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Children's Ministries

Calvary's Children, Youth & Family May 28, 2020 Weekly Update

Vacation Bible School Sunday Morning Kidz Club Weekdays School at Home Children & Racism

Vacation Bible School

Rocky Railway VBS Saves the Summer!

Parents, send your kids on a mountaintop adventure July 6-10! At Rocky Railway VBS, kids discover Jesus’ power can pull them through life’s ups and downs. Rocky Railway is filled with incredible Bible-learning experiences kids see, hear, touch, and even taste! Sciency-Fun Gizmos™, team-building games, cool Bible songs, and tasty treats are just a few of the standout activities that help faith flow into real life. These stations will be accessible through pre-recorded videos found right here on this page. A registration fee of $20 per child or $50 per family provides many of the materials including a T-shirt, music CD and Bible Adventure book. Plus, we’ll help kids discover how to see evidence of God in everyday life—something we call God Sightings®. Get ready to hear that phrase a lot!
Your kids will also participate in a hands-on mission project, through a program called Operation Kid-to-Kid™, that will provide alpacas to families in need in Ecuador, South America.
Parents, grandparents, and friends are invited to join us at Rocky Wrap-Up each day via Zoom at 11:40 AM, a daily exploration of why we can trust Jesus!
So mark these dates on your calendar: July 6-10. The fun starts at 9 AM via Zoom and continues via pre-recorded videos of each station accessible on this page. Register your children today for this life-changing adventure!

For more information contact our Director of Children, Youth & Family Ministries, Jeff Moeller.

Sunday Morning

This week at our Zoom Sunday School we will be learning about the Fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:26. We are encouraging kids to bring a fruit snack, smoothie, or fruit treat to our Zoom on Sunday! Click here for a downloadable Bingo Sheet that kids can use to mark off how they show the fruits of the Spirit this next week. Kids are invited to show their progress and share a story next week on the zoom.

Here are our Zoom links for this Sunday!

Grades 4-6 meet at 9-9:30
Grades preschool through 3rd grade meets at 9:20-9:50 AM.

Children will learn about the person of Jesus and Bible stories through hands-on learning activities, such as games, art, science, and more! This is a 20-30 minute experience prior to our live-stream worship at 10 AM.

To register your child during this COVID-19 pandemic, simply email our Director of Children, Youth, and Family Ministries, Jeff Moeller using this link.

Education and Activity Registration

Kidz Club Weekdays

Kidz Club is held at 11 AM on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This week focuses on the prophet Elijah. We are going to make a rainstorm in a glass and make a picture dance! The schedule and resources for next week include:

Tuesday: The Prophet Elijah – Glass of water, white shaving cream, ½ cup of water with 4 drops blue food coloring, spoon.

Thursday: Elijah and The Prophets of Baal – a bowl or plate, dry erase marker, and a cup of water.

To register for this experience simply email Jeff Moeller, our Director of Children, Youth, and Family Ministries. Type Kidz Club in the subject line.

School at Home

Below are websites and resources to help parents provide academic instruction at home. These sites are free, some have a subscription or purchase option. Most sites cover multiple subjects for every grade.

Guidelines for Online Safety

Homeschool Curriculum

Easy Peasy All-in-One

ELA

Social Studies, Math & Science

Computer Science Education

Design and Drawing:

Music:

PE:

Children & Racism

Talking about race with children helps them develop positive understandings and perspectives concerning race and diversity, promoting a more just future for all. Young children notice racial differences. Acknowledging and talking about these differences defeats racism and prevents kids from drawing their own generalizations and conclusions.

At birth, babies look equally at faces of all races. At 3 months, babies look more at faces that match the race of their primary caregivers.
Children as young as two years old use race to reason about people's behaviors.
By 30 months most children use race to choose playmates.
Racial prejudice expressions often peak by ages 4 & 5.
By 5 years, Black and Latino children in research settings show no preference towards their own groups. White children, however, remain strongly biased toward their own ethnic group.
By kindergarten, children show many of the same racial attitudes that adults in their culture hold.
Explicit conversations with 5-7-year-olds about interracial friendships can dramatically improve attitudes in as little as a week.

Excerpted from The Children's Community School, February 28, 2018.

Faith Formation for Youth

Middle School High School Youth Helping Teens Handle Loss

Middle School

During this COVID-19 season we are connecting as a faith community, sharing scripture and road testing some games on Monday nights via Zoom at 7 PM! We have discovered some fun games. This week we road test the game Mafia. As always, McD's ice cream gift card goes to the winners! To connect with us on Monday nights contact Jeff Moeller our Director of Children, Youth, and Family Ministry.

Our ministry to middle schoolers and their families includes, resourcing parents, confirmation, retreats, small group Bible studies, community service, and youth gatherings. Contact our Director of Children, Youth and Family Ministries, Jeff Moeller for more information.

High School Youth

High School Youth:

Meets every Thursday, via ZOOM at 7:30 - 8 PM. This is just a time to connect, check-in and gather around God's Word to pray for each other. Click here for the link.
Student Ministry here at Calvary includes leadership development, peer ministry, small group Bible studies, retreats, community service, and youth gatherings.
Young people by virtue of their baptism are the church of today. God is transforming and calling them to make a difference in their culture, our community, and in the world.

Helping Teens Handle Loss

Our kids feel cheated, their losses are real and tangible. The celebrations, seasons, and rites of passage have just evaporated leaving them with disappointment and no closure. Christine Carter Ph.D. is an author and former Director of the Greater Good Science Center. She offers the following practical help for parents.

Acknowledge their loss- Their losses are real, discounting them just adds to the grief and frustration. Acknowledging their loss and feelings is helpful.
Name their feelings-Teens live out their emotions intensely. Identifying their feelings shows empathy and helps them "tame it" once they have "named it."
Teach the Stages of Grief-Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and David Kessler work on grief due to common losses, detailed 5 stages that are non-linear in nature.
- Denial- Young people are denying the threat and danger of their exposure and ability to spread the COVID-19 virus.
- Anger-Youth are mad at authorities and at what is happening in the world.
- Bargaining- Teens are negotiating aggressively to salvage social contact with their friends.
- Depression- Prolonged sadness and isolation can throw young people into depression.
- Acceptance- Kids who have reached acceptance have stabilized their emotions and have regained a sense of control.
Help them find meaning- Meaning comes from helping others and by shining a light in a dark place. It comes from being grateful for loved ones and from a sense of awe by creating or experiencing something different or new.

Faith Formation for Adults

A variety of classes will be offered this year for adults, including:

We have temporarily suspended our face-to-face Sunday morning schedule through April 4 to support the efforts to contain the COVID-19. We are working on an on-line option for our program. Stay tuned.

Sunday Morning Adult Forum:

Discussion Forum by Zoom Sunday 11:15 a.m.

After the Worship Service Sunday, join us via Zoom to discuss the Gospel lesson and Pastor Hand’s sermon. Anyone High School age and up is invited. As it pertains to the Gospel, we will be asking what your reaction would have been if you were there. Regarding Pastor’s sermon, we are looking for your stories.

Look for an email from the church with an invitation to the Zoom session. We welcome guests and visitors! Please email the church office for the meeting information.

Small Group Ministry

Starting Point Small Groups - 8 sessions/8 weeks.
Not sure about what you believe? Struggling with healthy doubts? Giving Church A Second Chance? Looking to jumpstart your faith and relationship with God? Starting Point is for you!
Starting Point is an 8-week small group experience where you can discuss the questions or concerns you have about faith. Your curiosities and your doubts are welcome into the conversation. If you’re interested in joining the next group, please email Pastor Hand at clcpastor@calvarylutheranchurch.org or call the church office, 858-755-2855.
Bible Explorers - Wednesdays, Gathering Room West, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
It is never too late to join us!

Do you have a desire to dig deeper into what the Bible teaches? Here is your chance.

We have great discussion and insights as we unearth new treasures every week.

There is fellowship, sharing and caring time, and of course – treats.

We are currently discussing Exodus. It is a great book of stories, history, and lessons about God. It is a critical basis for all that we find in the New Testament and in our Christian beliefs. What must it have been like? Four-hundred years as slaves, spared by the angel of death, chased by one of the best armies in existence, wandering for forty years in the desert, eating bug secretions, striking rocks for water, no maps, and led by a guy with a speech impediment.
Joyful Bible Belles - first and third Thursdays, 10 am, Gathering Room West. Our Joyful Bible Belles are studying the book of Esther: the story of how one woman made a difference in the lives of many simply by doing what she knew was right. We are on chapters three and four, and it is not too late to join us. Meet in the Gathering Room West. Facilitated by Carole Hildebrand.
Faith Connections Small Groups

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