Today was my first day on the job directing Children's Chapel at St. Augustine's Episcopal Church. For the first service, there were four delightful little girls who seemed to take a liking to me easily enough. The second service was significantly larger, with fifteen kids of a variety of ages! Two parents stayed to help out as they were a rowdy bunch. We had a lot of fun and they seemed to enjoy their activity. The Gospel lesson today is Luke 15:1-10 and so I had cut out little sheep for them to glue onto construction paper. Then, they decorated their "fields" as they desired, some being as industrious to draw in a shepherd or fold up the edges of the paper to make a pen. Once that was all done, they got cotton ball to glue to the sheep so that they would have their wool! It was a fun activity - creative enough to keep the girls engaged and messy enough to hold the boy's interests. We prayed, sang a song, played, and talked. All in all, it was a fun morning and I'm glad to be in this job for a few months. Now that I know what it'll be like somewhat I don't imagine I'll have the same anxieties I had last night next week. After services I had the opportunity to connect with a first-year student at Seabury who just moved to Evanston by the name of Beth. I remember meeting her when she came for a visit and am glad that she'll be joining us this year. Good luck to her and to all the incoming students as they prepare for Orientation Week and the beginning of classes!

-R