My name is Kelly Rice. I’ve become involved in the new Playgroups ministry at Parkside and want to tell you a little bit about how we’ve benefited from this ministry.
My husband, Justin, and I were married for 3 years when we moved to Cleveland for him to go to school and have been attending Parkside for 5 years since. Without any family in the state, we eagerly searched for opportunities to be involved and establish new friendships including the music ministry. After Justin graduated, our son Joshua was born and he’s now 2 years old.
While I was pregnant, I participated in the womens’ Bible study and met another mom-to-be who was due to deliver just a month later than I. She also knew 11 other women all expecting their first children within the same year and began to host a playgroup in her home. Her organized weekly topics revealed just how many questions we didn’t even realize we had as first time moms. How do you clip toe-nails on a wiggly, surprisingly strong little foot? (Distract her with a snack while immobilized in her high-chair.) What does it mean if my child doesn’t develop according to all the charts? (Someone has to be in the 1 percentile!) How do you transition from milk to solid foods? Feeding was definitely our biggest issue.
After nine months, our group endured some transitions: little siblings were born, families moved to new homes, jobs changed and our coordinator couldn’t continue hosting. She had spoken to one of the Parkside pastors about possibly meeting in one of the nursery classrooms and, since none of the other families in our group attended Parkside, asked me to follow up by calling the church office. A few days later Pastor Kennedy called and asked if Justin and I would like to be involved in the new Young Families Ministry, including a playgroups outreach. We had a great response from leaving sign-up sheets in the nurseries and worked with the volunteer hosts to organize groups around the community.
Cumulatively, the hosts agreed to not use curriculum or educational agenda, no videos and no toys from home so the groups could really focus on socialization for both children and parents to facilitate encouraging each other in a Biblically sound environment. At a kick-off brunch, we enjoyed an almost forgotten luxury –an adult only meal that that we didn’t have to prepare or clean away ourselves! What a blessing to see three of our pastors show up on a Saturday morning in jeans and sweatshirts to entertain toddlers while we received some much-needed refreshment from the Scripture from Terry Mills. Even before playgroups began, women were hearing the Gospel and seeing it lived, some for the first time.
Each group met individually to choose days & times that would be most convenient to meet on a regular basis. At the initial playgroup that week, I met another mom who’s husband was interested in connecting with the music ministry, and I was able to email her the correct contact information. During our next playgroup she told me how it had been “so good for his heart” to be playing music again. The large turn-out in Cleveland Heights reassured us all that we weren’t the only Parkside attendees who lived so far from the church. One mom brought her daughter simply because she was the neighbor of a Parkside family and asked me, “What’s so special about Parkside that all these families travel 45 minutes to church every week?” Knowing that she attended another local church, I didn’t want to offend her but what a special opportunity to express my appreciation for a church that values honoring God by teaching His truth above all else. I’d never hoped for such immediate results but am so humbled by God’s affirmation in our efforts to share His love in our community.
Motherhood makes everything meaningful and meaningless at the same time; nothing else is more important to me than Josh’s well-being ,yet he’s my motivation for doing anything else at all- outside, of course, my identity as a child of God and my desire to honor Him. Being a parent gives such a deeper and sweeter understanding of how God relates to us, teaching me so much about His love for me that I wouldn’t otherwise comprehend. How precious was the first “I wub you” from my son’s mouth (even if he was just repeating after me) and how much more does God desire to hear that from us- that is why He created us after all.
Yet being a mother of pre-schoolers can be intensely lonely as we try to balance the constant demands of our children with the rest of our adult responsibilities. Often it’s easier to resign ourselves to isolation in the presence of someone who’s vocabulary consists of “uh-oh”, “choo-choo” and “tzee” (cheese). Playgroups are an ideal place to train my child to interact with others while being reassured from the presence of other parents that I am not the only one walking this road right now. Having lots of extra eyes watching out for the collective group also takes off a bit of pressure for a couple hours anyway. As certain neighborhoods are more populated than others, we’re still brainstorming about how to reach out, so that we might see unbelieving moms and tots become committed followers of Christ.
For more information about Playgroups or the Young Family Ministry, contact Joyce at jtroupe@parksidechurch.com.
