Children's Ministry at Christ Church
"Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
Heart-Land Sunday School Offerings
Heart-Land Godly Play
Godly Play invites all children in preschool through grade 4 to play, learn and grow in faith. Godly Play teaches children the art of using religious language - parable, sacred story, silence and liturgical action - helping them become more fully aware of the mystery of God’s presence in their lives. Lisa Butler and Melissa Wagner-Kingery coordinate a team of teachers specifically trained in this method.
Heart-Land Journeys
Children in grades 5 and 6 will be journeying through Living the Good News this year. Using the lectionary readings heard in worship, the children will be learning how the scripture speaks to their daily lives. Jesus shows us the way of life called Christian and the stories in the Bible give us examples of lives lived following Jesus. This group will meet in the downstairs choir room (a familiar place for many of the children). Kate Hogg and Mark and Diane Sullivan lead this group.
Nursery Care: The Children's Room
Christ Church provides loving child care for infants through preschool from the beginning of the 8 a.m. worship through the Education Hour and to the end of the 10:30 worship service. Kari and Maddy Losby, a mother-daughter team, coordinate the nursery and its paid staff and volunteer helpers.
Safeguarding God's Children
All of our leaders from nursery through high school have participated in Safeguarding God's Children, the Episcopal Church's program aimed at recognizing and preventing child abuse in the Church.
Children's Chapel: the bridge to worship
Children's Chapel happens during the 10:30 worship service. After Sunday School, the children gather with the entire congregation for worship. After the opening Collect of the Day, they follow their acolyte to the sacred space set aside in the Godly Play classroom for a children's celebration of the Word of God portion of the service. We use Celebrating the Good News, a lectionary-based program. We return to the main worship at the Peace.
The purpose of Children's Chapel is to make that crucial bridge to worship -- helping our younger parishioners to find joy in worship by bringing it into their own language and experience. To continue this bridge, we encourage children to come and sit in the forward pews so that they can see and hear what is happening during worship. Our catechists sit with them and engage them to help the children find their place in the worshipping community.
Other Activities for Children
Christ Church loves children! Kids are welcome at all our parish gatherings and we have several ongoing activities just for kids, including children's choir and, of course, the annual Vacation Bible School. Look for news & info throughout the year about activities such as Family Game Nights and other fun outings. We also sponsor Boy Scout Troop 2 (serving challenged boys) and reach out to the community's children through Summer Reading Camps.