St. Andrew Presbyterian Church

Lighthouse is for students in third through sixth grade. We meet from 6:30 to 8:00 pm on Tuesdays during the school year. Our meetings start with games, followed by Bible exploration and praise music. Lighthouse kids are involved in a number of service projects each year, including work at the Iowa City Food Bank, preparing meals for the Free Lunch Program, visiting senior housing centers, and special projects during Advent and Lent. Lighthouse leaders are adults and high school students who are enthusiastic about their faith. Leaders are selected for their ability to live their faith, be a positive role model, and encourage others to become disciples of Jesus Christ.

Lighthouse Registration 2009-2010

For more information or to be an adult or youth volunteer, please contact Director of Christian Education, Heather Woodin by email, heatherw@saintandrew-ic.org, or phone, 319/338.7523.

Global Kids

by Marue White, Presbytery of East Iowa

Walking through the front door, I could already hear the excited buzz. As the narrow hallway opened into the vast fellowship hall, it was like stepping into an outdoor bazaar in a foreign country. Brightly painted boxes lined the perimeter of the room, echoes of “Willkommen” floated through the air and people strolled leisurely from one exhibit to the next.

Where was I? St. Andrew’s Global Village built by the Lighthouse Kids (grades 3-6). I spoke with Emily at the Dominican Republic village and learned that they were sponsoring a girl, Amber, through Compassion International. My next stop was Germany where Megan, Laura and Ella eagerly traded sentences as they described in great detail the work that had gone into building their village. Against the backdrop of the German Alps, a display featured a German Bible and German chocolates. The girls bid me “alvederzang” (sic) as I continued on my way to the Guatemala table. Here, Alexis and Samantha described a Guatemalan home as they pointed to photos showing a typical kitchen and cooking facilities.

Crossing to the other side of the globe or, in my case to the other side of the room, I saw John 3:16 translated into Hindi. Next door, a boy knelt inside a box constructed to look like a church and I learned that in Botswana people attend services in white shirts printed with a logo unique to their particular church.

Heather Woodin, CE director at St. Andrew, said the idea behind the Global Village was to find a way to extend the focus of World Communion Sunday by creating a month long celebration. Students learned about Christianity, living conditions and culture in various regions of the world, then used appliance boxes and other recycled supplies to build models of homes, worship centers or other structures to represent those countries. Australia, Brazil, China and Haiti were also featured.

As my eyes scanned the room one final time, it was easy to visualize Matthew 28:19 coming to life, Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

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