Table of Contents

Presbyterian Women

Financial Peace University

SHIM

Mission & Outreach

Preschool News

Child Care News

Christian Education

Prayer Shawl Ministry

Calendar

FINANCIAL PEACE UNIVERSITY

Top

Prayer Shawl Ministry

Perhaps you are looking for a way to help others and meet new friends.  The Prayer Shawl Ministry meets every two weeks on Sundays from 2-4 p.m. in the McMillan Room.  We knit and crochet (you can learn too) shawls for individuals who need a hug or are going through a difficult time.  You can also submit a name of a person you would like to see get a shawl.  We pray that this ministry will extend beyond our church and into the community.  I personally have enjoyed watching it take off from a small beginning. 

Top

PW is again going to make layettes for the Pregnancy Resource Center. Everyone likes to go shopping, so here is a chance to shop for baby clothes and other baby items that new mothers could use for their newborn. Here are some ideas: onesies, girl & boy outfits, booties/socks, cribsheets, receiving blankets, rattles, hooded towel sets and wash cloths, sweaters and hats. Please leave items on the showcase in the Marshall Road entrance lobby. We will be collecting them until Sunday, March 1st. 
Thank you in advance. 
Debbie May

Top

SOUTH HILLS
INTERFAITH MINISTRIES

 The Food Pantry at SHIM is in need of ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, and jelly. Contributions of boxed and canned potatoes, as well as tuna are also requested. All varieties of canned soup, especially the cream varieties are needed. 

Top

MISSION & OUTREACH NEWS

 The Spring Blood Drive will be held on April 26th.  Look for more details to come.

Support our Troops.  Chaplain Doug Etter was deployed back to Iraq last month and also Austin DeFresne, whose picture is at the bottom of the Narthex steps.  Kim Anderson would like to send a package soon to each of them, so here is a list of things they need: Toiletries, hand & toe warmers, microwavable food, snacks, Tylenol, hard candy, gum, disposable razors and cough drops. You can leave them in the drop box at the bottom of the Narthex steps.

 2009 Mission Trip to Mississippi is March 14-21.  As of this writing, the bus is half full and 7 people from Bethel are going.  If you don’t want to miss out on this great opportunity to join our brothers and sisters in the Pittsburgh Presbytery on a week of helping others and making new friends, please call Beth Mundsinger or see her at church.  You don’t want to miss the bus! You can check out this mission experience at www.campkatrina.com  

Top

Preschool News
March, 2009

March is a month of many activities. There will be much time devoted to the color green (3’s will be learning about it and learning about the coming of spring (we hope!) as well as getting ready for Easter. The 3’s will also celebrate Green Day and Teddy Bear Day. 
The Preschool teachers have worked very hard with their classes all year and will report to the parents their evaluations of the children’s progress. The Four Yr. Olds will not be in session on Monday, March 2 for Conference Day and the T-Class will not be in session on Tuesday, March 3 for their Conference Day. The Three Yr. Olds will have their Conference Day in April. We will continue to accept registrations for next year’s preschool classes until we have a full enrollment. We have about 126 registrations so far. There is still room in the Moms & Twos and Threes but only limited spaces are left in Fours and T-Class. Thank you for your part in promoting our wonderful programs.
Our new enrichment class, the Curious Kid’s Club, is off to a great start. The children have been learning a lot and the teachers have been bubbling with excitement. They have been moving through “stations” each day where they do many activities and projects as they learn new things about the topic of the day. They also have a snack (which sometimes they prepare themselves) and time to play games and use their large motor skills in the gym or on the playground. This year we are meeting on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and have nearly full classes each day. We are hoping the program will gain enough popularity to do it all five days next year.
The Preschool and Child Care Board reinstated the Preschool Scholarship Fund six years ago. We received donations from individuals and groups in the church. We are again gratefully accepting pledges and/or donations, which will help the families who are on scholarship this year. Many times families experience financial difficulties either because low income, loss of a job, more than one sibling in the programs, etc. make it difficult, at times, to handle the cost of Preschool tuition. We feel that as a mission of this church, we should be able to provide at least partial tuition to families in need. We require that the parents go through an application and selection process in order to correctly distribute the funds that are available. In the past, the Preschool budget had to assume the financial burden of supporting scholarships. We would greatly appreciate any help that you could give us. Please see me or any of the Preschool/Child Care Board members for information on how you can contribute to this very worthy cause.
Leanne Parise
Preschool / Child Care Director

Child Care News
March 2009

           It seems like yesterday we were hustling around to prepare for the holidays. Where has the time gone? Before you know it we will be getting ready for Easter. Hopefully the spring season will be here soon. The children are anxiously awaiting the time to use the playground again. We have been busy playing in the auditorium to run off some energy. We purchased some new toys to be used in there for gross motor skills. The children are enjoying their play time.
We are wrapping up our Spring Sarris Candy order and will be deciding what to but with the proceeds. Thanks to everyone who either sold or bought! Your help is greatly appreciated.
We had fun celebrating the Steelers for many weeks of victory. Come check out our group picture we took of all of us in our Steelers gear. It is framed outside of the child care office. We had fun cheering, dancing and partying for our team’s victory. The teachers even had their own “tailgating Lunch.” Now it is time to root on the Penguins. Let’s hope they can be as successful in winning!
The children have been working very hard on their crafts and lessons for the month of February. Some of their themes were Kings and Queens, Knights and Dragons, Folklore, Clothing, and Hats. Ms Jane brought in her Punxsutawney Phil ground hog collection. The children even made a chart on if he would see his shadow or not. Some March themes are Circus, Elephants, Zoo, kangaroos, Weather, and Day and Night. We continue to have Ms Lynne from the Bethel Park library visit weekly. If anyone is interested in visiting, I am sure the children would love to hear a guest read a story or share a craft. You are always welcome to visit just to say hello and see all of their creativity as well. 

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

CE is looking for volunteers to be substitute teachers for Sunday School classes. There is usually another teacher in the class with you, so you wouldn’t be on your own. We just like to make sure there are two teachers for each class each week. Also, CE is looking for a teacher for preschool from January until the end of the year to help Matt Mawhinney. Please see Stacey Lucidore if you are interested in either position.

 Sunday School students are collecting pennies for Paul again this year. Pennies will be collected the last Sunday of the each month. If each student collects $1/ month, we should reach our goal for sponsoring Paul.