This means there will be no nursery care for the rest of the summer. We understand that this will be an inconvenience for our young families but please understand that the closure is in the best interest of the children.

We would appreciate patience and understanding at this time.

The Parenting Room and Nursing Room are available on the main level. Parenting Room is equipped with a washroom and change table.Please ask an usher if unsure where these rooms are.

If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to contact Mandy Nemanishen at the church office.

These events are open to everyone. Feel free to invite friends and family.

Cost is covered by the individual.

Weather permitting.

Parents are to accompany their own children and are responsible for them.

JULY

July 7th: Appleby Drive Kids Club

Time:6:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

Meet at Kids Club Apartment ( 107-714 Appleby Drive)

The club minister to immigrant and refugee children. Tons of fun.

July 14th: Fort Carlton Provincial Park.

Time: 9:00 a.m.- 1 p.m. approx. Meet at the church at 9:00 a.m.

for those interested in car pooling.     -Bring packed lunch.

-Fire pits and picnic shelter available.

-Historical Tours of the Fort and hikes available.

Cost: Family $9.00     Adult: $4.00    Youth(6-17): $1.00

Children under 5: FREE

July 21st: Saskatoon Berry Picking

- Berries are ripe!     Meet at the church at 9:30 a.m.

- Bring a packed lunch.     $5.00 per ice cream pail.        Bring own pails.

- Place: Langham ( 30 min)

July 28th: Riverdale Outdoor Pool

- Time: 1:00 p.m..    Meet at the Pool

- Cost: Family $12.00  Adult: $6.00  Youth (6-18) : $3.60

August

August 4th: TBA(Outreach Opportunity)

August 11th: Kinsmen Park and Rides.

- 9:30 a.m.- 12:00 p.m.        Rides open at 10:00 a.m. $1.00 per ride.

- Meet at the park          -Bring packed lunch/snacks

August 18th: Pike Lake Day

-Leave church at 9:30 a.m.   ALL DAY EVENT: you leave when you want.

- Day Pass to Park only : $7.00  Swimming/mini-golfing is extra $.

- Fire pits and picnic area’s available.       -Nature hikes.

- Please see Pike Lake Provencial Park website for more info.

August 25th: Meewasin Park ( Free but bring snacks/lunch)

- Shelter and playground available.   Time: 10:00 a.m.- 12. 00 p.m.

- Church will bring some play supplies.

]]> http://www.cornerstone-church.ca/summer-wednesday-connection/feed/ 2 http://www.cornerstone-church.ca/wondering-how-your-family-will-get-through-a-church-service/ http://www.cornerstone-church.ca/wondering-how-your-family-will-get-through-a-church-service/#comments Wed, 09 Jun 2010 17:15:36 +0000 Mandy http://www.cornerstone-church.ca/?p=1025 With summer around the corner, many parents might be wondering how they will ever make it through the summer family services.  Between one child complaining they are hunger while another is bored and trying to keep a baby quiet, church may seem impossible.  Don’t get discouraged, talking with some parents, it does take a child time to adjust to a new routine so be patient those first few weeks. Here are some suggestions to help you out.

Explain to your child the routine of the church service. Usually, we sing songs; pass the offering plate around, special music, main speaker and then closing music.  This may be a good time to walk your child through the sanctuary to explain what a pew is, were the music comes from (instruments, speakers, sound board) , introduce them to main speaker ( usually Russ) and get them familiar with the environment.

Here are some suggestions to keep a child occupied during the service. This is a generalization so some of these may not pertain to particular age groups.

Create a special church bag. This special church bag will have toys only for church, snacks (crackers, fishy crackers, dry cereal or raisins), puzzles, coloring books, picture books and maybe a special candy. Have the child carry the bag so they feel part of the Sunday morning process. One parent suggested having soft caramel just for church service because it takes forever chew and helps keep them quiet.

Engage them in the service. We will try to have appropriate break out times during the service when Russ will ask families to answer questions together. Take advantage of this time to engage your children and ask them what they think. Also, maybe let your children be responsible for passing the offering plate and putting money into it.

This one may sound contradictory but decided to sit closer to the front instead of in the back. Just like adults, sitting in the front help keeps a person attention and the child can also have a better view of what is happening up front.

For parents with small children, make sure diapers are changed and the child is fed. Of course there will be times when you child may be ill or teething and they will be a little more noisy but that is okay. Don’t feel judged.

Feel free to take the child on a walk outside of the sanctuary half way through the service. It helps break up the time and helps the child to refocus.

There is a nursing room provide in the back of the sanctuary along with a parenting room accessible from just outside the sanctuary doors. There are toys, games, puzzles and washroom provided for your convenience.  Please ask an usher if unsure where the room is located.

These are only suggestions and parents know their child best so please use your own discretion.

I hope these suggestions can be of some help!

We know many parents and children will be dissapointed in this decision but don’t worry there are some other fabulous church’s in Saskatoon who are hosting VBS this year.

Here are a couple of churches that are putting on VBS this summer so feel free to check them out and get more information.

West Portal Church:

July 5th- July 9th    6:30pm-9:10pm Contact Katrina Funk at 382-1622                 http://westportal.ca/?page_id=13 for more info.

Lawson Heights Pentecostal Assembly:

Aug 17th-20th Contact Shawna Lavender 931-7100

St. Anne’s Parish:

Aug 9th-13th     9a.m-12p.m  Contact parish office at 931-4700

If you have any questions or concerns I would be more than happy to talk with you.

Contact me ( Mandy) at the church office.

I was curious to read more on discipline because it has been six months since I have entered Children’s Ministry and am evaluating how I have been disciplining the kids that I have been encountering week after week. Know we now all the kids are Angels…not quite…what about those dirty socks and spilled milk?

But in my reading I came across this article and thought I would share it with you. Discipline doesn’t always have to conjure up feelings of anger, disappointment and let down but with a little imagination and creativity, parents can have a sense of humor when it comes to discipline.

This article is from  http://www.focusonthefamily.ca/parenting/discipline/your-chores-or-mine

Your chores or mine?

Written by Heather Trent Beers

I’m amazed how two empty trash cans left by the driveway can transform me from Mother of the Year to a raging inferno in two seconds flat.

One morning, I entered my 15-year-old son’s room. “Jacob,” I said. I waited for eye contact.

“Yes, Mom?” His eyes darted between the screen and my face.

“I’m heading out on an errand. Please bring the trash cans in before I get home in an hour.”

“Uh-huh.”

Now, I’ve learned two things about Jacob. First, I must say his name and make eye contact. Second, I need to make him repeat what I’ve said. Both are helpful in the “But I Didn’t Hear You” battle.

“What will you do?”

“Bring in the trash cans.”

“When?”

“Before you get home.”

“Which will be when?”

“In one hour.”

“Good. See you in an hour.”

I left with a spring in my step. He’s growing into a responsible young man! An hour later when I came home, however, the cans were still at the end of the driveway.

Goodbye, June Cleaver. Hello, Mommy Dearest.

I fumed as I pulled into the garage. “Why do I even bother?” I stomped to the end of the driveway, jerked the cans off the ground and wheeled them to the garage. My blood pressure soared, and my heart thumped wildly.

I knew Jacob needed a consequence for his inaction, but all I could think about were the chores that awaited me, and here I was doing his simple chore on top of it!

Suddenly, I smiled. If I’m doing his chores, he can do mine. The simple brilliance of the plan filled me with hope. I whispered fervently, “God, please let this work!”

Upstairs, I stopped by my son’s room. “Hi, Jacob!” I was pleased with my friendly tone.

“Hi, Mom!” He flashed a quick smile and continued his game.

“You left the trash cans at the curb, so I brought them in.”

“Oh . . . I’m sorry,” he said, grimacing. He looked at me, but his fingers continued tapping.

In the past, I would have made a smart remark like “ ‘Sorry’ doesn’t change things.” This time I said, “That’s all right. You can do one of my chores. The laundry needs folding.”

Jacob froze. He knew he’d been had, and it was fair and square.

While he hung shirts and folded socks, I read a few pages of a novel. I thought about what just happened. Bringing in trash cans: One minute. Folding laundry: Six minutes. Five extra minutes reading with my feet propped up. I could get used to this.

I whispered a prayer of thanks.

Two days later, I asked nine-year-old Rebekah to put her shoes away before lunch. I went through the “Say Her Name and Make Her Repeat My Instructions” deal. She passed with flying colours. Lunch came and went, but the shoes didn’t. So I put them away myself, without saying a word or sighing like a martyr. I was planning my next five-minute escape.
After lunch, I said, “Rebekah, you didn’t put your shoes away, so I did it.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Mom,” came the usual reply.

“That’s OK. I need to vacuum the den, so you can do that for me.”

Rebekah looked as if I’d slapped her. “That’s not fair!” she wailed, eyes wide with shock.

“Well, it’s certainly not fair for me to do my chores and yours. Since I did yours, you can do one of mine.”

Her face fell. She hates vacuuming, so she didn’t do it with the best attitude. But it was done, and I got my five-minute reading date.

Over the next several days, I assembled my to-do list with glee, calculating how many chapters I might finish if all went well. I asked the kids to help more, and they did with improved attitudes. I started to feel less like the Lone Ranger and more like Mom.

Even my prayers were transformed from “God, help!” to “God, let them forget their chores; I just started a new book!”

Heather Trent Beers lives in Grandview, Missouri.

Family Times helps parents transfer a spiritual legacy to their children. Family Times is designed to help equip parents with easy to use tools to make the most of everyday moments together. This tool is based on the biblical model that teaches that the home should be the primary place where a child learns about God.
Seeds Family Worship – Worship & Togetherness through music! Planting the seeds of God’s word in the hearts of families.

Quest for Compassion is designed to educate your children about global poverty and help them develop a heart for the poor around the world. When children understand poverty, they grow into compassionate adults.  This is a great interactive online game for kids.

We have been going through this series in our kids programming as well.  Focusing on caring for and loving others.  This is a difficult concept for kids.  Kids are generally very me-focused, especially in today’s society.  They can easily tell you how they were not helped, but have a hard time understanding how they can help others.  We have challenged them in that thinking because they can grasp this concept.  We as adults need to be challenged and so do children, only they tend to me more receptive to it then we are.  They don’t say, “I’ll think about”, they do.  They don’t often contemplate too much.  If they believe it is good, they act.

At Tidal Wave this week we did a night focusing on missions and packed Samaritans Purse shoeboxes.  We provided stations that the kids went to, where they learned about poverty, then did an activity that applied in a small way.  They had a great time, and we planted seeds.  My prayer is not that kids will change their me-focused ways today, but that we plant seeds to last a lifetime. That they will begin to change the world in small ways.

How are you planting seeds in kids’ lives and your own children’s lives?

Reflect on the words of the Lincoln Brewster song “Power in your Name”:

Surely children weren’t made for the streets
And fathers were not made to leave
Surely this isn’t how it should be
Let Your Kingdom come

Your name
Is a shelter for the hurting
Jesus Your name
Is a refuge for the weak
Only Your name
Can redeem the undeserving
Jesus Your name
Holds everything I need
Jessica

“Dear God, I wish for a hamctr (hamster)”

“Dear God, I am so happy that when I prayed for the girl at my school to stop bullying people and she did”

“Dear God, Thank you for people so taht they could make the stuff I like so much and thank you for imaginasons (imaginations) so people could invent music, skating, books, mitns and everything else. but I think we could do without war, fighting, hatred and other bad stuff that imaginations created.”

We just thought that they were too interesting not to share!

Jessica

However we did give any information we do have regarding their questions.  We talked about what the bible says about heaven but that we don’t really know where it is!  Russ came and shared that some people believe Jesus does love the devil and others believe not and so again we don’t really know.

We encouraged the kids in their questioning and that asking God, going to the bible for answers is the best thing to do.  So we directed them to the bible for questions regarding sin, names of Jesus, the place where Jesus died etc.

We we most definitely will do it again next year!  In fact we have decided the leave the question box up permanently.  We want kids to have a faith that is their own, we want to encourage them to go to Jesus for answers and to keep asking him questions because then they keep talking to him too!

Jessica

Also, on March 15 after the 2nd service we are having a pizza lunch for all the full time volunteers.  Sign up and come for free pizza if you volunteer on a regular basis!

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO PUT TIME IN WEEKLY TO SERVE AT CORNERSTONE CHURCH!