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Dedication Class: November 11, 9:00 a.m. in room 122
Dedication Ceremony: December 2

A few months after we started attending Pulpit Rock Church, my husband and I decided to dedicate our son, Luke. He was eight months old, so we figured it was time. He was somewhat good natured, wriggling in our arms as Pastor Bonnie talked about how special he was to us and to his Father in heaven. She read the verse we had selected for him, Matthew 5:14, “You are the light of the world.” We chose it because Luke’s name means light and we wished that some day he would be a light for God. Scott, the worship pastor, prayed over our family as grandparents took pictures, aunts and uncles looked on, and our daughter Bethany looked up, holding the rose Bonnie brought for us for the occasion.

The reason we wanted to dedicate Luke wasn’t to ensure his salvation or to pass our faith onto him as if this ceremony was some kind of magical experience. We wanted to declare before our new friends, before our family, and before God that we desired to be the spiritual teachers for Luke. We wanted him to have a personal relationship with God, and we wanted him to make his own decision to follow Christ. The dedication was one of many steps we will make towards that goal.

If you would like to dedicate your child, you must first attend the orientation class taught by Pastor Bonnie. The next one will be November 11 in room 122 at 9:00. No need to sign up, just come on in. The Dedication Ceremony will be December 2.

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The preschool is hosting a Preschool Outreach Event to benefit Northern Churches Care on Saturday, November 17 from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. in room 203. We held the same event last year and about 20 preschoolers and their parents attended. It was a great success!

Offering money that has been collected by the preshoolers over the last six months or so will be used to purchase supplies to create "Kid Packets.” Often, while the parents are waiting to receive services at the NCC office, their children have to wait 2-3 hours with very little to keep them occupied. The "Kid Packets" will contain a coloring book, crayons, stickers, a toy, snack, and drink. They will be handed out as needed to children at the NCC office.

This is a simple but meaningful outreach activity that a preschool-age child can do and understand. There is no need to RSVP. Just stop by for the short time, and we will give instructions there. A snack will be available for the kids following the project.

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The next pizza night is this Wednesday, November 7. Cost is $3 for adults and $2 for kids, please ask people RSVP to Caitlin Garrett at 598-6767 x. 324.

Box car and Drive in night is November 14. Kids (with parents' help) will make a car out of a box to sit in to watch a movie. This year kids will vote on the cars for three categories:
• most lifelike (usually LOTS of parent help)
• best Awana representation
• and best do-it-yourself (little parent help)
For the past couple of years some kids have been really upset because the winners' were obviously made mostly by parents, but we also don't want to take away this bonding experience if it's something parents do to spend time with their kids.

We have no club on November 21 for Thanksgiving.

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In the regional cross country meet in Canon City on the 13th of October, Megan came in 7th. Her team (The Classical Academy) came in 1st for the girls as did the boys' team!

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We had over 100 visitors and 50 of these did not indicate that they go to a church or said they don’t go to church! If you had your picture taken at the photo center, be sure to stop by the church office to pick it up.

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Our Super Volunteers: Who are they and why do they do it?
Brian & Lisa Plaisted

Tell me about the people in your family: Names and ages. Brian and I have been married for 13 years. We have 4 kids: Jonathan -10, Nathaniel-7, Joseph-5, and Bethany -3.

When and why did you start coming to Pulpit Rock Church? We have been attending PRC since 1995 (with a 3 year pause for an army assignment in Maryland,) so about 9 years. We visited PRC because of its good reputation and because Lisa's parents knew a couple that were on staff at PRC in 1995. We stayed because we were learning a lot from the preaching of Roc Bottomly who was pastor then and because of the connections that we made in our mid-size community group, Bridgebuilders.

Who all volunteers in children’s ministry and what do they do? Brian and I are doing 5th Dimension together this year. He is a good administrator and we both enjoy the small group time as facilitators. Jonathan is in the puppet ministry this year.

How or why did you all start volunteering for children’s ministry? We started slowly. When the kids were smaller and we felt "maxed," I volunteered once a month in the nursery or the preschool classes while Brian co-led a mid-size adult class. Brian thought he was more prepared to be an adult leader. As the years have gone by and our family has grown, we have both wanted to be with our kids on Sunday. I think Brian has become a very solid kid leader. The next year we both volunteered as shepherds once a month. The year after that, we began taking a turn monthly to teach in Kids Clubhouse. This year Brian felt strongly that we should make a commitment to lead the team in Fifth Dimension.

What do you find the most rewarding about your volunteer experience? Working with other adults and children has made us feel more a part of the body at PRC. It is great to know so many people from having worked together.

What have you learned in your volunteering experience? I've seen the work and prayer and heart that goes into making these programs meaningful to our kids. I appreciate the effort of so many people in our church. I also have seen how "many hands (really do) make light work".

What has your family learned from attending children’s ministry? Any especially rewarding experiences? We really enjoyed working together as a family in the Kids' Clubhouse last year. When Brian and I would teach, the kids would help me lead worship or read the scripture or be in a skit or turn out the lights for the movie clip or be part of an example that Brian would use in his teaching or take the offering. We loved doing that together.

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Volunteering as a Shepherd in Kids Clubhouse
Parent volunteers in Kids Clubhouse are called Shepherds. They can be moms or dads, uncles or aunts, grandparents, singles, etc. We don’t require Shepherds to pass a “spirituality” test, just come and be willing to help guide the kids through Clubhouse, ask the discussion questions, and pass out snacks. So to prepare for a small group on Sunday, the volunteers need to get dressed and brush their teeth.

This format has improved over last year because in the past, the kids had to process the story in the large group, maybe getting a chance to answer a question but more likely not. Then they would go upstairs and play with toys, never really having a chance to talk in a guided way. Since we never want to put volunteer Shepherds in the position of teaching, we still don’t expect to give them “teaching” responsibility, but only read the discussion questions provided and let kids talk, then pray for each other. Our intent is to give kids a chance to interact about the content of the Bible story in a small group setting.

Everyone has a Water Buffalo. . . This summer, the kids brought their offering for to help families in different countries. The total offering came to $450.00, so the kids voted to buy a water buffalo for a Pakistani community to share for plowing purposes.

Don’t miss November 25 when Dan Egeler will be teaching on Gratitude with a 60 Minutes clip on the “Lost Kids of Sudan” who kept their faith in spite of enormous hardship and a PBS clip on a boy who lost his faith.

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