Chuckle Club creates lasting friendships
“The kindness they showed was such a wonderful demonstration of God’s love.”
Carrie Marston
Special to Spur Ottawa
Community Bible Church, in Stittsville, is a bustling place on Wednesday and Friday mornings. The small church opens their doors for the Chuckle Club, a playgroup where moms and their kids gather to play, hear stories, sing, and enjoy snacks.
“We exist to meet the needs of families with young children,” says Chuckle Club director Shirley Crighton. “Parenting young children is both a joy and a challenge, so we are motivated by God’s love to serve families.”
The playgroup isn’t specifically a church ministry. It started in 2005, with two moms who were new to the area and wanted a place where their kids could make friends and they could bond with other moms.
The group is open to anyone, regardless of their faith background, but the leaders don’t shy away from sharing their faith. They pray before snack time and everyone is invited back to church on Sunday. Crighton says some of the moms who joined ended up becoming Christians and now regularly attend church.
When Natalie Castonguay moved to Stittsville, she found the playgroup online and signed up.
“I started regular attendance in December, 2012,” she says. “I had a brand new baby and two other children with me. Everyone was so welcoming and accepting. The kindness they showed was such a wonderful demonstration of God’s love. I wanted to get to know the community, so I started attending the church in August 2014.”
In the last 11 years, more than 100 families have joined the fun. The playgroup runs from September to May, with activities for kids from newborn to five-years-old. In addition to the kids’ activities and the fellowship for moms, they also have resources to help equip parents, grandparents, and caregivers.
Many families, like Castonguay’s, have been blessed by the Chuckle Club’s welcoming and loving approach. In fact, Crighton says one of the biggest outcomes is the friendships that developed between the mothers. She adds that a number of mothers, whose kids out-grew the program, have stayed in touch and developed long-lasting friendships.
“It’s a great program,” Castonguay states. “My children look forward to playing with other children and I look forward to talking to other moms.”
Similar Articles
Proof that prayer works
The men of Pine Grove Bible Church have held weekly prayer walks in their community for more than a year, and the impact of those prayers is now profoundly obvious. Local residents took to the streets to celebrate what Ottawa Police Chief Charles Bordeleau called, “a dramatic […]
When silence speaks
Amid the busyness of Bank Street, downtown, everyone hurries about their business. Bureaucrats rush to meetings, tourists shuffle toward Parliament, and the corner of Bank and Queen is rarely without a student running to catch a bus. Every fall, however, one group is different. This group stands silently amid the hubbub […]
A New Year’s party like no other
Six ministries have united to celebrate New Year’s Eve in prayer, worship, and fellowship. While the group hosted the Cross Over Prayer Vigil several times before COVID, they say they are gaining momentum.
“The tradition of […]
No Other Name goes digital
No Other Name, Ottawa’s annual Good Friday youth conference, is still running. Although initially cancelled due to the quarantine, No Other Name organizers felt God tell them, “You need to show up” for Ottawa’s youth. On Good Friday […]
Global prayer movement inspires unity
Ottawa believers joined tens of thousands across the world on Pentecost Sunday to celebrate the Global Day of Prayer—an event that set the record for the largest prayer rally in human history […]
From child soldier to child sponsor
Emmanuel Jal, a former child soldier turned hip-hop artist, actor, and peace activist is coming to Ottawa. He will be performing some of his music and sharing his story at Gloucester Presbyterian Church, on September 17, 2016. “Emmanuel Jal has been marked by profound suffering, yet there’s an irrepressible joy as […]
