Volunteers from Omaha’s Stony Brook Church provided care, Bible lessons and activities for 37 children and teens whose parents attended Gathering 2024. Melissa Hanna, Stony Brook office administrator, organized the efforts of the dozen experienced Stony Brook leaders who served July 23-27.
“The children enjoyed so many different activities together,” Hanna says in an email interview after Gathering 2024. “It was non-stop until the final session.”
Parents appreciated the volunteers’ work, rating the children and youth activities as “outstanding” on their Gathering 2024 evaluation.
The Stony Brook team filled five vehicles with supplies to transform conference rooms in DoubleTree Downtown Omaha into a colorful and welcoming environment for the children and youth. In addition to craft supplies too numerous to mention, the childcare team moved in a toddler bounce house, ball pit basketball, a bouncer and nursery toys, two televisions, several tables, check-in station electronics, plants and dirt for the gardening activity, more than 50 cardboard boxes for children to use as cars, 30 paint craft cans for kids to take home their projects at the end of the week, a nine-square game for the youth and decorations, including three giant paintbrushes.
And when Gathering 2024 was over Saturday noon, the volunteers along with Chris Hanna, Blake Hanna and Jonah Dillman, who volunteer in special events and facility maintenance at Stony Brook, transported everything back to where it belonged.
Hanna, who is also part of the Central District Conference executive board and serves as the CDC Faith & Life Committee secretary, was the friendly face who greeted the children and youth when they arrived and checked them in. Then the participants went to their age group’s meeting place on the hotel’s second floor.
“What a mess”
Six Stony Brook volunteers created messy and memorable experiences for nursery kids and kindergarten through 5th graders who attended “What a mess,” the program for preschool and grade school children.
The children learned about several messes in the Bible and how God addresses those messes with fun skits, puppet shows and crafts. Lessons focused on sin and why the world is messy, Jesus’ love for messy people, confessing sin and God’s grace that covers sin.
In addition to the “messy” lessons, the kindergarteners through 5th graders heard from two special speakers.
Ellynne Wiebe, Hillsboro, Kansas, spent an hour with the children teaching the new “A Wise Steward” curriculum produced by MB Foundation and based on concepts presented in the book Trusted, by Matt Bell. Wiebe, who recently retired from teaching elementary school, was responsible for writing the children’s curriculum.
“(Wiebe) was great with the kids,” says Hanna. “The kids were very receptive to the easy and repetitive reminders in the teachings: Love God! Love People! Make a Difference!”
Lauren Annin, director of Tandem, Stony Brook’s special needs ministry, talked with the children about including special needs individuals using the story of a boy named Ebenezer. Annin, who is also part of Stony Brook’s youth ministry senior high team, was a director for Joni & Friends Central California, a ministry founded in 1979 that is committed to reaching and serving people with disabilities.
“Lauren is very knowledgeable about individuals with special needs,” says Hanna. “Combine that knowledge with her fun and vibrant personality and she presents the inclusivity of special needs individuals in an informative, memorable and fun way.”
Activities for the children included gardening, cooking, crafts, Bingo, face painting and building their own cars for a drive-in movie.
When asked what the children seemed to enjoy most during the week, Hanna lists four things: earning “Messy Moolah,” paper points collected to use toward gifts on the final day; the bead art craft project, making their own cars for the drive-in movie and being able to be messy. “Getting messy was more than OK,” Hanna says. “It was expected.”
Stephanie Dillman, who according to Hanna is involved in almost every area of Stony Brook church life, led the children’s activities. She was assisted by Kerrington Dillman, who led worship for the kids. Kerrington serves Stony Brook in the kid’s ministry and attends the weekly youth group.
Amber Blair, a public-school librarian who serves in Stony Brook’s kids ministry and with special events, took the lead with the gardening activity and led the pre-kindergarten through first grade programs at Gathering 2024.
Natalie Ramos, who was part of the Stony Brook staff as Kid Life director, was responsible for the nursery. Ramos and her family are in the process of moving to West Virginia, says Hanna. “We will all miss her family,” Hanna says.
Layla Morrison and Willa Blair, who are part of the Stony Brook junior high youth program and serve in the Kid Life ministry, assisted with pre-kindergarten through third grade at Gathering 2024.
“Salt & Light”
Vance Dorsey and Hannah Dent were the leaders for “Salt & Light,” the event for junior and senior high youth. Dorsey, a science teacher in the public schools, is on the Stony Brook Faith and Life Team and a youth ministry leader. He recruited Dent, who teaches with Dorsey at Omaha’s Ralston High School, to work with him.
“We were looking for a female lead for the youth and Vance immediately thought of Hannah,” says Hanna. “Her faith and her personality were a fit.”
Mornings began with worship and lessons were from Mark 5 prepared by Lauren Annin. Annin also talked with the junior high and high school students about inclusivity of individuals with special needs.
Josh Morrison, who is involved at Stony Brook on the pastoral team, Faith & Life team, audio/media team and worship team, shared his testimony with the youth. He was also part of the Stony Brook worship team for Gathering 2024.
The students enjoyed excursions to Kiewit Luminarium, a science museum, The Durham Museum to see the Jane Goodall exhibit about her work with chimpanzees, and Union Station’s original Soda Fountain. Evening sessions included games and science experiments created by Dorsey and related to salt and light.
“I told the volunteers my main goal was to have the youth and kids feel like this time was intentional and specifically planned for them,” Hanna says. “The youth and kids should feel the entire week was planned for them and they were not an after or side thought.”
Connie Faber joined the magazine staff in 1994 and assumed the duties of editor in 2004. She has won awards from the Evangelical Press Association for her writing and editing. Faber is the co-author of Family Matters: Discovering the Mennonite Brethren. She and her husband, David, have two daughters, one son, one daughter-in-law, one son-in-law and three grandchildren. They are members of Ebenfeld MB Church in Hillsboro, Kansas.
