How is your church doing LOGOS or other intergenerational ministry in a pandemic? Here are brief descriptions from three churches, all illustrating how much the staff and volunteers love LOGOS and each other.
State College Presbyterian Church
State College, Pennsylvania
Two Tuesdays a month, on an RSVP basis, dinners are available for curbside pick-up at the church and come with a packet of games, surprises, and conversation starters. These meals are then shared virtually with household groups to eat together, play games, discuss Bible stories, and connect with one another. The other two Tuesdays, there are Bible stories and worship skills online all together with church leaders. No tuition is being collected, but donations to cover the food costs are accepted. Director of Christian Education Deannine Shipman shared, “We keep getting families telling us that what we are doing is very meaningful, so it's been very rewarding to hear that in these difficult times when we are not physically together as much!!”
Knox Presbyterian Church
Guelph, Ontario
Recognizing the need to maintain relationships even when they could not be together in person, a pen pal program was created. Each child has been paired with a familiar adult to exchange letters once a month with all participants receiving a kit (information about their partner, cards, envelopes, stamps, address labels, birthday and Christmas cards, and some prompts to get them started). LOGOS Director Nancy Stepien said that the program has been successful with one parent sharing, “My daughter received her reply yesterday. She was so pleased with the letter she received! She felt so special. Thank you for the wonderful initiative.”
First Presbyterian Church
Mooresville, North Carolina
Each Wednesday (8 weeks in the fall), video segments and in-home ideas are posted to the church website, encouraging participation in the four parts of LOGOS each week (Bible study, recreation, music, and dinner) for “LOGOS at Home.” Participants picked up a bag of supplies in September for recreation, dinner games, and other program-related materials, to be used at a convenient time for each household. There is no cost for LOGOS this year. Ellen Auten, Director of Christian Education was thrilled to hear from a “LOGOS at Home” mom, “We enjoyed our family time ‘camping.’ Thank you so much for putting all this together. We are super impressed with how above and beyond each week’s activities are. You can truly see the thought, care, love, and passion that went into each bag. The whole family is excited to do each one. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!”
Other IG Mix Articles: November-December 2020
Come to the Table with LIFT
Two Questions: Trevecca Olkham
A Ministry of Presence