First 5 – Week of November 3, 2025

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1️⃣ This Week’s Highlights

2️⃣ Program Updates

  • Fall 2 programs — Week 1
  • Winter 1 registration opens November 17
  • Tuesday: No UPrep (UPrep will meet on Thursday)

3️⃣ Facility Notices

Rentals

  • Friday: Versiti Blood Drive, Music A/B, 9:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

4️⃣ Staff Announcements

Green Dot Moments & Staff Shoutouts

  • Shout out to David, Tyler, and Connor for working through lifeguard staffing challenges.
  • Shout out to Steve for coming in on Saturday to assist with rental AV issues.
  • Shout out to Pete for diagnosing and resolving Saturday’s AV issues.
  • Shout out to the EET Committee for their hard work last week.
  • Shout out to program staff for adjusting rosters to accommodate last-minute registrations.
  • Shout out to everyone who supported the EET Committee efforts.
  • Shout out to James for addressing a new staffing issue and stabilizing operations.
  • Shout out to our new AV volunteers serving with the church.

🎂 Birthdays This Week

Margarita G — November 4
Elle G — November 4
Pamela R — November 4
Andre P — November 4

👋 Welcome New Staff

  • No new staff this week.

📌 Open Positions at the Kroc Center

  • Lifeguard
  • Fitness Attendant
  • Child Watch Attendant
  • Swim Instructor
  • Apply here: grkroccenter.org/learn-more/careers

5️⃣ Reminders & Resources

  • Staff Christmas Party — Saturday, December 6, 5–8 p.m. at Craig’s Cruisers. Event link: https://partiful.com/e/kVmADk9pLALJsJHcd3MC
  • Thanksgiving Potluck — Thursday, November 20. Sign up to bring a dish: grkroc.org/thanksgiving2025
  • Thanksgiving Closure/Cancellations — Kroc closed Thursday, November 27; Friday, November 28 admin holiday; no roster programs November 27–30 (impacted classes moved to make-up week)

🙌 Missional Moment

Belonging Before Believing — Salvation Army Ethos
From the beginning, The Salvation Army has practiced welcome before words. William and Catherine Booth built community with people who didn’t fit anywhere else. They didn’t ask for belief first; they offered belonging first.
“Soup, Soap, and Salvation” reflects this order: meet needs, restore dignity, then share hope. People discovered Christ because they first discovered love, welcome, and worth.
At the Kroc Center, every smile, conversation, and invitation carries that same power. When we create space for people to belong—before they believe—we embody Jesus’ way of ministry: grace first, growth next.
Practice: Ask two people this week a genuine, open-ended question and resist the urge to give advice.

—Pastor Mark

✝️ Note from the Pastor

Thanksgiving Grace: Made Alive by Gift, Not Merit
In Ephesians 2:1–10 Paul reminds us that we were once “dead in trespasses and sins,” yet God—rich in mercy—made us alive with Christ and raised us up, not by anything we earned but by grace through faith. The passage moves from our helpless condition to God’s purposeful work: salvation as a gift, and believers as God’s workmanship—created for the good works he prepared in advance.
As we approach Thanksgiving, that gospel truth reshapes how we give thanks. Gratitude is not primarily for what we have done, but for what has been done for us—rescue, restoration, and calling. When we remember that our new life is a divine gift, thanksgiving becomes humility and praise; it frees us from performance-driven faith and sends us into generous service rooted in God’s love.
This week, let that truth guide your table conversations and your giving. Celebrate by naming God’s grace aloud, serving someone who’s alone, or joining us for worship to thank God together. If you’d like prayer or to talk about living into the “good works” God has prepared for you, I’d be glad to meet—let’s live this Thanksgiving as people made alive by grace.

—Captain Jack Huffman

🙏 Prayer Requests

  • Prayer for safe travels for our Kroc Krew who are traveling.
  • Prayer for a safe and successful new program session.