By Beryl Aschenberg, Director of Religious Education
This year, as is our tradition, we will be holding our Annual Religious Education Service in May. This is a service that is meant both to celebrate our young people and provide a service experience that is enjoyable and accessible to people of all ages. We have several stories to tell, songs to sing, and children and youth to recognize and applaud. I hope you will join us on Sunday, May 21 for a joyful closure to our 2016-17 Religious Education classes!
Our RE Sunday Services will feature ceremonial recognition of certain groups, including Eighth Grade OWL graduates, RE class volunteers, and K5 graduates. Parents of K5 graduates should be receiving a letter soon inviting their child’s participation. You can also expect to hear several of our high school seniors present their “Senior Statements,” which is always a highlight of the year.
A special note to those who acted as a teacher, YRUU or OWL advisor, or RE class assistant: we plan to recognize your efforts during these services so we especially hope that you will plan to attend. The children have also created some dazzling gifts of appreciation for you, which will be distributed from the RE Table each of the RE Sunday services.
By the time we celebrate RE Sunday this year we will have joyfully “installed” the Rev. Jennifer Nordstrom as our new Senior Minister. It is an exciting time for First Church! Now, more than ever, we need the commitment of the congregation to actively support our young people in their faith development. It takes almost one hundred people each year to support our Sunday School program and nursery! I hope that many of you will be inspired by what you see during the RE service to ask a lot of questions regarding the Religious Education program for children and youth here at First Church and consider offering your time next year.