Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By DONALD MOTTERN | Staff Writer

HELENA – The Church at Cahaba Bend recently held their Kids Christmas Program on Sunday, December 10, 2023 and featured a special presentation of an event that occurred a few days prior.

With a full congregation in attendance, the Church played a recording of a Zoom call that occurred at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 6 that had preschoolers in the church’s day school sing along with the mission’s day schoolers in Costa Rica. The children in Helena sang in Spanish, and those in Costa Rica sang in English respectively.

“The day school is a very important ministry for us,” said Pastor Patrick Friday. “It is our top priority here because we are all about faith and families of all shapes and sizes and connecting them to the healing power of Jesus Christ. I don’t know of any other day school that’s doing this is amazing. It is miraculous. The kids have been preparing, we’re so grateful that they’ve been working so hard. We love to build bridges and we’re very excited that it could happen at our day school.”

For members of the church it was a very special moment to see the hard work from the children and educators pay off, as well as a symbolic gesture that incorporated the spirit of the Christmas season.

“I’ve been hearing them all week long for several weeks. Singing “This Is the Day The Lord Has Made,” in Spanish and I’m so grateful,” Friday said. “It is connecting us to Costa Rica—our mission there—the children are our little missionaries and that’s what it’s all about here. We’re all about helping your kids to develop their faith as well as their education and intellect.”

Jenny Strickland, who is the director of the church’s day school, credited the children for all of their hard work and also recognized the educators whose hard work and dedication made the event not only possible, but a success in the eyes of the congregation.

“In just a couple of weeks, these kids have been sponges,” Strickland said. “We do not take it for granted how much they have learned in such a short amount of time and that could not happen without my teachers.”

Following the presentation of the sing along, church services continued and also featured a musical presentation and play put on by the day school and other church members.

Friday also announced the schedule for the Church at Cahaba Bend’s Christmas Eve services, which will consist of two independent services held at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

“Those times are for families with young kids especially, because Christmas Eve is very busy,” Friday said. “(The two services) will be different services and communion and candlelight will be at the 4 p.m. service. They’re a little different (from one another) and people may want to come to both.”

Also related to the church’s mission in Costa Rica was the presence of a Cookie Walk, where congregation members and their guests were welcomed to purchase a wide variety of treats. Proceeds from the sale went to support the Costa Rica mission.