Children's Education
First Presbyterian is committed to providing a strong church school program in which children can learn the fundamentals of Reformed faith and begin a lifelong spiritual journey based on biblical literacy.
We provide curriculum, training, and support to our teachers, who are the members and friends of First Presbyterian willing to explore and share their faith. Parents and many others are needed to assist in this all-volunteer effort to communicate Christian values to our children.
We also offer families regular opportunities for fellowship, to celebrate children and strengthen ties within our faith community.
ON SUNDAY MORNINGS
Infants and toddlers: Care is provided by paid child care providers and church volunteers at both 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. services from September through May, and at 9:30 services during July and August.
3-year-olds through 5th graders: Classes are available at both 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. services and follow Presbyterian curriculum. The four year old, kindergarten, and first grade classes receive special worship skills enrichment. First through fifth graders worship in the sanctuary with their families for 15 minutes before going to classes after the children's sermon. Approximately once a month, we have a Family Worship Sunday, when children are encouraged to worship with their families in the Sanctuary, to participate in Communion, and to celebrate special seasons in the church year. On those Sundays, child care is available at 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. for ages crib-Kindergarten.
MID-WEEK, ALL-CHURCH PROGRAM
We are part of an intergenerational gathering of our church family, "Wednesday 2:42," which meets on Wednesday evenings during the Fall and Winter semesters for dinner, fellowship, and activities such as K-12th grade choirs, middle school fellowship, recreation, and adult and children's education programs. For more information about Wednesday 2:42, please click here, or on "Wednesday All-Church Program" in the menu at the left.
FAMILY CELEBRATIONS
We also offer families regular opportunities to celebrate children and strengthen ties within our faith community. Many of these occasions are annual traditions, such as:
- All-church picnic and family potlucks
- Craft-making festivals during the Advent and Lenten seasons
- Family fun activities
- A Christmas pageant
- A 3-day summer Bible School
- Camp Westminster - a week-long summer camp experience for children and youth entering third through ninth grade. (see below)
CAMP WESTMINSTER
Camp Westminster is a traditional camp experience, with swimming, boating, archery, soccer, arts and crafts, singing, campfires and more. Children currently in 2nd grade through 8th grade are eligible. Children can bring friends who are not members of First Presbyterian. For more information please see our Camp Westminster page.
CHILDREN AND MISSION: Lenten Giving Project: One Great Hour of Sharing
Each year, during the season of Lent, our children paticipate in "giving" project. This year they will again join with the congregation in giving to the One Great Hour of Sharing. Our theme this year is "Sharing Brings Joy ... To Us, To Others, To God." On Sunday, March 11, children will receive a "fish" bank in their Sunday school class, along with a Sharing Calendar that suggests coins the children can put in their banks. For example: "Not everyone in the world has a place to sleep at night. Give one coin for every bed in your house."
On March 25, the children will bring their coin-filled fish banks back to their Sunday school classes, and the money will be forwarded to One Great Hour of Sharing, which distributes it nationally to Presbyterian Programs: Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the Presbyterian Hunger Program, and Self Development of People.
Need a copy of the calendar? Download Sharing Calendar 2012.pdf
Would you like more information about Lent, special crafts, symbols, and how to prepare our hearts for Easter? View the Lenten Activity Guide.pdf to learn more!
INTERESTED IN TEACHING SUNDAY SCHOOL?
We provide curriculum, training, and support to our teachers, who are the members and friends of First Presbyterian willing to explore and share their faith. Parents and many others are needed to assist in this all-volunteer effort to communicate Christian values to our children. First Presbyterian has adopted a Child and Youth Safety Policy (pdf) for the protection of children and adults.
WELCOMING CHILDREN IN WORSHIP
"Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me." Mark 9:37
Because Jesus welcomed children and encouraged us to welcome them in his name, we take seriously our baptismal promise to nurture all children committed to our care. We believe that the body of Christ in worship is incomplete without them. Their presence is essential for both the full congregation and for the children themselves, because worship is one of the basic ways in which people of any age learn what it means to be Christian. There are many ways in which children grow in Christ through worship:
THEY LEARN that they belong to Christ and are welcome in his church, where we are all children of God.
THEY BECOME FAMILIAR with the Lord's Prayer and other spoken and sung responses.
THEY BUILD a store of the accumulated shared experiences of Christian community from which they may draw when they are older.
THEY ARE ENRICHED by the beauty of music and art as expressions of praise and as human responses to God.
THEY HEAR stories from the Bible read and interpreted, and begin to see Christian worship as one place where God may speak to them.
THEY DISCOVER that they are valued as persons by God and by the people of God.
For more information on our programming for children, contact Deborah MacVey, Director of Children's Education and Family Ministries, dmacvey@firstpresbyterian.org.
