Dutilh Church

Music Ministry: It’s More Than Just Music

By Maureen Konopka, Director of Music Ministry at Dutilh Church

I have the coolest job. Every day, I get to work with different groups and individuals to make music that praises our Lord–what an awesome job! Having been a musician all of my life, I have experienced the ups and downs of music: frustrations, expectations, deadlines, performances, failures, successes…the list goes on. And ultimately, I have found that music ministry so much more than the music we perform.

Yes, our ensembles are daunted by many pressures of deadlines and expectations. Yes, we strive to provide perfect performances every chance we get. But music ministry has a bigger purpose than just great music. All the groups here at Dutilh Church want to use their gifts to praise God. Every member wants the performance to be meaningful and to bring the congregation closer to God. I love this aspect of music ministry.

I love to play the piano, if you couldn’t tell. When I was in college I played for everyone I could— soloists, choirs, musicals, even an opera—but it always felt empty for me. We would work hard and give it everything we could, and the performance was great, but what was it for?

Since I started my journey into music ministry about five years ago, I discovered that my music could have a purpose. Now I spend hours practicing, preparing, and teaching so that I can help others find God’s message in song and then help them share it. Music ministry gives music a purpose.

If you have ever come into the building when an ensemble is rehearsing, you hear more than just the sound of music. You hear conversation, joy, excitement, concern, and most importantly, laughter.

Our ensembles are not just performance groups. These groups care for each other and help each other; we meet for fellowship as well as music. We are family.

The only expectation that our ensembles have is that we are present for the right reasons: we want to make music for the Lord and we care for the others in the group. I have seen our ensembles rally around individuals when they are sick, when a loved one become ill, and when tragedies happen. Our ensembles become families that care for each other. I personally experienced this care and concern when I faced my own health problems several weeks ago. It was humbling to have so many people reach out to me, check in to see how I was doing, offer to help me with anything I needed, and pray for me as I recovered. Music ministry creates caring families.

Our members are always inviting people to come and join our ensembles, but we so often hear, “I can’t sing” or “I can’t read music.” Everyone focuses on the music and misses the underlying message: We want you to join us!

When it comes to choir, you are never alone. We sing as a group, we support each other, and we all work together to sing our songs. As an example, with handbells, some of our ringers can read the music, but not all can, so the notes they need to play are highlighted. We work on counting together, and we learn the music as a group.

All of our ensembles, chimes, chamber orchestra, and praise band are more about the people in the group than the music that we make. Everyone who participates in our ensembles struggles in their own way to learn the music—myself included—but we come together every week to be together, to help each other, and to make music for the Lord. Music ministry brings us together.

It is an honor to do what I do. I work hard to keep our music ministry organized and growing, but the reason our music ministry at Dutilh Church is so amazing is the people that are a part of it.

Yes, our ensembles work hard to learn the music, but they do it together. We do it together. I am constantly amazed by the effort and care of every member of our music ministry; they work hard, they care for one another, and they are always striving to bring meaningful and amazing music to the congregation.

If you feel that you are missing something, maybe music ministry is what you need. Maybe you have never sung in a choir before, or rung a handbell, played a key, or strummed a ukulele. That doesn’t matter. Dutilh’s music ministry is made up of amazing people who will help you along the way so that you are not in it alone. We will ALWAYS make room in our music ministry family for you.

Cultivating an Attitude of Gratitude in Your Child

By Sarah Hogue, Director of Children’s Ministry at Dutilh Church

At the risk of showing my age, flash back with me to the 80s and Madonna’s famous declaration that “we are living in a material world.” If that was true then, imagine how true it is now! Everything is faster, sleeker, more advanced, and more immediate. The concept of delayed gratification is as retro as 80s music.

The result is that our children (and, if we are honest, all of us) often overlook the many things they have and fixate on the things they don’t. We are raising our kids in a culture that is rich in things and poor in gratitude.

As Thanksgiving approaches, I wonder how, in this world of “I want the next best thing, and I want it now,” can we cultivate an attitude of gratitude in our children? Here are six simple ideas you can try right now:

At the dinner table each night (YES! You can find the time to have dinner together!), have everyone say three things that they are grateful for during their day. No matter how bad a day is, you can still find things for which to be thankful.
Write thank you notes. A handwritten note is rare these days. Teach them to take the time to say thank you to people who touch their lives.
Text or even (gasp!) call someone. While a handwritten note remains the Emily Post-acceptable way to say thank you, and it does hold meaning, we are all super busy. The act of saying thank you is more important than the means by which you do it. Send someone a quick text (or call them) to let them know that something they did was meaningful to you. Show your children that even though we are busy, gratitude should not be forgotten.
When you pray with your children, model for them the ACTS of prayer:
A = Adoration – Tell God the things you adore about Him. Praise Him.
C = Confession – Confess any wrongdoing to God. Get yourself in right relationship with Him.
T = Thanksgiving – Thank God for all that you have. Thank Him for all of his provision for you.
S = Supplication – Only after we have praised, confessed to, and thanked God should we ask for what we need. Thankfulness for what we do have should come before asking for what we need/want.
Do a “November Thankfulness Challenge.” Each day, your whole family individually writes down on a slip of paper something for which they are thankful and places the paper in a jar. On Thanksgiving, take them all out and read each of them together.
Give. In the early 2000s, Pastor Don Scandrol told our congregation that we were “blessed to be a blessing.” Let your children see a spirit of generosity flow from you. The things we have to be thankful for can be an opportunity for us to give freely and bless others. Make sure that we aren’t just thankful to be blessed, but that from our blessings, we are a blessing to others.

Above all, children learn what they see, and if you model an attitude of gratitude, they will, too.

Let Them Eat Candy

By Bud Fickley, Director of Student Ministry

Bud Fickley, Director of Student Ministry at Dutilh Church, leads the children’s blessing at a recent worship service.

“Let them eat cake.” You’ve probably heard the phrase and, while you may not know the origins of it, who doesn’t like to eat cake? Or for that matter candy? As to the origins of the phrase, there’s debate about who first said, “Let them eat cake,” but consensus that “them” is a reference to starving peasants during a bread shortage.

I can imagine the “great princess” sitting there, imagining a dinner party gone wrong, thinking, “Well, if we’re out of bread, let’s just serve the cake course.” As though the issue is simply a matter of not having made enough bread. She seems not to realize that if people don’t have bread, it’s not because they just didn’t bake enough. If they don’t have the necessary resources to bake a simple bread, clearly cake—a richer, more decadent bread product—is not available. The saying demonstrates a clear disconnect between the royalty and the common person.

There’s a cultural and generational disconnect when we begin asking the question, “How old is too old to go Trick-or-Treating?” Look around at parents who are taking their little ones trick-or-treating. How many of those parents are wearing costumes and participating in the fun? And in the days that follow Halloween, how many times will one of those parents grab piece of candy from their kids’ bowls?

How many workplaces or social groups have costumes parties and other Halloween-themed events? Let’s be honest: as adults, many of us still like an excuse to play dress up.

So why do we decide for our kids that at some magical age, trick-or-treating is no longer appropriate? Why do we decide that depending on the perceived age of the person standing outside our door, they shouldn’t be there for candy?

I was 5’10” when I was 12 years old. I’m sure there were people who saw me show up at their door looking for candy and thought I must be too old. But stop and think for a moment; what’s wrong with hanging on to a bit of childhood fantasy?

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus pays special attention to children, or little ones. We’re probably familiar with the verse, “Let the little children come to me” (Mark 10:14), but what do we do with verse 15? Jesus goes on to tell us that unless we receive the kingdom of God like a child, we’ll never enter it.

There’s something about the way a child receives things that becomes idyllic here. A child doesn’t question the fantastic. A child thinks nothing of engaging in dress-up and make-believe for the sake of candy (or just because it’s something to do). A child’s imagination has an opportunity to run wild as they come up with costumes and decide who they’ll be this Halloween. And they can be someone or something different every year, or at different events in the same year.

And yet, our children and students are already growing up in a world that expects them to mature and decide who they are faster than ever before. By ninth grade (that’s 14 years old) most students are expected to have some idea of long-term career goals so they can begin to craft their classes to be ready for college – not just in a what-do-you-want-to-be-when-you-grow-up kind of way, but with a you-need-to-know-what-your’re-doing-with-your-life implication.

Do you want to go into communications? Let’s make sure you take the right English classes so that by the time you get to junior and senior year, you can begin to take college prep courses.

Do you want to be an architect or an engineer? Let’s load up your math and sciences so you can take AP BC Calc in time for it to show up on your application transcripts.

By graduation, teens are making sometimes $100,000 and $200,000 decisions about where to go to college, whether or not to pursue a trade, or maybe sign on for the military. Do you remember making a $200,000 decision at 18 years old?

There’s so much pressure placed on our teenagers today. Is it really so wrong to “let them eat candy?” I know…sugar, obesity, and the list of objections goes on. One night of imagination, dress-up, and running door-to-door to collect as much candy as you can might just be the one break from reality a teenager needs to make it to Thanksgiving break. It might be the little bit of fun that breaks up competitive cheer practice, the two AP test that are coming next week, and the homecoming dance they didn’t get asked to attend.

If you come to my door wearing a Halloween costume and say, “Trick-or-Treat,” I don’t care who you are, how old you are, or whether anyone else thinks it’s appropriate. I’ll hold up the bowl of candy and tell you to grab a handful. Don’t discount the kid who looks too old to Trick-or-Treat – they might just need this night more than any other person who comes to your door. And they certainly don’t need one more voice in this world telling them they’re too old to have fun.

Forgiveness Is Nonsense by Rev. Tom Parkinson

“I forgive you.” Those three words, followed by a long embrace, captivated the entire nation earlier this month. Amber Guyger, a 31-year-old white police officer, had just been sentenced to 10 years in prison for the murder of Botham Jean, a 27-year-old black man. Outside, scores of protestors cried foul, angry that the sentence was more lenient than expected. Inside the courtroom, Brandt Jean, the victim’s brother, offered a heartfelt and emotional declaration of forgiveness. Speaking directly to his brother’s killer he said, “I forgive you…I love you just like anyone else…I personally want the best for you.” He then hugged Guyger as the courtroom and whole world watched in stunned silence.

In the days since that dramatic moment, many have struggled to make sense of it all. Some have wondered how someone could forgive their brother’s killer so quickly. Is this cheap grace? Others have questioned whether forgiveness makes light of the immense harm that has been done to the Jean family. Does forgiveness undermine justice? Still others have wondered whether forgiveness has been a distraction from the larger issue of systemic racism that plagues our country. Does a black man forgiving a white woman further perpetuate a system that favors some and oppresses others?

Such questions arise from genuine confusion, consternation, and curiosity. Forgiveness has a way of turning the world upside down, sending us into cognitive disequilibrium. If Mr. Jean expressed hope that Ms. Gugyer would rot in prison, we could make sense of that. But “I forgive you?” That is nonsense.

Jesus never created more confusion, consternation, and curiosity than when he offered forgiveness. When Jesus declared that a paralyzed man’s sins were forgiven, the flummoxed religious leaders accused him of blasphemy (Mark 2:7). When he refused to condemn a woman guilty of adultery, he stunned a bloodthirsty crowd ready to stone her (John 8:1-11). As he hung on the cross, an innocent man sentenced to a brutal death, he looked out upon those who nailed him to the tree and prayed, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). People didn’t know what to do when faced with such radical love. It didn’t make sense.

The apostle Paul, trying to make sense of Jesus’ forgiveness, could only conclude that “the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). By the logic of the world, forgiveness is nonsense. By the logic of the cross, forgiveness is the only thing that makes sense. Without forgiveness, there is no salvation, no hope, and no life.

In a world bound up in cycles of violence, oppression, and hurt, forgiveness is the catalyst for change. It is the grace-filled act of stopping the cycle, offering a fresh start to the sinner, and opening a pathway to peace for the victim. And Jesus places the power of forgiveness in our hands. Speaking to those who have been the victims of sin, Jesus said, “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 18:18). The choice is ours. We can choose to hold on to the hurt, the bitterness, and the rage, or we can release it, freely giving the grace that God so freely gives.

Asked why he offered forgiveness to Ms. Gugyer, Mr. Jean replied “I wasn’t prepared to hate her for the rest of my life.” Forgiveness frees us from our worst impulses. It releases us to pursue the life of love and peace God intended. Forgiveness is nonsense by logic of this world, but it is the only thing that makes sense by the logic of God.

I Got the Wrong Souvenir

By Pastor Jim Gascoine

In June of this year I had the privilege of being a part of Dutilh Church’s Mission Trip Team. We spent 16 days in Nyadire, Zimbabwe, with our partners in The Nyadire Connection (TNC) ministry. My daughter Kate was also on the team, and we both were looking for a specific souvenir.

Pastor Jim, Kate Gascoine, and two other members of Dutilh’s TNC Mission Team in Nyadire.

Our last day there, we found one! Specifically, we were able to get piece of currency: a 20 Trillion Zimbabwean dollar bill. Yes, you read that number correctly. The currency was from 2008, when Zimbabwe’s economy experienced hyper-inflation. And it was a real bill. Of course, it is worthless right now, as Zimbabwe uses a different currency.

As a curiosity, it has its place. But now that I am back, I’ve begun to think that maybe I was focused on the wrong souvenir, because it brings the wrong message. Sure, Zimbabwe continues to experience deep issues in its economy. In fact, our team saw a lot of that while there: shortages of petrol, shortages of certain kinds of food, repeated electric outages, currency issues, high unemployment, and struggling communities.

It would have been very easy to settle in to a common American reaction: “Oh, another third-world country that can’t get it together.” “Oh, typical third-world lack of everything.” “If they would just work harder…”

Dutilh Church’s TNC Mission Team (photo by Pete Ekstam)

But on deeper reflection, I began to realize the falsity of those unfortunately all-too-common responses.

What I saw was different. I saw a people who lacked resources, but were extremely resourceful. And they were hard workers.

Nyadire has food insecurity. So, the front yard, sideyard, and backyard all become gardens. And they raise chickens. If they cannot find it in the stores, they’ll raise it in their gardens.

We saw gardens in practically every yard in Nyadire: a resourceful solution.

Emmanuel Chiimba, the Director of the Home of Hope Orphanage, is another great example. He really cares about the kids in the orphanage. A struggling economy will mean food insecurity. So, Emmanuel has put in crops and planted orange trees and a banana grove. He has built chicken coops and a piggery (a small building to raise pigs). And while our team was there, the staff was completing a fish pond, in which they will raise tilapia.

Some of this food will feed the kids in the orphanage; some is destined for the marketplace to raise cash for the orphanage.

Emmanuel is a great example: faced with a lack of resources, demonstrating great resourcefulness.

Several of our group got to work with Christopher (head of maintenance) and his team. One of our projects was a drip-irrigation system. But we needed a tall platform on which to mount the water tanks. No problem! They gathered up the angle iron they had on hand, figured it out, and welded together a 10-foot-high platform. Next problem: how do we get that LARGE water tank on top of the platform? Here in Cranberry, we’d hire a lift or a crane. Christopher and his team couldn’t do that.

Solution: their own muscle power, and amazing teamwork. Another example of lack of resources overcome with wonderful resourcefulness.

A member of Dutilh’s TNC Mission Team with Savie and Greater.

Savie and Greater were the two staffers who cared for us in the Guest House while we were there. So it’s breakfast time and the electric is out again. No problem! Just get the fire outside going, and breakfast is right on time. Nothing fazed them.

It was the same with Dr. Larry and his staff at the Nyadire Hospital; with the doctors and nurses we met at the Dendera and Mashambanhaka Rural Clinics; with the staff at the Primary and Secondary Schools; with Esnath and the Nyadire Farm; with the staff at the Teacher’s College; and with Rev. Lance Mukundu, the Nyadire Station head.

They may have lacked resources. But they never lacked resourcefulness. They never gave up or quit. Is it worth it for Dutilh Church to support TNC? You betcha! These leaders are my new heroes.

Speaking Life: My Love-Hate Relationship with Social Media

By Jenny Monahan

I recognize the irony of writing a reflection about my interior struggles with Facebook for a blog that I intend to promote on….Facebook.

As of July 2019, Facebook and Facebook Messenger are the two most downloaded apps in the world.

Far from its origins as a tool of tortured adolescents (who quickly moved on to sharing their angst via Instagram, Snapchat, and various other social media platforms as soon as their parents started using Facebook), Facebook is now the tool of the rest of us. Much like a buzzsaw, that tool can be used to do good things—or to slice off your metaphorical fingertip and leave you bleeding.

In my professional life, I recognize social media as an incredible tool for marketing and communication. Facebook and Instagram are dynamic platforms through which we can share the story of Dutilh Church, connect with our faith community, reach new potential guests to our church, and let people know about upcoming events.

In my personal life, social media is my nemesis. While I understand the logic that people are generally posting their best moments and photos on their profiles, it doesn’t stop my emotional insecurities from rearing their ugly, hydra-like heads, along the lines of:

Wow—she looks GREAT. And she’s my age. How come she still has long, thick, flowy, beach-wavy, sun-kissed tresses? My hair is awful. Blech.
Oh, my gosh, why aren’t we rich enough/cultured enough/cool enough to take our kids to London/a Broadway show/the Shake Shack?!?!
Why is everyone hanging out without me? Cue sad feelings and the resurgence of every seventh-grade insecurity I ever felt.

Also, there’s this:

A few years ago, a friend from high school who I hadn’t heard from in a while contacted me on FB and shared a picture of an article I wrote about him for our high school newspaper—including a picture of him flying a plane as a kid—via private message. I responded with something like, “So fun! Thanks for sharing. Adorable photo!” and received, in response, a seven-paragraph long response on Messenger about how much he loved his wife (also a high school friend of mine), how happy they are together, how devoted they are.

It took me a minute to realize he thought I had been Facebook-flirting with him. I was HORRIFIED. I very much love my husband. And now this person I hadn’t seen in 15 years thought I was hitting on him. I couldn’t figure out how to say—at least not convincingly—“THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT!” I promptly and with mounting humiliation responded with a brief, “So happy for you guys!” and walked away from my computer. Props to him for being vigilant about protecting his marriage from even a hint of impropriety. Even though it wasn’t impropriety because THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT! He is a good person and clearly a good husband. But seriously? I am mortified to this day. And there’s a guy walking around my hometown who thinks he has been inappropriately flirted with.

See? That’s why I hate social media. It’s so easy to be misinterpreted. It’s so easy to get sucked into the trap of comparing myself to everyone else. It’s so easy to let a social media tool make me feel bad about myself.

And so I quit social media forever.

Except I didn’t.

Because my position description explicitly includes a responsibility to share Dutilh’s story through social media, I engage almost daily with Facebook and often with Instagram, Twitter, and the like.

I love being able to tell the story of Dutilh Church. It’s a privilege and a joy to share images of our young people out doing good in the world, of our Faithful Followers gathered together in fellowship to make Chrismons that will decorate a tree at the church during Advent, or of our dedicated musicians, putting themselves out there each Sunday to enhance our worship and to share their love of the Lord. Most of Matt Cosgrove’s amazing promo videos make me cry—except the Office one, which makes me laugh—and I love putting those out into the world so other people can experience them, too.

So that’s my dilemma: How do I balance my personal discomfort with living in the context of social media alongside my belief that it can indeed be a powerful tool for good? Here are a few tips that have helped me:

I know it’s time to take a break when I find myself:

a. sucked in to social media for 30 minutes after I intended only to click on a cute picture of my friend’s kids’ first day of school, or;

b. feeling the temptation to compare myself to what I’m seeing on the screen.

In either of those cases, I deliberately take a few weeks off from looking at my personal FB page.
Before I post anything on my personal page, I do a quick gut-check: Is this message authentic, or is it about trying to make myself look good? If it’s the latter, I don’t post it.
I have officially eliminated the word “adorable” from anything I EVER write that doesn’t have to do with people under the age of four or baby animals.

My puppy, Cocoa = OK to call “adorable”

I would not say these changes are a perfect solution, but they do help me keep my sanity and a sense of balance in how I engage with social media.

If, like me, you have struggled with “social media sanity,” check out this excellent article by Sr. Theresa Aletheia Noble. And may we all enjoy putting goodness out into the world and try to “Speak Life” authentically.

Not Your Same Old Hymns by Maureen Konopka, Director of Music Ministry

I have the unique task every week of celebrating the Lord with traditional hymns and with contemporary praise songs. Many Christians have strong opinions about which type of music they prefer to worship with, but many new artists are finding ways to incorporate these wonderful hymns into their contemporary style.

Caleb and Kelsey are one of my favorite duos. This married couple sings beautiful duets and many of them are medleys of hymns or mash-ups of hymns with similarly themed contemporary songs. One of my favorite Caleb and Kelsey pieces, and one of my favorite hymns is “It Is Well.” Their blending of “How Great Is Our God, Our God” and “How Great Thou Art” is an excellent example of their musical mash-up mastery.

Caleb and Kelsey’s harmonies, emotion, and musicianship deliver the message of each song as if they were all written at the same time and have always belonged together.

Sometimes the hymns are so good there isn’t much you need to do except give them a “fresh coat of paint.” The David Crowder Band takes the classic hymn, “All Creatures of Our God and King” and makes only a few changes with instrumentation, leaving the original chord structure and flow the same until we reach the end. The only changes The David Crowder Band start with are the addition of drums and rhythm acoustic guitar in verse one, which they use to simply solidify the beat for the listener, but each verse gains interest with the addition of background instruments such as strings. At the end, the song reaches a late climax with the addition of the electric guitar which segues to repeated “Alleluias,” creating a powerful moment based around such a joyful and important word in Christian faith.

Chris Tomlin is among the most renowned Contemporary Christian artists. He has written hundreds of well-known songs, and has sometimes used hymns as the basis for his hits. Praise For has done Tomlin’s version of “Take My Life (and Let It Be)” for Dutilh Church’s congregation at the 9:30 a.m. contemporary service. Dustin, Michele, and Brenda together sing the contemplative words of each verse and then sing out,

“Here am I, All of me.
Take my life, it’s all for Thee,”
Chris Tomlin

while Mark, Chip, Ron, and I crescendo to bring the importance of those words to the forefront and make them the focus of worship before dropping out to make it a prayerful moment focused solely on those words.

Some of our congregation know that one of my favorite hymns is “I Surrender All.” It is a beautiful hymn where each verse is powerful and carries a message that can help us through our everyday routines or the tough days we may face. Contemporary Christian artist Kristian Stanfill uses a verse of the hymn as a poignant moment in his song “My Heart Is Yours.” In an interview, Stanfill explains:

“The song started with us just saying, what if we had a song that started at the beginning? It wasn’t this big theological statement, but it was just a song that people could sing to God, ‘I just want to give you my whole life, offer you my whole heart,’ and that’s really how the song started.”
Kristian Stanfill

As worshipers listen to the song, we can’t help but feel that they accomplished that goal. “My Heart Is Yours” is a powerful song expressing the vulnerability we all feel with our love for God.

Without hymns, both worship and our faith would be very different; the catchy tunes that we all know and love stick with us and we never forget them. Current worship music has a little bit of something for everyone. We might have to do a little searching for it, but it is there—and with new catchy tunes! No matter what type of music you prefer— hymns, contemporary, or both—ultimately all of it has the same purpose: for each person to love the Lord with the song He gave us in our hearts.

Teaching Your Kids to Make Time for Faith

By Sarah Hogue, Director of Children’s Ministry

The lazy days of summer have come to an end, and the school year has begun. For many families, this change means new routines that include homework, sports schedules, and other activities. For my family, the school year is seen as a fresh start. It is a time to add new things to our daily calendar, and to return to practices that we get away from in the summer. These items range from fulfilling weekly chores to bedtime routines. As a parent, it is important to help my family set a routine that allows us to manage all the various activities that are important to us.

Setting new routines is an opportunity to reconsider our priorities. What we give time to in our daily routines is a reflection of what we think is most important. As people of faith, we believe that our relationship with God should be a priority in our lives. Just as we make time for homework and meals, so we also need to make time in our routine for God. As parents, making our faith a priority in our routine is one way we teach our children to put God first in their lives.

So, as you dive into the new school year, where does God fit into your family’s routine? Is your faith an afterthought, or do you have an intentional plan for how you will make room for your faith to be formed?

Take time and ask yourself:

When can I set aside time to pray and have daily devotions with my child?

Does bedtime work best for that, or is bedtime crazy and unreliable because of sports and homework?
Would breakfast be better? Are the mornings too rushed?
Can I steal ten minutes when the kids first arrive home from school? Is dinnertime better?

When we teach our children to set aside time for prayer and devotions at an early age, we make it easier for them to do so later in life. Many great family devotional books offer Bible verses, applicable lessons, discussion questions, and topics for prayer to help lead your family on an adventure to grow closer to God. Here are a few that I like:

Are we making time to attend church? Now that summer and vacations (sob!) are over and our routines are returning, is attending church on Sunday a priority for your family? If your family schedule precludes attendance on a Sunday, are you able to log in for church online? Are you able to make midweek programming, such as Family Faith Night, a priority? Are you able to commit to FISH or FISH Jr with your 1st – 6th graders on Sunday evenings? Dutilh Church offers lots of opportunities to jump in and be engaged in your faith.

Can your family serve together? Before homework, sports, and activities take over our schedule, look for one-time opportunities to serve as a family or get your children involved in serving. As part of the body of Christ, we are all asked to bring our gifts to serve. Maybe you can join Helping Hands and take a meal to people in need. Maybe your family can pitch in on the church work day and rake leaves. Let your children see you (and be involved with you) as you make time to serve. This is a powerful lesson that will lead them to lives of service as well.

In this very busy world, with everything vying to be a priority in our lives, I encourage you to make time for your family to grow in faith. A few routine practices that prioritize faith will set your child on a path that, in the long run, will make an eternal difference.

3×3=9 Ways to Pray This School Year

By Bud Fickley, Director of Student Ministry at Dutilh Church

Pumpkin Spice is back at Starbucks. Drive past a high school stadium on Friday night and the lights are shining bright. The morning commute just got longer if you live on a bus route that stops every five houses. It’s a season filled with newness, excitement, and–for many–nervousness.

Parents worry about their kids going back to school. The rhythm of kids in the house is broken, and they miss it. And they worry for their children – no matter how old that child might be. Teachers’ classrooms are filled again with a new group of students. Are they prepared for all the challenges this new group of students will bring? And what about the kids? How will this year compare to last? Will they live up to all the expectations that are placed on their young shoulders?

Philippians 4:5b-6 tells us, “The lord is near. Don’t be anxious about anything; rather, bring up all your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. Then the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus.”

We all know that prayer is powerful. Somewhere in our past, in our history with the church, someone, more than likely a pastor, told us we needed to pray. We need to pray for the good things and the bad. We need to pray for ourselves and others. The list goes on. But let’s be honest: prayer is hard. Talking to someone we can’t see or “hear” is difficult and feels strange in a world where if we didn’t see or experience it, we’re skeptical.

Here are some practical ways to pray for parents, teachers, and students this school year:

Pray for Parents – If you’re a parent, take time to pray for yourself. You’re going through a transition as your student moves into this new school year filled new teachers, new experiences, new challenges, and new opportunities.
– Pray that parents are filled with patience for the struggles their students face.
– Pray that parents are filled with compassion for the teachers in their students’ lives.
– Pray that, when tension arises in the classroom, in the hallway, on the bus, and in sports, band, and other extra-curriculars, our parents are Godly examples of how to handle conflict and see every side of the story.
Pray for Teachers – If you are or have been a teacher, you know it’s easy to feel unsupported and overlooked. If you’re not a teacher, ask a teacher, with sincerity, to tell you about some of their most difficult moments in teaching – their hearts break for their students in ways you may not be able to imagine.
– Pray that teachers feel supported by their administration, their peers, and the parents of their students.
– Pray that teachers are filled with God’s wisdom as they guide our young people.
– Pray that teachers would find the right way to reach each student they encounter this school year.
Pray for Students – We hear that being a student in today’s society isn’t like it was in the past, but often we believe it can’t be that different. It is! The pressure to excel, to be better, to be more marketable for private schools and colleges, and to earn academic, athletic, and extracurricular scholarships is overwhelming.
– Pray that students are able to find space to be students, and more importantly, to be kids.
– Pray that students are supported by more than just adults. Pray that they are surround by peers who build them up, not tear them down.
– Pray that students find joy in learning and seeking to grow themselves even as the pressures of school weigh heavy on them.

Watch for our weekly blog post! Next up: Sarah Hogue, Director of Children’s Ministry.

Dutilh Church – A Loving Community

Dutilh Church makes disciples of Jesus Christ who love God, love others, and love to serve.

Hear from members of our pastoral and ministry staff each week. Our aim is to put good out into the world, and to be a resource for anyone interested in sharing the journey to love God, love others, and love to serve.

Some of our team include:

Bud Fickley, Director of Student Ministry
Jim Gascoine, Associate Pastor
Sarah Hogue, Director of Children’s Ministry
Maureen Konopka, Director of Music Ministry
Jenny Monahan, Director of Marketing & Communication
Tom Parkinson, Senior Pastor