When 8 year old Austin Pribble saw an organization at the Steelyard Commons Wal-mart collecting for gifts for children in the hospital, he was inspired. “Our church could do that!” He dreamed up the idea of our whole church coming together to make gift bags full of fun stuff to be delivered to kids in the hospital. He asked his mom to set up a meeting with the Missions & Outreach Committee and pitched his idea. Marla Knight, one of the team leads, thought it was a great idea and suggested that we have a collection drive in January and deliver the bags as Valentines in February.
On Sunday, February 2, 2025, 120 fabric gift bags were filled with treats and made ready for delivery to hospitalized kids.
During Seedling Sunday School, Austin shared with the other kids about how the idea came to him and he read the story of how Jesus blessed the children. The kids talked about how Jesus wants us to help others.
The Seedling Kids made a few more Valentine’s Day cards for the bags to go with the cards from our Youth Group, Horizon’s Preschool and Austin’s class at school.
The 120 fabric gift bags were sewn by our Sew4Good group – and are a gift themselves!
The 14 children in the Seedlings group each picked an item to put in the bag as it came by and began the assembly line, before being joined by more grown ups and older kids after the church service ended.
Austin’s special wish for this Missions project turned into a Mission project carried out by the children of the church with a lot of support from people in our community.
Thank you, Austin, for dreaming up this new way to love our neighbors!
The Sew4Good group sewed 120 gift bags for our Valentines.
When Your Child Is Sick
As United Methodists, we care about the health and well being of all people. In the Wesleyan tradition, the Christian faith is not a solitary journey. We are part of a larger community — our church families, our neighborhoods, and the world. A core value of Brecksville United Methodist Church is Determined Service, we share God’s love by caring for others.
Resources for caring for a sick child:
- Do you live within ten miles of our church and need help with a meal or two while your child is sick? The Brecksville UMC Meal Train team may be able to assist. Please reach out.
- Caring for Hospitalized Children, age related tips from Methodist Children’s Hospital in San Antonio, TX
- Helping our kids through stressful times, from the United Methodist Church
- How can we pray for you? Submit a prayer request here.