We recently celebrated Laura Mumme, Director of our Child Development Center with a Thanksgiving for Service in worship followed by a reception during the Sunday School Hour. She and her husband will be moving soon, and we wish them Godspeed in their next chapter. If you weren’t able to attend, we encourage you to share your appreciation for Laura and her service over the next few weeks through letters, cards, and calls!
Pastor Danielle writes:
It is hard to put into words the impact that Laura has had upon our ministry at TLLC and to the broader community through the countless children she has touched through the CDC, but I will try! Laura has shared her gifts of education and care for children in our community, always following Jesus’ instruction: “Let the little children come to me and do not stop them.” In so many ways she has constantly but gently reminded us “that it is to such as these that kingdom of God belongs.” We give thanks for Laura’s gift of creativity – envisioning and developing our Nature Play Areas and Jack’s Garden so that children are connected to creation, and in the last two years we give thanks for her ability to adapt – changing protocols and procedures to meet needs during the pandemic and keep the CDC open and healthy! We will miss Laura’s dedication to children in their foundational, formative years. She has truly been a blessing!
Claudia Teinert, CDC Board Chair writes:
I joined the CDC Board the summer before the covid lockdowns began the next spring. I became chair of the CDC Board the second year of the lockdowns. It is hard to describe Laura’s diligence in keeping track of state and local restrictions placed on operating child development programs during those years. The knowledge of these legal requirements was at Laura’s fingertips at every Board meeting for every year of the pandemic. Board members and Pastor Casey could ask her any question about enrollment numbers in each class, financial status of the program, how classrooms were kept clean, number of covid cases among enrolled families and teachers (thankfully few overall), grant applications she had submitted and her thoughts on how to spend the two large grants she won during those years, and on and on. I know many people at church don’t really have sense of what goes on in our CDC program or even what its challenges were during the pandemic. I can tell you we could not have found a more informed, professional, on-top-of-the-moment, always-sharing-a-genuine-smile-or-laugh person than Laura Mumme. Her teachers, the CDC children and parents, and our church members are extremely blessed to have had Laura in place as our CDC Director at this moment in time. I have known Laura as a friend from church for many years, but now I know Laura as an extraordinary leader, guiding the Board, the CDC parents and teachers through the most difficult time in the program’s history. She did it all with Christian grace and love, collaboration and integrity. I wish her and Chuck the richest of blessings in their new home and city. She will be greatly missed and not forgotten.
Kate Weber, CDC Parent & Board Member writes:
On all of the paperwork, the Child Development Center at TLLC serves children aged 5 months to 5 years, but that is not the whole story. The truth is that the CDC serves families, not just children and babies. In her long tenure as a leader at the CDC, Laura has served children by providing the best possible place for them to grow and learn. And she has served families by guiding parents– first time parents, parents wondering if their child is meeting their milestones, parents shielding their young child from hardship, parents who are tired and just need a friendly face. I remember many times that Laura helped me as a young mom with a wild toddler in tow and new baby in my arms. Hundreds and hundreds of families have benefitted from Laura’s wisdom and gentle guidance. I will forever be grateful for the role that she played in my life, and I know that many other parents feel the same way.
A Message from Laura:
I want to thank you for the past 23 years at Triumphant Love Lutheran Child Development Center! It has been my privilege and honor to serve the church and school families. Triumphant Love gave me my purpose and my passion all these years, and I owe you a huge debt of thanks for that! I will miss my wonderful church family and my precious school. I look forward to seeing the new things the school will accomplish in the future! I thank you and may God bless you all!
God Bless You, Laura!