submitted by Chyrl Conner Budd

On Monday, August 7th, volunteers from Johnson Memorial UMC in Huntington, welcomed the summertime elementary-aged group of children from Ebenezer Community Outreach Center (Celes Sheffield, Director). The theme for the day was the Biblical story of “Jonah”. Small groups of children rotated to five different stations: 1) Story Time with a tent decorated as a “Big Fish”; 2.) Craft Time where the children made a game using cups as “the fish” with string attached between the cup and a clothespin to catch Jonah; 3.) Cookie Time where the children rolled out, cut and baked “fish shaped” sugar cookies; 4.) “Treasure Hunt” in the sanctuary of JM; and 5.) Music Time where the children played drums, shakers and tambourines to accompany “We are Marching” (Siyahamba). We concluded the event with lunch of pizza, Goldfish crackers and cookies with ice cream. The children returned to ECOC carrying new backpacks loaded with toys, books and their freshly baked & decorated cookies. JMUMC volunteers hope to repeat this event throughout the year with new themes, crafts and activities.