YOUTH CURRICULUM

Childrens Church for ages 4 - 11, held during 10:00am service
Sunday School for Pre-K - 5th graders, 11:15 - 12:15am
Youth Bible Study for Middle & High School youth, 11:15 - 12:15pm

Children's Church
During the 9:00am (10:00am in summer) service there is a separate service for children aged 4 through 11. This is not "Sunday School", this is Church service at "child level". They pray, sing songs, and hear a lesson. Sometimes they discuss the lesson, sometimes they do a craft, a word puzzle, or color a picture associated with the lesson.

When parent's arrive for Church, the children come in & sit with them. While the congregation sings the first hymn a child processes through the Church with a banner which the other children follow out of the Church, across the hall to "Children's Church". Sometime after the sermon and before communion, Children's Church is over and the children are returned to the Church to join their parent's for the remainder of the service.

Volunteer's are always appreciated! We've created a rotating schedule of 2 weeks on / 3 weeks off so you don't have to committ all your Sundays, and you can either be a leader (responsible for planning & preparing for the class) or a helper (just arrive for the class and assist the leader).

If you'd like to help, or have questions about Children's Church contact Betsey via e-mail, or call the Church to get in touch with her.

In Workshop Cycles each age level group of children cycle through four classrooms with four different presentations of the same story. They meet in one of the four classrooms each week, so each story is presented in a four week cycle. One week they may meet in the art classroom - doing a project based on the story, next week might be their turn in the drama classroom, or in the music classroom -singing songs. Each week will be different - but will present the same lesson.

Each classroom has a teacher that presents her lesson to all the groups of children. Each group of children has a shepard that moves with, and stays with them through all the classrooms.

These cycles use repetition with varied (fun) presentation methods to give the kids a chance to really learn the lesson.

At the end of the four week cycle, a new story and cycle begin.

Another great thing about this curriculum is the different levels of involvement it allows our all volunteer Sunday school staff, and the different interests it appeals to. Shepards move through the classrooms with a group of children, and are the helpers to the teachers - as a shepard you have no planning or preparation duties. Teachers stay in a classroom and present the lesson to each group of children as they cycle through, teachers plan the lessons and prepare the classroom - but this only has to be done once for each four week cycle. As a teacher you can choose an area you're intrested in-art, music, etc.-and you can commit for the year, or only one story cycle. Decorating and preparing the classroom for someone else to teach in is another way to help out. So many opportunities!!

If you'd like to help, or have questions about the Sunday school program, contact Lisa via e-mail, or call the Church to get in touch with her.

Youth Bible Study
(for Middle/High Schoolers)
We use the "Living the Good News" Episcopal Lectionary based curriculum to bring the Bible to our youth in a format they can relate to. Each week they hear the same lesson that was presented in Church in a way that relates to them, today's teenager. Then they explore the lesson in an open discussion forum.

This is an important time in our young people's lives. They are coming into the age where they get to make many of their own choices, life paths are being started down, and self images are continuing to be formed. It's so important for them to have caring adults in their lives - real people who are positive role models. It's also important for them to have an active involvement in the Church that keeps them interested, learning, and coming back. If you'd like to help make this happen you can e-mail Karin & Pete for Youth Bible Study.

You can also e-mail Kari & Angeli for Youth Group, or just call the Church & they'll put you in touch with the right person.