Blessing in a Backpack...
BECAUSE HUNGER DOESN’T TAKE A BREAK ON WEEKENDS
What does $80 mean to you?
Think about what $80 means to you. To many American school children, it means they will have access to weekend nourishment throughout the school year – giving them a better chance of educational success. New Spirit Lutheran Church is partnering with BLESSINGS IN A BACKPACK to sponsor 30 children from Steele Elementary School located at 700 S. Sarnoff for the 2012-2013 school year.
This unique program is designed to feed elementary school children whose families qualify for the Federal Free/Reduced Price Meal Program and have little or no food on the weekends. Better test scores, improved reading skills, positive behavior, improved health and increased attendance have all been attributed to the success of this program. Every Friday, students receive their backpacks with staples that require little or no preparation. They return with their backpacks on Monday ready to learn.
We need volunteers who can help with fund raising, food purchasing, packing and delivering backpacks to Steele Elementary School on each Thursday, and picking up the empty backpacks from the school each week.
Our hope is to increase this program to feed even more children at more schools in our neighborhood. Have a few hours a week to spare? You can make a difference!
It’s About Baptism
As the congregation cranes their necks to watch the baptism, the Pastor reads these words: “Will you bring this child to the services of God’s house? Will you teach him/her to pray? Will you read to him/her the mighty acts of God in the Scriptures? Will you model for him/her the “godly life”? Will you see to his/her instruction in the faith? Will you raise him/her in communion with the church, so that one day he/she will claim their confident faith in God before the witnesses of that generation?” Every parent has said, “I will.”
But, there’s a break in the system. Children are not regularly attending Worship, or Sunday School. That inconsistency will affect faith development later in life. We give Bibles to children, and our expectation is that parents and children will read from them each week, and that you will bring their Bibles with them to Worship, Sunday School, and in time, Confirmation classes.
Worship is central to our life of faith. Although we do have a nursery, children over the age of 2 need to be in church. It is best if families with children sit up front, in the first two pews, so the children can see the “action” up front. When children sit in the back rows, they are removed from “the action” and thus, are easily distracted by anything but the worship.
A way to engage your children is to have them find the Scripture readings for the day in their Bibles, and have them follow along. We have instructed the Nursery Staff that no children over the age of 3 are to be in the Nursery during worship and Sunday School times. The Baptismal Covenant noted above gives the primary responsibility of teaching our faith in Jesus Christ to the parents!
At a very early age, children learn what is “holy and important” to their parents. The 1st Commandment is all about that! Here is an invitation: Parents, this Sunday bring your family to the front rows of the sanctuary. Encourage your children to watch the drama unfold. Talk on the way home about what your children experienced. Make worship a priority in planning your week. We’ll see you in church!