ROCHELLE – Chana United Methodist church will be hosting its annual Rally Day on Sept. 8.
Rally Day is an event that has been taking place at the church for many years and is geared toward children in the church and remind the children that they are an important part of the church.
“It is a celebration of the children and Christian education, recognizing that they are an integral part of the church and that they are important and that we need to celebrate them,” explained Brenda McCasky, administrative assistant at the church.
The event will kick off at 10:30 a.m. in the church sanctuary with a celebration of Christian education. The kids will be called up on stage and receive a certificate and a token for participation. Following the celebration of education will be a backpack blessing and a recognition of Grandparent’s Day by allowing the kids and their grandparents make something together.

“The kids and the grandparents usually work on some sort of craft or art thing together. Usually they are making a picture frame of something like that the grandparents get to keep,” said McCasky.
After the recognition of Grandparent’s Day there will be a potato bar put on the by United Methodist Women. The potato bar will feature baked potatoes with many different toppings available to diners.
This year the church will also be having a bike rally in the parking lot, where adults will check the children’s bikes to ensure everything is tightened and safe. Then the kids will learn and practice safe riding techniques and receive a certificate, a new helmet and tickets for the raffle if they complete both properly and safely.
“This year our raffle includes three brand new bicycles and several little things that kids might like to put on their bikes like a bell or a mirror or a water bottle that clamps onto the bicycle,” added McCasky.
Children also have the opportunity of earning more raffle tickets by attending or participating in events throughout the year, such as coming to Bible school or attending church.
Other than Rally Day, the United Methodist Church hosts many different events and programs planned to help out the community. These programs range from a book club for children, to installing two computers with internet access for the community to use.
“Anyone and everyone is welcome here and they are treated just like everyone else,” McCaskey added. “We really love this little community here because it has wonderful people and we would like them to come and join us.”