CHILDREN AND YOUTH
Sunday School Registration Form
Ministry to Children and Youth
St. Margaret’s welcomes over 150 children and youth to worship and formation opportunities each week. Our staff is a dedicated group of teachers who volunteer their time to share their love and faith with the children. In addition to Sunday School classroom time we supplement our curricula with fun parish wide events such as our annual Advent wreath making, Easter Egg hunt, and Christmas Pageant. We strive to welcome new children and their families throughout the year and invite you to join us as we learn about God’s presence in our lives and infinite love for us.
If you have any questions about our ministries with Children and Youth, please contact our The Rev. T. Stewart Lucas.
Mission for Sunday School and Youth Ministries
St. Margaret’s seeks to provide age-appropriate Christian education that emphasizes:
- Bible study, our Episcopal faith, and our mission and ministry in the world.
- Development of a personal relationship with God.
- A safe place to openly discuss religion and important issues.
- Development of a bond with other youth, the church and the parish community.
These goals will be met through engaging curriculum, outreach projects, special youth activities, youth participation in worship services, intergenerational fellowship in projects and more.
NURSERY
We strive to make our Nursery:
- more than just a safe physical space to leave your child,
- a child-centered place that nurtures their growth – actively, playing, engaging and comforting them according to their needs.
- a place where we are informed of the needs of you and your child, such as how you believe we can ease the separation process, and
- a place where you are welcome and encouraged to stay with your child until you feel comfortable leaving.
Nursery for infants through toddlers
8:45am to 12:30pm Downstairs in the Education Building
GODLY PLAY
This curriculum is a method of Christian education and spiritual direction for children. The goal of Godly Play is to teach our children the art of using religious language -- parable, sacred story, silence, and liturgical action -- to help them become more fully aware of the mystery of God's presence in their lives. Godly Play is unusual in that we tell Bible stories to children using concrete materials, encouraging them to enter into the stories and relate them to their personal experience. Each class session follows the pattern of the Church's Sunday service, so children will have a deeper understanding and enjoy a fuller participation in our parish worship.
Godly Play for 3 year olds
Nursery room downstairs in the Education Building
Godly Play for 4 year olds
Temporary Classrooms
Godly Play for 5 year olds
Temporary Classrooms
Godly Play for 6 year olds
Temporary Classrooms
SEASONS OF THE SPIRIT
Our elementary curriculum is based on Seasons of the Spirit, a lectionary-based resource created by an international team of writers and editors representing denominations from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the USA, and the UK. Our vision is to provide a theological foundation for our young people to empower them to be transformed in Christ as they:
- explore meaning and mystery in the Bible;
- celebrate in worship, sacraments, education, and service;
- engage in ministries of love, justice, and witness;
- and live in inclusive communities of faith, shaped and led by the Holy Spirit.
Seasons of the Spirit for 7 year olds
Day School Downstairs
Seasons of the Spirit for 8 year olds
Day School Upstairs
Seasons of the Spirit for 9 year olds
Day School Upstairs
Seasons of the Spirit for 10 year olds
Parish hall Downstairs
ACOLYTES
St. Margaret’s Acolytes are a group of youth who work together to serve the Church Community in worship, in preserving the traditions of the Episcopal Church, in setting an example for Christian conduct, and in experiencing the joys of fellowship.
Monday Night Acolyte Schedule
5:00 - 5:30pm - Arrival: Games/Activities/Study hall*
5:30pm - Small group training in church for acolytes serving the next week
6:00 - Dinner and clean up
6:30 - Games and Fellowship* Study hall is a designated quiet room staffed by an adult leader from 5-6PM
Parents of acolytes are essential to the success of the program. Come join in with the weekly fellowship when you can! To defray the cost of meals, $65.00/year is collected from each youth/adult. We charge $2.00/night for "drop-ins."
NOTE: We follow the AACO Public School calendar. If school is cancelled or scheduled to be closed, Acolytes will not meet.
CHILDREN'S CHAPEL
9:00 am and 11:15 am in the Temporary Classrooms
Children’s Chapel is offered during the first part of the services with the children rejoining their parents at the Peace. A multi-sensory approach is used to present the gospel of the day, emphasizing music, art and drama. Chapel is led by trained Chaplains and clergy for children from Kindergarten through Grade 4. Musicians and Junior Chaplains (volunteer youth helpers in grades 5 through 8) assist.
CHILDREN'S CHOIRS
The Spirit Singers are composed of children in Grades 2-6. The Spirit Singers will contribute music to the services on the fourth Sundays. Children in Grades 2 and 3 make up the Blue Group. Children in Grades 4 through 6 make up the Green Group. Children in the upper grades who wish to increase their musical skills may take a proficiency test to join the Red Group. Requirements for Red Group participation include extra rehearsal time, the ability to read music of increasing complexity, and willingness to sing descants on hymns on fourth and second Sundays as scheduled. All groups will meet together on Mondays from 4:45 p.m. to 5:10 p.m. The Red Group will continue on with rehearsal to 5:30 p.m.
Youth Programs
What stands out most to me about all of our youth, whether they are hanging out in the Parish Hall basement on Sunday mornings or venturing out and about in the world, is their sense of being in community. Being in community is a gift this parish has given to these youth, whether or not the parish or youth even realize it. Through Monday night acolyte dinners, a communal respect for children and their gifts, and our robust Christian formation programs, these youth have grown strong in their sense of being something special when they gather. When they get together, a spark is ignited and they become community—they become the Body of Christ together. I am honored to witness this spark and I am grateful to God for the privilege of doing ministry with these youth.
Programs for Youth at St. Margarets
RITE 13
The Rite 13 curriculum is the first segment of the 6-year Journey to Adulthood program. We will use scripture, discussion, guest speakers and spiritual practices to explore the four content areas of Self, Society, Sexuality, and Spirituality.
For those who turn 13, there will be three Rite 13 Celebrations throughout the coming year during our regular Sunday morning services.. This celebration is preceded by a special dinner for the honorees and their parents, where we mark the occasion of turning 13 with prayer, fellowship, and worship. A central tenet of the Rite 13 curriculum is the belief that while manhood and womanhood are gifts from God, adulthood must be earned. This is in contrast to the myriad ways the world tells young persons that they must prove their manhood or womanhood, instead expressing that God has already gifted them and they are called to grow into adulthood in the ripe soil of Christian community.
Rite 13-for ages 11 & 12
(Parish Hall Downstairs)
J2A/Grades 10-11
These two years will be packed with pilgrimage planning and the continued exploration of Self, Society, Sexuality, and Spirituality in preparation for that journey. A pilgrimage is an intentional journey in search of Christ, and past J2A pilgrims at St. Margaret’s have sought Christ in Canterbury, England and in the First Nations cultures of Canada.
The two years is sure to include a broad array of social and outreach activities as well as the all-important pilgrimage fundraising efforts. It is of utmost importance that all J2A members who hope to pursue a pilgrimage with the group in Summer 2010 faithfully attend J2A gatherings, especially Sunday morning meetings. Much of the pilgrimage planning will be done at these times and require all discerning hearts and minds to be present.
J2A-for ages 13 & 14
(Parish Hall Downstairs)
Young Adults in the Church
For those who have completed the J2A experience, we invite you into an intimate community of conversation as you prepare for what adulthood holds in store for you as a child of God. The YAC (Young Adults in the Church) program is designed to be the capstone of the six year J2A journey, and in these years we will be prayerfully considering the gifts that God has given each member of the group. We hope to discern what gifts will meet particular needs in the local community and out in the world, and to offer support for our new adults as they venture into independent adulthood as persons of Christian faith.
Young Adults in the Church/YAC-for ages 15 to 17
Youth Mission Work
Since 1997, St. Margaret's has sent a group of youth and adults to work at children's shelters in Honduras each summer. Members of our committee have gone on these missions, and we help to gather needed items and provide administrative assistance each year. We also give funds toward other projects in Honduras. We contribute and help raise funds for Episcopal Relief and Development, and we have given financial aid to parishioners with personal missions abroad.
This summer, our youth participated in an Honduras trip as well as a construction trip to Appalachia. Other youth from St. Margaret's were counselors at two separate camps at the Bishop Claggett Center in Buckeystown. One of those weeks, Camp Amazing Grace, for disadvantaged youth whose parents are incarcerated. Another week was for those with special challenges.
