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SSTN # 83 - July 25, 2003


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IN THIS ISSUE OF THE SSTN e-NEWSLETTER:


--> Fruit of the Spirit - Bingo

1) Teen topics   
2) Pastor troubles?   
3) Paying Children's Directors
4) The lost coin   
5) Father's Snack in Archives?

--> Praise-Amations!

6) Crafts For 2-3 Year Olds
7) Trailblazer VBS
8) Talking to Teens   
9) Craft for Men's ties
10) African ideas and words  

--> "His Name Shall Be Called..."

11) Pen Pal exchange web site   
12) Missionettes   
13) Sunday School Rally?   
14) Ten Commandments Drama?
15) Puppet script   


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--> Fruit of the Spirit - Bingo Game

A fun way for players to learn the Fruit of the Spirit characteristics.
Players score using real fruit candy! FREE USA SHIPPING!
Learn more here:

http://www.christiancrafters.com/curriculum.html 

(you may need to copy and paste this address to your browser)


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1) Teen topics   

Hi , this is in response to the need for good SS material for Christian
teens. I found a website during a search
....www.teenlifeministies.com........that signs you up free for a weekly
lesson plan on topics interesting to teens.  Hope this helps.
 
Julie Richardson
Vancouver, Wa

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2) Pastor troubles?

Hi my name is Brenda
I have been a member of our church for 18 years. I have taught sunday
school for the last 14 years , every sunday..
I have been the sunday school cordinator for the last 8 years.. The
children of our church or my passion..I have been a very active christian
in my church.. A few years back I served on the church council..In the
last year so much has changed things such seamed to always have a edge.
The senior and assoc. Pastors started haveing there differences. The
senior Pastor doen't like any waves and doesn't like to confront
people..But this last thing that he has done (the senior Pastor) was so
very wrong..The Assoc.Pastor was strongly against hiring a administrator
Our Assoc. Pastor felt this postion was really the job of the Senior
Pastor and he was not wanting to do his job.
Well instead of working things out, the Senior Pastor, while the Assoc
Pastor was on vaction, called the Bishop and told him that the Assoc
Pastor was unstable and shouldn't be preaching.. well to make a long story
alittle shorter, the Assoc Pastor is leaving he has put in for a call. Now
I am so torn on what to do.
Do you stay at a church that has done this unfairly to the Assoc.
Pastor..?? Or do you stay with the church that you have been at for 18
year s and try to forgive this Senior Pastor,? It's to bad they can't make
him leave too. I love my church, the friends we have made , our music
group, and all the children I work with.. My sister and family and some
others have already said they are out of that church, they have already
left. They don't understand why I havent done the same? Is it right to run
away, what would Jesus want me to do? Hopefully someone has been there and
can help me out.  Thanks so much.  Brenda in Wisconsin
   
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3) Paying Children's Directors

In reference to Cindy's question about being paid . . . I am not paid and
I agree with you, it seems like a full time job.  Our church is small and
growing - I have to continue to remind myself that I am not doing this job
for me, I am doing it for the children of the church.  You'll be rewarded
ten-fold for what you are doing.

Jenni M.

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4) The lost coin   

hi
We recently had a great time at Sunday School looking at the parable of
the lost coin. We cut out coins and gave each child enough coins to spell
out their names, then they decorated them also.  We then cut out big hands
(Gods), to which we spelt and stuck on their names.

We shared how they were all special to God and were in his hand being
cared for, just like the woman who lost the coin.

hope this blesses others
regards
Dave.

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5) Father's Snack in Archives?

Where in the archives is the Fathers' Day snack jars idea? I looked, but
could not find.

--from SSTN: When using the Archives use keywords that will narrow your
search. For example, rather than using words such as "day" or "Father",
which are more common, use "snack" + "jar". It'll come right up. ;o))
ysic, sarah keith <><

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--> Praise-Amations!

Children are excited to see their cartoon "mini-movies" come to life.
27 Reproducible patterns to make and do with your entire class!
FREE USA SHIPPING too!

In the Curriculum Creatives section: 

http://www.christiancrafters.com/curriculum.html 


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6) Crafts For 2-3 Year Olds

Dear Nancy:

I just finished a week of VBS and I am behind in reading my e-mail.

I get the crafts together for all the VBS classes and have done so ever
since my daughter was 3 years old.  Our Church had always used the craft
kits and I never liked them.  The crafts were either to easy or extremely
hard and it never seemed like it was something the chilldren did.  It
seemed that the teachers and helpers always ended up doing the craft -- so
I never felt it was their craft.  So that is how I began doing the crafts.
My daughter is now 32 and I am still doing crafts.  I have taught SS
classes for over 25 years so I have always been involved in my church one
way or another.

You said in your email you were looking for something for 2 year old
children or younger.  The thing that comes off the top of my head that is
easy for that age group to do is to make something with cottonballs.  One
thing that I can think of immediately that we used in VBS with our 3 year
old group was a cross cut out of medium weight cardboard.  The teachers
and
helpers applied the glue and the children layed the colored cottonballs on
the cardboard.  A few artifical flowers were pasted across the center of
the cross, and a magnet was glued on the back.  White cottonballs can be
used, but often you can find colored cottonballs in stores like Wall-Mart
- the colored cottonballs adds to the project.  Making a lamb with
cottonballs is also another itea.  If you are interested in other things,
I can go through my ideas and look for other items..

Now, I have a idea to throw out there to everyone.  In VBS the 5th through
9th graders all do crafts together.  The 5th and 6th have there own
lessons
and the 7 through 9th have there own lessons also, but they all come to my
area for crafts.  I find doing crafts for that age group is as challenging
as doing for a 3 year old.  Does anyone have any challenging ideas for
that
age group?  I certainly am interested in anything new.

If anyone is interested, email me as I have found 2 new things for that
age
group that I found they really liked that I did this year.  It was just
about a week before VBS until I made the final decision on their crafts.

I would be happy hearing about crafts for all ages and would be glad to
share any of my ideas with all of you.

I can be reached at  khelman@superpa.net.


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7) Trailblazer VBS

To Marsha,
A trailblazer VBS sounds cool! This year is the 100th anniversary of the
Lewis and Clark expedition. They were really trailblazers, crossing
mountains and rivers, meeting native people and wild animals. There were
no maps of the region, so they drew their own. Maybe you could draw a
parallel between Lewis and Clark and some Bible people who were also
trailblazers, like Abram or Moses. You could do a little research and use
items from Lewis and Clark's time period that they might have used (like
canvas haversacks, quill pens, pup tents, handmade maps, etc) as
decorations. Perhaps other parts of the church could be decorated with
items that would remind children of the Bible stories.

What are the character traits required to be a trailblazer? How about
courage, endurance, determination, etc. Perhaps you could show the
children how the Bible characters and Lewis and Clark demonstrated these
qualities.

Check on the internet and with your local historical society or the school
for resources on Lewis and Clark. You may be able to get some free
posters.

What kind of food would Lewis and Clark have eaten on their expedition?
What kind of food would your Bible characters have eaten? Perhaps you can
serve some snack reminiscent of their food, or make mock menus showing the
type of meal they would have eaten.

Hope this helps you start thinking up some ideas of your own.
Denise

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8) Talking to Teens   
   
>I teach a high school SS class and I seem to be having trouble finding
>subjects to talk to them about. I feel like it needs to be in the matter
>of  their everyday battles.

I work in the Jr. department of our church, but this caught my attention.
Some subjects that come to my mind are:
Purity
Proper Dress
Relationships / Respect / Responsibility
Being good stewards of their finances and time
Leadership (Be an example)
Finding their talents / Work in the Ministry
Temptation of
True Success (Salvation, not things)
A Good Name (protecting your reputation)
Complaining
Evil-Speaking (talking about people)
Popularity Vs. Peer Pressure      How strong are you?
Missionaries you support
Praying for people in your church
Needs in the community / how they can help

I imagine you have probably covered most of these topics, if not all, but
maybe something will spark an idea on a new way to aproach the same
subject.

Hope this is helpful!
Anita in Alabama

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9) Craft for Men's ties

>I am a Church School Coordinator and we have an abundance of mens ties.

Men's ties are great for Father's Day crafts.  They can be cut and used to
make pencil holders, lampshades for desk lamps, picture frames, as the
ends of desk blotters.  You might even find some that can be takedn apart
(the more flowery designs) and used for angels, dolls, or any number of
crafts.


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10) African ideas and words  

>Words in Swahili for the  the words   "Father Daddy"    I
>believe is   "Bwana, Bwana"     Thank-you" is   "Asanta"   and Thank you
>very much" is  "Asanta sana".  

We were short term missionaries to Kenya.
The proper pronunciation for "Thank You" is Asante (ah sohn ta' (long A).
Sana (sah na) means very much, so Asante Sana is "thank you very much."

Bwana (not ba wa na - but bwa na) means Lord. It is a term of respect for
anyone in authority or an older person.

I cannot spell this but here's the pronunciation - roho in taca te fu, it
means the Holy Spirit.

Yesu (yaa sue) is Jesus.

If you know the song "When He Calls Me I will Answer (also called "I'll be
somewhere Listening"), here it is in Swahili (pronunciation only)

Nita fonya, fonya coz,
Fonya, fonya coz
fonya coz e a ma nom.
Nita funya, fonya coz,
Fonya, fonya coz
fonya coz e a ma nom.

I'll be somewhere lsiteneing, Ill be somewhere listening, I'll be
somewhere listening for my name. I'll be somewhere listening, Ill be
somewhere listening, I'll be somewhere listening for my name.

One of the verses:  "If my heart is right when He calls me, if my heart is
right I will hear. If my heart is right when He calls me, I'll be
somewhere listening for my name.

When Kenyans sing and worship they clap and stand on one foot and then the
other. Not swaying really, because the songs are usually peppy with a neat
beat.  They clap on one side and step to the other and then reverse. If
there are any instruments it would be a drum of some sort.

Teresa
La Marque, TX


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--> "His Name Shall Be Called..."

The God of the Old and New Testament is known by many names. These names
help us to understand his nature and reputation. They define him as
Protector, Defender, Friend, Advisor, Judge, and Savior to name just a
few. The Third Commandment says, "Do Not Misuse God’s Name". "His Name
Shall Be Called..." contains fun crafts, games, and lessons to teach
respect and honor for God to the children in your ministry.
Free USA shipping!

To learn more, go to this page:

http://www.christiancrafters.com/curriculum.html 
(you may need to copy and paste this address to your browser)


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11) Pen Pal exchange web site   

Hi all,  With regard to the pen pals thing! I have set up a web site (very
low tech) to enable us to find pen pals, the address is
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/sam.langton/Frames.html
(I know this is a bit long and I am working on it) I haven’t registered it
with any search engines yet as I want to see what you all think! Have a
look and if anyone has any ideas let me know or if you want to add your
group on there please email the following details; The name of your groupA
brief description of your Sunday school class with ages (please not grades
as people in other countries may not understand)A rough guide to the area
you live in (state/county, & country) Which church you are affiliated to
Please don’t include any personal details about your children or photo’s
People can then email me with details for you and I will pass these on (
save you having your email address broadcast)  Sam Langton  email –
sam.langton@ntlworld.com


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12) Missionettes  

>I teach the STAR program of missionettes ........  I was wondering
>if anyone had a copy of the literature .........

Hi Marcie,
I am the M'ettes Coordinator for my local church and would be more than
willing to help you out if I can. If you'd like to get in touch with me,
please email me at:   DaCajunGal@aol.com and just put "Missionettes" in
the subject line.

Hugs,
Tammy LeBouef
South Texas

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13) Sunday School Rally?

Hi.  We are having a Sunday School rally day at our church to try and
encourage the public to come for Sunday School.  We have games and other
ideas for the children but are coming up short on ideas for the adults.
Any thoughts on ways to get them interested or keep them entertained are
needed and greatly appreciated.  Thank you.
In His Service,
Michele

--from SSTN: type "rally" into the archives search box:
http://christiancrafters.com/archives.html 

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14) Ten Commandments Drama?

I want to prepare a 10 minutes drama with the topic ten commandments.  I
want to give me ideas in what way I can prepare the play.  I want the kids
to memorize the 10 commandments as the same time and show that to your
parents in the church congregation.

--from SSTN: check the archives and sermons section for some memory
techniques:
http://christiancrafters.com/archives.html 
use keywords, "memorize" + "commandments".

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15) Puppet script?

I am looking for a 10-15 minute puppet script for our fall Harvest Party.
I would like it to be fun and present the Gospel, preferably with music.
I have tried One Way Street, they don't have anything for me.  Does anyone
have any other suggestions for me?

Mary Konvalin
Watertown, SD
mary@foursquaresd.com

--from SSTN: check out "Puppet Resources" on the links page at:
http://www.ChristianCrafters.Com 

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