Asheville, North Carolina
EXPLORE FAITH. EMBRACE COMMUNITY. MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
60 Church Street, Asheville, NC 28801 | info@trinityasheville.org | Tel: 828-253-9361
TRINITY CHURCH
ANNUAL REPORT - 2025
CHILDREN & FAMILY MINISTRIES
Nanette Popa, Director of Children's Ministries
My name is Nanette Popa, and I have the joy of serving as Director of Children and Family Ministries here at Trinity. I am passionate about creating spaces where children feel safe, known, and deeply loved, and where families are supported and encouraged on their journey of faith.
Our Children and Family Ministry joyfully serves children from birth through fifth grade, along with their families. Together, we nurture faith, build friendships, and walk alongside one another as we grow in God’s love. All are welcome, no exceptions! Children are full and participating members of our congregation and are treated as such.
Our program at Trinity remains strong and vibrant, continuing to grow under new leadership since July 2025. Following the retirement of longtime Director Beth Chestnut, I have assumed the role of Director of Children and Family Ministries. Thanks to the dedication of 14 Godly Play mentors, including two teenage volunteers, the program continues to thrive. We have also expanded our classroom resources to enhance response time, providing a fuller range of creative and reflective activities for children each week. Additionally, we have realigned Children’s Hour with the Gospel message each Sunday to help deepen the connection between worship and formation.
Our dedicated team of volunteers makes this all possible. Every volunteer has completed Safe Church Training, ensuring that children are cared for in a safe, nurturing, and welcoming environment. We always welcome new volunteers, so please reach out if you are interested in joining us.
Respectfully submitted,
Nanette Popa
Director, Children and Families Ministry
SUNDAY MORNING CHILDRENS FORMATION
Godly Play
One of the central components of our Sunday morning children's formation is our Godly Play classes. Godly Play was developed by the late Rev. Jerome Berryman in 1984 and has been successfully used here at Trinity for over 20 years. Rooted in the Montessori tradition, Godly Play invites children to explore Bible stories through wonder, play, and imagination. Our trained volunteer mentors present a story and lead the response time. It creates space for children to connect with God in their own way and at their own pace, and it’s often just as meaningful for the adults in the room as it is for the children! We offer three Godly Play classrooms for children from potty-trained three-year-olds through 5th grade:
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Godly Play 1: Three-year-olds through pre-kindergarten use the Godly Play curriculum to explore the stories of our faith through three-dimensional materials and creative response time. Through this curriculum, children become familiar with liturgy and a way to make meaning of religious language.
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Godly Play 2: Kindergarten through second grade: extends the depth and scope of the stories of our faith. A deeper understanding of the stories, symbols, and rites of their faith continues their growth towards a more meaningful and appropriate participation in congregational worship.
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Rite In The Middle: 3rd through 5th grades. This class continues with Godly Play, exploring more of the enrichment and extension lessons, as well as the core stories. Deeper theological reflections and connections are made with this age group. Response time encourages journaling, working with various art mediums, group projects, and continued work with the stories themselves.
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Children’s Hour. This ministry continues through the academic year and breaks for summer with “Come Join the Circle.” We meet in the Undercroft for a small snack, allowing time for other children who have not attended Sunday School to join us. We process into the Redwood Chapel, using stories, songs, and movements to follow the liturgical calendar and the Gospel message each week.
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Nursery - The nursery continues to provide a safe and welcoming environment for our youngest children from birth through three years old. Elyse Carabello currently serves as Nursery Supervisor. Ingrid Sanders, a longtime member of our nursery staff, was involved in a car accident this summer and is on leave as she continues her recovery. We are grateful to a dedicated group of substitute caregivers, both adults and youth, who have ensured that the nursery remains open and fully staffed each Sunday. A special thank you to Rosie Peterson, who has faithfully served in the nursery most Sundays. All nursery staff are fully vaccinated and have completed First Aid/CPR and Safeguarding God’s Children training.
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Come to the Table -Learning about Holy Communion Come to the Table is an engaging, age-appropriate program that helps children explore the origin and meaning of the Holy Eucharist. The class offers formation both for those already receiving communion and for those preparing to do so, providing hands-on instruction at the altar rail and time for thoughtful reflection. Children in Godly Play 2 (Grades K–2) and Rite in the Middle (Grades 3–5) will participate in two special sessions with clergy, culminating in receiving communion together at the 10:45 service. We invite all children to take part as we deepen their understanding and experience of this sacred meal.
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Everybody Upstairs - Everybody Upstairs takes place approximately three times a year, inviting the congregation to experience worship led by our children. During these special Sundays, Godly Play mentors and children presented the sermon in the Godly Play style, bringing Scripture to life through storytelling and wonder. Last year’s presentations included “The Mystery of Pentecost,” “The Exodus,” and on October 26, 2025, “The Parable of the Good Shepherd.” During that service, the youth wrote and read the Prayers of the People, with Eloise Griffin doing an especially wonderful job leading the congregation in prayer. We also enjoyed a prelude by our very own Cherub Choir, co-directed by Dr. Kevin Seal and Nanette Popa. These services offered a meaningful way for the whole parish to witness the depth of the Godly Play curriculum and to celebrate the spiritual insight and creativity of our youngest members.
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Come Join the Circle is the children’s summer program for 3-year-olds through 2nd grade. During the summer our regular formation classes go on hiatus and we pivot to a different, more active, more cool treats, more play time approach to whatever our theme is for the summer. This summer’s theme was Build a Bible! Bible literacy is important! Navigating this book made up of many books requires some basic knowledge. Where would you find the story of Moses? What books tell the story of Jesus’ life? We took big cardboard boxes, painted them, named them, decorated them, and then placed inside of them objects that represent the stories found there. We focused on the first five books of the Old Testament. Think lots of crafts and games! As always, we finished up the hour with a cool treat!
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Godly Play Parent Pages These resources are included in my weekly emails to parents whenever they are available, corresponding to the story of the week. These pages help parents learn more about the lesson their child will hear each Sunday, allowing families to continue to wonder together about the Godly Play story at home. As parents, you are your child’s first and best teachers of the faith, and these pages provide an excellent resource for reflection and conversation.
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL 2025:
The Road to Bethlehem—Advent and Christmas in June
What an incredible four days! We moved, sang, made crafts, practiced yoga, ate snacks, learned interesting science facts, played on a water slide, and had a great time while learning about the birth of Jesus! This event cannot occur without an incredible number of volunteers and coordinators. A special thank you to Allison Mainolfi for crafts, Luann Wilks for science, Kaileigh Severinit for yoga, and Nanette Popa for crafty snacks.
We had 52 volunteers, who did everything from decorating for VBS to leading and assisting with our groups, and helping with our craft and science areas. Also, a huge shout-out to Ken Wilson for making all of our posters, name tags, and all print media look fabulous, and to Glenn Childes for an incredible amount of setup and take-down. We had 45 children registered for all the fun! Please mark your calendar for the 2026 dates: June 22-25.
Observing The Liturgical Calendar
Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner - Children make crafts and enjoy pancake races and other games in addition to our delicious pancake meal.
Advent Wreath Making-This annual celebration involves all families creating an Advent wreath from real greenery for their home, as well as taking home a Devotional Guide (Godly Play-based) to mark the season.
Children’s Christmas Pageant-The pageant is a perennial favorite, where all children dress in costume for a beautiful retelling of the Nativity story.
2025 Lenten Home Project-Light and Dark. Good and Bad. Black and White. So often, the idea of darkness has been associated with danger and evil, while light implies goodness and purity. God’s Holy Darkness invites us to look at darkness differently. The book features beloved Bible stories and challenges us to hear them in a new way. This season, for Lent, I invited each family to read this book aloud each Sunday in Lent, followed by a reading from a handout of one of the Bible stories in the book. I included a black votive candle to light during the reading. There is richness in the dark, a fertile ground for growth and insight. Families received:
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a copy of the book God’s Holy Darkness
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a folder with accompanying Bible stories
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a black votive candle
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instructions for following the book and stories throughout Lent
The Lent 2026 project will take place during Lent with a different theme.
Palm Sunday Walk with Church Street. This year, we continued the tradition of our annual “walk” with First Presbyterian and Central Methodist. Families gather on Church Street and process with a donkey and palms to Pritchard Park for a brief service.
Easter at Trinity for children involves two identical services (9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.). At both services, the children join the grand procession, flower a large outdoor cross, eat hot cross buns, and have their own special service in the Redwood Chapel. Sandwiched between these two services is the Easter Egg Hunt.
All Saints' Dinner - We celebrate All Saints' Sunday with a special dinner, a focus on saints of the church, and a candlelight reading of the names of those interred in the Memorial Garden here at Trinity. This year, we were excited to have Becky Stone, a local performing artist and storyteller, as our featured presenter.
Other Events & Opportunities
Kick Off Sunday- August 24, 2025. The rain didn’t stop our fun! We had all the usual bells and whistles: the Chikomo Marimba Band, an inflatable water slide on the street, a traveling magician, a face painter, a balloon twister, fairy hair, lawn games, and Sweet Cub Soft Serve. Thank you to Debbie Cox and team for the delicious lunch. What a fun way to start the program year!
Club 345 - Our junior youth group for 3rd- to 5th-graders continues to meet monthly during the academic year. Activities have included: Zip and Slip snow tubing, Well Played Board Games, Great Bird Adventure, Fake Sleepover, ACT’s “Matilda”, Tropical Mini Golf, Asheville Treetop Canopy Adventures Glow and Haunted Trail, and ACT’s “Sound of Music”.
Four for Families - This ministry takes place four times a year, with the goal of gathering our families with elementary-age children and younger together for fellowship and community. Activities have included: Winchester Creek Farm tour, and Winter Lights at the Arboretum.
Children’s Choir -The Cherub Choir is open to children 5 years old–3rd grade and teaches the basics of note reading, singing technique, and counting, along with fun activities every week. The Cherubs sing periodically at 10:45 worship throughout the program year, including on Everybody Upstairs Sundays and the 3:00 pm Christmas Eve service. The Cherub Choir is co-directed by Dr. Kevin Seal, Director of Music, and Nanette Popa, Director of Children's Ministries. The choir meets on Wednesday evenings from 5:00 to 5:30 pm.
Continuing Education- In January, Nanette will travel to Denver, CO, for the Forma conference. From the website: The Forma Annual Conference provides an intentional opportunity for networking, learning, and inspiration for those involved in formation ministry throughout the church. This year’s conference theme, “Belonging & Becoming,” stems from 2 Corinthians 3:18. We’re diving deep into the questions, “Who Do I Belong To?” and “Who Am I Becoming?” During our time together, we will explore how we are held, seen, shaped, and sent as beloved children of God and ministers of God’s church.
