“You are a child of God. You are wonderfully made, dearly loved, and most precious in the sight of the Holy One.”
At St. John’s, we are committed to walking alongside all of our members as they grow in their faith, and our children and youth are no exception. We strive to create an environment where they can learn, question, play, seek, laugh, and grow together on their spiritual path. We are committed to involving and engaging children and youth directly as co-creators of our Sunday worship experience, and we offer family focused worship services once a month.
On Sunday mornings, beginning after the opening hymn, our younger members meet downstairs for Godly Play, a Montessori-based Christian education program relying on storytelling, activities, and prayers to provide a foundation of knowledge and faith. They return to the congregation in time to participate in Holy Communion.
Our slightly older youth members meet in our Parish Office for Godly Journey, an activities-based Christian education program focused on more hands-on engagement, also after the opening hymn. They are also welcome to become directly involved in the worship service, through reading, serving as an acolyte, or presenting the gifts for Holy Communion.
Babies, toddlers, and younger children are also welcome to stay with their families during the worship service. We provide activity boxes with crayons, coloring sheets, books, children’s bulletins, and quiet toys for play during the service. Childcare is also available downstairs with our youth providers.
““As human beings, our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us really is, that each of us has something that no one else has or ever will have something inside that is unique to all time. It’s our job to encourage each other to discover that uniqueness and to provide ways of developing its expression.””