Anchorage First Presbyterian Church

News

Note From Danna 5/15

Dear Families,
School will be out next week and you will be moving into summer and a “first” for us as we continue to live out our COVID-19 days. I give thanks that so far we have been able to limit the number of people who have gotten COVID-19 here in Alaska. I pray we can continue to do this as we move into the summer and we all want to be with each other.

This summer we will not be able to host our summer Vacation Bible School at First Presbyterian Church. After much prayer and discussion we continue to believe the best way to “love one’s neighbor” is to make sure we do things at the church that are safe for everyone. If we were to have the VBS even later than our June date (since the use of building is limited to 50 currently and the VBS is usually about 80 people with children and volunteers) we would put a lot of our volunteers at risk because so many of us are over 60! Also, in order to be safe for the children and youth volunteers we would need to be disinfecting all of the furniture and supplies in the room spaces between groups and the practically and workforce to do that just does not seem possible.

First Presbyterian Church is working to plan opportunities for you and your children this summer.
**Compassion Camp: Be Loved. Be Kind. Be You This is a do at home Vacation Bible School that will include a community art project as well as service opportunities. We will not receive the curriculum until June 1. I hope to have the materials ready to deliver to our families the second week in June for you to do during the summer. Suitable for pre-school and elementary children.
**Camp in a Box: Deep Roots, New Leaves This is still tentative but I hope we can provide this opportunity as well for our elementary children. Camp in a Box provides 5 days’ worth of activities that are screen-free, encourage outdoor activity, and minimize demands on parents. In this weeklong experience campers will discover that God is always doing a new thing. While God offers stability and safety, like a tree’s deep roots, God is also working for good in each new moment, like a tree sprouting new leaves.

I know each of you as parents are very busy and I continue to pray for you each week. I appreciated Lilly Lewin’s post this morning Coloring During COVID19 and offer it to you for your own renewal and possibly a spiritual practice for you.

Blessings to you and your families this week,
Danna Larson
Director of Faith Formation

We Harvested Potatoes!

The Earth Care Ministry Team sponsored a box of potatoes at the 3rd Avenue Garden this summer. The VBS children planted the potatoes in June and the Earth Care Team cared for them through the summer. Last Sunday afternoon we harvested! We donated the potatoes to the Alaska Food Bank. Thanks to all who helped with this project!

Backpack Blessing 2019-20

Lord, bless these backpacks and the children and youth who carry them as they begin yet another year of school……

Removing Chokecherry/Mayday Trees

This summer our Earth Care Team has been working with the Trustees to arrange for the removal of the European Bird Cherry trees from the church property. This tree, also known as Chokecherry or MayDay, is an invasive species here. While invasive plants can be quite beautiful and easy to care for, they take over! They spread and crowd out healthy native species, wrecking the biodiversity that is important to growth, health, and sustainability. You can learn more about them in this brochure that is also available in the church narthex.

We are pleased to report that the Chokecherry trees have now been removed from the church property and the Earth Care Team planted apple trees in their place!

These trees will be cared for by the Earth Care Team volunteers and we hope that in a couple of years the tree will be full of apples for the community to harvest.