Families Welcome

Welcome to Valley Mills we are so glad that you, and your whole family are here.

In this community we welcome…

All the sounds of life

 That means we expect coughs, and sneezes, giggles, and toys.  We expect whispers and chatty babies, the noises of people coming in and out as we need.  These are the sounds of being human, being embodied, and being church!  We are so glad to have one another.  May God speak to us in all the noise!

Rich Diversity.

As each person is made in the image and likeness of God, we seek to treat every person as gift.   We welcome everyone to bring their genuine self:  their gifts, disabilities, spirituality, story, gender identity, sexual orientation, racial identity, complex histories and more.  May our differences and similarities reveal the variety in God’s creation!

Varied Beliefs

As we all are listening for God we seek to respect the variety of theological and spiriual paths in that search.  In this community we welcome a diversity of belief, the importance of each one of us searching and listening for God in our varied ways.  We are not afraid of your spiritual exploration.  You are on a unique path.

Children

Children are an embodiment of the hope and dreams we have for the future of the world and our faith community.  So please feel welcome to let your children be children!  May children remind us to be curious, playful and attentive to the present moment!

Your children are welcome to stay with you for all of worship if you want or they may partipate in children's activities. Follow your own gut!   At Valley Mills will have approximately 30 minutes of programmed worship and then 30 minutes of unprogrammed worship (silent prayer and meditation interrupted by words inspired by the Spirit). We often share a "Youth message" at the end of the scripture reading and then youth are welcome to depart at that point.

Feel free to use our children's spaces downstairs.  There is a little kid playroom and a bigger kids arts and crafts room downstairs. You are welcome to join your children down there (for the whole time or just a bit)

We are happy to offer you periodic nursery care as well. Each adult who joins the children at our meeting nursery has had a background check and follows the policies set forth by the Western Yearly Meeting regarding children and misconduct prevention.

If you would like us to regularly offer nursery care for your little ones, please don’t hesitate to the clerk or pastor know.