Children's Program
News
At the 9:30 service
At the 11:15 service
Throughout the year
Welcome to our vibrant and thriving Children’s Program! At the Church of the Redeemer we welcome children as full members of our community and encourage them to learn to join us in learning more about our faith.
Summer 2013
After Youth Ministry Sunday (June 16), church school will take a break and resume on Sunday, September 8.
Over the summer there will be activity packs available with learning materials for children to work on in the pews. Some may wish to sit closer to the front of the church to give children a close-up on the music and pageantry of the service. If you find you need a little more room to move around, you might take a walk downstairs to the small classroom where you will find books and drawing supplies.
If you have any questions or wish to help, please contact: Rev’d Liska Stefko (stefkol@theredeemer.ca), Daniel Mark (daniel.mark@ontario.ca) or Barney Savage (savagebarney@gmail.com).
Google Group
To keep parents and teachers informed about what is happening in the Church School, we have set up a Google Group. To become a member of this group go to http://groups.google.com/group/redeemer-church-school and request access.
The youngest of our children (birth to age 3) gather in the Nursery located beside the parish hall where an ECE trained caregiver and parent volunteers are on hand to provide a nurturing environment.
Our older children (4 – 12) gather in the parish hall for Gathering Time to sing and to pray together before they head off to their respective classes (Jr/Sr Kindergarten; Grade 1/2; Grade 3/4; Grade 5/6) with their teachers to explore their faith using age appropriate lessons and activities.
Following the classroom time, all the children join with their families upstairs to share in the bread and the wine. The children are also involved in the life of the larger worship community as greeters at the front door and in a variety of other ways during intergenerational services.
The Nursery is available for our youngest members where our ECE trained caregiver waits to welcome you each Sunday morning.
For the families who choose to attend this service, children sit with their parents in the pews. We create opportunities for the children to share in leadership roles within the liturgy from time to time – greeting and handing out hymn books, helping to bring forward the offering and assisting in setting out the food for hospitality time are amongst the ways we encourage that involvement.
Our children’s program fosters an environment that nurtures our children and encourages them to become full and active members of the community. There are opportunities throughout the year for our children to express themselves creatively.
At Christmas the children form the core of the worship leadership for the 5 PM family service on Christmas Eve – through drama, song, and participation in the liturgy they help to tell the familiar story.
There is a fabulous parish celebration of Mardi Gras – pancakes, music, crafts and more! Ash Wednesday is an important part of the journey through Lent, and the children come together for the whole day to learn and to pray, to prepare the ashes for all of the day’s worship services, and to creatively express participation in the days that lead up to Holy Week. And, Holy Week is also an important part of the experience of our children. The children are encouraged to attend the worship services – from joyfully waving palms on Palm Sunday to having their feet washed on Maundy Thursday; from helping to tell the Good Friday story through drama to sharing in lighting the new fire at the Vigil to story, song and celebration on Easter Day.
Energetic participation is brought to the Pentecost celebration and on Youth Ministry Sunday the youth group takes on responsibility for leadership of the service – with one of the ‘big kids’ bravely preaching their first sermon!
We hope that you and your family will join us! We can’t wait to meet you.
If you would like to learn more about our Children’s Program, please contact our Church School Coordinator, Daniel Mark, at daniel.mark@ontario.ca.