Children and Family Ministry Committee

CFMC has had a very good year with an outstanding, energetic committee and staff working together on five targeted areas: spreading the Spirit Hill word through better communications, enhancing our classroom space, becoming more inclusive, honoring the relational nature of our ministry and preparing for transitions. 

Developing effective communications is a critical component in supporting and promoting the church school program and making it more accessible to children and parents. We developed a brochure, established a welcome table in Drew Hall with a Spirit Hill banner, designed signage for the upper level, and set up a weekly communication with parents via e–mail.

Enhancing classroom space was needed to clearly identify the church school area, make it attractive, and design it as a teaching tool. The children created beautiful silk mobiles and wall hangings for the center stairwell leading to Spirit Hill; Spirit Hill Grill was designed as a cafe for our cooking/food unit; the Earth Ministry room has a mural with continents, indigenous people, and animals to support our emphasis on the sacredness of our earth, and the Total Outreach room is designed to promote helping others and includes current and historical AHCC photographs of members in service.

Becoming more inclusive is a Spirit Hill core value and affirms that we are all God’s children, and that we love and accept each other unconditionally.  We incorporated these messages into our curriculum and also introduced our children to the diversity of our church family as teachers and shepherds and other volunteers - a living example of an inclusive, loving, and accepting church family.  Of the 133 Spirit Hill volunteers - 67% are women and 33% men. There are single moms and dads, married couples with or without children, people of color, disabled folks, teens and octogenarians, new and long-term members. We have children with special needs. And a Latino mom who helped us celebrated Three King’s Day in worship.

Honoring the relational nature of our ministry is one of the most important aspects of CFMC and we accomplish that by developing healthy, loving relationships with each other so that we truly are a church family. During our monthly meetings, we include Joys and Concerns as the first item on our agenda. We celebrate the joys and also mourn the losses e.g. we raised funds to create a Reid Bear Reading corner in memory of our friend, Reid Hollister, who died in 2006. We have an annual gathering for CFMC members and their families. We help host Spirit Sunday and have an annual Christmas Store event allowing children to purchase gifts for their families and friends. We sponsored an Intergenerational Retreat at Silver Lake Conference Center.

Transition is a major focus for this coming year and we celebrate CFMC’s staff leadership and prepare the way for new leadership.  A Search Committee has been selected, a job description has been created, and the opening for a Director of Children and Family Ministry has been posted on the website. As we go forward on the search, we will keep the congregation informed of our progress.  We will develop plans to introduce the new director to the congregation and to the Children and Family Ministry Committee.  We will help with the orientation and on-going support of the new leader.

Respectfully submitted,

David Carter