May Note

From Pastor Ryan

May is upon us, and with it comes the end of another academic year, the end of another year of Adventure Club and Confirmation.  I give thanks for Jill Gillming’s leadership with Adventure Club, our Christian education program for 4th and 5th graders. Adventure Club is a true jewel of the education programs at SOTP. Each week, youth go on a figurative, and sometimes literal, adventure as they dig into the Bible and their own faith.

I also give thanks for the leadership of Jess Panella, Tim Torkelson, Carrie McCabe, Josh Harding, Marissa Rojas, Gregg Gillming, Kim Stegge, Bill and Marcia Ball, Kaz Black, and Nancy Hammer, as well as all those who took time to lead a large-group lesson for our Confirmation program for 6th-8th graders this year. We enjoyed a number of great successes this year and look forward to continuing to improve our program in the future.

Among the successes was the creation of a more intentional service element to our Confirmation program. Throughout the year, confirmation youth made hats and scarves to donate for people who would needed them for winter, they stuffed Easter eggs for SOTP’s Easter egg hunt, and they combined seeds and soil in small pots to start plants for Aarrk Gardens. In addition to more service opportunities, we built in more community time each week, and have seen an increase in connections among the youth.

As the Confirmation year concludes, we will set our sights on the fall when we celebrate the Affirmation of Baptism of our current 8th graders. We will also recruit additional leaders and look for ways to build on the successes of this year, with special focus on increasing connections between the youth and the church.

At this point, you may be wondering why I haven’t mentioned Kids Connect. Well, I am excited to share with you that the Children, Youth, and Family Ministry Team has decided to continue Kids Connect throughout the summer! After a good discussion, we’ve decided to offer it exactly as it has been throughout this year. This means it will be offered at both the 9am and 10:45am services, beginning at 9am and 10:45am, respectively. It will be offered every week except for Memorial Day weekend and the last weekend of June. We know that some of you see summer as the time you invite your kids into worship with you to help them learn how to worship, and we appreciate that. Participation in Kids Connect is always by choice. We love having kids in worship, but also want to honor the needs of families who prefer having their kids in Kids Connect. Either way, we hope this will encourage more regular participation from all our families throughout the summer.

This month, I’ll close with a deep and sincere thank you to all who helped make our latest Trivia Night a rousing success! So much fun was had by all. The spirit of competition was felt in the trivia as well as the silent auction, and we were able to raise nearly $7,000 for the Youth Mission Fund! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

May the peace and love of Christ be with you always,

Pastor Ryan

Email Pastor Ryan:  pastorryan@sotpmail.com