 Dear River Families,
How is the summer treating you so far? After months of remote learning and quarantine, I and the kids very much welcome the change of pace and routines. However, summer is long and hot, and this one comes in the middle of a pandemic. So, before the thought of needing to keep my kids positively engaged and consistently enriched throughout the summer starts to overwhelm me, I am reminding myself that God cares for our children, and my inadequacy will not deter His/Her good plan for them. Meanwhile having fun is just as important as self-improvement! So I have gathered some resources that I hope can take the edge off a little bit for all of us parents this season: Going Outdoors
I Would Love to Connect With You! Sometimes the hardest thing for me is not finding things to do, but gathering the energy to do them, especially after our routines are being turned upside down due to the pandemic. I find connecting with other people gives me just enough accountability to stay engaged and motivated. So, if you are feeling like you could use a 1-on-1 connection with a fellow parent during this interesting time, please email me. We can either chat online or outside. As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Happy Summer! Amelia Cunard | Riverkids Director
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 One of the big seasons in the Church calendar is coming up! This Sunday is the first Sunday of Lent or, as we call it at the River, “40 Days of Faith”.
The theme for RiverKids/RiverYouth this year is “Different Ways to Pray”. During the next six weeks, we will follow the story of Jesus' life in order to learn AND practice different ways of talking with God. This Sunday we are going to kick off the season by making a prayer bracelet together as a reminder to pray everyday. We will decide what we would like to ask Jesus for ourselves and others. Want to draw closer to God through this season? Here are our recommendations:
Amelia Cunard | Riverkids Director p.s. don't forget you can drop off your kids as early as 10:15AM on Sundays  Happy New Year! I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas holiday! 2020 is here and RiverKids and RiverYouth are kicking off an exciting new series this Sunday (1/12) called "Perspectives: Different Sides to a Story". In this series, we will be looking at the different perspectives that we all experience as separate and unique beings AND how each of our perspectives is a part of a bigger story of God. We will learn together how we can connect to God and others by developing a healthy sense of self, while also understanding and empathizing with other points of view. For our weekly story and plan, please check out the Riverkids: Story of the Week on the RiverNYC app.
As always if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at amelia@rivernyc.org. Looking forward to a new season filled with curiosities, explorations, awareness and connections! Amelia Cunard | Riverkids Director p.s. don't forget you can drop off your kids as early as 10:15AM on Sundays  I can't believe that we are already entering the first week of Advent! Advent means "Coming" and God has been coming closer and closer to His people throughout history and time.
This year, there are only two Riverkids Sundays during Advent (1st Sunday of Advent was an all-together service and the 4th will be the All-Age Christmas Celebration (12/22). For the next two weeks, the children will be wondering and exploring the different ways Jesus is coming for the world, for our city, for our church, and for us, individually. To get the most out of the season, here are just a few things we invite our families to do:
As always, thank you for your support and help. Let us pray together for God's transforming love to enter to our children and families during this season: "Come, Jesus, come" Amelia Cunard | Riverkids Director amelia@rivernyc.org  Growing up with a dad who was a Sunday school teacher and a great story teller, I have always loved the Bible stories. As a child, my faith seemed to grow without much resistance. When I became a little older, I realized that my faith needed to extend beyond a system of beliefs. At a young age, I left my home country and began living abroad. Living as a minority, I am constantly navigating boundaries and encountering cultural complications. Because of this, I developed a faith that is more fluid and continuously evolving. Now as a parent myself, I recognize the need to be conscious of all these factors as I try to raise my own children. I often ask myself questions like these:
If you too have ever wondered about questions like these I'd like to recommend a resource that may be helpful. I recently came across a podcast from Cindy Wang Brandt, an author who writes about her experiences of shifting away from a conservative evangelical faith and how that affects her parenting. She was recently interviewed on the Bible For Normal People Podcast and had a number of interesting things to say. I would love for you to listen and let me know your thoughts! Faith and children are a passion of mine, so I always welcome a good discussion :) Amelia Cunard Riverkids Director |
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