Halloween is Coming!

Happy Halloween!

This Monday is Halloween. Kids love Halloween! They get to dress up and get free candy! What a perfect holiday! Give your kids some precious Halloween memories that they'll have for life.

If you take your kids to a sponsored event, like a safe Halloween thrown by your church or community center, make sure to keep an eye on them at al times. Even though it seems less dangerous, you are still in a strange environment full of people that you don't know. All it takes is a minute with your back turned to find your child gone.

Cell phones are everywhere now! Everyone seems to have one, they can be so affordable. Make sure that your child has a pre-programmed cell phone with him/her if they go out on Halloween night! Make sure that all important numbers are already there and ready for use.

Below are more common sense tips that can help adults keep their kids safe.
* As bad as it sounds, this is just a fact of life now. Get on the internet and check your local state website for sex offenders. Almost every state has one, just do a search for your state sex
offender site. Look up your zip code and it should have a list of registered offenders in your area that includes street addresses. Make sure that your kids
stay away from these houses!

* Know the route your kids will be taking if you aren't going with them. Let them know that they are to check in with you every hour, by phone or by stopping back at home. Make sure that they know not to deviate from the planned route so that you always know where they will be.

* Trick or treating isn't what it used to be. In most cities it's not safe to let kids walk the streets by themselves. Your best bet is to make sure that an adult is going with them. If you can't take them yourself, see if another parent or two can.

* Help your young child pick out or make a costume that will be safe. Make sure that it's fire proof or treated with fire retardant. If they are wearing a mask of any kind, make sure that the eye holes are large enough for good peripheral vision.

* Know what other activities a child may be attending, such as parties, school or mall functions. If they are going to be at a friends home, get the phone number and make sure that you've
met the parents.

* Make sure you set a time that your kids should be home by. Make sure they know how important it is for them to be home on time or to call immediately if something happens and they are going to be delayed.

* Serve your kids a filling meal before trick or treating and they won't be as tempted to eat any candy before they bring it home for you to check. Check your local grocery store or craft store
for Halloween cook books full of tasty treats on a horror theme for both kids and adults.

* Make sure that if your child is carrying a prop, such as a scythe, butcher knife or a pitchfork, that the tips are smooth and flexible enough to not cause injury if fallen on. Make sure that
costumes won't get in the way when they are walking, which could cause them to trip.

* Teach your kids about not getting into strangers cars or talking to strangers, no matter what the person says to them. Explain to them as simply as you can that some adults are bad and want to hurt children, that they should never go into a house that they don't know, get into a car or go anywhere with a stranger. Also, tell them what to do should this happen, to scream as loud as they can to draw attention and to run away as fast as they can to someplace safe.

* Be sure to show your children know how to cross a street properly. They should always look both ways before crossing the street and should only cross at corners or crosswalks. Make sure that if you have more than one child, they know to take the hand of the younger child when
they cross a street.

Make Halloween a fun, safe and happy time for your kids and they'll carry on the tradition that you taught them to their own families some day!

Backpack Blessing is Coming!

Calling all children, teachers, and everyone who works in the education profession! Mark your calendars now and plan to join us on August 28th at 9:30 am worship service. Please bring your backpack, lunch boxes, or briefcases for a blessing to start the new school year. What a great way to begin a new year!

The Best Week of the Summer July 18-22

Summer Camps

Vacation Bible School

This year we will be Shaking It Up with your children as they explore the Bible as an exciting cookbook filled with recipes for living out God's Word. By celebrating biblical festivals, they will: Be ready for God, Give happily to God, Believe fully in Jesus, Remember Jesus often, and Celebrate God forever. Call Claire Meloni with questions or comments at 410-667-1133 or melonifamily@ hotmail.com

New This Year: Drama Camp

Children third grade and older are invited to stay after VBS for Our first Drama Camp. Children will eat lunch and have a break from 11:30-12:30 and then Drama Camp will begin and run until 3:00. Drama Camp will end on Friday July 22 with a Pot lunch dinner for the families and a performance at 6:00pm. Call Trisha at 410-592-6565 or email Sam at ssouthern@stevenson.edu

Mark your calendars now for the best week of summer, July 18- 22

Family Fun Night a Huge Success

Thank you to all the families and friends that came out to Strapasta’s Family Restaurant and had dinner on June 13^th.It was a wonderful evening, and we had 40 families gather, some carry out and others eating in, come together as a St. John’s family. The evening was truly a Family Fun Event because everyone commented how special the evening was to be together with everyone. On a side note, Children’s Ministry received 10% of the purchases made that evening which totaled $1250.00. This money has been put towards the cost of an Accut die cast cutting machine for the church. Parent’s and grandparents look for the wonderful projects that the children will be making in Sunday School, Children’s Church, VBS, and more….

Family Fun Night at Strapasta's

Grab Your Friends and Family and Come to Strapasta Restaurant on June 13, 2011 between 4:00- 8:00pm with a pink flyer and St. John’s Children’s Ministry will receive 10% of each sale before taxes. Everyone has to eat dinner, so why not enjoy an evening with your St. John’s Family. Come after school, before sports, before Council Meeting, or after all of the running around has ended! St. John’s Children’s Ministry will be using the donation from this event to help to purchase an Accucut Die Cutting Machine for the Church!

Please Join Us!

Passover Meal

April 12^th 6:30PM

Again we celebrate the Passover Meal, the Seder, with special guests. Jesus was a Jew, and He celebrated Passover. We’ll learn about Passover and its connection to our celebration of Holy Communion. This special night is for everyone at St. John’s, including H2H youth and First Communion children and their parents and families. Please make a reservation so that we can prepare enough for all. It is a full meal. Call the Church office: 410-592-6565, or Email: office@stjohnssweetair.org or fill in the RSVP form below.

Special Guest: Morris Rosen is a Jewish Holocaust survivor originally from Poland who lives in Baltimore. He is now 88 years old, but still telling his story to many groups.

Passover Meal

· April 12^th - 6:30PM

· Where: The Fellowship Hall

· Cost: freewill offering

· Please Bring: Sodas or dessert

· Why: To better understand Passover, Communion, our Jewish heritage and our Jewish neighbors.

· Who: All Members & Friends of St. John’s, especially H2H families & First Communion families [let us know if you will need child-care for young children]

Mr. Morris Rosen survived to tell the story. He says, “I owe it to my fellow inmates from all the concentration camps where I was kept. They did not make it, but I did, and I want the world to remember them.” He survived Jewish ghettos in Poland, five concentration camps including the infamous Buchenwald and Theresienstadt, and a death march. He lost his parents and five siblings in the Holocaust. He has lived in America since 1949.

WINTER

Winter isn't a time to stay indoors and wait for spring. There's a whole wonderland of sports out there for the entire family- sledding, snowmobiling, and snowboarding, to mention a few. Plus, someone has to shovel the snow, right?

Once out doors, however, take precautions to keep your family safe. In ice and snow, accidents can occur easily, and before you know it you might be on your way to the emergency room.

It's easy to keep safe- and stay fit- during the cold months. BY following a few tips, you can have a great time, no matter how much white stuff piles up outside.

Cold Weather Hazards

Certain injuries are more common in the winter because cold weather activities like ice skating, sledding, snowboarding, and skiing can lead to accidents that often involve children.

Now that snowboarding is drawing more children out in the cold weather, ERs are seeing more abdominal, head, and neck injuries in those who run into trees or large rocks while snowboarding.

And some illnesses are more common when the weather turns colder. Respiratory ailments, especially viruses like the flu, are prevalent because people stay indoors more and thus are exposed to more airborne germs.

At Home

One way to stay healthy whilecooped up inside is to make sure your family washes their hands. It's especially important to wash after sharing toys, coughing, and blowing a runny nose to help prevent the spread of viruses.

Decided you've had enough of the indoors and you're going to get the family outside to shovel the snow? Fine, but take care. Snow shoveling is strenuous work. It's OK for older, school age kids to help out, but young children should not be shoveling because they can strain their muscles from lifting heavy shovels full of snow.

Younger or older, children have a tough time knowing when to come inside from the cold. To nip frostbite in the bud, check on your children reguraly to make sure that mittens are dry and warm and noses aren't too red!