The smell of beef stew on a blustery fall day. The squeals of children as they meet up with friends who they haven't seen for a few days. The low murmur of voices as the adults catch up on the weeks news. Gasps of joy as a miracle of life is shared between friends. Hugs. High fives. Fist bumps. Everyone gathering because together is where they want to be. Circles of duck-duck-goose organized by 5 year olds spontaneously spring up. Older children watching out for the younger ones as they play chase. This night is much like every other “Make A Difference Night” at Cornerstone Church. Each Wednesday as the community gathers, prayer is said over dinner and the bustle begins anew. The menu is simple, but delicious. It is provided by the base crew of Kristy, Debbie and Sheila. “They cook. I just help,” says Sheila. The humble service that provides a weekly meal is appreciated by all who attend. The groups that follow are noteworthy. The youth are often seen finishing up homework before they race off to the activities planned for the night. The children are finishing up their 5th or 6th cookie before they race upstairs to loving teachers in KIDS club. The toddlers cling to mom for just one more hug before they toddle off to play with friends in The Meadow. The adults seem to linger the longest before heading upstairs for an insightful discussion of “The Ragamuffin Gospel”. The next hour and a half flies by as those of all ages deepen their bonds to each other and begin to live out what it means to be caught up in the Kingdom of God. Can a small band of people of all ages, who gather on a Wednesday night in an insignificant place really “make a difference” in their world. Most definitely.

Make A Difference Holiday Schedule

November 23—Thanksgiving break

November 30—Resume

December 21-28—Christmas Break

January 4—Resume

Don't Miss Out on the Party!

Mentoring children of all ages is a most life-changing experience. God grows you through the process just as much as he does the child.

I confessed my need for a mentor this week to a friend. I need that someone in my life I can mull over those God ideas with. Someone who I know loves me unconditionally and won’t judge me when I mess up. I need someone in my life who can pray with me about earnestly seeking after God. Someone who won’t allow me to become stagnant. I was convicted of this as we read Word in KIDS club.

1 Chronicles 16:23 and following reminds of God’s greatness. If I really believe in God’s greatness why would I not seek after him intently? Sometimes it takes someone else to encourage us to continue learning, pondering, growing in love for our awesome God.

Can you be that someone in a child’s life? Someone who will not allow them to become satisfied with status quo. Can you create a lifestyle of praising God? Even the trees clap their hands in praise for God. (vs 33) Don’t miss out on the party!

What's Happening in The Meadow?

Dear Families of The Meadow,

As part of our ongoing mission to provide a safe and loving environment for your baby, toddler or preschooler we are implementing a Welcome Table.

There are 2 purposes behind this new project.

1. Safety—we want all our children to be in the safest environment possible. The wristbands and the policies surrounding check-in and check-out are for this purpose.

· All parents/guardians will have a number coordinated wristband with each of their children. The adult picking up will need to be wearing the wristband. This will allow the extended session workers to know the child is leaving with the correct adult.

· Each child will have a bracelet with his/her name on it along with a number matching his/her parent’s number.

· Each diaper bag or other item left with the child will have a wristband attached with a matching number. If your baby or toddler is bringing a bottle or sippy cup please be sure to mark it clearly with your child’s name.

· All allergies need to be brought to the attention of the Welcome Table worker so that individual wristbands can be marked with allergy information. (The Meadow is a snack-free zone but we feel this information should still be conveyed.)

2. Community—we are striving to have current family information so we can get to know your family’s special needs and keep your family informed about what’s going on in The Meadow.

· All families have special needs; we want to find out what those needs are so we can help to meet them.

· We want each teacher to be able to learn the students’ names and build a bond with each child.

· We would like to keep current contact information on file in order to communicate with your family to the best of our ability.

If you have any concerns or suggestions please share them with anyone on the Lollipop Team.

Faith-Family-Friends-FUN

The LOLLIPOP Team is what we call the team that exists for Families and their children. One of the sub teams of the Lollipop Team is our Fun Team. We realized a long time ago that Fun is an element of a kid’s life that you do not want to underestimate. We make sure all our get-to-gethers, our classes, any function involving kids has an element of fun to it. If you are losing a group of kids and you feel you are no longer in control just interject some fun and you are back in the driver’s seat...although you may be in for quite a ride I am sure.

Thank you to all the veteran teachers in The Meadow who know for sure that fun is a part of the program. The laughter , giggles, squeals and sheer joy that are present during such a session are priceless. You must come visit The Meadow. Everyone can use a dose of fun!

This fall Cornerstone KIDS and Bitty KIDS will be participating in Angel Tree's Ministry to children whose parents are incarcerated. We will be buying gifts, wrapping gifts and helping to deliver gifts that will help bring the love of Christ during this Christmas season. Sandy Thompson will be leading this effort. The tree with tags will go up in early November. The tags will be for children who live in our area. Be looking for more information on Cornerstone Connection and on Angel Tree's website. This will be a great opportunity for us to find new friends in our neighborhoods.

Just a side note: There are many other worthwhile efforts you and your family can get involved in around the holidays. Coldwater will be helping make some local Christmases brighter for children whose families have been hit hard by these tough economic times. Keep an eye open for more information in CT and at www.coldwater.me. Operation Christmas Child, which we have participated in for many years, is a great giving opportunity that has spread the love of Christ to children in many countries. If you and your family want to participate in that as well this year there are many local drop off sites. You can find out all the information on how to get involved at www.samaritanspurse.org

May the love of God thrust us all into the lives of the hurting and needy.

[Source: AquaViews]

Volcanoes and KIDS

What in the world do KIDS and volcanoes have in common?! Well, we could probably draw endless comparisons there! The energy . . . the mess . . . the explosions . . . the noise!!! However, there is another connection I was thinking about. It involves adults who love God and kids so much that they would actually make a volcano for KIDS club. That's one thing that has happened up in The Spot on Wednesday nights. KIDS are studying creation. Thankfully the mess was not too overwhelming. We did not want to get in trouble with Beth who so graciously cleans up after us week after week. Yet, the amazement and questions and wonder was so refreshing to see. Children--and adults alike--marveling at the wonder and awesomeness of God.

Have you stopped to be amazed lately at the story of Creation? You can read it again in Genesis 1.

It seems to take so many details to organize and implement any class offered. The teachers must be enlisted. The roster must be finalized. The curriculum has to be written. The rooms have to be prepared. The information has to be shared with friends.

One of the things you may not consider is the prayer that goes into each gathering, no matter how informal it may be. Cornerstone KIDS / Bitty KIDS workers are especially fond of YOU!!! Cornerstone families are greatly cherished.

So with that being said here are some details to consider for the upcoming weeks….

Wednesday nights

5:45

Dinner

6:15-7:30

KIDS Club/Bitty KIDS club

In The Spot

Pre-K thru 6th grade

(Baby/Toddler nursery also

provided in The Meadow)

Sunday Morning

9:40

Sunday School for all ages

Don’t be late!

10:30

Extended Session in

The Meadow

Babies—Pre-K

KIDS K—6th grade

Participate in Worship and leave for KIDS church during sermon.

KIDS church is for ages K-4th grade.

The Lollipop team is always looking for friends, who are passionate about KIDS, to join us in all capacities. Contact Teri.

KIDS Celebrate Luncheon

Sunday, August 14 @ 12pm
Lunch will be served.

All families are welcome and encouraged to stay. This will be a time when students will be recognized for their participation in memorizing Word this past year.
All families with preschool/elementary kids

PLEASE RSVP to
Teri@cornerstone4u.org
Regrets only

Promotion Sunday for Elementary
August 14th

On this day some students will be moving to new classes.
-All Kindergarteners will move to The Spot, room 205, where they will join the 1st-4th graders.
Your teachers are Vicki Bullard, Gina Menard and Kristy Wopata
-All 5th and 6th graders will report to The Z'ONE, room 208
Your teachers are Sharon Clouse and Tim Rutherford.

Overwhelmed

Often we find ourselves in situations where we are overwhelmed as families. We book too many events in one day. The baby decides to be clingy on the day before your in-laws are arriving for an inspection--I mean visit. The babysitter cancels last-minute for a long-awaited night out. The doctor can't tell us what is wrong with us. The car breaks down...again!!! The electric bill was double what you expected. The kids need new school clothes and school supplies. Everyone is hungry and you have not even started dinner. The boss tells you that you no longer have a job. You get the picture. There are many overwhelming situations in our everyday lives.

I recently experienced a great sense of being overwhelmed, yet in a way I had not expected. I found myself totally overwhelmed with the nearness of God. It brought me to tears. Such a rare occurence, I am sad to say. But this day, I had to just stop and cry and try to find a way to dwell in the moment. The nearness of God is overwhelming. Moses witnessed this many times in his life: the burning bush, on Mt. Sinai. I have always wanted more of those moments in my life. This week I was granted one. I pray you will be as well.

God created the world "so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find Him. He doesn't play hide-and-seek with us. He's not remote; he's near. We live and move in him, can't get away from him. We're God created." Acts 17:27-28 (emphasis added)

I pray that you will be overwhelmed by God's nearness this week.

--Ms. Teri

The Z'ONE Swim Party!

On Wednesday, August 3, 2011, the Z'ONE class will have a family Swim Party and Meet & Greet at the Rutherford household. The party starts at 6 PM, with dinner at 6:30 PM. The hope of this get-together is for all the kids to meet Mr. Tim and Ms. Sharon, for the parents to get to know the vision of The Z'ONE, and for all of us to talk about the goals we have for growing our middle- school kids' faith at Cornerstone.

Please bring a side dish and dessert to share. Mr. Tim and Ms. Sandra will be providing hot dogs and hamburgers with the fixin's.

RSVP to Mr. Tim (call or text: 816.914.5007; email: timr@sandy-creek.com) so we have an estimate of how many dogs and burgers.

Hope to see you there!

From KIDS at the Lake

I woke up this morning with the cutest little girl on the foot of my bed. She looked at me with big eyes and declared, "You usually see me at church!" My reply was, "Yes, but it sure is fun seeing you at the Lake!" (Even if I did not expect to see her on my bed.) She had on a princess nightgown which she twirled hurriedly in her fingers while she continued the conversation. "Shhh!" she whispered, "my daddy is still sleeping." Then she skipped off loudly down the hall talking about upcoming plans for the morning.

I had to smile to myself as I thought about what it's like to have KIDS at the Lake. It is a time of sharing everyday life--cooking, eating, bathing in the lake (for some), visiting about our lives, sharing "kid duty," and just generally being encouraged that we can be ourselves and that there is still someone who will hang out with us for the whole weekend. The feeling of belonging just can't be explained. Cornerstone's mission of finding friends does not always take us outside the Cornerstone family. There are plenty of us who pass each other week after week, smiling and greeting each other sincerely, yet never creating the space to truly belong to each other.

So that's what KIDS at the Lake had provided: the space and time to belong to each other like family. A huge Thank You! to Chuck, Tina and their family for graciously providing us the place to make that happen. The memories will last a lifetime!