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Dear River Families,
It's always wonderful to spend time with your kids and youth. Below are our plans for this Sunday. For Elementary | The Creation Story For Youth | Reading of Genesis 1 - 2:1-4
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 I have really enjoyed getting reconnected with the families and meeting some of the new people in the last couple of Sundays. It has been about 19 months since our last service, so I am excited to be back at church and to announce that RiverKids/Youth is resuming next Sunday, Oct 17. Recently, someone asked me “How do I feel about the Bible?”. I wish I could have given a short answer “Good”, but the truth is my relationship with the Bible has been a journey and it is ongoing. Growing up as a minority in Indonesia, my religious identity was distinguishable and complex. Owning my identity also meant defending my beliefs, and the Bible. So even though I have always enjoyed the Bible stories as a child, they came with a burden to defend them and to be certain about its truth. It is not until much later that I found God and discovered that God was very much alive outside the Bible. When I began to observe God’s movements in my life and others’, I realized that our stories are not much different than those in the Bible. When I began to read the Bible as narratives, as our (humankind’s) attempts to make sense of life and the world at large, my relationship with the Bible became more comfortable. In fact, over the last several years I have come to enjoy the Bible again, especially when reading it with others (and of course, with your children too!). Many parents can probably relate with my experience, but our children grow up with different sets of context, so the challenge at church is no longer about defending the Bible, but how is the Bible relevant to our kids and their everyday lives? How can the stories of the Bible be helpful for them? So I would like to take the opportunity to introduce (or re-introduce) our overarching narrative and invite you to read this beautiful short story by Caroline Park. This year, we are going to explore the stories of the Bible from Creation to the Early Church with an overarching theme that God loves us and wants to be close to us, more than anything (more than us being perfect, good, kind, or happy all the time). To make the most out of this series and this season, I would like to invite you to:
RiverKids/Youth Resumes Next Sunday, Oct 17 We will begin with opening two big groups in the basement lounge: Elementary (K - Grade 5) Youth (Grade 6 - 12) Each group will have at least two leaders and may split into smaller groups as needed or as we are able. To manage traffic flow we encourage parents to drop their children off @10.15 AM and utilize the two staircases to the basement: For DROP-OFF, please use the staircase at the lobby. For PICK-UP, please use the staircase at the back of the sanctuary. It has more landing space for parents to congregate and wait for the classrooms to end. Be on the lookout for signs. Due to our limited volunteers, we may require parents to attend to their babies and young children in the Nursery/Preschool (0 - 4 yrs old) room on the 2nd floor (Live Streaming of the sermon available). This is currently our smallest group. We hope to provide a drop-off nursery and expand our program as soon as our volunteer team grows. To volunteer, please fill out this form. Reopening of the RiverKids/Youth is going to be a process, but I trust that we can do this together. If you have any question or concerns, or just want to chat, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Looking forward to welcoming and connecting with your children again in our classrooms. Amelia Cunard | RiverKids Director  Dear River Families, I hope everyone had a great first couple of weeks of school! Last week was my first time going back into a classroom situation again after 13 years. This semester I am auditing for a course at Union Theological Seminary and I am enjoying it. However I could not help feeling nervous at the same time. I imagine many of our kids may be feeling a lot of similar emotions this time of year, but especially this Fall, as for many of them this is the first time they stepped into a classroom after 1.5 years of halt. So I want to take the opportunity to recognize their situations (and ours too) and include a few tips that may help us navigate this season. (Links to resources: https://www.pinterest.com/ameliacunard/riverkids/) Getting Ready To See You Again AT CHURCH! As you may be aware our church is preparing a return to in-person service this Sunday, Sept 26 @10.30 AM. We are not only adjusting to a post-pandemic world, but also a new location and space, so we ask for your cooperation and understanding as we navigate this season:
Reopening of the church and the children’s program will be a process, but I trust that we can do this together. As always I am up for connecting with you, so if you want to chat 1-on-1, or have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Looking forward to seeing and meeting you and your family very soon. Amelia Cunard | RiverKids Director  Dear River Families, How are you? I hope you and your loved ones are doing well and have been enjoying the nice weather we've been having. As the city is re-opening and we are moving into a new normal, I find myself getting excited and nervous at the same time, so I hope some of the information I have been looking at can be helpful for you too. Making our way out of the pandemic will be more of a process and I am grateful to know that we are doing this together. Parenting and managing families.
Travel tips and safety.
Summer camps and fun things to do as NYC is re-opening.
The last year has certainly presented challenges for us to meet as a community, but as we are transitioning, I would like to bring connection back into focus. As we approach Pentecost (May 23), and the weeks that come after, RiverKids will be listening to stories about the coming of the Holy Spirit, the early church, and the spread of the Good News. We will be exploring the role of the Holy Spirit in empowering, connecting, and uniting us as a church community. We will pray, chat, and encourage each other until we are able to safely meet again in person...very soon!! (please be on the lookout for our exciting update on the church space) Also, I am always up for connecting with you and your family, so if you want to chat 1-on-1, or have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. I would love to hear from you! Amelia Cunard | RiverKids Director  One of the biggest seasons in the church Calendar is coming up! Sunday, Feb 21 is the first Sunday of Lent or the 40 Days of Faith, as we call it at the River. It is the time when we, as a church, press into our spiritual lives and prepare for a big celebration on “Resurrection Sunday” which falls on April 4 this year.
This year’s Riverkids/Youth theme is “Ways to pray”. It has always been my desire to create room for our children to recognize God’s presence in their life and respond to this recognition. One of my earliest memories about prayer happened when I was 6 years old. I was woken up one night by my sister’s cry. She had a nightmare. My dad came into our bedroom and led us in prayer. His response to our fear that night stayed with me throughout the years, even during my skeptical times. Author Lacy Finn Borgo of "Spiritual Conversations with Children" believes that our spiritual life and relationship with God cannot be separated from our childhood experiences. When children have listening and prayer companions, whether that would be parents, siblings, or friends in the community, who hear, acknowledge, and encourage their early experiences with God, it creates a spiritual footprint that shapes their lives. So, for this reason, I would like to invite our families to embrace this season together with the community - Here are just a few ways to engage:
And as always, I am always up for connecting with you and your family, so if you have any questions or concerns, or just want to chat 1-on-1, please do not hesitate to contact me. I would love to hear from you! Looking forward to an exciting season with your family. Amelia Cunard | RiverKids Director |
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