If your child is in the 3rd grade or older and interested in getting baptized, they are invited to Baptism Class on Sunday, May 6 during the 2nd Service in the Gym, Basement. The Baptism Ceremony will take place on Sunday, June 3 (time TBD).

We encourage you to talk to your kids about baptism and what they think about it, how they feel about it. Below we listed some information and questions that might be helpful to start the conversation.

Please email caroline@rivernyc.org if you have any questions and/or to let us know that your child will be attending the Baptism Class.

The Great Banquet
At RiverKids/Youth we often explain baptism with a parable where Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a Great Banquet (see below for the text). It is beautiful and full of life. All are welcomed and there is room for everyone as long as they choose to come. Baptism is really about wanting to live in the reality of God's Kingdom: choosing to come to God's table and eat with Him forever. Thus we become part of His family.  

What BAPTISM does and does not mean:

• We are NOT promising God that we will never do anything bad ever again.  
• We ARE promising that we will ask God for help when we make mistakes or things get broken in us or in our lives.  
• You and God ARE promising to be best friends. 
• You are NOT breaking up your friendship with anybody.
• We ARE choosing to trust God to give us life in all its fullness.  

Questions to help you start the conversation: 

• How do you feel about God inviting you to His Great Banquet? Would you like to go? Why (or why not)? 
• God has invited you to eat with Him forever and become a part of His family (this does not mean that you are leaving this family). Is that something you might want to do? Why (why not)?  
• Baptism is one way to say yes to God's invitation to be part of his family. Is that something you might want to do (now or in the future)?
• What do you think it would mean for you to accept God's invitation? What kind of promise would you be making to God?

All parents, kids, and youth are invited to join us for our next Family Lunch on Sunday, May 6! Come to the 2nd Floor Auditorium after the First Service to eat some pizza and spend time connecting with other families.

Please note: we do not have any special content or activities planned this month. It will just be a fun time to get to know each other better!

Please use this link to RSVP so we know how much pizza to order. Thank you!
https://goo.gl/forms/t80AkvAQm8gioV8U2

​River Youth Group members are invited to a Lunch Outing this Sunday after the First Service.

Contact alison.noll@rivernyc.org for more information.

Last Sunday at the Elementary School Group, we introduced a new spiritual exercise called Labyrinth. The short exercise seemed to have such a positive effect--calming and de-stressing--that I wanted to tell you guys about it.

First we shared the story, “The Road to Emmaus.” In the story, two disciples of Jesus were walking away from Jerusalem to Emmaus, on the first Easter Sunday, despite having heard about the empty tomb. Along the way, Jesus appeared, walked and talked with them, eventually leading the disciples back to Jerusalem where they were to wait for the Holy Spirit.

Jesus walks and talks with us here and now, too. All spiritual exercises are in essence the practice of noticing and connecting with this reality. One such exercise is the labyrinth. A labyrinth is a single meandering path leading to a center.

This is what we did. Everyone got a copy of a labyrinth. We "walked" the labyrinth by slowly tracing the path with our non-dominant hands, remembering Jesus walking with us. I encouraged the kids to pause when they reached the center to stay with Jesus a bit, to interact with him if they’d like. The effect was noticeable. I could feel everyone’s bodies relaxing; the whole room felt calmer and more peaceful. I felt more centered and less stressed.

I recommend trying it at home. Here are some sample labyrinths if you are interested. Print one out and "walk" the path alone when you are feeling stressed or with your kids when they are experiencing anxiety over something. And let me know how it goes!