Dear Parents,

Thank you so much for your support and care as we enter this season of transition in our Children’s Ministry. In advance of Barbara’s last day (June 30), we have been working to craft an interim strategy that not only keeps things going, but maintains the energy and momentum that we have built over the years.

Moving Forward

Summer: Barbara and Nikki are working to fill out a full roster of storytellers and volunteers for our two classes (3-K and 1-4) through the end of the summer. There are still plenty of open slots.

Fall: On August 23rd, we will return to our 3-classroom structure (3-K, 1st-3rd, 4th-5th) and will need your help with volunteering (see below)!

• Hilary Winchell will be present to support Sunday morning ministry with volunteer meetings, assisting storytellers, and sourcing classroom materials.
• Nikki Milbrath will be supporting the nursery team, fielding various questions, concerns and needs that crop up, sending out lesson plans, and populating the volunteer assignments – see below!
• Amelia Hamiter will be expanding her areas of responsibility and care to support Nikki and hold some of the more “big picture” aspects and rhythms of the ministry.
• Family Ambassadads Brett Wise (3-K) and Nathan Aléman (1st-3rd) are adopting classrooms and will be cheerleading our volunteers, beginning in August. In this role, they’ll be hype-manning volunteerism and generally dad-fluencing by connecting with folks and welcoming new families. Join in the fun! You, too, can be an ambassadad/ambassamom!
• Content, approach, and how we gather will continue as usual. Lesson plans and rhythms will continue to follow the liturgical year. The Harvest Festival is still ON – save the date: October 18th after service.
• The search will continue (see below)!

How You Can Help

• Volunteer! Be a storyteller or a classroom aide – especially in the 3’s-K and 1st-3rd classes. If every parent volunteered once a month, we would be covered! Stay tuned for an email from Nikki with a link to volunteer. 
• Connect with each other! We need you to be relational glue – say hi to new families and help them get oriented. Connect with one another through post-worship play dates, family CGs (Glen Park and Richmond), or host a neighborhood meet up. All of these acts weave a fabric of relationship and care that help folks know we are a community that journeys together and resources one another.
• Adopt a class! Be willing to be on deck for any last-minute needs, connecting with parents in that particular class, and just generally being a hype parent for the unique space that has been created for our children. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from Barbara over the years, it’s that children will carry emotional memories of being safe, cared for, loved, and belonging much longer and more deeply than a bit of Bible trivia or a particular story.
• Spread the word! Finding the right children’s ministry director is not easy and we need your help.

Hiring Team Update

The hiring team has been interviewing candidates and are continuing to search for the right person for this next chapter of life together. We are committed to an intentional and thoughtful search, so please hold the process in prayer – and spread the word throughout your church/friend networks. You never know who knows who!

This season of transition is an invitation for us all to show up in new ways and, by that, begin to imagine how our children can be formed in faith by the many hands and hearts that make up our community. As always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

Faithfully,

The Children’s Ministry Transition Team

Nikki Milbrath, Children’s Ministry Associate

Amelia Hamiter, Pastoral Resident

Hilary Winchell, Volunteer Extraordinaire

Ryan Curtis, Elder

Emily McGinley, Senior Pastor