April is among our most exciting months at Emerson!  We kicked things off with the awesome celebration of Easter, from our triumphant worship service (gotta love our orchestra’s brass section helping out!), to children’s time for crafts and games, and didn’t our middle school youth do a great job hiding the eggs for our traditional Easter Egg Hunt?

April 8th our high school youth lead the worship service, including speeches from our graduating seniors. Two weeks later our eighth grade Coming of Age class has their turn, with each youth sharing a snapshot of what gives their lives meaning.

And we’ve got our Garden of Whimsy auction on the 28th – our youngest Emersonians have already been making fairy houses to decorate the scene! Come join the fun!

April 29th will be my last day before my sabbatical, and we’ll have a special Children’s Chapel (and possibly a treat after the service!)

In my February column I talked about plans for my upcoming sabbatical (May 1 to July 31) from my point of view. But what will happen here at Emerson while I’m away?

The first few weeks of May will seem like “normal” – Sunday School teachers continue to teach, and we’ll have our end-of-year class parties on May 13th. And then May 20th is a very special worship service, celebrating who we are as a community. May 27th, all ages are in service again on that Memorial Day weekend.

Summer Sunday School kicks off on June 3, continuing through August. Each Sunday our children (led by intrepid volunteers) will come together in a Kindness Club, with stories and hands-on opportunities to spread kindness – to one another, to people near and far, to animals, to the earth. I encourage you to join in the fun!