Children

 
We consider our children a great blessing to us at St. James and we want to be a blessing to them.  That is why, we put serious time and effort into the opportunities we have for the spiritual formation of our children. 

One of those opportunities is Sunday morning (10:30 - 11:45 AM).  The children begin their time with the whole congregation in worship.  The beginning of the service is intentionally created so all ages may easily participate.  Each child (ages 3-12 years old) is given a “worship backpack”.  In it they will find a hymnal and Bible markers, crayons, pencil and an activity sheet based on the Bible lesson that is being used both in sermon and in the Sunday School.  This activity sheet allows parents to have further conversation and dialog with their children about matters of faith after the get home and during the week.  The opening parts of our worship include songs that are joyful, fun, and easy to sing (even for the little ones) and yet meaningful for adults as well.  The worship is participatory and engaging and it includes movement and ways for even our non-readers to be involved.

After about 15 minutes, the children (Infant – 6th Grade) go downstairs to our Sunday School classrooms.  Here is another wonderful opportunity for our children.  Through the year we utilize curriculum which is both informational (it teaches about God and the Bible) and formational (it provides our children with experiences of God). We think this pairing is ideal and is the best way to insure that children not only know about God, but that they know God by experiencing God.  We have nursery care and a classroom for 3-6 year olds and a classroom for 1st-6th graders (materials used are designed for a multi-age classroom).  Any given Sunday, your child will hear the same story downstairs that you are hearing upstairs during the sermon, and they will be going to zones to help them be engaged with and apply what they have learned.  The curriculum includes various mediums for learning and activities including art, music, poetry, drama, outreach, journaling and reflection.

Sunday School
Nursery Care will be provided Infant - 3rd grade for June 19 - Sepetmeber 4.
4th - 12th grade will remain in worship rather than going to Sunday School for June 19-September 4.

Bibles:  As our children gradually develop, they need a Bible that is age appropriate for them.  That is why we give a Bible three different times during a child's spiritual journey.  We provide The Beginners Bible (for 1st graders) containing 50 stories from the Bible, we provide The Children's New International Version Bible (for 3rd graders), and we provide a Good News Bible (for 5th graders).  We present these Bibles to our children at the beginning of each school year.

Parents/Grandparents Handbook:  St. James has produced a handbook for parents/grandparents which provides them with several things which may prove useful regarding the spiritual development of their children.  The handbook includes an outline of what your child will be learning/studying each week, a list of each month’s Sunday School mission project, how to help your child memorize scripture, and a list of the scriptures they will be memorizing in Sunday School, how to incorporate regular Bible reading into their lives, suggestions on how to do bedtime prayers, and some ideas on children and stewardship:  money and their offering.  Handbooks are available through the "Resources and Links" tab on our website. 

 Seasonal Activities

Throughout the year we provide opportunities for our children to learn more about their faith and to have fun.  These activities on any given year might include an event for the entire congregation as we approach Christmas (during the season of Advent), an event for the entire congregation as we approach Easter (during Lent), an annual Breakfast with Santa and an Easter Egg Hunt for children.  Please see our newsletter or upcoming events section of this website for further information or you can contact the church office at (610) 446-3036 or secretary@stjamesucc.org to get more details.