Children's Ministries Newsletter

Happy Monday!

We have a Camp Meeting Sunday coming up this week! Please note that there will not be Sunday School this coming Sunday 3/30; instead your family is invited to bring a dish to share and join us for a pot luck brunch between services on Sunday morning! We hope to have you and your families join us for this special Sunday and time of fellowship and meal together!

We need your help in several ways in the next month and you'll see more information about these areas of need and links to sign up to help later in this newsletter:

1. We still need LOTS of items for the Easter Basket Project (we need 28 more buckets/baskets, 77 more chocolate bunnies, and 17 more small stuffed animals!)

*2. I need adult helpers to help with the Easter Baskets on March 26 and April 2 from 6 - 7 pm.

3. We need adults and older kids to help before, during, and after the egg hunt on April 12.

4. We need volunteers to send in treats and snacks for the egg hunt.

5. We are still signing up adult and youth volunteers for VBS and Sports Camp.

6. It's not too late to sponsor Sports Camp too!

Please look for these opportunities to help

Summer 2025 REGISTRATIONS ARE LIVE NOW! You will find the links you're looking for later in this newsletter. Encourage others who do not want to miss info and links for summer to subscribe to THIS NEWSLETTER which will always have all the latest ways to get involved and all the latest information about ministries for children and families.

There's a ton of information about upcoming ministries and events in this newsletter, so I encourage you to get out your calendars and make plans to be a part of all that JW has to offer! You'll also see some links to click that will enable you to sign up to serve with us in some of these ministries-----we need you and there are so many ways for you to use your gifts in the service of God and our church---take a look and join us! And if you have any questions about any of the information in this newsletter or about John Wesley UMC and how you can be involved or get your children involved, please reach out to me anytime at hmurphy_227@yahoo.com or 843-343-3314.

With Love,

Hope

Parents, Please be on hand to help in the Parlor between 6 - 7 this Wednesday night (3/26) as we stuff eggs and next Wednesday night (4/2) and we put together the Easter baskets. We can not do this with the children with out adult helpers, so please come join us with your kids the next two weeks at WNO.

This week's meal is provided by the Thackston School Class.

Fried Chicken Tenders with dips

Chips

Rolls

Caesar Salad

Desserts

Pricing:

$8 - Adults

$4 - Kids 4 - 12 years old

Under 3 years old - FREE

We have children's choirs for children ages 3 and up beginning at 6 p.m.

There is a nursery provided from 6 - 7 p.m. for children 3 and younger.

Please see more information about Adult Bible Studies offered this winter / spring later in this newsletter or reach out to our Director of Christian Education Missy Cario at missycario451@gmail.com.

All Choirs, Programming and Bible Studies will be held this Wednesday.

Sunday, March 30, 2025

Bible Bearers: 8:30 Preston Stanley / 11:00 Kiki Smoak

Children's Sermon: Hope Murphy

Children's Church: 8:30 Brittany Smith / 11:00 Ginger Brewton

*And we still need your help NEXT month! Please check our available dates in April and May and sign up here:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508094CA5AD2FA13-childrens1#/(Children's Church)

Our Children's Church & Bible Bearer Sign Up have now been extended through the end of May 2025 !! Take a look and claim some dates to serve in the next few months:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508094CA5AD2FA13-childrens1#/(Children's Church)

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508094CA5AD2FA13-bible#/ (BIBLE BEARERS)

We need more of the following items:

Baskets or buckets (28 more needed)

chocolate bunnies (77 more needed)

small stuffed animals (17 more needed)

Help us help others!

Bring your items by Hope’s office by March 26, 2025.

The children will assemble the baskets for donation on March 26 & April 2 during WNO.

****WNO PARENTS, Will you please mark your calendars to be available to help with the Easter Basket Project on March 26 and April 2? We will need lots of hands and helpers to make things run smoothly!

Please take a look at the dates in March and April that we need covered and help us as you can!

April 6 at 11

April 20 at 8:30

April 27 at 8:30

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508094CA5AD2FA13-childrens1#/(Children's Church).

We welcome any adults who would like to serve to join our rotation of Children's Church leaders at 8:30 and 11:00.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508094CA5AD2FA13-bible#/ (BIBLE BEARERS)

Children in grades 1 - 5 are welcome to serve as Bible Bearers!

*If you're looking for a way to connect or serve, please contact me and I am happy to give you more information, support, and help you and your families get more involved in our ministries here at John Wesley!

Bring your camera and a basket and meet us in the gym at 10 for snacks and games and treats, and then we will head out to the front lawn to hunt over 2000 eggs! The Easter Bunny will be here for pictures, high fives, and hugs! We hope that you and your family will join us and that you'll invite some friends! *If you (adults, older kids, youth) are willing to help Hope with the Egg Hunt (before, during and after) that morning, please scroll back up and find the sign up and more information. We need you!

We are SO EXCITED for this musical - We are celebrating 40 - yes, FORTY - years of May Day Play Day at John Wesley! WE love this musical and are reprising it for this big anniversary year! (It was the first MDPD musical and we performed it for Kids Ways to Praise in 2003 and at MDPD 2010!) We can't wait for this generation to experience this amazing, fun, memorable musical!

Please mark your calendars and DON'T MISS THIS SUNDAY: May 4th! Our children will present "Down By The Creekbank" at both services and we will have a picnic lunch and games on the front lawn following the 11:00 service. Casual dress is encouraged and we hope you all will plan support our children and join the fun on May 4.

We are so excited to announce our VBS theme and dates for summer 2025! Click on the link below to see a promotion video about this year's theme. We will begin with our volunteer recruitment next week; we will be looking for adults and youth who can commit to serving with us that week. Our registration for campers for our summer program will not open until March 15th. (We need to have as many volunteers in place by then as possible to help us know how many campers we can safely accommodate this summer.)

So, volunteers, please go ahead and sign up below and spread the word in your classes, groups, Bible studies and circles and lets get our team together!

We are thrilled to offer our Summer Sports Camp again this summer at Lenevar Park from July 14 - 17, 5:30 p.m. - 8 p.m. We will offer soccer, basketball, flag football, and tennis as well as agility training for children age 4 - current 8th graders. Registration for this camp also begins March 15 and the cost for camp is $80 per camper.

Because of the generosity of our sponsors and coaches, ALL proceeds from Summer Sports Camp go to support mission projects for and by children. We will be reaching out to our wonderful sponsors from previous years soon to inquire about sponsorship this year; we also welcome any new sponsorships at $250, so if you have a business that may be willing to help, please reach out to me or use the link for Sports Camp Sponsorship below (there is even an option to pay and submit your logo for promotional materials within the link). We are so grateful for the sponsors who

Our camp director is Laban Chappell (laban@highseasproperties.com) and he will be lining up coaches for this year's camp. Adults and youth who are in high school (completing 9th grade this year) are welcome to help us coach at camp this year; if you'd like to help with Summer Sports Camp please sign up using the link below.

If you're new to JW and haven't found a class, it's a great time to start; if you've been away from Sunday School for a while and have been meaning to find your way back to a class, NOW is the time come back! We hope you and your whole family will join us in Sunday School this year. For years, I've said this to families about children and Sunday School and I believe and have seen with my own eyes and in my own family that it is true: JWUMC Sunday School is where our children meet their friends and their BEST friend. Sunday School begins at 9:45 and we have a class for EVERYONE! Please reach out to me or to our wonderful Director of Christian Education, Missy Cario (missycario451@gmail.com) if you have questions about Sunday School for any age!