Just Watch It!

By September 12, 2020

This Sunday, our Together Time program will at last return to First Church with an exciting new twist. Just watch it — and share with friends, neighbors, other parents, and grandparents to spread this spirited expression of God’s love.

On Sunday, September 13 at 10:30 am, Together Time will take its place in our Sunday morning worship line-up to bring our Fall 2020 Children’s Ministries into focus with the technological wizardry of our AV Team, including Austin Patton and Paul Hughes. “To me, this new concept brings together what we loved about the Together Time segments Grace and I did at home earlier this year, our summertime virtual VBS, and our old Children First Family Service,” Mark explains.

Mark says that this content made just for families on Sunday mornings at First Church will offer up a relatable and enjoyable combination of wackiness, ritual, sacredness, and sweetness. “Because we can do things virtually that we could never do live, we’re taking advantage of these opportunities with special features we could never do in person. We can literally be anywhere, go anywhere, and create experiences far beyond what is possible in our regular Sunday morning setting.”

Following the sweet spot of where Sesame Street and Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood meet Muppets Take First Church, this Sunday Morning Together Time offers up explicitly sacred content with a great deal of lively fun and a sense of community. “As much as humanly possible, we’re going beyond “programming” to create something for kids and families that makes them feel genuinely and profoundly connected to this church family. And, whether we watch Together Time “live” on Sunday mornings or on-demand at some other time during the week, we’ll know that we’re all wrapped in our blankets, hearing a Bible story, seeing what Professor Science Pants is up to, singing and celebrating this special connection together.”

Each week of Together Time will bring its own special collection of surprises, and yet its weekly line-up will include familiar and beloved segments such as:

  • Welcome and a Special Guests (A weekly visit with someone kids will recognize as the people in our First Church neighborhood)
  • Kid created backdrops of drawings submitted by kids they know (Thank you to Addie, Sarah, Thomas, Caroline, Sidney, and many more young artists to come)
  • Music with Mister Mark, Miss Julie, Miss Ashley, and of course “Cha-Cha”
  • Joyful Noise
  • Puppets
  • The Playful inventions of Professor Science Pants
  • Therapy dogs
  • Griffin, our Creation Care hamster

All of this will be wrapped up in holy conversation, a few things that are always the same, and close with our song, “Do Not Be Afraid,” to remind us all that God is always with us and we are never alone, even when we can’t physically be together.

Mark says that one of the most important things our summer programming taught us was the response received to the montage Mary Katri created after VBS from photos and videos families sent to show their children participating in each day’s lessons and activities. “I think people were so surprised to see how many other people were doing these things too,” Mark relates. “It helped us all remember that we are a community, we do share this connection with one another, and even though it may feel like it sometimes, we’re not just stuck out on an island somewhere — we’re together.”

Premiering this Sunday, Together Time will be accessible on fumcfw.org/live, Facebook Live, YouTube Live, and it will play throughout the week on its own landing page at fumcfw.org/togethertime. Please be sure to register your attendance in the form provided on the page and let us know you’re with us!

“Just watch it,” Mister Mark invites. “Trust us. And then send the Together Time link to someone else with kids, grandkids, or friends and neighbors with kids. This is something completely different from what else is out there — and I can’t wait to see where all it can go and how many kids and families we can reach with these messages of God’s love and the importance of being part of a faith community.”

We look forward to being Together with you each Sunday this Fall at 10:30 am!