CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

At St. John's, we believe the programs in children's ministry will help us in keeping our promise made in the baptismal covenant, to "do all in our power to support these persons being baptized in their life in Christ. (BCP, 303)" Through our Christian education programs, we hope to relate the bible to today's world by providing easy to follow lessons for the teachers as well as opportunities for parents to continue the lessons at home.

Sunday School (K-5 grade) Classes 

For September 2008 to May 2009, children ages four to sixth grade are invited to attend Sunday School from 9:15 a.m. to 10:10 a.m. This year we are using a fun curriculum by David C. Cook entitled "Bible in Life." The curriculum relates Bible stories to real-life situations. Our classes meet on the top floor near the church office and are divided as follows: grades fifth and sixth, grades second, third, and fourth, and ages 4, pre-k, and kindergarten. Bring a friend! Visitors are always welcome!

Sunday School with Journey to Adulthood (J2A)

For the older students, we use the J2A program as the Sunday school component for the 6-

Youth enjoy a ski trip to Snowshoe Resort

12th graders. The program begins with Rite 13 (6-7th graders), continues with J2A (8-9th graders), and concludes with the Young Adults in the Church (YAC) group (10-12th graders). The J2A program was developed to attract, instruct, and nurture young people at the time in their lives when they are most likely to drift away from the church. It is based on two key concepts: Manhood and Womanhood are gifts from God, and Adulthood must be earned. The J2A program focuses on teaching young adults the skills needed to prepare them for adulthood and positive life attitudes through the church. The classes meet from 9:15 to 10:15 each Sunday morning. In the eight years since its inception at St. John's, the program has had three urban scavenger hunt trips: two in Washington, DC, and two in Atlanta, GA. The first J2A group went on a pilgrimage to Greece and Turkey in 2001 to follow the footsteps of Saints John and Paul. The second group went on an Anglican heritage pilgrimage to England, Scotland, and Wales in the summer of 2003. In the summer of 2005, the third class traveled to significant religious sites in Italy for its pilgrimage. In the summer of 2007 the J2A class went on its pilgrimage to Canada. Leading the Rite 13 group for the 2007-2008 year are Steven Moore, Susie Harris, and Marian Morgan. Fred Klinck, Edwina Kyle, and Ricky Evans are leaders for the J2A group, and David Guzman, Paige Naylor, and Kensley Edge are leaders in the YAC curriculum.

Children's Chapel

St. John's offers a children's worship service in the Chapel at 10:30 a.m. Sundays. The

Children's Chapel altar

purpose is to provide a positive worship environment for children who are too old for the nursery but are not quite ready to fully understand or greatly benefit from attending the first half of the main worship service. We use a curriculum, called "Come and Worship," is designed specifically for Episcopal Churches. Each service has four components: 1) Gather Together; 2) Opening Prayer; 3)  Doxology and Story Time;  4) Creed, Prayers of the People and Confession; and 5) Peace and Transition into church.  The service provides a time to link prescribed prayers with the children's spontaneous prayer to help them begin to see connections between their own lives and the language of the liturgy. To enhance this chapel experience, they are given a bulletin called the Junior Sunday Paper, which is used as a visual illustration of the readings. The children and their leaders (Anne Smith, Toni Merton, Claire Hedgecoe, Sharon Koonce and Heather Sisk) then join their parents in the church during the passing of the peace.