Godly Play Sunday School
Children in kindergarten through Grade 5 experience Godly Play in Sunday School. Godly Play is an approach to children’s spiritual formation where the stories of our faith are presented, children wonder about them together and the children are given open ended opportunities, usually with art supplies, to engage with the story on their own terms.
The stories are told very simply –with simple props – a box of sand to represent the desert, a piece of blue yarn to represent a river, a big rock to represent a mountain, wooden figures are the people. Many of the pieces have been lovingly made – cut out of wood and painted by members of our congregation. Our church has also purchased beautiful pieces such as Noah’s ark and his family and the animals that the children can interact with.
After the story is presented, the children and the storyteller wonder together about aspects of the story. For instance, with the story of The Flood and The Ark, the wondering might be about how Noah and his family felt as they walked on to the ark, what it would be like to have rain for so long, or what part of the story is most important.
After the wondering time, the children choose the art supplies they would like to use, and they spend time creating a response to the story. They might draw a picture of some part of the story, make cutouts with paper, crayons, scissors, and glue, or act out the story.
Children growing up in this church will be full of these stories because they will have heard them over and over, have engaged in wondering about them, responded to them, and listened to the thoughts of others about them. And one day all these stories will surround them, and they will understand how these stories fit together to be a guide of how to live and to be a lens through which to see God’s presence in their lives.
Children’s Music
Our director, Beth Pope, looks forward to welcoming children each Sunday! In the Children’s Church Room at 9:15 am. Musical games, singing, instruments, and more. The children lead in worship once each month, generally on the third Sunday, but generally as arranged with families as needed.
Children in Church
Our Children’s Church service meets on Sunday mornings during our Church service. All kids aged 6-6th grade are welcome to join us on Sunday mornings. The Children join us for the first part of our worship service and then head to their room on the 3rd floor after the passing of the peace. When in Children’s church they will follow an order of service that includes time for prayer, games, and a lesson. We follow the Sparkhouse lectionary curriculum, so for the most part, the children will be following the teaching pattern of the Sunday service. Our Children’s church is a time filled with joy, laughter, and learning all blended.
Vacation Bible School
VBS 2024 was a blast! We joined our friends from Christ Episcopal Church and First Christian Church for a fun few days of Wild Wonder! We can’t wait to do it again next summer!
