YOUTH AND CHILDREN’S MINISTRY NEWS
As is the tradition at the Hills Church, we will only be providing Church School and Nursery for kids Pre- K and younger on Easter Sunday. Children in kindergarten and older will be in the service for the entirety of worship, and activity bags will be available from the ushers and in each entrance.

Much is being done to enhance the ministries to children here at the Hills Church. The 3rd-floor chapel is in the midst of a renovation, murals have been painted and will be hung in the 3rd-floor hallway, a sink is being added to the Art Room. AND...we have just hired a 20-hour-per-week Children’s Ministries Coordinator to help us take the next steps with our ministries to children and families.

On April 12th, Sally Tomasetti will begin her work at the Hills Church, and will assist me and the Christian Education Committee as we seek to create the best Church School and Children’s Ministry possible. Sally was raised in England, and grew up with parents who ran a school for underprivileged boys. Hence, a passion for mission and service are part of what she brings to us. She is also an artist, and looks for ways to bring creativity to what she does. She and her husband have three kids. She has worked and volunteered in several churches, and is currently beginning studies at Andover/Newton. Her tasks and jobs here will be many, and she will help with everything from coordinating and training teachers, to enhancing our curriculum and classrooms, to leading Big Adventure Day Camp.

Speaking of which...
Registration forms are now available for Big Adventure (Half) Day Camp. Forms are here at church, and can also be found at the church website on the “Children & Youth” page.

Finally, I have been excited to see how many kids are here on Sunday mornings. Numbers continue to grow, and there is much energy on all floors of the church on Sunday mornings. With this, however, comes growing pains and other stressors (16 kids in the nursery, for instance), and I want you to know that we are working to make sure all the classes are safe, fun, and provide a rich experience for your children. As we start our teacher recruitment for 2010-2011, we hope you’ll consider helping us make this happen by signing up to teach next year. Information will be coming out soon, and there will be a teacher orientation after church on May 2nd if you’ve never taught before or are looking for more information.

JOIN THE HILLS OUTREACH EFFORT!
The Outreach Committee is focusing its efforts in 2010 on expanding the number and types of service opportunities available to members, and making it easy to match volunteers with service projects. Each individual has unique skills, interests and availability, so we are striving to make sure that in the range of service opportunities offered each year, there will be something for everyone. In addition, we’ve heard that members don’t know how to get involved in service, and project sponsors have struggled to find members interested in helping out. Through better communication and use of the scheduling capability via the church’s own website, we aim to make this process more effective.

Activities in support of these goals will be introduced throughout the year, and we are starting now with an invitation from the Outreach Committee to join the Hills Church Outreach Effort! As a “member”, you will be:

• Signifying your commitment to participate in service activities sponsored by the Hills Church throughout the year
• Helping to identify types of service that are of interest to individuals and families in our church
• 􏰀 Simplifying the process of matching enthusiastic volunteers to service opportunities.

On Easter Sunday, Service Team “pledge cards” will be available in the pews. Please use the card to let us know the types of service opportunities you are interested in, and state your commitment to participating in service activities through the Hills Church. The cards will be collected with the morning offering.
Our faith calls us to help those in need. Through the Hills Church Service Team and other activities, the Outreach Committee hopes to help our church build upon our strong history of generosity and service to our neighbors, near and far.

OUTREACH OPPORTUNITY...VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Serving one meal a month to residents of the Woods-Mullen Shelter in Boston has been a longstanding activity of the Hills Church Outreach Committee, whose members, coordinated by Jim Conlin, handle most of the cooking and serving duties. But, for one Saturday each month, we need from 2 to 4 additional volunteers (1 or 2 adults or youth in the afternoon to help prepare the food in our church kitchen, and 1 or 2 adults later to help transport the food and serve it). Anyone interested in giving something of themselves for the good of others should contact Jim Conlin, John Worral (Committee Chair), or call the church office at 781-235-4424.