from Beryl Aschenberg, Director of Religious Education

To all the children and youth and families of Follen Church:

I’ve been thinking about all of you so much this week and wanting to reach out to you to see how you are. Usually, sending a message to you when our regular routines are being changed for some reason, would be my first priority. But this last week has been different than anything I’ve ever experienced before, and it’s created a whole new set of work for me and the rest of the staff at church. We’ve been working really hard, but I haven’t had enough time for all of it, so I’m really sorry it’s taken so long to write to you!

SO, here’s the most important thing; I want to tell you how very proud of each of you I am, because you are all doing a great job at being flexible about really unexpected changes. And I want to tell you how sorry I am about all of the things that may have been in your plans over the next few weeks that are being cancelled. I am sure a lot of you are feeling really sad about that, or frustrated, or confused. People at Follen If you ever want to talk, you can write to me, or Liana, or Miss Jody any time!

My email is: beryldre@follen.org

Liana’s email is: FUUY@follen.org

Miss Jody’s email is: JodyRE@follen.org

The second most important thing I have to tell you is that Follen Church is going online with both worship and RE! Our in-person gatherings are on pause for at least the next 4 weeks. This means that I’m working with a whole bunch of other adults to figure out how to make a space on the internet where we can all come together as a community and share time with one another. I hope that you will ‘come’ to worship with your families on Sundays. It will be streaming on Zoom live, and we will be posting the link on our website and on our Follen Church facebook account. Make sure you get on Zoom early to practice making comments and “Raising Hand”.

Before worship, look around your house and see if you can find something you can use as a chalice at home, so you can light it with us during worship. You will also have a chance to share a Joy or Sorrow during the worship.

This coming week, and for the next few weeks, I’ll be brainstorming with lots of other people what it might look like to have religious education gatherings online, and in your homes. Maybe we can have a bedtime story hour? or a kid chat where we share ideas with each other about what we do when we’re bored at home?! What do you think would be a good idea? The FUUY Youth group will be meeting online for sure, as will OWL, and most likely coming of age. But what other ideas do you have, and how can we support each other and keep one another company? That’s what I want you to wonder about– I CAN’T WAIT to hear the cool ideas you come up with!

I can’t wait to “see” you on Sunday!! Please be extra kind to your family if you can right now, everyone is feeling a little bit overwhelmed. Most of all, remember that you are loved, and your church community is here for you!

With much love,

Beryl

PS: This month at Follen Church, we are exploring the theme Unbroken in worship and small groups. You can check out our new Follen Family RE posts each month where you will find resources for families to explore along with us at home!