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Julie Hurlburt
speaks to First Church kids during the "Time for Children"
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A Summer Baptism
service at Crystal Lake.
(Most of our
baptisms take place in the sanctuary).
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We all
need to grow in our understanding of Christian traditions and in the depth
of our faith. The Board of Religious Education provides programs to enrich
the spiritual life of every age group at First Church. Board members work
with other volunteers in implementing a wide variety of the programs.
First Church has a long-standing reputation among area churches
for our effective, creative ministry to children and youth. The practices
and traditions are continually evolving and being renewed, but the main
components include the following:
Nursery: Paid baby-sitters, assisted
by volunteers, provide care of infants and pre-school children during the
entire worship and Second Hour period (9:45 a.m. - 12:00 noon). Pre-schoolers
are brought into the balcony for the beginning of the worship service,
after which they return to the nursery.
Click to enlarge:
Church
School: On most Sundays,
after the first part of the 10:00 a.m. service, school age children and
any interested adults move to the Memorial Room. Children participate in a
very short worship service by expressing concerns, praying, singing, and
sharing their offerings. On Communion Sundays children share in the
sacrament of Holy Communion with one of the clergy present. Then they move
upstairs to their church school classes. First Church is developing its
own curriculum which ensures that children are introduced to
age-appropriate Biblical themes and stories through song, drama, and a
variety of crafts.
Church School Schedule 2011-2012
Children are in worship for Communion 1st Sundays each month. We provide
numerous opportunities for spiritual transformation of our young people.
“Powerful Play” focuses on Jesus’ impact in our lives through
games and hands on activities. Stories from Growing Up With God
help children learn life lessons with God’s presence in their lives.
Bible stories utilize unique story-telling tools from Godly Play
that allow the children to absorb Bible teachings in a new way.
You can download the 2011-2012 schedule (as well as other important
information) by clicking the following link:
2011-2012 Church School Brochure
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What Do We Teach? |
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Over a period of years beginning around
2001, First Church developed our own Church School Curriculum - one
of the most exciting and worthwhile religious education projects
that our congregation has undertaken. The fact that we are able and
willing to accomplish this task is a sign of spiritual vitality in
our congregation.
Christians believe that we know about God through a particular story
- a combination of actual historical events and the church’s
reflection upon the meaning of these events, including some creative
elaboration. This story does not describe God in a literal way, as
if God were a being we could see and touch. Rather, this Biblical
story tells us what God is like, how God acts, and God’s desire to
be in relationship with creation.
Christians also believe that to live with the knowledge of this
story, and to shape our individual and collective lives on the basis
on what it reveals about God, is the right way to live. In designing
our curriculum, we at First Church had to decide which parts of this
larger story are the most important ones for children to learn
about, and how best to engage children in learning the stories and
what they mean for us. We also need to teach important things about
the Christian tradition as a whole - What is the Church? How Do We
Worship? We want to teach them how to sing hymns and other
liturgical responses. We want them to know about time-honored bits
of tradition like the 23rd Psalm, Ten Commandments, and Lord’s
Prayer. We want them to know the meaning of Christian holidays and
how these relate to the story.
Teachers need to have a variety of activities and approaches at hand
to make the stories become memorable to children at various ages. We
provide copies of famous paintings that depict the story and hang
these in the classrooms, along with other resources for the teachers
to use. We believe that teachers need and want to be learners too,
so our curriculum includes short but substantive background material
for each lesson.
Our approach to teaching children about the Christian faith
indicates that 1.) we value the Christian story in its traditional
form, and 2.) we are committed to teach the story creatively and in
a way that is relevant to our own lives.
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