by Rev. Kay Ash

Like some people, I suppose, at any given moment for any situation I will have a fragment of scripture or the voice of my mom or some words from a mentor run through my head.  I have my favorites, of course.  Probably more than any other I repeat Romans 8:38 over and over again, almost like a mantra:

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The eighth chapter of the Apostle Paul’s final letter, his letter to the church in Rome, is thick with mantra-like sayings and ideas that are great anchors to hold on to.  In fact, I have been repeating the above scripture in my head for so long, I cannot even remember when it started.  Paul’s sacred words have always brought me tremendous comfort as I cling to the idea that nothing, nothing, nothing can separate us from the love of God.

During normal times (what were those again?) the love of God was easy to come by in our beautiful church.  Most days of the week our halls were filled with the chatter, giggles, tears, and many times - the untamable joy of children.  Just imagine yourself hearing the delicious sounds of a classroom of toddlers learning the “ABC song” for the first time or walking down the hallway to witness a baby take her very first steps.  Some days are truly breath taking, and some days are harder.

How strange it is to walk the silent halls of our church today.  No baby giggles, no songs, not even one single preschooler to share every microscopic detail of velociraptors.  It seems harder to remember that ‘nothing can separate us from the love of God’ when the only sound is silence.  (I wonder how Elijah felt when he heard silence? 1 Kings 19:11-13)

Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. 

Perhaps, just for a moment, we can lean into the scriptures together to find God in the silence.  Perhaps, just for a moment, we can follow the lead of Elijah and stand at the entrance of our caves.  Perhaps, just for a moment, “nothing” can separate us from God’s love; and, even in the silence we will find that the Holy Spirit is still moving. Let me share with you what is happening with our KPUMC children and perhaps together, we will find the Divine.

PDO
Every Tuesday and Thursday morning our wonderful Parents Day Out teachers gather their classes on zoom calls.  Teaching continues through story books, songs, finger play, poetry, colors, exploration of emotions and the alphabet.  I assure you there are giggles and plenty of virtual hugs and kisses.

Wednesday Night Live Stream
More people than ever are hearing Bible stories through our Wednesday Night Live Stream on Facebook.  Exploring the Bible together through Godly Play continues to be a holy experience, even when those stories are filmed in an empty church.  Want to see for yourself?  Wednesdays @ 5:30 on our KPUMC Facebook page.

Bridgeport Camp and Conference Center
Even though summer camping at our beloved UMC Bridgeport Camp and Conference Center has been canceled this summer, all is not lost.  The Bridgeport Camp Director, the camp staff, the individual week directors, the curriculum writing team and the North Texas Conference Camping Ministries staff have all gotten together and are re-tooling Bridgeport Summer 2020 into a virtual experience.  Everything will be shared for free with the churches and parents of our conference and can be used in a variety of creative ways.  2019’s curriculum has already been re-formatted as an example HERE.  2020 curriculum will become available at the same place on May 26th.  Keep your eyes open for creativity to bubble up around these ideas soon.

Vacation Bible School
Unfortunately, we had to cancel our KPUMC Vacation Bible School which would have been scheduled for late June.  However, a new opportunity has come to light.  Fifty churches from all over the United States got together on a zoom call yesterday to begin creating a virtual Vacation Bible School.  Videos will be recorded all over the world (and even outside of this world through NASA) and then, edited together.  All our usual favorites will be included:  music, storytelling, science, art, and missions.  Again, everything will be shared for free with churches and parents all over the US, thanks to the generous support of our North Texas Conference.  We hope to have this project completed and ready for use by mid-June.  Again, keep your eyes open for creativity to bubble up around this idea as well.  

The above are just a few examples of how the Holy Spirit is still moving around and through children’s ministries at Kessler Park UMC.  Silence in the hallways of our beloved church is NO MATCH for the movement of God’s love in our lives.  Nothing, nothing, nothing “can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord!”  Amen.