all of you a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving.  We hope that you enjoy time with your family, eating yummy food and thanking God for the many blessings in your lives.  We invite you to join us this Sunday, the 25th, to experience the drama "Mary and Joseph."  This will be presented at each service and will be a great way to start off the Christmas season.

On Wednesday, November 28th, join us for Wednesday Night Alive.  Mayor Costas will be our guest speaker and the children will be assembling UMCOR Health Kits, so it will be an exciting evening!  Check out more info on the church website.

Hanging of the Greens will take place on Saturday, December 1st at noon.  We will have a light lunch and proceed to decorate the church.  Everyone is invited and the nursery will be available for children 5 and under.  -Older children will be able to do crafts and watch a Christmas movie.  Please join us to prepare for the first Sunday in Advent on the 2nd!

Breakfast with St. Nicholas will be on December 15th and tickets will go on sale this Sunday, November 25th.  Remember that this event benefits The Caring Place, so please join us, enjoy a great breakfast and time with St. Nicholas!

Fall Festival

We had approximately 140 people come to our annual Fall Festival and Trunk or Treat at Rogers Lakewood Park on October 20th.  Children decorated pumpkins:

Enjoyed a hayride:

And made s'mores:

We also enjoyed some great food and fellowship!

In November, we will celebrate with our 3rd graders as they are presented with their Bibles on Bible Sunday, November 18th during the 9:15 service.  These children have attended class each week to learn more about the history and composition of the Bible. 

On the 28th, the WNA kids will be assembling health kits.  We welcome donations of the needed items-you can link to a list from our Children's Ministry page on the Valpo FUMC website.

We also wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving on November 22nd!

Looking ahead to December, our annual Breakfast with St. Nicholas, a fundraiser for The Caring Place, will be on Saturday, December 15th.  There will be seatings at 8:30 and 10:30 for a buffet breakfast.  There will also be crafts for the kids and a chance to meet with St. Nick individually!  Tickets will go on sale on November 25th:  $5.00/adult; $4.00/children 12-3 (2 and under are free).  

Finally, don't forget Hanging of the Greens on Saturday, December 1st to prepare our church for the Advent/Christmas season! We'll join together for lunch at noon and then decorate the church together!  

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Backpack 'Blessing Pictures

On August 19th, we had our Backpack Blessing & Fall Sunday School Kickoff Party during the 9:15 service.  We thank the great FUMC photography team for capturing the fun that we had that day!

Children were asked to bring school supplies to share with other children.  Here are some boys removing their donations from their backpacks.

As we do each Sunday, the offering plate was passed so that the children can share their gifts with God.

Thanks Miss Elizabeth & Mr. Shaun for your help!

The children enjoyed root beer floats and cookies as a special treat.  Everything was yummy!

We also played some fun games!

And of course, we learned about God....

We had a great day and we can't wait to see YOU at Sunday School this week!

September

We are now into the swing of the school year and Our Littlest Angels preschool joins in this week.  We are back to our "regular" Sunday School schedule now:  2 & 3 year olds report directly to class while the older children begin in worship with their parents.

We have a new sign-in system that we are implementing first with our youngest children:  nursery-Kindergarten.  If you have a child or children in that age range, please sign them in outside the library so that they can get a name tag and you can get a check out receipt, which you will turn in when you pick your child or children up after class.  Eventually all children will sign in at this station, but we wanted to start small.

For any child in 3rd through 5th grade, our Learning to Use My Bible class begins on September 16th.  If you would like your child to attend, please contact Rebecca or Lani for more information and to get registered.

Wednesday Night Alive starts on September 12th, which means Children's Choir is also starting!  If your child in Kindergarten-5th grade would like to share his or her gift of singing, please contact Esta Rosario.  If you plan to attend dinner with your family, please be sure to RSVP either at church on Sunday or on the WNA page on the website.  This will help to ensure that we have plenty of food!

Looking ahead, our annual Fall Festival will be on Saturday, October 20th at Rogers-Lakewood Park from 4:00-7:00 pm.  We will have food, crafts, wagon rides and a "trunk or treat."  Please bring a side dish or dessert to share, as well as candy to distribute at the trunk or treat.

Our prayers are with all of you for a happy and healthy start to the school year!

The Penniless Princess

On August 26th at 9:15, we will be showing a new Veggie Tales movie:  The Penniless Princess. Children ages 3 years through 5th grade are invited to join us in Wesley Hall Room 207 prior to the start of the 9:15 service so that we have time to enjoy the entire movie, complete with popcorn, and some related activities.  It's a great Sunday to bring a friend!

Don't forget our Backpack and Teacher Blessing on August 19th at the 9:15 service.  All teachers of all levels will receive a blessing as they begin the new school year and children are encouraged to bring their backpacks, with a school supply or food pantry item to donate, for a special blessing.  Following the blessing, children will proceed to Wesley Hall (upstairs) for our Fall Sunday School kickoff.  This is a great way to get ready for the new school year!

Finally, this coming Sunday, August 12th, children will remain in worship with their parents for Communion and Baptism Renewal.  We look forward to seeing you for all of these special events!  

School starting soon!

As you register for school, shop for supplies and clothes and begin to plan your fall schedules, don't forget to include church in your plans!  On Sunday, August 19th in the 9:15 service, we will have a Backpack and Teacher Blessing to prepare us for the start of another school year.  Children are welcome to bring their backpacks and any type of teacher (preschool, elementary, middle, high school, college, sunday school) will also receive a blessing.  Just like that brand new, smooth, clean notebook, the upcoming year lies open before us and it is comforting to know that God is with us every step of the way, whether or not you are here for the blessing by Pastor Jacob.

Following the Backpack Blessing we will proceed upstairs to Wesley Hall to celebrate our Sunday School kickoff.  All Sunday School teachers are encouraged to join us so that the kids can familiarize themselves with your faces (and you with theirs!).  If you still have not committed to teaching on a rotating basis, please let Lani or Rebecca know that they can add you to the rotation.

Also consider Children's Choir for your K-5th grader.  Rehearsals begin on Wednesday, September 5th.  K-2nd grade from 5:45-6:30 and 3rd-5th from 6:30-7:30.  The following week, Wednesday Night Alive begins and there will be activities for the children during the time that they are not in choir.

We pray that you have had a safe, relaxing and restful summer of fun and new experiences and we look forward to seeing you all on August 19th, if not before!

Rocky Point Lighthouse VBS

June 18th-21st we experienced Rocky Point Lighthouse VBS where we learned how to SHINE GOD'S LIGHT!!  Our kickoff on Monday was at Forest Park where we enjoyed a meal together and played some fun games (parents vs. kids kickball was a favorite)!  Tuesday and Wednesday we sang songs, heard Bible stories, played games and made our own lighthouses to remind us of our verse:  "The Lord lights up my darkness."  2 Samuel 22: 29.  Our closing on Thursday included a meal, a slideshow wrapping up the week, and practice for singing on Sunday.

We tried family VBS this year, so we had parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and of course, brothers and sisters, all together.  Many kids said one of the best parts of VBS this year was being with their families!

Check out some of the great photos taken by our photography team!