CHILDREN AND YOUTH
Sunday School Registration Form
Ministry to Children and Youth
St. Margaret’s welcomes over 100 children and youth to its classrooms
on Sunday mornings. Our staff is a dedicated group of teachers who volunteer
their time to share their love and faith with the children. In addition
to classroom time we supplement our curricula with fun parish wide events
such as our annual Lenten soup making, Easter Egg hunt, seasonal biblical
storytelling events, and Advent family events. 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.
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
9:15 to 12:30
Downstairs in the Education Building
A staff person will assist with childcare in collaboration with
volunteers.
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 different 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’s and 4’s
9:00 am Room G, Upstairs Education Building
Godly Play for K + 1st Grade
10:15 am Room G, Upstairs Education Building
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.
2nd Grade
10:30 am, room C in the Education building
3rd Grade
10:30 am, room H in the Education building
4th Grade
10:30 am, room E in the Education building
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 Administration building Chapel
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.
The Joyful Noise offers all children
a musical focus in Children’s Chapel on third Sundays. Arvilla
Wubbenhorst does an amazing job with this group, as well as with the
St. Margaret’s Day School music program. Michael Lundien, a member
of St. Margaret’s youth program, has also begun contributing his
prodigious piano talents to the Children’s Chapel. Several younger
budding musicians have played the piano or other instruments at Children’s
Chapel. This is proving to be a great ground for teaching children how
to participate in worship, using all of their skills.
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.
If you are new to St. Margaret’s or to our programs with youth, please feel free to give me a call or send me an e-mail. I am happy to discuss curriculum with you or offer suggestions for supporting the Christian formation of your family. In my role as Assistant to the Rector I am responsible for middle and high school aged youth as well as those a little beyond high school, and I am eager to know each member of the parish in these age ranges. We are also open to incorporating any youth you may know in the community who does not currently have a faith community. Bring friends and neighbors in, and we will welcome them warmly.
Below you will find a brief description of the Christian Formation offerings for the coming program year. Please register your youth in a timely manner so hat they do not miss out on anything exciting. And be sure to be ready for a lot more Christian community building in September – we kick off our program for youth on Sunday, September 9th after the 9 am service. On that morning you will find directions on how to register if you have not done so, where the different groups are meeting, and who will be leading each youth program. I look forward to seeing you and all the youth you know on September 9th!
In the perfect Peace of God,
The Rev. Dina van Klaveren
Assistant to the Rector
dina@st-margarets.org
(410) 974-0200
Programs for Youth at St. Margarets
Grades 5-6
In this year before beginning the Journey to Adulthood curriculum’s
“Rite 13” we will be studying scripture and the ways God
is at work in our lives through adventure and fantasy. We’ll begin
with the exciting adventures of Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie,
the main characters of C.S. Lewis’s seven fantasy novels, The
Chronicles of Narnia in a curriculum entitled “Aslan on the Move.”
We will also explore the faith journey through other works of fantasy
in a curriculum entitled “Wizards and Wonders.” For those
who love Harry Potter, there are sure to be some connections for us
muggles between magic, myth and our beliefs in God. We will also look
at The Golden Legend, the Crusade-era best-seller that recounts the
lives of the saints, including St. Margaret of Antioch in Pisidia, who
escaped alive after being eaten by a dragon sometime around 300 CE.
RITE 13/Grades 7-8-9
In the second year of Rite 13, the group will continue exploring what
it means to grow into adulthood as a young person of Christian faith.
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.
J2A/Grades 10-11
What an exciting year this will be for our J2A group! They are planning
a pilgrimage for Summer 2008, and the year will be packed with 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 great outdoors of Wyoming. Other J2A
groups from Maryland parishes have ventured to the monastery on the
island of Iona off the east coast of Scotland; San Francisco and Yosemite
National Park; the Taize community in France; and, hiking a portion
of the Appalachian Trail.
The year 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 2008 faithfully attend J2A gatherings, especially
Sunday morning meetings that follow the 9 am service. Much of the pilgrimage
planning will be done at these times and require all discerning hearts
and minds to be present.
Parent meetings for J2A will be of increased importance as pilgrimage
planning ratchets up. The first J2A parent meeting will be held September
16 at 12:45 pm in the Parish Hall. A guiding prayer for the year will
be an ancient Christian Canticle called the nunc dimittis, or, The Song
of Simeon:
Lord, you now have set your servant free to go in peace as you have promised; for these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, whom you have prepared for all the world to see: A light to enlighten the nations, and the glory of your people Israel. (Luke 2:29-32)
YAC/Grade 12
For those in Grade 12 or who have completed a pilgrimage with the J2A
group, 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 this last year 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.
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 one 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. Stories from these experiences will be published in an upcoming newsletter.
J2A Calendar
July 8-13- EYE/Episcopal Youth Event in San Antonio, TX
July 20-26- Episcopal Appalachian Ministries Work Camp/ Cost: $350
For more information about these events for youth, contact The Rev. Dina van Klaveren at 410-974-0200, dina@st-margarets.org
