“Our Watchful Waiting” is Intermountain Ministry’s first comprehensive Advent curriculum that will connect your children to the lectionary readings that are part of the traditional Advent observance, as well as suggestions for how you can get the whole church in on the fun! You can read a little about the materials below, or jump right …
Tag Archive: churches
Aug 23
Mission opportunity: A Play-garden for Providence Home
This year Intermountain has again been entered into the Great Fish Challenge through the Whitefish Community Foundation! The funds raised through this year’s challenge will go towards building a playground and garden, a “play-garden” if you will, for the children at Providence Home in the Flathead Valley. The challenge started on August 5th and runs …
Jul 16
Do you get our Intermountain Moments newsletter?
Every month we send out the latest information to stay connected to the mission and ministry of Intermountain, highlighting stories from around the organization. We highlight the chaplain’s ministry within Residential so you can see the impact that your mission support of the ministry makes! There are regular links to free resources, videos that can …
Dec 18
FREE resource! Children’s Object Lesson for the 4th Sunday of Advent (Year C)
Objects needed: A jump rope. Theme/Main Idea: God keeps his promises, and that should cause us to jump for joy! Presentation: “Have you ever been so happy that it was hard to hold it in? Yes? What are some of the reasons you have had to be happy? [let children share] Wow! Those are great …
Mar 02
Thank you for partnering with Intermountain!
As Spring nears, we are excited to enter a new chapter within the spiritual and cultural care of children on our residential campus in Helena. Van Orsdel Commons will provide a permanent space for the chaplain’s program and related activities. We hope your 2018 plans will include a trip to 500 South Lamborn to come …
Jan 15
Moving towards completion of Van Orsdel Commons!
It’s been fifty years since there was a dedicated chapel space for the children in care at Intermountain’s residential campus. In fact, the last place dedicated for worship and learning about God was the Helen Piper memorial chapel in Mills Hall, which once stood on 11th Avenue across from the Capital Mall. So, as I …
Oct 23
Helping Samantha this holiday season
The holidays are almost upon us again! This time of year can be wonderful for children – filled with magical moments, time with loved ones, and treasured traditions. But the holidays can also be a difficult time, especially for children like Samantha. At seven, she was sexually molested by someone close to her. Taken from …
Jun 12
The foster care system, trauma and resilience
Trauma often does its greatest harm when it occurs during the impressionable stages of our youth. Losing one’s parents, moving from different schools, living in an unstable environment – all of these are issues that can break into a child’s world and cause difficulties well into adulthood. What can we do? What has research shown to …
Mar 18
Following in Brother Van’s footsteps by building trauma-informed ministries
As the chaplain at Intermountain’s residential program, I often hear the stories of families parenting children who have experienced trauma and how hard it is for them to find a church that “gets them.” One mother shared with me, “The hard thing was, just as my daughter’s behaviors were getting worse and I needed a …
Nov 13
Was Jesus’ ministry “trauma-informed?” [part 4]: Responding to trauma within the compassionate Kingdom of God
There is a movement taking shape across the country when it comes to ministry settings: becoming trauma-informed. I am personally invested in this movement and I am intrigued by the ways I see connections between Jesus’ teachings and trauma-informed ministry principles. In the first post in the series, I focused only the first identifier of …