New Brighton and Riverside
For the last week of summer 2023, we welcomed New Brighton and Riverside Churches of Christ! This was Riverside’s first time visiting the city. However, Richard Walton and his experienced group served as the perfect guide for our newcomers. Together they were able to accomplish much this week and once again touch our kid’s hearts and minds through their service and interactions.
Perhaps the most interesting portion of this week was the work projects that this group undertook. First, like other groups before them, New Brighton and Riverside worked hard to build a house for a member of the local community. The group also worked on something completely novel which no other group this summer had done before them. They repainted the baby dorm tricycle area into a whole new Mario Kart-themed road for the kids to race on. This week was also the conclusion of our VBS lessons which of course tied together the summer’s theme of threads of the bible and how they ultimately lead back to Jesus. In addition, this week’s lessons included a heartfelt reflection on the many blessings that our kids received this summer by the firepit on Tuesday night. We know that the summer’s events allowed our kids to grow in great ways and brought them closer to God.
On Thursday, the week and summer came to a spectacular conclusion with our yearly niño led concert! With the help of their band teachers, our kids put together an entire concert performance complete with a drum kit, countless guitars, keyboards, and microphones for our kids to show off their musical prowess. The concert was around an hour and a half long and consisted of around 10 songs with special guest performances by some of the members of New Brighton and Riverside! Aside from showing off their ability, the concert was a great opportunity for the kids to experience the nerves that come with performing in front of an audience and gain confidence while doing it.
It’s been a great summer for us here at the City of Children. We want to thank New Brighton and Riverside for joining us this week and ending the summer in such a great way! We also want to thank every group that visited us this summer for all the good they did for the city and the local community. We hope to see everyone return next year!
