Saturday, December 15, 2012

Talking to Children in Times of Trajedy


"Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice and your joy no one will ever take from you." 
John 16:22

The recent tragedies in Connecticut are unimaginable and heart wrenching. Our thoughts and prayers go out to every single person, and their families, who are affected by this tragedy. 

We are so thankful for the wonderful children of RPC and thank God for each and every one of them.

It is incredibly vital at a time like this that you remind your child of God's love for everyone, especially them. Children are at a critical time in their faith development and when tragedies such as these are left unaddressed, we risk children coming to their own conclusions about God's will and abilities. Please contact the church if you need help with how to talk to your child about this topic, or would like Sarah Kate or any pastor to work with your child. I strongly encourage you to look at the resources below for excellent information and tips.

We are quickly putting together resources for dealing with tragedies involving children as well as resources for talking to your children in situations such as these. Lane is posting several resources and reflections on his blog so we want to direct you to that:


Here are additional resources:

Helping Children Deal with Death

HELPING CHILDREN COPE WITH TRAGEDY RELATED ANXIETY

Dealing With Grief: Five Things NOT To Say And Five Things To Say In A Trauma Involving Children
***This is one of the most important resources I can offer to you. It emphasizes the importance of how to portray God in a time like this. We have to prevent children from thinking God played any role in this tragedy.


Helping your children manage distress in the aftermath of a shooting

Resources to Help Parents, Children and Others Cope in the Aftermath of School Shootings

A National Tragedy: Helping Children Cope

Children and Grief

Talking to Kids After National Tragedy

Caring for Kids After a School Shooting

Talking To Your Children About Violence Against Kids

Some books that offer excellent sections on how to help children understand crisis and distress, while maintaining a centering on God's love.

 

When Children Suffer - section 14, 15
Pastoral Care - section 4 (and several resources of creative ways to help children talk to you and express their feelings and emotions)



If you need more information on talking to your children about grief, tragedy, death, etc. please contact any of our pastors or Sarah Kate DeWyngaert, Director of Children's Ministry.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Family Sunday School


Children's Advent Lesson
The Sunday after Thanksgiving we always combine the elementary Sunday school classes for a special Advent lesson that we call, Family Sunday school. Parents and children come to Sunday school together to learn more about Advent, in preparation of the coming season.

This year we talked about each different candle within the Advent Wreath and what each of them means. Here are some questions about the Advent candles that you can discuss with your children.

1st candle: Hope - This candle represents the promise of our savior coming to earth. What are you hopeful for this Advent season?
2nd candle: Peace - Jesus came to earth to bring peace to everyone! He creates calmness in our hearts because he loves us and saved us!
3rd candle: Joy - We have so much happiness in our hearts because Jesus came to love us and save us. How will you celebrate your joy for Jesus on Christmas day?
4th candle: Love - God loves us unconditionally. God loves us so much that God gave us Jesus. How will you show people that you love them?
5th candle: Christ – We light this candle on Christmas Eve. We will celebrate the birth of Christ with presents, our friends and family and yummy food, just like how you celebrate your birthday! What birthday present do you want to give to Jesus?

Together, each family made an Advent calendar to use throughout the season. Advent calendars help us count the days until the celebration of Christ’s birth as well as prepare ourselves by challenging us to act Christ like. Each day of Advent was assigned a special task that the children choose. Below are the tasks they used.

The end product!


If you were unable to attend Family Sunday school on November 25 and want more Advent education ideas for your children or would like this Advent calendar craft kit, please contact Sarah Kate.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Important, but mostly fun, event reminders!

Today is the last day to sign-up for the American Girl Fashion Show in March! There is still time! Get in touch with Sarah Kate (sarahkate@roswellpres.org  770-649-4507) ASAP!

***Because we have had such a great response for adult chaperones we can now offer this event to our preschool and kindergarten children as well.

Available to Prek-5th grade!





Make sure to stay after the 3pm Christmas Eve Service to join us in the narthex for Jesus' birthday party!