Care to join a small group?

 

I’m seeking a half a dozen or so people who might like to form a small group that would meet off-site from the church–-perhaps at a restaurant, perhaps for lunch.  Working people would be encouraged to bring a co-worker with them; non-working people could bring a friend.  Ideally, those guests would be people who don’t currently have a church home.

 

When the only opportunity we have to talk to people is a few moments at Coffee Hour, it’s hard to get to know each other.  Small groups offer a wonderful opportunity to hear more about others’ joys, challenges, and faith journeys.  In our group, we would include a time of sharing concerns and prayer.  Depending upon where most people come from we could meet in Kilmarnock or Burgess/Reedville.

 

If mid-day (lunchtime) doesn’t work, I’m open to an evening (dinner) meeting, or a Saturday morning or afternoon coffee.  Frequency could be biweekly or monthly.     

 

I’d like the size of the group to be eight to 10 people, so that everyone gets an opportunity to talk.  If more people than that express interest, we’ll form two groups.  Overall, though, the plans for this small group are pretty fluid!  Who responds, and their interests, will determine what we do. Interested?  Please call or email me (see masthead). 

 

Judy Thomson

           

Baby Kits for PDA

 

There are still some items needed for the 10 Baby Kits St. Andrews will assemble for Presbyterian Disaster Assist-ance (PDA).  The kits complement the hygiene kits we made several weeks ago and are used in places like Haiti when disasters occur. 

 

We need:

 

● two packages of 12 cloth diapers

 

● two sets of two washcloths

 

● four sets of two t-shirts or undershirts (size 12 months or smaller, no Onesies)

 

● seven sweaters or sweatshirts

 

● four baby blankets (handmade or purchased, about 33” x 44”)

 

To avoid duplications, please indicate what you are providing on the sign-up sheet in the Narthex.  Contributions are requested by March 7 (except handmade blankets, which are due by March 14).  Items may be left in the Family Ministry office.

 

This project is a joint endeavor of the Mission Outreach Committee, Family Ministry, and the Needlework Ministry.  Some of the younger Sunday School children will assemble the kits after all components are received.

 

Preventing and responding to poisoning

 

Even though we often link accidental poisoning with children, the reality is that anyone can be affected at any time.  Eating, drinking, touching, or even smelling something that creates an untoward reaction in a person’s body can cause an emergency situation.

 

 

 

 

Poisons can be found in virtually any place in the homes of most of us, as well as in the yard and in the air.  While we don’t want to be worrying about poisonings, we do have to stay alert to the products in our homes and how they are used.  If young children, especially those be between the ages of eight months and six years, are present adults should be alert as to where the children are and what they are doing.  The hours between 4:00 and 8:00 PM seem to be the most dangerous, as parents often are busy with meal preparation, discussing the day’s events, etc.

 

According to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), poisoning is the second leading cause of both injury-related hospitalizations and of injury-related deaths in Virginia.

 

Here is a far from exhaustive list of practices that you can put in place to prevent an accidental poisoning:

 

● Lock medicines and household products out of sight and reach of children

 

● Never call medicine “candy” and avoid taking medicine in front of young children

 

● Turn on the lights and put on your glasses before reading product and medicine labels

 

● Never approach or try to kill a snake if you suspect it might be poisonous

 

● Learn the names of every plant growing in your yard or house and find out which might be toxic

 

Stay alert and call 1-800- 222-1222, the Poison Control Center, if:

 

● Someone swallowed something he or she should not have

 

● Someone took the wrong kind, or the wrong amount, of medicine

 

● Someone splashed or spilled a product on his or skin or in his or her eyes

 

You will automatically be connected to the local poison center closest to you. 

 

Accompanying the copies of this newsletter that are being sent to our families with children in the home are two stickers for telephones and a refrigerator magnet with the Poison Control Center’s main number.  Please display them.  With good practices, you will never need the phone numbers. 

 

Nancy Lee, R.N

Faith Community Nurse

 

Camp Hanover Director coming to SAPC on 3/21

  

The Director of Camp Hanover, Bob Pryor, will make his annual visit to St. Andrews on Sunday, March 21.  Bob will present the “Time for Young People” during worship and will be available during Coffee Hour to answer parents’ and kids’ questions about summer camp. 

 

Camp Hanover is a facility of over 500 acres owned by the Presbytery of the James.  Brochures about the 2010 youth programs are available on the table in the Narthex.  St. Andrews pays for part of a camper’s fees. 

 

Some thoughts on how to worship

 

When we are expecting guests at our home, we prepare.  We clean the house, make sure there is enough food, put clean towels in the bathroom, and maybe even place some fresh flowers in the guest room.  It’s all part of saying, “Welcome.”  Children understand this.    

 

Parents can help their children understand that when we go to church to worship, we need to prepare.  We need to prepare our hearts for divine visitation.  We need to get ready to welcome our Guest—only to have the table (and The Table) turned on us when we realize Christ is our host who welcomes us into the presence of God.

 

We no longer live in the era when people took their Saturday night bath and laid out their very best clothes in prep-aration for going to church the next day.  But we still can and should prayerfully prepare to be with God—the Beloved. 

 

Here are some contemporary ways that both adults and children can prepare for worship:

 

● As you take your bath or shower before worship, think about what it means that you are baptized.  What are the places in your life that still need to be cleaned up?  What are the ways in which God has showered you with blessings?  You might even “sing for joy unto the Lord” as you shower!

 

● As you get dressed, think about what it means that you are clothed in Christ and his righteousness.  Think about a time in your life when you wanted the best possible presentation of yourself, and then think how that relates to how we are to present ourselves to the Lord.

 

● As walk or ride to worship, think about how God is wait-ing at the church for you.  You might sing, either alone or as a family.  You might ask this question of one another:  “How do you hope God will meet you in worship today?”  On the way home, you can discuss, “Where and how did God meet you in worship or in Sunday School today?” 

 

● As you enter the sanctuary of the church, present yourself to the Lord.  You might say some of these words:  “Here I am, Lord.  Please come and meet me here.  Open me to your eternal presence.”

 

● As you participate in worship, know that it helps to understand what each part of the worship service is design-ed to do, so that you can enter into it fully.  If you’d like to know more about the parts of the worship service, ask Tom or Judy.  Or, ask an Usher any Sunday for a copy of St. Andrews’ “Guide to Worship for Our Young Worshipers.” 

 

● As you listen to the sermon, listen as though it were the Lord himself speaking to you.

 

● As you participate in the Pastoral Prayer, bring the concerns of the world into it.

 

● After the service, take the bulletin home and put it in a prominent place, so that during the week you can continue to pray the prayers that are in it and intercede for those on the Prayer List.

 

● During the week, pray for the worship service and its leaders and pray for the church’s ministries.

 

● Pray as you read, watch, and listen to the news.  Pray for those who have been hurt, for those working on finding God’s way of shalom in the midst of situations, and for the perpetrators of crimes. 

 

(Based on an article posted on the website of the PCUSA’s Office of Theology and Worship.)     

 

How our Reformed faith informs our teaching of children and youth

 

Being part of the Reformed tradition, as we Presbyterians are, implies particular things about the ways that we teach the children and youth in our care, as well as what we teach them.  The following are the major tenets of our tradition:

 

With all Christians, we believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate and the head of the Church.  Our goal for children’s Christian education is to teach them to know, love, and follow Jesus Christ.  We help children know Christ by teaching them stories about God and Jesus, we help children to love Christ by loving them as Christ has loved us, and we help children to follow Christ by modeling our own commitment as disciples.

 

Also as other Christians believe, we believe that God is known to us in three persons:  God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  We use language that reflects the three-fold nature of God.

 

We believe in the sovereignty of God.  We believe that God is the creator of all things, is in control of the universe, and is absolutely independent of any other power or will.  We know that it is God, not we, who give children the gift of faith.  We teach our children that God continues to be active in the world and that we are called to respond to God’s activity.  We teach that God is for us, and does not give up on us.  We help children learn that each of us is a unique and special part of God’s creation, and that we are a gift to one another.

 

We believe in the authority of Scripture and that it is the inspired Word of God and the final authority for salvation and the life of faith.  We recognize that knowledge is important, and that having children memorize certain foundational Bible passages can be effective, but at the same time we emphasize the understanding of Scripture as a means of promoting our children’s responses as disci-ples—now and as adults.  We read stories directly from the Bible as appropriate or, when we use a resource storybook, we have the Bible visible.  In order to connect Scripture to daily life we incorporate into our teaching a variety of activities that reflect a con-temporary setting. 

 

We believe in justification by grace through faith.   We believe there is absolutely nothing we can do to earn God’s love because God chose us before we chose God.  We demonstrate God’s love to all children, especially to those who are difficult to love.

 

We believe in God’s election. This means that God chose to be our God, that belonging to God through Christ brings new life to each of us as we join the community of disciples, and that being chosen/elected carries privilege and responsi-bility.  We have a responsibility to share the Good News.   Since salvation is God’s doing, and not ours, we must be careful not to pass judgment on others.  We are charged by our Lord to love one another.  We empower our children to take on leadership roles within the classroom and in congre-gational life and worship. 

 

(Thanks to the Rev. Karen Stanley for bringing back this information from the 2010 annual conference of the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators.  The original article was published in Alert magazine in 1998 and revised in 2007.)