For the past four summers, the Yuba City church has been hosting “East Indian Children’s Story Hour.” This is a program that is dedicated to emphasizing respect in children for God and worship, respect for peers, and respect for their country through songs, talks, crafts, games and even snacks. This past August, 165 children, teens and adults attended the 10 sessions over a two-week period.

“The program was a tremendous success,” said Lavena Cater, director of the story hour. “It was truly a rewarding experience for all who participated to see the way the children responded to each activity."

Each summer there is a different theme, and this year’s program was “The Power of Little Creatures.” Every night the children were taught lessons stemming from often-overlooked creatures that are, in reality, quite powerful. They learned about the hummingbird, dart frog, turtle, spider, bat, ant and starfish as they watched PowerPoint presentations given by Dr. Tom Sanders.

The nightly singing, which was in both English and Punjabi, was lead by John Joseph, Yuba City church’s East Indian pastor. There were also plenty of stories told, also in both languages. Additionally, Jared Garbutt gave health talks each night. These events were intended to teach the children various character building concepts.

Every evening, the children made crafts that were relevant to the little creature they were learning about that evening. They made hummingbird pencil toppers, turtle tambourines, pom pom spiders, foam bats, starfish and many other things. Before the children were dismissed at the end of the programs, they were given snacks – fresh fruit, pizza, snow cones and juice. They were even given the opportunity to decorate butterfly cookies and cupcakes.

On the last Sabbath of the two-week program, there was a graduation ceremony in the church sanctuary. The team leaders made crowns for every child, which they wore as they marched into the sanctuary, which was filled with parents, friends and other children. Everyone received an “Award of Appreciation" or an “Award of Graduation” at the end of the service.

The “East Indian Children’s Story Hour” is part of the Yuba City church’s continuing outreach to the East Indian community. Each week, Joseph leads a midweek prayer service and a Sabbath evening program. Additionally, he hosts a half-hour television program on a local access channel every Saturday night. The children’s program is not just for summer, the church also has a year-round Children’s Story Hour program every Sabbath evening.

“We are looking forward to interacting with some of the children from our summer program during the rest of the year and hope to see even more next August,” said Cater.