Riverkids & riveryouth: back in session

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:
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• Bring your children to RiverKids/Youth consistently. This would help them be more interested in the Bible and help our volunteers form meaningful connections with your children. 
  
  
• Continue conversations at home. As always, we will make our stories and wondering questions available for parents. We believe continued conversations about God and with God helps children feel more connected with themselves and others. 
  
  
• Join our volunteer team. This will not only help us create age-appropriate plans for all the children, but this could be a great opportunity for adults to explore the Bible in ways that you probably have never done before AND with the most fun group of people at church! ;)

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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. ​

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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