August 4, 2020
I Miss You
For and About Children
I miss you! I miss seeing your child's smiling face as they come into church on Sunday morning. I miss the Sunday School teachers coming in early and chatting as they gather up materials in the resource room. I even miss meeting with our committees and staff face to face and sharing stories about our lives.

I miss hearing the organ on the other side of the wall from the Sunday School wing (because if you stand in the stairwell there you can hear it) and knowing that church is almost over and we will soon see you coming through the doors to pick up your children. I miss the chats with parents as they drop off their children. I miss seeing young singers in church and church meals in the Fellowship Hall. While I liked what we came up with for our family summer series - I really missed all the excitement, laughter, enthusiasm, and busyness of Vacation Bible School and the friendships that come with 50+ people working together for a common goal. But, for a while this is how it must be.

Yet, if we look at where we are now in preparation for the children, we are light years ahead of where we were when we suddenly went remote last March. We found some new ways to do things and we've continued to connect with each other. Looking at our participation in various programs, at least 2/3 of you have been engaged in some way in the children's programming and that is aside from things like going to church on line, possibly watching Sunday School, or reading things like this newsletter!

We have been meeting to do some planning for the fall. I look forward to seeing some of you again on zoom and maybe a few in person events. We are looking at ways to support parents and provide just some down time. We are looking at revamping and reinstituting some programs that had some success such as a preschool zoom and an afterschool or lunch snack and games time for older kids. We are looking at ways to build communities and involve children in decision making.

And we haven't forgotten valued traditions. We are searching for ways to continue some new and old traditions such as launching children into the next grade with blessings and honoring the faith step of providing third graders with Bibles.

If you have any ideas or would like to participate in any of these endeavors, you can take the survey below (there is room there for suggestions or additional comments) or you can reply to cboyce@boxp.net.
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Give Us Some Feedback.... Please!

It's not too late and we want to hear from YOU (personally). Each of you has different needs and we'd love to try to meet yours as best we can. Thanks to the many of you who have filled out the survey. We've had a great response and we love hearing from you.

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Laughter is Good for the Soul

Tweeted during quarantine, "Alexa, homeschool the children."

Posted on a Facebook page, "If you had asked me what the hardest part of battling a global pandemic would be I would have never guessed, 'teaching elementary school math.'”

Finland just closed its borders. You know what that means. No one will be crossing the finish line.

While teaching her three-year-old daughter the Lord's Prayer, the mother spent several evenings repeating each line with her. Finally, going solo, the mother listened with pride as the daughter carefully recited each line. Coming to the end, the mother was surprised to hear, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from E-mail."

This is what the Lord says, "Forget the former things; do not dwell in the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland," Isiah 43: 18-19
First Presbyterian Church of Libetyville 847.362.2174 www.firstpreslibertyville.org