Children in 5th grade and younger will begin most Sunday mornings participating in the 10am worship service with the adults in the sanctuary. The children will participate in the first few elements of the worship services, including the chalice lighting, an important symbol of our faith, some music, and a Story for All Ages. Following the story, the children will depart for their respective programs (see HERE). Typically, the programming lasts an hour (10:15-11:15 AM). This gives adults some time to get a coffee or tea and to meet and greet one another following the worship service.
Children’s Chapel
Our Faith Formation programs follow an academic year schedule, September to June. A few times during the year, the children will participate in their own worship service called “Children’s Chapel.” These age-appropriate chapel services provide an opportunity for children to practice worshiping like the adults. Our chapel services are interactive and anything but ho-hum and dull, and they are typically followed by a hands-on craft activity thematic to the worship topic.
Multi-Generational Worship Services
Additionally, the children and youth of the Faith Formation program occasionally will be invited to attend the entire adult worship service foregoing their classroom explorations. These are called multi-generational services and mark important holidays and celebrations during the year, such as Water Communion, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Winter Solstice, Easter, Flower Communion, and the Faith Formation Celebration Sunday, which marks the end of the church year for children and youth.
Family Focused Events
One of the intentions of Faith Formation is building community and strong relationships among families. To this end, we have planned several family-focused events, including a fall gathering to celebrate Halloween and the pagan tradition of Samhain (October 30), a family-friendly November 5 Voices Cafe concert featuring a wonderful children’s performer, Dan and Claudia Zane, a winter carol sing in December 18, and a six-week Mystery Pen Pals anonymous letter exchange event in January and February between children and adults from within the congregation.
Register
In order to create the most effective experiences for the young people of our religious community, we ask that you register your children and youth so that we can plan accordingly (for example: gathering materials and enlisting volunteers). Click HERE to conveniently register online.