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Children's Ministries and
Youth Ministries
CHILDREN'S MINISTRIES
CHILDREN’S EDUCATION AT ST. ANNE’S = SUNDAY CLUB!
October 5, 2008 - May 31, 2009
The Sunday Club theme for October is
Caring for Our Planet.
We’ll focus on the responsibility we’ve been given to protect and care
for animals and the environment. On Sunday mornings through the month
of October, we will: make birdfeeders to hang at St. Anne’s, discuss
what it means to be responsible for the animals and the planet, read
stories, pick up garbage on the gravel road. We’ll sing and we’ll play.
Sunday Club for the rest of the year is structured into
the following themes:
November:
Grateful Hearts
December: A World of Peace
January: Family and Community
February: Love
March: Social Justice
April: New Life/Spring/Awakening
May: Growth
Weekly,
Sunday Club looks like this:
Week 1 of the month:
How the month’s
theme impacts each of us
Week 2 of the month:
Service to St.
Anne’s, in accordance with our theme
Week 3 of the month:
Service to the
community and world
Week 4 of the month:
Music and songs
Week 5, when it happens:
Special theme, or Game Day!
5th Sunday of November—making Advent Wreaths
What
does Sunday Club look like?
Sunday Club is
for children of St. Anne’s (and any friends they might want to bring
along!) ages 3 through 5th
grade.
It begins at 9:15 with gathering time…
Sunday Club will begin each Sunday at 9:15 am, with a
gathering time in the sanctuary. Children from preschool through 5th
grade will meet together to sing old Christian Sunday school songs
(Kumbaya, anyone?), recognize birthdays or special events, hear a story,
and to say a prayer together. It will be an informal meeting time. If
you can’t make it by 9:15, then come at 9:20 or 9:25. The gathering
time is designed to be a gentle and warm way to open our Sunday mornings
together.
If
you miss gathering time, come at 9:30 for the next part…
At 9:30, the larger group will break into two smaller
groups: pre-school and kindergarten in one room and 1st
– 5th
grades in another.
Each month, Sunday Club will focus on a different theme and each Sunday
of the month will use a different approach to teach the month’s
message. Service projects to St. Anne’s and service projects to the
world will be a large part of what happens at Sunday Club, with plenty
of stories, spiritual messages, singing and game-playing in the mix.
Scheduled Events for Families and Children
at St. Anne's
Sunday, November 30 9:15 AM
Making Advent Wreaths
November 30 – December 24 It’s Advent!
and the
Holy Family travels to the manger
Sign up to host Joseph and Mary as they travel from house to house,
seeking shelter. While they are at your house, take pictures and add to
their travel journal, telling about their adventures while they
sojourned with you. Then transport them and their journal to their next
stop. On Christmas Eve, they will arrive at church and the Christ Child
will be born.
December 21 11:45 AM
Christmas Carolling at Nursing Homes & Hanging of the Greens
Some people will stay at church to
decorate for Christmas, and others will go to Southview Acres Care
Center and the Episcopal Church Home to sing carols. All will gather
back at church for lunch afterward.
December 24 4:00 PM
Christmas Eve Worship Service
Following the afternoon service, stay for a piece of Jesus’ birthday
cake, and a visit from St. Nicholas, who will bring presents for all
children.
There will also be a candlelight worship service, with choir, at 10:00
PM
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.
Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another."
-- Jesus (John 13:34)
We at St. Anne’s have always held this commandment as an
integral part of who we are. Beginning this fall, St. Anne’s is going
to put love at the center of all we do with our children as well. This
summer there has been a flurry of excited conversation, books read and
ideas exchanged, and on October 5th,
St. Anne’s will kick off the all new…
St. Anne’s Sunday Club!
What is Sunday Club?
It’s Sunday School. But more hands-on, more fun. Less
talking and more doing (for active little bodies that don’t always want
to sit). Sunday Club will focus on stewardship and outreach: on
teaching children how to love each other, our neighbors and the world.
And we’ll have fun as we go.
The Children’s Charter
In 1997 the Episcopal Church adopted “The Children’s
Charter for the Church.” Saint Anne’s affirms the Children’s Charter, and
strives to include children in every facet of church life and ministry.
Nurture of the Child Children are a heritage from the LORD, and the fruit
of the womb is a gift. — Psalm 127:4 (BCP)
The Church is Called to:
- receive, nurture and treasure each child as a gift
from God;
- proclaim the Gospel to children, in ways that
empower them to receive and respond to God’s love;
- give high priority to the quality of planning for
children and the preparation and support of those who minister with them;
- include children, in fulfillment of the Baptismal
Covenant, as members and full participants in the Eucharistic community and
in the church’s common life of prayer, witness and service.
Ministry to the Child Then Jesus took the children in his arms, placed his
hands on each of them and blessed them. Mark 10:16
The Church is Called to:
- love, shelter, protect and defend children within
its own community and in the world, especially those who are abused,
neglected or in danger;
- nurture and support families in caring for their
children, acting in their children’s best interest, and recognizing and
fostering their children’s spirituality and unique gifts;
- embrace children who seek Christian nurture
independently of their parents’ participation in the church;
- advocate for the integrity of childhood and the
dignity of all children at every level of our religious, civic and political
structures.
Ministry of the Child A child shall lead them. Isaiah 11:6
The Church is Called to:
- receive children’s special gifts as signs of the
Reign of God;
- foster community beyond the family unit, in which
children, youth and adults know each other by name, minister to each other,
and are partners together in serving Christ in the world;
- appreciate children’s abilities and readiness to
represent Christ and his church, to bear witness to him wherever they may
be, and according to gifts given them, to carry on Christ’s work of
reconciliation in the world, and to take their place in the life, worship,
and governance of the church. (Ministry of the Laity pg. 855 Book of
Common Prayer)
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Safe Church Training
Since 1995,
the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota has taken a proactive stance in the
prevention of child sexual abuse and sexual harassment, by instituting
mandatory Safe Church training for all ordained clergy, all lay employees
and leaders, and all who work in churches with children, youth, and
vulnerable adults – whether paid or volunteer.
Safe Church is about our covenant relationships, with God and with one
another. It is about providing a healthy, safe environment for all of God’s
children. Safe Church implies a faith community that takes seriously its
promise to do all in our power to support one another in our life in
Christ. It is about all of us being aware of potentially compromising
situations, daring to address them in healthy ways before they become
problems, and living together in ways that prevent abuse from happening.
All teachers and helpers in St. Anne’s children’s ministries are Safe Church
trained. To read the Safe Church policy, go to
http://www.episcopalmn.org/safechurch_policy2005.pdf
YOUTH MINISTRIES
Sunday morning education hour
9:15-10:15AM. Youth in 6th-12th grades gather in the youth room.
Food, conversation, friends, and Good Questions.
CROP Walk -
Sunday, October 12. Walk 5 miles to
raise money and awareness for World Hunger.
Cardboard Box City 2008 -
Sleep out, Rock out, Knock out Homelessness. Thursday, October 16 at the
Minnesota State Fairgrounds. Over 2,700 children, age 17 and younger,
experience homelessness with their parents on any given night in Minnesota. Rent
(pledges) raised by Cardboard Box City residents will benefit Families Moving
Forward of Minneapolis and Project Home, a program of the
Saint Paul
Area Council of Churches.
Teens Encounter Christ
- November 21-23 A weekend of learning about God and ourselves, making
life-long friends, and having an unforgettable experience. Held 2
times/year at St. John's Episcopal Church in St. Paul. Teen-led, for
teens. Call or email the church for information on how to sign up.
Confirmation Class A two-year program of study and preparation.
Confirmation class
meets during the school year on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 PM, for students in 9th and 10th
grades, and for older students who have not yet been confirmed.
Parent/student meeting to start this year is Sunday, September 28, following the
worship service. Please
talk to Deacon Pat Markie to register, or if you have any questions.
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