This week, First Pres Kids met in person for Sunday School for the first time since the program went virtual. It was so nice to see everyone's face! What a lovely reunion! We began this month's theme of CHRISTMAS with a Bible story of hope - an angel coming to Zecceriah and Elizabeth with great news. We had fun with two candy cane challenges that seemed easy but proved to be quite challenging. Then we watched a demonstration that appeared to be more than challenging (actually impossible) - a quarter fitting through a hole in paper the size of a dime. We discovered that it actually was possible. Our Bible story teaches us that anything is possible with God. We ended with a paper angel ornament craft to go along with this story and to remind us that Christmas is all about celebrating the fact that God can do the impossible.

In Sunday School, we continued our theme of CHRISTMAS with a focus on a very important person in the Christmas story - Mary. We learned that Mary, an ordinary girl, probably had all kinds of dreams and plans for her life but that all changed when Angel Gabriel showed up with some shocking news. Mary could see that God's plan for her was bigger and better than any plans she may have had for herself.  She simply chose to trust. Like Mary, we can find joy because God's plan is good! The best time to remember this is when things aren't going the way we expect whether it's a small project (like the gingerbread house built during this class!) or something much bigger in our lives. After hearing Mary's story, we listened to a version of "Mary's Song", found in Luke 1:46 - 55 (https://youtu.be/6otAPQePXgg) and looked at some beautiful paintings of Mary done over the years by different artists.

This week in Sunday School, we focused on the most magical Christmas moment of all - the birth of Jesus, our savior. We talked about the different ways we celebrate - music, decorating, food, etc. We played a game of Christmas song charades and listened to different versions of "Silent Night", a song that beautifully captures the moment of Jesus's birth. We heard a beautiful multiple language version which included 20 different languages from around the world. You can listen to it here: https://youtu.be/FLRVyKPtsS4 

For our own little celebration, we decorated Christmas cookies. Finally, we made Christmas cards for members of the congregation that are unable to get out and worship with us to help them celebrate this joyous day.