Caring For Our Children

After decades of efforts by children’s advocates, April National Child Abuse Awareness Month was finally established in 1983. These advocates pushed for years to create and change laws to protect those most vulnerable in our society — little ones who have no voice. You may have noticed the blue pinwheels in the garden beds around our campus. 

​They have come to signify a vision of a world where all

Heather Bell

children can grow up in a safe, stable, and nurturing environment. But this awareness should not be confined to the month of April.

Awareness allows us to emphasize the role of communities and organizations working together to support children and families. Focus is placed on strengthening families through resources and support to create a protective and nurturing environment for children.

“He put a child in the middle of the room. Then, cradling the little one in his arms, he said, ‘Whoever embraces one of these little children as I do embraces me; and far more than me — God who sent me”
(Mark 9:36-37).
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And how do we care? I believe our church excels in caring for children in many ways. 
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• Our Neighborhood Closet Ministry provides new clothing and other personal items to elementary and middle school children in our community. 
• Volunteers recently filled backpacks with food for at-risk students to take home over spring break.
• Our Ecumenical Kitchen serves those of any age in need of community and a bite to eat. 
• Family Promise is an expression of our outreach to help protect families with children who are doing their best to create a brighter future. 
• Our Family Ministries program as a whole is a beautiful expression of outreach to our children and families.

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​Many of you generously support these ministries by volunteering and through your generous donations. And, I believe, everyone includes our community members in their heartfelt prayers. Everyone at 1st Pres lives out the mission statement to Love First through these outreach programs. 

Children hold a special place in my heart! I am graciously blessed to serve in our church nursery. When I was a public school teacher, my school often had the highest rate of free and reduced lunches in the district. We know that children must feel safe and secure in their environment. This includes protection from violence, neglect, and abuse. 

Addressing the basic needs of children is a fundamental investment in the future of underprivileged children and the well-being of society as a whole.

As April comes to a close, please remember that every day is an opportunity for us to be mindful of children facing abuse or neglect. Every small positive step we make today brings us closer to a brighter tomorrow.

All the flowers of tomorrow are in the seeds we plant today!
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“And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them” (Mark 10:16). 
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In His Name, Heather