“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Our church provides an educational program for children at 10 a.m. every Sunday morning during regular worship services. New this year, we are also offering a reduced Church School program during monthly Contemporary Worship Services at 5 p.m. This program will follow the regular curriculum. • The Crib Room and also the “3’s and Under” classroom, are available from 9:50 until the end of the 10:00 service. Parents of small children are invited to take them to these rooms before the service starts. New this year, we have a sign-in/sign-out procedure for these rooms. • Pre-K through Grade 8 will worship with their families for the first 15 minutes of the service, and then leave the sanctuary to attend Church School classes. Classes for these students continue until approximately 11:15. • Parents of children up through Grade 2 are asked to collect them personally from class when the bell rings. This is one of our safety measures for small children. • Communion Services - Grade 8 students will remain in church the first Sunday of every month in order to attend communion services. Students in Grades 6 & 7 will be given the opportunity to attend communion with their class several times during the year. • Registration – We ask parents to please complete a new registration form for each child in your family, even if the child attended Church School last year, and even if the child is a baby or toddler who is not yet attending church on a regular basis. We want to establish a record of relevant information for every child connected with our church family. • Intergenerational Family Services occur periodically throughout the year. They take the place of regular Church School classes and are designed to enable all ages to worship together. Extra care and attention to children’s needs and interests will help make this a special time for the whole church family to be together. Welcome Home Sunday - Sept. 10 2nd Year Confirmands’ Service - Feb. 11 Junior Choir Musical - April 29 Children’s Day - May 20.
Parents will be notified about special services, Church School vacation days and other events that pertain to families, through the Church School Newsletters which will be distributed during the year – please keep these for reference. The purpose of our Church School is to provide an accepting, nurturing atmosphere to help the children respond to God’s love, and to grow in relationship to God and to others. The Bible, which contains stories of our Judeo-Christian heritage, is taught at each level, taking into consideration different emotional, intellectual, and spiritual stages of development. The great insights of faith in the Bible are better understood as the children learn about the people involved in the stories and how they lived, and as the children compare these stories to modern day situations they may encounter. Church School teachers receive training in the curriculum and Bible skills, and use a variety of educational tools. Copies of the curriculum are available for you to look at in the Church School office. In addition to the curriculum, each grade level has specific learning goals in the areas of scripture, worship, church missions and Bible skills. It is our hope that over a period of several years, children will gradually build up a fund of knowledge, which will help them as they approach a more mature understanding of the Christian faith, and as they see how the members of our church work together as a community of faithful people.
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