Spring - and Easter - are near!

As we round out the month of March and head toward Easter, here are a few updates and reminders:

• If you are interested in CAMP WESLEY, please sign up NO LATER THAN MARCH 28. Camp was a HUGE success last year --- just look at the photos further down on this page for proof! However, if we don't get enough commited campers, we'll have to cancel.
• Next Sunday (March 28) is Palm Sunday. We'll have palm branches for the kids to celebrate.
• We will have Sunday School on Easter at Frederick Pike at 9:30 and 11:00, thanks to the generosity of our teachers!
• Nursery and preschool promotion will be April 11. 2 year olds can move up from the nursery into class, and 3 and 4 year olds can progress to the next class. Older children will be promoted in August when school starts. Promotion for the littlest ones is twice per year, since they change so fast!

Also, a sad farewell to Nicole Presley for her 2 years of service in Children's Ministry as a hostess and Frederick Pike Campus Director. Nicole has been invaluable and inspirational in leading the CM program, and it was a tough decision for her to pull back and begin focusing on their upcoming move out of state.

WELCOME to Dee Fuduloff, who is an answer to prayer! Dee has been teaching in the 3's room and coordinates birthday cards. She volunteered to step up and take Nicole's place as Frederick Pike campus co-director. Yeah, Dee! Please be sure to say hi to her!

Peace,

Beth Flickinger

Sunday School Classes Focus on Kairos Prison Ministry

Thanks to the 5th & 6th grade classes for baking 18 dozen cookies on Sunday in just one short hour!! These cookies will go to the Kairos Prison Ministry, and are a tangible sign of God's grace and love towards the prisoners participating in the weekend event. The class, lead by Kevin & Peggy not only cranked out all those cookies, but they also served all of the 9:30 Sunday School classes fresh, yummy pancakes!!!! THANK YOU!!!

Also, WELL DONE to the K-4th grade classes for decorating 4 banners and countless place mats that also will be used for Kairos! Your drawings and inspirational notes will mean more than you can ever imagine.

After the hubbub of the morning had settled down, Kevin was apologizing (can you believe it??) about not having every single cookie be perfectly shaped and sized. I dismissed his concern, but then as I thought about it more, something occurred to me. If what we really needed was perfect cookies, we could have asked the best bakers in the congregation to make cookies for us. But perfect cookies wasn't the goal. Nor was the real goal to make a ton of cookies. The really important thing was for those young people to KNOW that they, at the ripe old age of 10 or 11, could make a difference in God's kingdom just as they are. And we didn't ask artists to com e in and make the banners and place mats, because what we really wanted to do was foster a passion for mission and ministering to others, even in 5 year-olds!

If your child was in one of the 9:30 classes on Nov 1, ask them what they thought about doing the mission project. It's a great way to open up conversation about right, wrong, and God's abundant grace and forgiveness.

And.....if you're Earl....send us pictures of the pile of cookies!!!

:) Beth

Camp Wesley!

Our kids had a great time at Camp Wesley! More pics here

BREAKTHROUGH SUMMER CAMP

AUGUST 2-7 will be the best week of the summer! and I hope you can join us!
We will be going to Camp Wesley in Bellefontaine for a week of fun: canoeing, hiking, swimming, challenge course, archery, the BLOB!, slip and slide, worship, arts and crafts, and so much more...

Bring a friends, and come ready for the adventure of a lifetime.

Parents:
Don't let your kids miss out on this unique week of camp, just for the Stillwater Family!
We need to fill at least 30 more spaces to make this week just for us! If we do not soon, our week will be opened to the rest of the Ohio Campers. Camp Changes Lives!

Did you know that almost 100% of campers who attend a UM Camp in the summer make some sort of faith decision? Fun - Fellowship - Faith! What more could a kid (and a parent) want. Let us partner with you to provide safe, fun, and meaningful discipleship opportunities for your youth! Email Pastor Lori (lori.reiber@stillwaterumc.org) if you want to send your kids.

Spring is in the Air

Yes, it is!  Spring is in the air, and that means Easter is just around the corner!  This is the most holy day of the Christian Year, and day that really began the entire church movement.  Jesus was a very powerful presence when he walk the earth, but it was his rising from the dead that allowed humanity to see him for who he really was, God on Earth.  I hope you take the time to sit as a family around this holy day, and really talk about the meaning of Jesus gift to us.  The gift of love, the gift of hope and the gift of life in Him.  It may be fun to hunt for eggs, or get an Easter Basket full of candy, it is really about new life in Christ.

Top Ten Things for Sunday School:

We came up with this list at our recent Children's Teacher Training, and decided we have a big job ahead of us. I thought I should share it with everyone, so you can help us out at home and whenever you interact with kids, anywhere, at home, at school, with friends, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and all of God's beautiful children!

Here are the Top Ten Things We Want to DO In Sunday School:
1. Teach Bible basics
2. Provide a safe, friendly and loving space
3. Provide role models for living a life of faith and making positive life choices.
4. Give the kids free and fearless social time.
5. Be willing to share God.
6. Live through acceptance without judgment.
7. Teach or explain what a relationship with God means.
8. To teach God’s love.
9. Connect kids to other kids of faith, growing life long networks to support each other.
10. Help kids develop a real relationship with God. (what that means, how that could look, how to live into that relationship in all circumstances: school, home, church, and social lives)

Thanks for your input teachers, you are blessings!
Pastor Lori

Looking ahead!

There are times when all I think about is what I have done in the past... but we cannot do that as followers of Jesus. We need to look ahead, to see where God is leading us, to actually follow on the path that we are being led. How awesome is that!

We are studying Images of God with our K-4th Graders. We really do look at God in so many different ways.

Sometimes as a nurturing parent...

sometimes as the rock which we build our lives on...

sometimes as a fire that lights our way...

and other times as the faces we look at day after day. I guess for me, the most important one is the image of God, that we are created to love each other and to share God's love with everyone around us. That isn't always easy...

Some of our 5th and 6th Graders have begun the journey of Confirmation. This is a wonderful time of learning about themselves, their faith and their church. I invite all of you to do the same!