Elizabeth Caldwell is a professor emerita at McCormick Theological Seminary and visiting professor at Vanderbilt Divinity School as well as the author of many wonderful books including Growing in God’s Love and Wondering about the Bible with Children. Parents, Caldwell points out, are the biggest influence in their children’s religious life, “…parents have the most […]

Sharing justice is an odd phrase isn’t it? Though as I have thought about it over the last couple of weeks the more sense it has made. Sharing justice is a practical exercising of the idea of stewardship or generosity. At it’s most basic… going back to Genesis 2… God created the world and lovingly […]

Gaithersburg Presbyterian Church Children and Young Families Ministry presents: October Events GPC Friday Night at the Movies:   Friday, October 7 at 7:00 p.m. Showing: E.T.   Friday, October 28 at 7:00 p.m. Showing: Coco     GPC Fall Festival:     Wednesday, October 26 from 5:30–7:30 p.m. Games, Pumpkin decorating and Fun, Fun, Fun […]

Have you ever really thought about precisely how much waste is involved in your typical Halloween? From the costumes to the decorations to the candy each in it’s own little container it is a holiday that practically seems dedicated to waste…but it doesn’t have to be at all.   Let’s start with costumes – do […]

I remember an older woman in my congregation many years ago telling me that if she had a few tea bags, a loaf of bread, and some jelly, she would always be ready for company. “Tea and toast,” she said. “Tea and toast.” The art of inviting people into our homes is changing, I think. […]

Are you looking for ways to engage your kids in conversation when they get home from school or over dinner? We all know that there are some kids that come through the door and will tell you chapter and verse about what happened … in extraordinary detail, some of which you may not care to […]

For the last couple of weeks prayer has been the topic of sermons, email devotional posts AND Children’s recorded Sunday School lessons. Children’s Ministry has been trying, as nearly as we can, to mirror the Scriptural texts and general ideas covered during the week in devotionals and the sermon.    On 8/28, our lesson was […]

Sunday afternoon, I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, Hidden Brain. While the title was You 2.0: Overcoming Stage Fright, the topic was really dealing with anxiety, or “choking” – like when you choke on a test. This month students are back in the world of school, and their parents are back in […]

Dear Parents,   This is a reality check as your child/children/grandchildren go back to school. Once you complete the exhale that they have gotten on the bus, or into Bar-T, or through the door of preschool without too many tears, what is it that you most hope for your child this school year? I know […]

As I’ve mentioned on many occasions, Traci Smith is brilliant! In her book, Faithful Families she gives us lots of different ways to recognize important seasons, milestones and other times of a family’s life throughout the year. The Back-to-School observance is beautiful and is designed for kids from preschool up through high school.   You […]