CHILDREN'S MINISTRY @ FIRST UMC

Join the MOB

We have chosen our book for the next "Moms On Books" study. It is called The Cup of Life: A Guide for Spiritual Growth by Joyce Rupp. You can find more information about it at http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Cup-of-Our-Life/Joyce-Rupp/e/9780877936251/?itm=7.

Brian Cuchia, from My Gym (children’s fitness center), will come to our church from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in June and July to entertain our children (aged three and older) while we have our book study. We will provide a church childcare worker for children under age three. The cost will be $8 per child. Our meeting dates will be June 16th and 30th and July 7th and 21st.

If you are interested in joining the MOB this time around, please contact Leslie Ivey at texasivey@sbcglobal.net or Paula Stiernberg at paula@fumcaustin.org.  Feel free to invite your friends!

Vacation Bible School Camp EDGE: Experience and Discover God Everywhere August 3rd through 7th

Camp E.D.G.E. Vacation Bible School (VBS) takes your children to an extreme adventure camp where they will Experience and Discover God Everywhere! Through rockin’ contemporary music, larger-than-life recreation games, mind-boggling science activities, extreme sports videos, and cool, challenging crafts, we will show your kids how to live on the E.D.G.E. in their faith.

VBS is for children aged three (and potty trained) through fifth grade and will be held in our Family Life Center from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. The cost is $25, which includes a T-shirt and a CD. Extended childcare is available in the afternoons until 5:00 p.m. for an additional charge. Childcare is also available in the mornings for children too young to participate in VBS.

Register your child now for an action-packed, adrenaline-filled expedition that will teach children that their strength and might come from God. Registration and Medical Release forms are available online at http://www.fumcaustin.org/ministries/children/index.html. If you have any questions, please contact Leslie Ivey with at texasivey@sbcglobal.net or 899-3651.

Volunteers Needed for Vacation Bible School

Do you want to spend a week surrounded by the most enthusiastic and adoring group of people you could ever imagine?

Do you want to have your heart touched by the light that radiates from innocent faces and inquisitive minds?

Do you want to give yourself in mission and feel that you get more back in return?

If so, then becoming a Vacation Bible School volunteer is the right job for you.

VBS will take place August 3rd-7th from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon in our Family Life Center. There are many volunteer opportunities available during that week, so sign up now.

To find out how to get involved, please contact Leslie Ivey at texasivey@sbcglobal.net. Free childcare is available the week of VBS to all volunteers who have children too young to participate.

2009 V. B.S. Registration Form (PDF or Word)

Extended Childcare Registration Form (PDF or Word)

Children’s Summer Sunday School Begins June 7th

Childcare
8:15 to 9:45 a.m.
Infants
Room 103

Toddlers - Kindergarten
Room 104

Music Time
9:45 to 10:00 a.m.
Infants
Room 103

Toddlers - Two-year-olds
Room 104

Three-year-olds - Kindergarten
Room 102

First Grade - Fifth Grade
Room 108

Lesson/Story Time
10:00 to 10:45 a.m.
Infants
Room 103

Toddlers - Two-year-olds
Room 104

Pre-Kindergarten
(Including five-year-olds who have not attended Kindergarten)
Room 102

Kindergarten - Second Grade
(Grade on May 1st, 2009)
Room 101

Third Grade - Fifth Grade
(Grade on May 1st, 2009)
Room 108

PLEASE remember to pick up your children by 10:50 so that our teachers may attend worship services, too. Childcare is available for all worship services in 103 or 104.

Download Summer Sunday School Schedule in PDF format

We are very excited about our new Summer Sunday School schedule beginning June 7th.

We have a group of wonderful, motivated teachers who are ready to love and laugh with your children as we explore God’s love for us. Introduce yourself to your child’s teacher and remember to add them to your list of blessings for which you are very grateful!

In our pre-kindergarten class, we have a great team of teachers, including Meredith Highsmith, John and Christine Engler (all teaching veterans) and Susannah Holt and Kari Potts. The teachers will be using a curriculum called, “God’s Love In…” that explores all the ways God loves us.

Both our Kindergarten – Second Grade Class and the Tweener Class of third, fourth, and fifth graders will be using the Live B.I.G. curriculum. Under the direction of our new summer teachers, children will learn to live their belief in God through song, fun activities, and service.

In our Kindergarten – Second Grade Class, Bergan Casey, Karen Hattaway, Charlie Highsmith, Natalie Williams, and Rebecca Brown are all ready to have a BIG time with our children.

Our Tweener Class (third, fourth and fifth grades) is going to be in constant motion, thanks to their team of teachers. Leslie Ivey, Darcy Hamre, Kara Swinney, and Kevin Waggoner are all loads of fun and are very excited about this opportunity.

Please don’t miss a single Sunday with these folks! They’re expecting you and have great plans for a wonderful summer.

	Easter Egg Hunt 2009
	"The Empty Cave" - Easter Play 2009
	Children's Christmas Musical 2008
	Easter Egg Hunt 2008
	Children's Sabbath (October 14, 2007)
	V.B.S. 2007
	Easter People
	2007 Easter Egg Hunt

For More Photos, go to our Photo Album Page

Acolyte Schedule June - August 2009(PDF or DOC)

This dedicated group of young people literally brings God's light into our church each week. They are all wonderful and committed to this act of serving our church.

	Megan Proctor Megan likes movies, computer games, hip-hop dance lessons, taking walks with mom and dad, playing with her sister and the family dog. Megan has been apart of First Church since she was about 4 years of age. Megan has also been baptized at FUMC.
	Amanda Cripe School: Dripping Springs Middle School (6th grade) Interests/Hobbies: Hobbies are playing basketball and listening to the Jonas Brothers Favorite food: Chick fil a How long you've been an acolyte: She's been an acolyte since third grade.
	Caroline McFarland Caroline has attended FUMC all her life. She loves to read (usually about 5 books at a time!), swim, and play tennis and soccer. She is a budding pianist and has a passion for riding, jumping, and showing horses. She enjoys spending time with friends and family, especially her sister. She views her job as an acolyte as a great way to be of service to the church.
	Jacob Wilder Jacob enjoys Boy Scouts and boat trips. He likes to travel and go fishing with his dad.
	Lily Hickman-Waldon Lily loves to travel and has been everywhere from the Galapagos Islands to New York City. She enjoys singing, drawing anime (Japanese style drawing), sewing, Girl Scouts, playing with her friends. Her favorite food are chips and queso. She takes her time as an acolyte very seriously. She has been an acolyte for 2 years
	Clara Stuart
	Susannah Crowell
	Andrew Pickard Grade and school: 2nd Grade, Oak Hill Elementary Interests/hobbies: Loves animals, especially reptiles, and wants to be a Herpetologist (aka Reptile Man) Favorite food: Vanilla Ice-Cream How long you've been an acolyte: His 1st time will be this Sunday, Sept. 23rd.
	Lily Wendt
	Jenna Stephens
	Scotty Stevens
	Gabriel Baker 4th grade at Patton Elementary interests/hobbies - football, soccer, bicycling, hiking, jumping on trampoline, playing with friends, Albert Einstein, reading favorite food - top ramen, chocolate, pizza, steak Gabriel has been an acolyte for more than a year.
	Rachel Proctor

- Dr. Paula Stienrberg

Why do we welcome children in worship at FUMC?

• Children are a part of our church family, and we share responsibility for nurturing their spiritual needs. We embraced this role at their baptism. They will thrive with our loving acceptance of them as partners in the faith of Jesus Christ.
  
• Children add richness to the community. They bring a new perspective to old familiar rituals, they show a unique understanding of the wonder and mystery of the sacraments, and they have a fascinating way of taking nothing for granted. Their presence is essential to the vitality and growth of our church.
  
• By welcoming children at our church’s most sacred moments, they learn that nothing can separate them from the love of God. It is through our worship service that children can come to know God and not just know about God. By worshiping together with our children we pass on our traditions for praising God through the sacraments, music, proclaiming and hearing the good news, and offering our gifts and our prayers.

Download the full version of the article here (PDF).

Click here for MS Word (doc) version of the article.

• March 1, 2009 ( PDF or DOC)
• January 4, 2009 ( PDF or DOC)

	Freerice.com You can learn the definitions of new words and earn free rice for people who are hungry around the world.
	Partnerships for Children is a non-profit public/private partnership that provides services directly to children under the care of Child Protective Services (CPS) in the Austin area.

FUMC worship services are led by a team of acolytes each week. The acolytes are children who have undergone a training class. The acolytes lead the procession by bringing the “Light of Christ” into our worship service and lighting the candles. The acolytes extinguish the candles at the end of the service and remind us that each of us is called to carry the “Light of Christ” out into the world as they symbolically leave with their wands lit. Any child in 1st grade or higher is invited to attend acolyte training and to become a part of this very special ministry.

First Church offers a monthly baptism class for parents who would like to have their infant welcomed into our congregation by this holy sacrament. This class will meet on the third Sunday of each month at 10:00 a.m. in the library and will be taught by Paula Stiernberg, Director of Children’s Ministries, and one of our ministers. Participants will discuss the important commitment represented by baptism, the faith development of your child, and specifics of our children’s programs. In addition, families will be able to connect with others in our church who have young children. If your family has an infant baptism in the future, please contact Cindy Reidland at cindy@fumcaustin.org or 478-5684 (ext. 206) to reserve your space in this class.

The Sunday morning nursery program is provided for infants and toddlers to allow them the opportunity to experience God’s love by making church a safe place to play and grow. Childcare is available for infants in Room 103 and toddlers in Room 104 during the Sunday School hour and worship.  Childcare is available in Room 102 for three and four year olds during worship. Older children are invited and encouraged to attend worship. Childcare is provided in Room 104 for meetings during the week depending on the age of the children. Please make reservations by emailing childcarefumc@yahoo.com or calling Director of Childcare Samantha Franklin at (512) 478-5684, ext. 228, prior to the event.

Children’s Choir (Chorister) rehearsals (late August through end of May) are Sundays, 9:15 - 9:45 a.m. in Room 108 of the Education Building. The children's choir performs once a month throughout the fall and spring.  Special performances occur during the Christmas season, and a fully staged musical is presented in May.  Third through Fifth graders take part in special music time (Orff instruments and choir chimes) the first Sunday of each month at 12:15 - 1:00 p.m. For more information, contact Jennifer Pavlovich at jennifer@pavlovich.com or 478-5684 ext. 210.

This mission project allows families to share gently used children’s coats with less fortunate Austin area families. Coats are collected in October for distribution by the Austin Coats for Kids program.

 

 

First United Methodist is blessed with an outstanding Preschool program. FUMP is a preschool where play is developmentally appropriate five days a week, where children enjoy and learn from caring and loving teachers, attend bi-monthly chapel, and  grow in a safe and caring Christian environment.

For more information call Sandy Pennington at 478-5709 or go to FUM Preschool website at http://fumcaustin.org/preschool/

 

Reaching out to new babies is a special part of the FUMC ministry to families. A new baby packet is delivered to the family containing helpful information about your growing baby and a beautiful cd of soothing music. Families will continue to receive a monthly newsletter called Splash! from our church to help with faith-building activities and child development ideas appropriate for each month of your baby’s first year. The nursery is staffed with highly-qualified childcare workers who have received their first aid/cpr certification, criminal background checks and an Interactive Care Training from Dr. Paula Stiernberg, our director of childcare. Childcare is available for all church services. Parents needing childcare for church events must make reservations by emailing childcarefumc@yahoo.com or calling Director of Childcare Samantha Franklin at (512) 478-5684, ext. 228, prior to the event. Reservations help the childcare workers to maintain a proper ratio of workers to children and ensure quality care for your child. Dr. Stiernberg and our pastoral staff are available and eager to talk to new parents concerning the baptism of their child and to arrange scheduling of the service.

Movn’ On’ Movin’ Up is held near the beginning of the school year. This is an opportunity for parents to learn about children’s programming opportunities and register their children for events. Sunday School teachers and leaders of various children's activities are introduced during the morning.

 

Studying Scripture is one of the most important ways we learn about God. FUMC presents personal Bibles to each third grade student as a statement of their growing faith development and as recognition of their being old enough to study Scripture on their own.

 

 

During Advent and Lent special events are offered for children and families. The Advent Festival includes dinner followed by Advent and Christmas workshops and the evening concludes with a worship service. The children are invited to participate in the 5:00pm  Christmas Eve Service which is designed to encourage participation by children in the nativity story. Lent activities offer a traditional Easter Egg Hunt and  Family Picnic. Children's Sabbath is celebrated during the fall with a worship service led by children of various ages. During this service children usher, lead prayers, and preach the sermon.

FUMC believes that Christian Education is vital to Christian development and nurture. We also believe that Sunday School is a key element to a well grounded Christian Education Program. Therefore, we offer Sunday School for toddlers through 5th grade each week. Our Sunday School program helps children grow in their understanding of God's love by studying scripture, prayer, the sacraments and discovering what it means to be a valued member of the body of Christ and this church. Toddlers and two year olds use the "Toddlers and Two's" resource, which employs a variety of activities and music to expose them to God's love. Children from 3 years old to those in 1st grade use Godly Play, which is a Montessori style of presenting the Bible stories to the children and encouraging them to respond. Those in 2nd through 5th grade use "Exploring Faith" as their main resource, which teaches children about the Bible, how to apply it to their daily lives, and the importance of service to others. All resources used are United Methodist approved and are available for review at any time. We hope you will visit a class soon.

This program is open to all children in 3rd-5th grades and offers a time for making friendships, mission service, Christian Education, and  fun. The Tweeners currently hold an annual Souper Bowl offering to collect funds for feeding ministries in the Austin area, make and sell Manna Bags which contain a meal to be given to homeless persons on street corners, and participate in recreational events such as ice skating and Lazer Tag. Tweeners meets once a month for their various activities.

Vacation Bible School is held each summer for area children.  This program offers children five mornings of music, snacks, games, crafts and Bible study in a fun and relaxed environment.

 

 

 

 

Worship packets are available for preschool and elementary age children in all worship services. Special bulletins and crayons are available for children to use during worship services and then return the crayons following the service. Ask ushers for assistance. A Cry Room is available in the balcony area of the sanctuary for babies and young children who become restless during worship. A microwave and refrigerator are available in the Cry Room along with rocking chairs, cribs, changing tables, toys and children's books. To reach the Cry Room use the elevator located in the narthex of the sanctuary.