Our Blog

Dear friends: July 22

How is it possible that we are already nearing the end of July? The summer is flying by!

As you have read in recent editions of the Penn Street Online, the mission and ministry of First Pres remains vibrant all summer long. Seasonal ministries like Mission on the Move, Senior High Mission Trip, Vacation Bible School, Music and Arts Camps, children and youth camps and conferences, and more are woven into the rhythm of the ongoing ministries of Community Crossroads, Christian Nurture, Congregational Care, Fellowship, Evangelism, Mission, and of course, weekly worship. Mission and ministry occur on our Penn Street and Hemphill campuses, through our expanding digital campus, and in locations throughout our city, region, nation, and world. It has been an exciting and faithful summer.

As a new school year quickly approaches, your staff is hard at work finalizing plans for the fall season of ministry. Back to school gatherings, new educational and fellowship opportunities for all ages, expanded digital campus offerings, the annual stewardship emphasis, and so much more will continue to engage and equip us all to live out our calling as disciples of Jesus Christ. Look to the August and September editions of the Penn Street Letter in addition to the weekly Penn Street Online for more information about mission and ministry in the weeks and months ahead and consider how you will be engaged and grow in your own discipleship. I am grateful God has called us all together in the community of faith we know and love as First Pres!

God’s peace,
Michael Waschevski
Senior Associate Pastor

Dear friends: July 15

This summer I have been encouraging parents, grandparents, and anyone with children in their lives to read Meredith Miller's book, Woven. (shameless plug: Meredith Miller will be here on August 23 from 4:30-6 p.m. Click here to learn more and register.) Throughout the book, Meredith describes faith as a web that is woven over time through relationships, experiences, and moments that help us know God's love. The hope is that if one strand of that web is stretched or even broken at some point in life, the rest of the web remains strong enough to hold us. We don't place the weight of faith on a single experience, person, or moment. Instead, we help our children build a lifelong web of connections that continually remind them that they belong to God and to a community of faith.

That image has stayed with me as I think about the way we shape children's ministry at First Pres. Our goal isn't simply to create one unforgettable event. Rather, we seek to weave together countless opportunities for children to encounter God through meaningful relationships, time in creation, serving others, making music, going on hikes, acting out Bible stories, worshiping together, and discovering that church is a place where they are known and loved. Every experience becomes another strand in the web of faith that is being formed.

As summer continues, I give thanks for every person who helps weave those strands. Whether you volunteer in Church School, serve at VBS or as a Grandfriend at Mission on the Move, sponsor a retreat, pray for our children, greet kids on Sunday mornings, or simply take the time to listen to a child, you are helping build a web of faith. Thank you for being part of the beautiful web God is weaving through the children of First Pres.

Ann Nielsen
Director of Children & Family Ministries