Welcome…back? Welcome to the new normal? Welcome…to something. It seems for the past year and a half it has been adjustment after adjustment, change after change. And just when we think we might be out of the woods, COVID cases are rising again.

It’s been a pretty tumultuous time for everyone, but recently I’ve been trying to see the pandemic through the eyes of a child. On one hand, perhaps since children don’t have that much life experience to compare it to, this has simply been another adjustment as they learn how to function in the world. But on the other, for a young life, the pandemic is taking up a pretty significant percentage of it.

Being only a dog-mom myself, I don’t get any difficult questions from Neville about masks or shots, or some of the scary images that we see on the news. But I’ve been thinking about two quotes recently: one from the Bible, and the other from a president who lived through a different kind of difficult situation. The biblical one comes from the book of Romans: “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). This verse always reminds me that the God who created and controls the entire universe loves me and those I care about, and gives us strength and perseverance through even the toughest times. The second quote comes from Franklin Delano Roosevelt:

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.”

Fear will always be a part of our lives, but so is something more important than fear – trusting in the God who holds us in his hands and loved us enough to sacrifice everything for us.

We’re all looking forward to learning more about our loving God with the incredible kids who help make Westminster such an exciting place in which to worship and serve.

Can’t wait to see you all soon!

– Cassandra Millis, Associate Director of Children's & Family Ministry

Calling 5th and 6th Graders

We here in the Children’s & Family Ministry office can’t wait to get to all the fun fall plans we have for the students, and we are especially excited for JAM (or Jesus and Me), the youth group for 5th and 6th graders! We will gather every Wednesday during the school year from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. We have a wonderful time playing games, making friends, and learning about our faith. Drop-off and pickup will be at the north entry of the church. For more information, please email Faith Kemmler or Cassandra Millis. We can’t wait to see you and your friends at JAM!