Growing in Grace“But grow in the grace and knowledge of

our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”II Peter 3:18

Growing Up At Christ Church

 

Children’s Ministry – 2013/14Christ Episcopal Church

San Antonio, Texas

Welcome to Children’s Ministry at Christ ChurchWhere Jesus and Kids Come First

Dear Parish Family and Friends,

I believe growing up at Christ Church is a true blessing. This year’s theme is all about grace – that unconditional love only God can give to each of us. Peter closes his second letter with the admonition to “…grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. “ (II Peter 3:18) That is our hope- that every child who comes to Christ Church will be so immersed and filled with the grace and knowledge of Christ that they will be able to share it with others.

Christ Church has always made ministry to children a top priority following the command of Jesus to “let the little children come” to Him because of such is His kingdom. That’s why I came here as Children’s Ministry Director twenty five years ago in answer to the call to use my teaching gifts for the most important mission possible – helping to bring those ‘little ones” to Him.

I pray those of you with children and grandchildren will do whatever you can to bring your children to Sunday School and church as often as possible. Over the last many years, I have had the privilege of seeing a generation grow up here. I have seen what an actual difference it makes in the lives of children to attend church and Sunday School on a regular basis. There is so much love put into what we do for the children. Don’t let them miss out! We have wonderfully committed men and women in leadership in Children’s Ministry who are called to present the love and hope of Jesus to our children each week. I pray your children will be able to reap the bene-fits of that love that is so graciously given. May our children grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

With Gratitude and Love in Christ, Halleta HeinrichDirector of Children’s and Family Ministry

 

Our Philosophy of Children’s Ministry“Let the little children come to me…”

Matthew 19:14

Those who minister to children at Christ Episcopal Church are obedient to the loving command of Jesus to “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) Both children and adults involved in Children’s Ministry are mutually blessed as we carry out the vision of the church “…to know Christ and to make Him known” through:

*Worshipping together *Learning together*Celebrating the Life of Christ together *Reaching out to others with the love of Christ.

The main goal of Children’s Ministry is to bring children to Christ through Sunday School, Chapel, Special Events and Projects. Through these pro-grams, Christ is made known in the telling of God’s story in scripture and the sharing of the life of Christ in us through our witness to the world.

As children are brought to Christ, those adults who minister to them are brought closer to Him through this relationship with the “little ones” to whom “the kingdom of heaven belongs”. The spirituality of each child is respected and nurtured as adults involved with them are encouraged to “…change and become like little children…” in order to enter the kingdom of heaven, as Jesus taught. (Matthew 18: 1 – 3)

Our Children’s Chapel enable both pre-school and elementary children to worship at their own level through scriptural learning, praise in song, and shared prayer. Chapel is the place for large group celebrations of our faith and teaching of the traditions of the Episcopal Church as we walk through the church year together.

Sunday School is the heart of our program where relationships are built and scripture is taught in a small group atmosphere facilitated through teaching teams at each level. Special Events are seasonal celebrations of the life of Christ. Special programs and projects such as Vacation Bible School and Ad-vent and Lent Outreach projects serve to further build our relationship with each other and the community by allowing Christ to reach out to others through us.

Children’s Ministry Sunday Schedule and Locations In The Family Ministry Center

Sunday Schedule:8:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. - Nursery Care Available in Nurseries 104, 105 and 106 for infants through 2 year olds. * See Nursery Handbook for details of nursery care 9:00 - 10 a.m. – Family Service for families with children of all ages

10:00 - 10:50 a.m. - Sunday SchoolParents should accompany children to classrooms and pick them up by 10:55 a.m. if children are not attending 11:00a.m. Chapel.

11:00 – 11:30 a.m. - Children’s Chapel for 3 year olds – 5th graders Children will be brought to Chapel by teachers, accompanied to 11:00 a.m. service to join their parents for Communion at Chapel’s conclusion.

Sunday Locations:Nurseries

Infants - 18 months Room 105 & 106Toddlers and Twos Room 104

Children’s Chapel –Second Floor Chapel

Sunday School ClassesAge and Grade Level as of September 1, 2013

“Hand On Bible “ Sunday SchoolPreschool 3 Year olds – Kindergarten – Room 206

First – Second Graders – Room 208

Village of God’s Children Sunday School3rd, 4th, and 5th Grades

Workshop Rotation Rooms – 301,302,303, and Tomlin Room Kitchen

* It is Christ Church Safety Policy that all children be accompanied by a parent or guardian to class, chapel or choir locations upon arrival andbe released only to a parent or guardian at conclusion of these events

 

Map of Children’s Ministry Center

Children’s Ministry Calendar of Events2013 – 2014

September 8 – Rally Day/Ministry Fair Fall Kick-off

September 13 – 15 – Family Camp at Laity Lodge

September 15 – Fall Sunday School Begins

September 27 – 29 – “Friends of the Groom” Drama Event

October 2 –Wednesday Evening Program Begins

October 6 - Christmas Pageant Practice Begins

October 27 – Children’s All Saints Celebration

December 1 – Family Advent Event

December 7 – All Cast Christmas Pageant Practice

December 8 – “Donkey’s Dream” Pageant Presented

January 5 – Children’s Epiphany Celebration

February – Children’s Communion Class Begins

April 19 – Easter Egg Hunt and Liturgy of Light

April 20 – Easter Sunday Flowering of the Cross

April 27 – Children’s Choirs Musical

May 4 – “Birthday Bash on Belknap” 100th Birthday Celebration of Christ Church

May 11 – Children’s Communion Celebration (Tentative Date)

June 23 – 26 - Vacation Bible School

For The Safety of Our Children …

Children’s Ministry Safety Guidelines - Arrival and Pick Up Procedures We are fortunate to be able to offer a full Christian formation experience including a wide variety of Sunday School classes, Children’s Chapel and Children’s Choirs for all ages of children. For the safety of our children present at Christ Church on Sundays and other times during the week, the following Safety Guidelines involving arrival and pick up procedures are spelled out intentionally for parents, guardians, and others entrusted to the care of our children.

At All Times: Children are to be accompanied to all nurseries, classes, chapels, weekday choirs and events by parents or guardians upon arrival for each Church sponsored event. A check-in policy is in place in each nursery and pre-school class location for infants – kindergarten age children with name of child, parents/guardian, and their location during church event.

*Children are not to ride elevators unless accompanied by an adult.*Children can only be released to parents or guardians. Parent/guardians should meet children at release locations.

Our requirement is to have a minimum of 2 teachers or staff personnel in each classroom location on all occasions to aid in the safety of our children. Parents are asked to respond positively to requests to help in Chapel and Sunday School, so adequate supervision of children can always exist.

Sunday Mornings: Children’s Chapel including age group ranging from 3-year-olds through 5th grade will be accompanied by Chapel Leaders and Church staff personnel to join parents for Holy Communion during the 11:00 a.m. service. Parents should watch for their children at this time to help in their safe return to their care.

Sunday School children will be accompanied by their teachers at 10:55 a.m. to Chapel located on the second floor of the Family Ministry Center. Chap-el and nursery staff will bring this age group into the 11:00 a.m. service at announcement time to join their parents/guardians for Holy Communion.

Sunday School concludes at 10:50 a.m. Parents not desiring for their chil-dren to participate in Children’s Chapel should pick up their children no later than 10:55 a.m. in their class locations.

“Hands on Bible” Preschool Sunday School

For Children 3 Years - KindergartenRooms 205 and 206 FMC

Welcome to pre-school “Hands on Bible” Sunday School. Children will be delighted to teach and learn from “Pockets” the kangaroo puppet each Sunday as they participate in fun, hands on activities that introduce them to favorite Bible stories.

“Hands on Bible” Preschool Units of Study Will Include:

Unit One: Creation – God Made Us All

Unit Two: Noah and Abraham – God Keeps His Promises and Wants Us to Trust Him

Unit Three: Advent – Jesus Came to Save Us and Was Born in Bethlehem

Unit Four: Epiphany – Jesus Did What Was Right and Pleased God

Unit Five: Lent – Jesus is With Us All the Time and Came to Save Us

Unit Six: Easter – Jesus Came Back to Life Unit Seven: Pentecost – God Calls Us to Follow Him  

“Hands on Bible” First and Second Grade Sunday School

Room 208 FMC

Our first and second graders will really get in the action as they get their hands on the Bible each Sunday reinforced by highly energetic games and activities that build their understanding of each week’s teaching. Kids and teachers alike will realize that Bible learning can be meaningful and fun.

“Hands on Bible” First and Second Grade Fall and Winter Units of Study:

Unit One: God Creates the World

Unit Two: Noah and Abraham – God Keeps His Promises and Wants Us to Trust Him

Unit Three: Advent – Jesus’ Birth is Good News

Unit Four: Epiphany – Jesus is the Greatest Gift of All

* The Children’s Communion Preparation Class will begin in February for first and second graders utilizing our beautiful Catechesis of the Good Shepherd materials. Children who completed this class last year will have the choice of serving as Mentors in the Communion class or joining third graders during Communion class time.

 

Village of God’s Children Upper Elementary Sunday SchoolWorkshop Rotation Model

For Third, Fourth and Fifth Graders Classrooms 301, 302, and 303

A strong faith foundation has been laid during preschool and early ele-mentary Sunday School and Chapel by the time our children reach the upper elementary grades. Now it’s time to really learn how to use the Bible and dig into it as the guiding light of their lives. The Village of God’s Children Sunday School is committed to the thorough education of our children in God’s Word while also supporting Biblical learning with relat-ed hands-on activities supportive of Bible teachings. Our goal is to make sure that every child who participates in Sunday School graduates from Children’s Ministry with a comfortable working knowledge of the Bible.

Each four to 6 weeks a new unit of Bible study will be taught with the additional support of related rotating workshops led by Creative Work-shop Specialists including Art, Drama, Cooking, Movies, Games, Music, Outreach/Mission Projects, and Gardening. The first Sunday of each unit will contain a heavy emphasis on Bible study. The following Sundays will continue to emphasize the Bible basis of each unit along with the addi-tion of the variety of creative workshops which reinforce learning.

 

Village of God’s Children Workshop Rotation Model Units for 2013 – 14

Unit One: All About the Bible – An Introduction to Independent Use of the Bibles Unit Two: All Saints Unit – How to Live a Saintly Life – Study of the “She-ma” and the Beatitudes

Unit Three: Advent Unit – Good News

Unit Four: Epiphany Unit – John the Baptist and the Baptism of Jesus

Unit Five: Lent One Unit – The Sacrament of Baptism

Unit Six” Lent Two Unit – The Life of Moses

Unit Seven: Easter and Pentecost Unit – We Are the Body of Christ

 

Children’s ChapelFor 3-Year-Olds through Fifth Graders

Second Floor Children’s Chapel

Children’s Chapel is a special place at Christ Church where all ages of children gather to worship God in a way suited to their age. An order of worship is followed each Sunday and modeled after the same order of worship followed by parents in the regular church service. Praise songs are sung, prayers are lifted up and interactive sermons are presented based on the lectionary gospel lesson and seasonal celebrations of the year.

Junior Acolytes composed of older elementary age children help lead the service as well as adult Chapel Leaders. Chapel is a happy gathering where children learn to feel comfortable with and value the Anglican tradition of worship. Children join parents in the church for Holy Com-munion at announcement time.

 

 

Children’s Special Events

We love to have parties for Jesus here at Christ Church all year long as we celebrate his life as part of the seasons of the Church Year. From the Family Advent Event to the Christmas Pageant, from the Epiphany Cele-bration to the Easter Egg Hunt and the All Saints Celebration, we party a lot. It is party with a purpose as the life of Jesus is the center of each event.

Other Offerings

Children’s Communion ClassFirst and Second Graders

A Children’s Communion Preparation Class is offered each Spring semes-ter for first and second graders. This class is not a requirement for the receiving of Holy communion, but an enriching experience designed to help children better understand the gift of the Resurrected Life Jesus gives each of us in participating in the celebration of Communion. The class is held over eight Sundays during Sunday School hour and culmi-nates in a Communion Retreat the Saturday before the Communion Celebration Sunday. The children play an active role in the Communion Sunday Celebration service which honors class participants and their parents. Parents are asked to serve as helpers on a rotating basis in the class, on the retreat and in the planning of the Communion Celebration. A Parent/Child Orientation for the class will take place in early February and classes will begin soon afterwards. The Communion Retreat and Cel-ebration will take place in one of the weekends following Easter Sunday.

 

Communion Class Lessons

Lesson One – Who is Jesus? I “Good Shepherd” Presentation (John 10:1-12) and Introduction to Communion Journals

Lesson Two - Who is Jesus? II -True Vine Presentation (John 15:1-17)

Lesson Three – What Is the Lord’s Supper? Bible background and Reen-actment of the Last Supper (Matthew 26:17-30; Mark 14:12-26; Luke 22:7-23; I Corinthians 11:23-26)

Lesson Four – How Do We Celebrate the Lord’s Supper? Part 1: “The Upper Room” Presentation and Altar Guild Presentation in the ChurchPart 2: Looking at the Liturgy of Holy Communion: Synthesis of the Eu-charist Presentation (Book of Common Prayer Holy Communion Service)

Lesson Five – How Do We Prepare Our Hearts to Receive Holy Commu-nion? Part I: Prayer – Hand Prayer Presentation

Lesson Six – How Do We Prepare Our Hearts for Holy Communion?Part 2: Confession: “The Found Sheep” Presentation ( Matthew 18:10 -14;Luke 15:1-7) and Reconciliation : “True Vine” II Presentation ( John 15: 1- 17 Revisited)

Lesson Seven – Who Are We as Christian Community? “Eucharistic Pres-ence of the Good Shepherd” Presentation (Culmination of all Gospel and Book of Common Prayer lessons)

Junior AcolytesThird, Fourth and Fifth Graders

Our third, fourth and fifth graders have the opportunity to serve as Junior Acolytes in Children’s Chapel service and for fifth graders, at the 9 am Family Service.. They are provided with training at the beginning of fall and are then scheduled to acolyte in the 11:00 Children’s Chapel service on a rotating basis. This experience helps to prepare these older children for service as acolytes in the main church service when they en-ter the sixth grade. Junior Acolytes help provide an example of worship leadership to the younger children and add to the beauty and ritual of Children’s Chapel. Most children love the experience!

Third, Fourth and Fifth Grade Fellowship Events

Fun fellowship activities are planned during the year for our upper elementary children in order to create a bond of friendship that will carry them over to the Youth Ministry and the teen years. Most of these activities occur on Sunday after the 11:00 church service. Children meet in the early fall for a combination Pizza Party and Junior Acolyte Training where they are given the opportunity to choose and plan at least six off-campus activities that include lunch.

 

* We encourage all Christ Church members to participate in Children’s Ministry. We always welcome more Sunday School Teachers, Chapel Leaders, and Special Events Team members. Please contact Director of Children’s Ministry Halleta Heinrich at the church at 210-736-3132 or halletah@cecsa.org if you want to volunteer or have any questions.

 

And a little child shall lead them.