Children and Youth at Worship

WELCOMING CHILDREN

Children are very much a part of our worshiping community. Their presence here grows out of the biblical tradition and the conviction that children are members of the covenant community.

We Make Room for children in our worship by:

• having a special time for children during morning worship.
• providing quality childcare for children from birth through age two in our nursery.
• providing Children's Worship and Wonder and Following Jesus for children age three through second grade every Sunday at 10:30 a.m.
• providing a Creative Worship station in the choir loft for children participating in sanctuary worship. Creative worship materials can be picked up following Children's Time and carried back to the family on one of the provided trays.
• including children among those who help to plan and provide leadership for worship.

Children and Youth participate in leading worship by serving as:

• Acolytes
• Jr. Deacons
• Lectors
• Visual Media Assistants
• Children Worship and Wonder Jr. Greeters

A MEANINGFUL WORSHIP EXPERIENCE

At times children may be restless.  They are learning what it means to be a part of a worshiping community.  We are blessed by their presence and celebrate the growth of our children.  Bringing children to worship may not always be easy, but it is an essential part of their growth in Christ.

The Preschool Child comes to worship with:

• a rather limited attention span.
• seemingly endless energy.
• a growing curiosity about everything.

While These Ingredients can combine to test a parent’s patience, there are several things
parents can do to make the preschooler’s experience, and their own, more relaxed and enjoyable:

• sit where the child can have a clear view of the chancel.
• prepare your child for the different parts of the worship service, explaining special events ahead of time and answering questions that need an answer right now in a quiet whisper.
• allow the preschooler to bring a favorite stuffed animal along, or pick up a Bible story book from the bookshelf to browse in when boredom sets in.

A Sensitivity to the preschooler’s abilities and needs can help make worship a pleasant experience for all.

The School-age Child brings some new abilities to worship:

• greater capacity for attentive listening.
• an increasing ability to read.
• the ability to organize and memorize
• information.

Parents can help the primary child toward greater participation in worship as these
capacities develop by:

• helping in the memorization of the Lord’s Prayer and Gloria Patri.
• reviewing the bulletin with your child to identify new or difficult words and those parts where the congregation responds by reading and speaking.
• inviting the child to follow the reading of the scripture lesson in the bible.
• finding hymns in the hymnal and going over the words.
• encouraging your child to listen to the children’s message or prayers for answers to questions or important thoughts.

For this Age Group, some parts of the regular worship bulletin will be more meaningful because they can be read.

Jesus said, Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.

-Matthew 19:14