Family Faith Companion

This summer: How to share your faith with your kids

Posted on June 17, 2015July 5, 2015 by Carol Hulbert

Summer is here! This means it’s time for sunshine, lazy days, the beach…

Kids in the lake at sun set

And our annual summer movie series at FUMC!

Just like last year, this summer’s film series launches a way for you to share your faith with your kids. How?

By spending time together, wondering about your questions.

Questions are at the forefront of our videos.

A bunch of questions about God

So many good questions!

Each week we’ll address one question with the help of “Clive & Ian’s Wonder-Blimp of Knowledge.” Perhaps you recall Clive and Ian from last year’s series? That’s them on the left below.

Clive and Ian from the video series What's in the Bible? Clive and Ian's Wonder-Blimp of Knowledge

This year Clive and Ian go on adventures in search of answers to questions. They soar in a Wonder-Blimp of Knowledge! (Or is it an Airship of Intelligence?) Check out the questions for July and August.

To help you share your faith with your kids, continue the discussion after class!
Each week receive follow-up topic starters for family discussion. Sign up to this blog (up on the right) and receive an email as class lets out. Start your family talk time on the way home from church!

Important Note:
You may be saying: But what if I can’t answer their questions?

It’s okay! Agree as a family, to dig deeper. Are we allowed to wonder at the mystery of what God is up to? You bet! Sometimes we have to live in the mystery!

Photo credits:
Top photo copyright by Tracy K. Used with permission.
Other photos from the producer of our video Clive & Ian’s Wonder-Blimp of Knowledge, under a fair use category.

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How to equip for the big game? Challenge memory!

Posted on June 11, 2015June 8, 2016 by Carol Hulbert

This Sunday at the downtown location, the Big Game transpires!

We’ll be playing a large group game to review Bible stories we’ve covered since September. It will be sort of like the old TV show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” This game is always loads of fun.

A group of kids works together to determine an answer — At a previous big game, a class confers on an answer

How can you help your kids to prepare for this event? How about playing a game!

Everyone likes to play games; how about around the family dinner table? After all, dinner table games can lead everyone into dialogue. And what could be better than a family talking – especially with regards to their faith journey.

Here’s a game idea… Play the game “Things that Belong to Something.”

With older kids you can name a list of items and have everyone guess what they “belong” to; for example: A bag of snacks, a blanket, and maps. (Answer: What’s inside my car.) Use the list below to review our Bible stories.

For younger kids ask them to name three items in a category. For example: name three things in your bed. This one works for older kids too! Ask them to name three characters in a Bible story or to identify three verbs or three adjectives, that describe a story.

Here’s a list of the stories we’ve covered this year and some “belongs to” suggestions:

David, God’s chosen King, 1 Samuel 16:1-13

Sheep; Anointing oil; Samuel

Eight sons; A man after God’s own heart; Bethlehem

Jesus calls disciples, Matthew 4:18-22, 9:9 and in Mark 3:13-19

Fishermen, Tax collectors; Sons of Zebedee

Apostles; Follow me; Can anything good come from Nazareth?

The overall story of the birth of Jesus (a compilation of gospel stories in Luke 1:26-38, Matthew 1:18-23, Luke 2:1-18

Gabriel; Nazareth; Immanuel

The Holy Spirit; A census; Shepherds

Esther, the book of Esther

Haman; Mordecai; Xerxes

Risky; Praying; Bow now!

David and Goliath, 1 Samuel 17: 1-49

A slingshot; Trust in God; “Giants” in our life

Armor that’s too big; Philistines; Relying on God’s power

The tomb is empty – Resurrection appearances of Jesus, Matthew 28:1-10, and in John 20:1-20

Mary Magdalene; Spices; A big stone

An earthquake; An angel; Woman, why are you weeping?

The Great Commission, Matthew 28:16-20

Important instructions; Teach; Baptize

Go; Some doubted; I’ll be with you

a blue line

We’d love to have you join the fun at this Sunday’s game: “Are You Smarter Than a Sixth Grader” at FUMC in Ann Arbor, MI.

Photo credits:
Photos are from my archives.

Why is Confirmation important?

Posted on June 4, 2015April 17, 2022 by Carol Hulbert

Confirmation Class, copyright 2013 by Peter DeHart — A past Confirmation class poses for a photo in the Memorial Garden

Spring time means Confirmation Sunday. I remember the year my eldest was confirmed in the church. The grandparents came from afar, and we had a big party afterwards.

Why was Confirmation so important that we served a cake?

That’s a very good question! How about some discussion questions to pose to your next gathering. Do so around the dinner table. (Or wherever your family & friends are gathered together.)

Confirmation? What is that?

A boy gives the thumbs-up sign To “confirm” means to “make something definite.” When we confirm flight reservations we say, “Yes! I will be on that plane.” It’s like giving something a great big thumbs up! Confirmation at church this Sunday is a chance for young people to say out loud, “Yes, I believe in God!”

Why make such a big deal? (After all, I believe in God.)

It’s a big deal because it’s making a public statement of their belief. Confirmands (what we call those being confirmed) have taken two years of classes to prepare for this special worship service where they will be “confirmed.”

In these classes, they have studied what it means to be a Christian, a United Methodist, and a member of the First United Methodist Church. They started these classes as 7th graders and those who are now 8th graders may be confirmed—if they are ready.

Why wouldn’t they be ready?

First off, they need to have attended Confirmation classes, and worshipped, and done service projects, and gone on retreats (see the expectations) but also, they need to be personally ready to take this step on their faith journey to say “Yes” to their faith in God. It’s a big decision.

Is that the end of their journey? Are they all done with Sunday school after they get confirmed?

No, it’s not the end! We all continue to need to grow our faith!

What will happen in the worship service during Confirmation?

a youth gets confirmed Part of what happens is called “the laying on of hands.” The laying on of hands is a symbolic act, a ritual that comes to us from the Bible.

The youth kneels upfront, and the ministers and their parental units put their hands on the confirmand’s head and/or shoulders. One of the pastors imparts a blessing to each young person. They will say something like…

Remember your baptism and be thankful. And may the Holy Spirit work within you, that having been born through water and the Spirit, you may live as a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ.

(Except, if the youth hasn’t yet been baptized, then they will at that point in time be baptized.)

What Confirmation questions do you have?

Here’s a short video about Confirmation from “Chuck Knows Church” produced by Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church. (If you are reading this in an email, you may need to watch this video on YouTube.)

Photo credits…
Group photo of confirmation class, copyright by Peter DeHart, 2013. Used with permission.
Thumbs up by Michael Bentley, who originally licensed this photo on Flickr under Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0).
Laying on of hands during a post Confirmation Sunday, copyright, from my archives.
The Chuck Knows Church video #43 copyright by Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church, used with permission.

If every day were a day to remember

Posted on May 23, 2015May 23, 2015 by Carol Hulbert

A holiday set aside for honoring men and women who died serving the U.S. military, Memorial Day got started in the late 1860’s. That’s legions of seasons for reminiscence!

Memorial Day 2011, at San Francisco National Cemetery

What if every day were marked as a day for remembrance? Could we do it?

Probably not. It would take scads of intentionality. Sticky notes everywhere?
A sticky note with the words - Today. Remember!

It takes work to call to mind even ordinary stuff. But reminders can help.

In the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, we read of people building cairns as a way of recollecting that God was at work in their lives.

Jacob built such a monument after distinctly experiencing God’s presence. He stacked stones and called the spot Bethel meaning “God is in this place.” Jacob would never forget that night.

In Joshua 4:1-7, God tells the Israelites to set up a “memento” made up of 12 stones. The purpose? So that when their children asked: “What is this memorial about?” they would then be able to tell the story of the great act that God had done to take care of his people. It was to be a reminder to those who were not there to witness this act, that God was great!

For times when you aren’t sure that God is real and present in your life. (Because those days happen, don’t they?) For questioning times.

a boy stacks stones on a beach This month our Rotation key Bible verse is about remembering. Jesus advised his disciples and gave them a reminder:

Go and make disciples of all nations … and surely I am with you always. Matthew 28:19-20

What reminders can help us to not forget the every-day, great things that God does? That God is always with us?

What “memorials” — memory tools — can we set up to help us every day, to remember? Try creating something simple…

Stack stones: Go out for a walk to collect stones. Once back at home, in a family gathering (perhaps at the dinner table), artfully arrange your rocks while discussing God in your lives that day. Encourage contemplative manipulation of your rock pile.
Display a cross: Need a cross to display in your home? How about making one? Check out these ideas (goes to my Pinterst board).
Create an “altar” of sorts. Fill a space in your home with reminders of God at work. Allow touching and rearranging and additions and subtractions. (Photo on right is at the Nelson home around Easter time.)

Set up reminders to tell our children the stories of what God has done in our lives.

Photo credits:
A Memorial Day scene by Daniel Parks.
Sticky Note created from a Public Domain image.
Stacking stones by Roy Luck, on Flickr. Flickr images offered via Creative Commons.
Other photo thanks to the Nelson family.

Prepare to worship (Yes, WITH your kids)

Posted on May 21, 2015April 24, 2019 by Carol Hulbert

This weekend, if you are not at Family Camp, join us in worship with your family. There will not be any Cool Disciples workshops for 1st – 6th grades. But don’t let this cause a panic!

How about a little preparation before worshipping as a family?… To make it more meaningful for your kids. Use this material to discuss the service before and/or after-the-fact.

Try it! Equip your kids to experience worship. Try one (or all) of these blue arrow ways!

Introduce the start of a new Church Season.
(But don’t-blink-or-you’ll-miss-it!)

In the Methodist tradition we have “Church Seasons” that separate our Liturgical Year. Each season focuses upon a different aspect of our Christian experience.

I wonder what season we are in?

Did you know that we have been in the season of Eastertide—or Easter Season—covering the 50 days after Easter? Well, this Sunday is the start of the shortest Church Season! It lasts one day! It’s called Pentecost. Pentecost is celebrated by Christians as the day when God’s Spirit was given to his followers.

Read the Bible story we’ll be hearing.

Want to know more about Pentecost? Why not read about it in the Bible? Pentecost was (and still is) a Jewish festival. It so happened that the disciples of Jesus were in Jerusalem celebrating Pentecost when the Holy Spirit arrived.

There are two times during our worship service on Sunday when we will hear scripture. The first time will be during the “Call to Worship.” We’ll be alternately hearing and saying a portion of Acts 2:1-4. Practice reading this as a family. Choose one person to read the non-bold words and everyone else reads the bold words… just like we’ll be doing in worship.

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.

And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.

Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.

All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

Other ways to “read” this story: Use the Beginner’s Bible, or watch the first 2 minutes of this video, or watch a portion of the video series “What’s in the Bible?” shown below. (If reading this in an email, you can watch this video on YouTube.)

Things to do in worship…

Once you are in church, ask your family to check out the bulletin to see what church season we are in.
what season is it - Pentecost

Compare that to last week’s bulletin… (Pardon my rather tattered looking bulletin from last week).
what season is it

Also ask: What do you notice that is different looking in the Sanctuary? (Hint: Look for changes in the colors used in worship – the cloths (called “paraments”) that cloak the altar or hang from the pulpit, or are worn by the clergy. (For Pentecost the color is red!)

Ponder the sermon topic.

The title of the sermon to be given by Rev. Doug is “You Can’t Handle the Truth.” I’m wondering what that has to do with Pentecost? Perhaps this is where the 2nd Scripture reading comes to play. Read John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15. This deals with Jesus promising the coming of the Spirit when he is no longer present with his disciples. The disciples’ were undoubtedly confused! Do you ever question whether Jesus is with us? (it’s okay to feel this way.)

Listen to the hymns. (And perhaps sing them at home!)

Listen to “Surely the Presence of the Lord.” We’ll be singing the first verse of this hymn as a response to the Unison Prayer.

Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place;
I can feel his mighty power and his grace.
I can hear the brush of angels’ wing, I see glory on each face;
Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.

Practice singing “Jesus Loves Me.” We’ll sing this one when the younger kids go off to Sunday’s Cool.

Practice praying.

Pray this prayer: God of Grace, you sent the promised gift of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and the women, upon Mary the mother of Jesus and upon his brothers. Fill your church with power, kindle flaming hearts within us, and cause us to proclaim your mighty works in every place, that all may call on you and know life abundantly through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

See you in worship!

Photo credits:
View the pie chart of church seasons that I created.
Arrow clip art by Clker-Free-Vector-Images on Pixabay, released under Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Public Domain.

Kids grow up so fast!

Posted on May 18, 2015May 18, 2015 by Carol Hulbert

Wasn’t it just yesterday that those children were no more than babies?
How can we already be approaching the close of another school year??

Clip art showing progression from babe to going-off-to-school

Let’s preserve a”milepost moment” with a tradition!

Every year at FUMC, we recognize a few of these prominent benchmarks. One recently happened at the downtown location.

2015 Kindergarteners

Our kindergarteners are looking forward to graduating to first grade!

To mark this occasion, each child received a gift from the church. Since reading together is an important activity, ahead of time their family chose a Bible storybook, or a book of devotions. These gifts were presented to the children. They had a few minutes to have a first look. Watch the slideshow below. (If you are reading in an email, you may have to click over to the blog to see the photos.)

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

This particular milestone event is also important because moving up to 1st grade means that next fall their Sunday’s Cool experience will be a bit different. The kids had a chance to view these differences in action, as we took a tour of the “Older Children” Cool Disciples!

Here are a few notable differences:

They will be rotating!
(This method that we use for Sunday school is, after all, called the Workshop Rotation Model™, which you can learn more about by clicking on the logo on the right.)

While in Kindergarten, the workshops came to the kids. As 1st graders they’ll be visiting the workshops – physically moving – to a different workshop each week.
How do we figure out where they go each week?
Starting in 1st grade, kids attend worship until the Children’s Moment. After that, they are dismissed (with a song!) to their workshops. Check out the Children’s Ministries page (it’s usually buff colored) in the bulletin to see where they are headed. Remember, your child’s workshop location changes every week!

OR (here’s a better way) look ahead of time at home. (Or from your smartphone on your way to church – not the driver of course!) Check out the latest schedule post on this blog. Listed in the schedule post are descriptions of what each workshop will be doing. To generate a little bit of excitement I’d say, make a new habit: check it out on… Wednesdays!
But after the children’s moment in church, there is a large mob of kids – how does my 1st grader survive the crowd?
We’ve got a system! First graders are big kids, but the older kids can look bigger! To help out with this, the 1st graders gather in the hallway outside of the Sanctuary. This allows all of the older kids to ~~run excitedly~~ walk ahead to their workshops. A volunteer Shepherd greets the 1st graders outside of the Sanctuary. After the older kids have disbursed, the first grade goes as a group to their workshop.

On the first few weeks next fall, you may want to help your child find the group and say goodbye in the hall; then once they are familiar with the process, you can let them leave the Sanctuary by themselves.
Do I need to sign them in and out?
Nope. 1st and 2nd graders will wait after class with an adult in their workshop, for pick-up by a parental unit. (3rd grade and up are dismissed to meet their families.) When you pick up your child do at least make eye contact with your child’s Shepherd!

What is a Shepherd (and how else can I get involved in this great program?
Glad you asked! Shepherds rotate with the class. Thus, they get to know the kids and help out as directed by the Workshop Leader (by taking attendance, forming groups of kids for a game, or assigning roles to puppeteers). Ideally Shepherds would serve twice a month from Sept. through May. There are many other ways to get involved. Email to ask more questions!

Anything else?
Why, yes! Continue to nurture your family spiritually. You know you have a hand in this?

I realize it can be hard to teach kids how faith fits into life. That’s where this blog comes in…

Helping you build disciples with everyday moments.

Sign up to have posts sent directly to your inbox. Look up at the top right, for the email subscription box.

Have fun “homeschooling” in the ways of faith and grace!

Photo credits:
Photos are from my archives with the exception of the “blog button” which was adapted from this Creative Commons photo.

Take me to where love is needed

Posted on May 13, 2015 by Carol Hulbert

Jesus told us to go and make disciples.

But what does it mean to “make disciples?”

(I hope it doesn’t involve Bible-waving. And, is there something that doesn’t take much time, that I can fit in between collecting a paycheck, caring for my family, car-pooling, and crashing into bed exhausted every night?)

How are we suppose to follow what is called “The Great Commission?”

hands held in the shape of a heart over the face of a child

By noticing the need for love.

Teach your family to be on the look out for situations where love is needed.

Sometimes it is obvious: The latest disaster in the news. A homeless person. A child in tears.
Sometimes it can be more obvious with some training that makes us more sensitive to what a need looks like: A sibling, troubled by hurtful words. A child, alone at recess. A parent, struggling to get dinner ready.
Present scenarios of these situations to your child. Ask them: “What can you do to provide some love in such a case?” Guide them to think of possible answers.
Sometimes it’s about stepping back and asking deeper questions about a situation. What stress is going on in her life that would cause her to react that way? Can I see the underlying events that have led him to become homeless? Will I observe her behavior as not mean, but as trying to gain control?… These situations require further discussion about how our findings may affect how we offer love. Discuss these situations over the family dinner table.

Jesus counts on us to be his hands and his feet — to do good things in the world — in all sorts of ways!

Photo credits:
Heart hands by Fanny, who licensed this photo on Flickr under a Creative Commons License.

The Great Commission says to go. You don’t have to go far. (Start at home)

Posted on May 6, 2015 by Carol Hulbert

Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life.
— Jesus

United Methodists take Jesus’ words seriously. We say that our mission is to “make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”

Sounds very lofty! How about we start at home?

How about we start by discipling the people who live with us?

It doesn’t have to happen in a formal, sit-down-and-study sort of way.

It happens when we apply faith to every-day life with our words.

For example, today, when springtime is bursting out around us, try pointing out God in simple ways.

a Redbud tree in bloom When you see bright colors…
Say: Notice how God is painting beauty all around us!

a single tulip next to a tree

See a single flower (all by itself)?
Say: God planted that one just to cheer someone up.

For the sounds of spring…
Say: Listen to the birds chirping; God gave them voices to announce spring.

When it rains…
Say: God is watering the flowers.

baby birds in a nest For springtime babies…
Say: Jesus was resurrected from the dead because God promised new life. Isn’t it fun to notice new life?

fog in the morning in the valley

When fog swirls…
Say: God wanted to just kiss the trees.

For a sunset…
God’s got his paintbrushes out again.

a sunset through the trees

When Jesus says “Go” this applies to our everyday going about – going to church, going to school, going to the mall, going to play sports, or going to a concert – It means going about our daily lives. It is a process with rich rewards.