June 2023 Newsletter
Greetings church!
June is here, and the summer solstice is on the way! The solstice is the official first day of summer, and the day when our hemisphere experiences the most sunlight hours! Winter can make it feel like we wait a LONG TIME to get to this point of the year. So, soak up the sun and warmth and light in the days ahead.
June is also the planned opening of the daycare center in our church building. We’ve been waiting and working for many, many months to help our partners – Naomi Barnett and Nikki Thomas – to launch this new opportunity for the community. The daycare is entitled “Barnett’s Busy Bees” and is owned and operated by Naomi Barnett. Naomi and Nikki introduced themselves in worship on Sunday, May 21. Naomi approached our church last October with a desire to open a small daycare in the community. After discussing the idea of renting space to Naomi, our Leadership Board agreed to pursue this opportunity in order the support our neighbors. Naomi’s goal and our church’s mission align on several important points. We both want to offer safe, affordable, quality childcare to our community. Our Leadership Board has agreed to rent our space at below market rates to increase affordability for our neighbors. An initial lease has been signed through the end of 2023.
Naomi and her husband Jonathon purchased many materials and spent countless hours freshening the Children and Youth Sunday School area to prepare for the day care. Our congregation purchased new flooring, new egress windows, a new exterior fence, new glass front doors, and a new door locking mechanism to help create a safe, healthy, and welcoming environment. A $10,000 Round Up for Safety Grant helped make those building improvements possible.
As June begins, we move from PREPARING for this change to LIVING it! That means lots of new folks in and out of the building Monday thru Friday, especially at drop off and pick up times. It means a little more noise as children laugh and play. Jesus invites us to build relationships with our neighbors. This opportunity will help us make that a reality. May God help us be friendly, hospitable, and open-hearted to this new venture with our neighbors!
Visit www.barnettsbusybees.wixsite.com/childcare to learn more.
Summer blessings,
Pastor Jared