HUGS for Moms
Wednesdays at 9:30 – 11:15 a.m. in Room 132 (unless otherwise noted)
HUGS observes the Rochester Community Schools calendar. When schools are closed, HUGS will not meet.
To reserve childcare, use the HUGS reservation signup at least 3 business days prior to the first class.
HUGS 2023-2024: Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly with God!
H.U.G.S. is St. Paul’s multi-generational Mom’s group. H.U.G.S. is shorthand for Humor, Understanding, Growth and Support – although we’ve added a few other “s” words along the way, like Sharing, Smiles & Spirituality. We meet Wednesday mornings at St. Paul’s from 9:00 – 11:15 unless otherwise noted. NOTE new time! The first half hour is devoted to coffee and conversation! We understand school schedules vary, so please feel free to come for all or part of a meeting!
Our meetings are designed for busy women on the go, so there is little homework, but always great discussions! Even when we schedule a multi-week series, each week runs independently of the others, so you can join when you can without feeling like you are missing something. We also plan a few evening events so that our working moms can still plug into HUGS fellowship.
We generally meet in Room 132 in the education wing unless otherwise noted. Our most up to date info will be in our emails and our private FB page. Please reach out to Sue Evans (suecamevans@yahoo.com) or Steph Walker (stephaniewalker.288@gmail.com) if you’d like to be added to either method of communication. We provide childcare at no charge, but there is a signup to ensure that we have sufficient childcare providers each week. Please contact Steph if you’d like the childcare reservation link or go to St. Paul’s webpage. Please note, you need to sign up for childcare by the preceding Sunday at midnight so we can make sure we have our wonderful caregivers! HUGS observes the Rochester Community Schools calendar. When schools are closed, HUGS will not meet.
Every year the HUGS moms engage in a fun “competition” to select our Bible verse theme for the next year. We weave the theme throughout the year and learn how to apply the wisdom that verse has for our Momma hearts. I’m excited to announce that our top vote getter is Micah 6:8 “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” We’ll look at themes of social justice – as parents, as sisters in Christ, as members of our community. Every mom is familiar with the balance we strike when kids grumble “it’s not fair” – it’s the same sense of striking a balance, creating justice, that we’ll investigate in this verse. The term mercy in the context of this verse means kindness or love between people/humanity. So, we’ll consider how to show justice and kindness in the many roles we take in our lives. And lastly, we’ll embrace the notion that we are called by God to lovingly administer kindness and justice in all we do. The goal of our HUGS activities and service projects is to enrich our lives inward, outward and upward and this year’s verse is well suited for this goal. The call to action found in this verse is to act outward (do justice), look inward (love kindness) and upward (walk humbly). I can’t wait to see what the year brings! I hope you’ll join us!
September 2023
HUGS Mission Moment: Each quarter, we’ll select a nonprofit that speaks to our momma’s hearts. This quarter (September-December) we have selected the Rochester Area Neighborhood House Food Pantry and will be collecting PLASTIC jars of Peanut Butter or Sun Butter & Jelly. Grab a jar or two when you shop and bring them to HUGS, drop them off with Sue or Steph [Sue’s house (4657 Fawn Hill Ct, Roch.) & Steph’s house (163 Sugar Pine Rd, RH)]. For more info, check out this link Rochester Area Neighborhood House.
13 Mugs & Hugs – OFF CAMPUS – We know the start of the school year can be crazy busy, so we
will ease into the new year with a field trip to Green Cup Café (896 S Rochester Rd. Rochester Hills, MI 48307). Pop over when you can, starting at 9:30 and staying til 11:00 or so. Kiddos are welcome! There are always plenty of helping hands to help out with the littles.
20 Meet and Greet – (9:00 start) Room 132 at St. Paul’s. This starts our official kick-off for anyone too frenzied to meet during our back-to-school chaos! We look forward to welcoming new faces and catching up with old friends! We’ll have the official reveal of our 2023-2024 Bible verse, so you won’t want to miss out on the excitement. Feel free to bring a goodie to share!
27 Crafting & Conversation – We will get our creative juices flowing and actively consider what it means to encourage and lift up fellow moms as Paul directs in 1 Thessalonians 5:11. We will create a reminder to take with us and share with other moms. This will be an easy “craft” that requires no expertise to complete. You won’t want to miss it!
Wednesday LUNCH BUNCH 11:30-12:45. Once a month, we contribute one ingredient to include in a potluck salad and extend our fellowship through lunch. If you’d like to join us, there is a signup for ingredients. We always have extra, so feel free to pop by even if you don’t sign up! For the toddler/preschool set, feel free to bring your little guys in with us as we linger over conversation and lunch. For our friends who work locally: This is a great event to slip out for lunch and get some fellowship time with friends before dashing back to work!
OCTOBER
HUGS Mission Moment: Each quarter, we’ll select a nonprofit that speaks to our momma’s hearts. This quarter (September-December) we have selected the Rochester Area Neighborhood House Food Pantry and will be collecting PLASTIC jars of Peanut Butter or Sun Butter & Jelly. Grab a jar or two when you shop and bring them to HUGS, drop them off with Sue or Steph [Sue’s house (4657 Fawn Hill Ct, Roch.) & Steph’s house (163 Sugar Pine Rd, RH)]. For more info, check out this link Rochester Area Neighborhood House.
4 If I Knew Then What I Know Now…: A Panel of “veteran” moms (Jodi Stuermer, Jen Archey & sharing wisdom and love. They understand the challenges and have a few tips to let us know we’re not alone!
Also, to get inspired for the fall rummage sale, we’ll bring in a book or two for a twist on our Swap & Drop! (If you happen to be looking for certain items in advance of the rummage sale, feel free to post any requests on our FB page). Bring a book, take a book. Anything left over can be donated to the rummage sale.
11 Rummage Sale! Come help us sort and organize and as an added bonus to our helpers, do a little pre-shopping as well! Our regular childcare is available for this week (also on Friday if you’d like to help out with the rummage sale!). Feel free to come as early as 9am or stay for lunch. Questions? Contact Kathy Lutey at drlutey2@wowway.com.
18 Is It Normal When… or Are They on Track?!? – Our two favorite Occupational Therapists, Diane Donoghue and Steph Walker talk about ages/stages of development and tips for challenges with the toddler/early elementary ages.
25 Love & Logic Primer with Camille Doerr – Back by popular demand! Camille, for anyone new to HUGS, is an amazing retired schoolteacher and resident Love & Logic Guru. This parenting method provides an amazing approach to building healthy relationships with kids while setting firm, loving limits that turn challenges into better behavior choices. Check it out and get some helpful parenting tips.
Wednesday LUNCH BUNCH 11:30-12:45. Once a month, we contribute one ingredient to include in a potluck salad and extend our fellowship through lunch. If you’d like to join us, there is a signup for ingredients. We always have extra, so feel free to pop by even if you don’t sign up! For the toddler/preschool set, feel free to bring your little guys in with us as we linger over conversation and lunch. For our friends who work locally: This is a great event to slip out for lunch and get some fellowship time with friends before dashing back to work!
NOVEMBER
HUGS Mission Moment: We are continuing to collect plastic jars of peanut & sun butter and jelly for the Rochester Area Neighborhood House Food Pantry. Bring them to HUGS, drop them off with Sue or Steph [Sue’s house (4657 Fawn Hill Ct, Roch.) & Steph’s house (163 Sugar Pine Rd, RH).
1 Loving Literacy – our own Cindy Taskin, librarian extraordinaire, shares tips and strategies to help our kiddos with their love of reading and shares insight from her own experiences for bilingual kiddos.
8 Prayer Practices with Rev. Rick & Marilyn Kress – It’s a perfect time to reboot, try out some different prayer/meditation practices and get prepped for a wonderful holiday season! This incredible duo understands the time constraints of parenting and have taught many classes on how to find holy moments using different techniques to boost your spiritual life.
15 Jesse Tree Advent devotions – Jesse Tree is another way for you and your family to prepare for Advent. Jesse Tree, inspired by Isaiah 11:1, takes you on a journey through the stories on Jesus’s family tree from Jesse, King David’s father, through the birth of Jesus. Each day of Advent, read a short Bible story about someone on Jesus’s family tree and hang an ornament symbolizing the story on your Jesse Tree. We have materials to take home a SUPER EASY and meaningful practice to share with your family. It can be adapted from littles all the way to high school kiddos, so there will be something for every age and stage.
Wednesday LUNCH BUNCH 11:30-12:45. Once a month, we contribute one ingredient to include in a potluck salad and extend our fellowship through lunch. If you’d like to join us, there is a signup for ingredients. We always have extra, so feel free to pop by even if you don’t sign up! For the toddler/preschool set, feel free to bring your little guys in with us as we linger over conversation and lunch. For our friends who work locally: This is a great event to slip out for lunch and get some fellowship time with friends before dashing back to work!
22 NO HUGS – Enjoy your Thanksgiving with your families!
29 Holiday Traditions: We love sharing the different ways our families celebrate holidays! We’ll share what makes the holidays special in our homes and suggest ways for you to build family traditions and create time to bond together during this special time of year. Feel free to bring a favorite treat that your family likes to make over the holidays.
DECEMBER
HUGS Mission Moment: We are continuing to collect plastic jars of peanut & sun butter and jelly for the Rochester Area Neighborhood House Food Pantry. Bring them to HUGS, drop them off with Sue or Steph [Sue’s house (4657 Fawn Hill Ct, Roch.) & Steph’s house (163 Sugar Pine Rd, RH).
6 That’s a wrap! Some people dread the midnight wrapping on Christmas eve for the kiddos. So, we’re meeting up with wrapping paper and ribbons on hand for a wrapping party. Come if you love wrapping. Or come if you need a spot to wrap those gifts outside of little eyes…. Or simply come for coffee and conversation as we try to keep the holy in the holidays and maintain our sanity.
13 Brunch/Lunch Christmas Celebration – NOTE TIME AND LOCATION CHANGE: 11 am- 1:00 pm in the Parlor. We’ll meet in the Parlor (easily accessed from the main entrance outside the church office) and have a relaxing start to December. Stay tuned for a signup for our celebration.
NOTE: For future planning –we are off on Christmas break starting Dec. 20th and will return for an off-campus event on January 10th!