Shepherd of the Valley Presbyterian Church in Albuquerque, NM

Children’s Program

Shepherd of the Valley loves kids! During worship, the children are invited forward and one of the ministers introduces the scripture passage and theme of the day. Then they are escorted to Fellowship Hall for their own worship experience, with modules of music, stories, crafts, and projects. In this way, children engage with the lessons in developmentally appropriate ways.

During the 11:00 hour, while parents go to Adult Christian Growth or linger in the gathering space for coffee, the children are led in games and activities. Nursery care is provided for children from 9:15-12:00.

Recently the children created this welcome banner in response to learning about how Jesus welcomed the little children in Mark 10:13-16.

Adult Christian Growth – God’s Messy Family

Adult Christian Growth has started a new study, entitled “God’s Messy Family” written by Jacob Armstrong. No family is perfect, despite how the photos we post and images in advertisements make it seem. Most families are messy – emotions run strong and we say or do things we regret.

Come and learn about how God’s chosen family of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Esaus was just as messy as ours can be. God calls and redeems us and our families, even in the midst of our messes. We can find freedom when we embrace the messiness and trust that God has a plan for us that is greater than our mistakes. Each one of us is welcome at the table as part of God’s family.

The study meets at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday mornings in the west wing. The hour begins with a DVD presentation followed by group discussion. All are welcome!

Project Shine – Partnering with La Luz Elementary

Shepherd of the Valley has a relationship with La Luz Elementary School in order to show God’s love to our community. Project Shine promotes church partnerships with title one schools in the Albuquerque Public School district. The goal is to support our schools with no agenda to proselytize or preach. The focus of volunteers is to show love and care for children and those working with them. We are available to help with needs identified by the school.

We made some great relationships with kids and teachers.

Here are some ways we were blessed to share God’s love to our partner school:

Volunteers read with, tutor, and mentor children. We sponsored a First Grade Family Incentive Reading Program. Members of the church sewed book bags, purchased and sorted books to give to children. Twenty-four families read 8,379 minutes with their students in April.

The program ended with a family pizza party and puppet show.

We supported the school with a Clothing Drive, Thanksgiving Baskets, and a Mitten Tree. The church responded to crisis needs when families became homeless and needed immediate assistance.

We bring food and pack Feed the Kids Weekend Food Bags to help fill the gap on the days children do not receive school lunches.

The church purchased and donated classroom books and supplies to fill specific teacher requests. We provided healthy snacks for PARCC testing days so kids could do their best.

We sponsor Teacher Appreciation events. We love working with these teachers and want to support them to help retain good teachers in Albuquerque schools