by Elaine Simpson
Jesus said,“Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them. (Mark 10:14-16)
The Catholic Social Services office in Lincoln looks forward to “having the children come,” just as Jesus invited them in this gospel passage. As part of the renovation of the Lincoln office, two child care rooms and a playground were added. Little Blessings, the CSS Child Care Center, will begin to serve the children of our employees once the center license has been approved by the Department of Health and Human Services and the fire inspector. By offering on-site child care, we are supporting those parents who are working in our community to offer “Hope in the Good Life” to others.
Little Blessings will provide on-site care for children 6 weeks to 5 years of age, and will be only the second Catholic child care center in Lincoln. The goal of the center will be to partner with parents—a child’s first and most important teachers—to encourage physical, cognitive, and spiritual growth. Children will learn and grow through play and developmentally appropriate experiences that extend the child’s natural interests and curiosity. As a center based in the Catholic faith, children will have daily opportunities to pray, visit Jesus in the chapel, sing Bible songs, read Bible stories, and practice Christian values.
Another blessing of this child care center will be the diversity of race, culture and language that it will provide children! We have employees from various racial and cultural backgrounds who speak eight different languages, which means the children who are coming to child care will provide a similar level of diversity. Little Blessings, CSS Child Care embraces the uniqueness of each child and the rich experiences this diversity will produce.
We all look forward to the joy that the children’s beautiful faces and laughter will bring to our clients and our employees as they walk hand-in-hand through the building to go to the chapel or head to the playground! What an amazing opportunity for moms and dads to come visit their children during the work day, to have lunch or a snuggle with them, or to be able to nurse them without even having to leave the building! We thank God for these “little blessings” and for the blessing He is giving us by allowing us to open this new child care center.
