Our Mission

• To help strengthen and enhance the partnership between our homes and our congregation as each family navigates its own journey of faith.

Our Goal

• To share information about excellent Christian resources and support church events and programs that create an inclusive, welcoming and nurturing environment where  our faith and the intergenerational relationships of our congregation can deepen & grow.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is

love, joy

peace, patience

kindness,

goodness, faithfulness, gentleness  &

self-control."

Galatians 5:22-23

News and Events 

Fall Everyone! 

We hope you've had the chance to check out some of the resources we reviewed for you in our last newsletter! If not and you just tucked it away for future reference, that's o.k. too! Because now you know where to go for special gifts and tools to help pass on your family's faith!

We're excited about some new things that are happening at St. Philip's! We now have a 'little people' table and chairs set up during coffee hour so that our children can be safe as hot drinks are carried around. There are colouring books and crayons available as well! We encourage everyone to come up after church for yummy treats, drinks and the all-important fellowship that helps us strengthen the intergenerational relationships in our congregation.

By the time you receive this newsletter, there will be another great reason to come upstairs for coffee time…the new St. Philip's Resource Lending Centre will be up and running! You can now borrow resources from our collection that includes Adult fiction & non-fiction, Young Adult, Video & Board Games, Family Resources and Children sections. We are already blessed with a wonderful and diverse selections of books! The Lending Centre is located at the entrance to the fellowship hall. There is a sign out book that includes our collection list. Every member of St. Philip's has borrowing privileges and the loan period is 3 weeks. If you have any comments or recommendations, please use our suggestion box. We will certainly attempt to include in our library the resources reviewed in this newsletter.

Our collection will also include a copy of each book that was on display during our book sale which took place on November 7^th  after church. This was another great way to introduce the congregation to some of the excellent resources offered by Augsburg Fortress.

Resource Reviews

The Home Altar

This wonderful booklet published quarterly by Augburg Fortress  provides easy-to-use stories, prayers, and activities to help you and your kids grow in faith together. Mapped out for each week are a celebration and Bible story, suggested ways for you to pray, learn, serve, and play with your kids, and a story about families living out that week's highlighted Bible story.

A one-year subscription is $11.80. 

Call 1-800-426-0115  ext.639    www.augsburgfortress.org

FaithTalk

FaithTalk is a set of 192 share cards that provide opportunities for in-depth conversation between young people and their parents or other adults. It includes 48 share cards in each of four areas: Memories, Etchings, Values and Actions. $48.25

FaithTalk With Children by Dick Hardel & Deb Stehlin  is also available in this best selling series. It includes 96 share cards and is for use with kids ages 3-10. $32.25. Both come in handy carrying cases. 1-888-838-6626

Online

www.pluggedinonline.com

Wow! This is an amazing site for anyone who is trying to decide which movie is worth their hard-earned cash! It has also helped us to choose movies that would or wouldn't be appropriate for family outings. The site is connected to the Canadian arm of Focus on the Family and can also be accessed through www.fotf.ca. 'Comprehensive' is the key word here. Each extremely detailed movie review includes a summary of the film and then breaks down the content into its 'positive elements', 'sexual content', 'violent content', 'spiritual content' , 'crude or profane language' and 'other negative elements'. It concludes with a general recommendation for families to consider.

The site also reviews other elements of pop culture including magazines, music and less current movies. Also included on the site are international headlines that lead you to news stories about families around the world.

Another great feature is the 'Decisions and Discernment' section which invites you to 'hone your media discernment skills' with great discussion starters for your family based on short write-ups.

Activity Time

Fruits of the Spirit Activity

This is a wonderful activity to help you and your children store the Word of God in your hearts. It a verse I often need to recite in my mind before I decide to do or say something! You can also challenge yourself and your family with the question "Did those words or actions bear fruit?" when you're discussing situations.

Here's what you do. You write out the verse on the left and post it on the fridge. After discussing the verse and vocabulary with your children, you buy some little fruit candies or gummies from the grocery store. Whenever you 'catch' someone in your family displaying a 'fruit of the spirit' quality, you surprise them with a little fruity treat!

My friend's two-year old can recite this verse and has recently become very motivated to get along with his older brother!

That's all for this issue. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please contact Lisa Oppitz at loppitz@look.ca

Sourcing

 November 2004, Volume 1, Issue 2