Dear Rose Park,
According to a 2018 article from PBS Kids, “Reading aloud to kids has clear cognitive benefits. For example, brain scans show that hearing stories strengthens the part of the brain associated with visual imagery, story comprehension, and word meaning……But reading also strengthens children’s social, emotional, and character development. According to a recently published study, reading to very young children is linked to decreased levels of aggression, hyperactivity, and attention difficulties.” I imagine we all know the importance of reading, but I wonder if we realize not everyone has access to books.
You may have noticed a beautiful little library has popped up on the south side of our church building. You can offer your thanks to Mr. Art DeRoo for the construction. This is just one small way we can show hospitality and encourage the development of our community members. If you’d like to donate to the library, you’re more than welcome to drop them off to the office or to the church library located in the basement.
But this isn’t the only library you can support. A few days ago I was contacted by West Ottawa School District to help ‘adopt’ a library to provide reading materials for local families. It sounded like a great idea so I asked some Rose Park members to help and they jumped at the idea. So, if you’d like to donate books to another local library you can either drop them off to the office or the church library as well.
This is all to say, there are so many needs in our community. There are so many ways to get involved in the life of Rose Park. There are so many ways to use the gifts and passions God has given you to bless others and honor the Kingdom. There are so many ways to share the love of Christ with our neighbors. These are just two small ways you can get involved behind the scenes, but there are countless others. You can help out with the Tuesday Crew of guys who generously offer their time and talents to beautify the church. You can help read scripture or pray on a Sunday morning. You can read bible stories to our youngest believers at the Kids Table or Big Kids Table. Or you can help in the kitchen when we gather for meals.
God has blessed each and every one of us with a variety of gifts to bless others and serve Him. Let us not ignore these gifts, but instead use them to meet the needs of our community and glorify the name of Christ.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Mark
Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash