Children’s spiritual formation is not just about what we do on Sunday mornings. It is part of the larger fabric of spiritual formation in the parish. Our vision for spiritual formation is to foster spiritual wholeness throughout life. Therefore, our commitment is to provide opportunities for parishioners of all ages to experience the love of Christ and to encounter God. The children and youth at St. Michael’s are not our future – they are valuable members of our present parish community. 

9:30 – 10:15 Sunday School
GODLY PLAY

Children ages 3 years old through 5th grade participate in Godly Play.
The theology grounding Godly Play is that our role as a faith community is to assist children in becoming more aware of the mystery of God’s presence. Godly Play uses a Montessori-based approach to introduce children to the parables, sacred stories, liturgical action and silence that is central to our religious tradition.

There are three main elements to the structure of a Godly Play session.  Storytelling using visual materials is one of the main components of Godly Play.  This combination of oral presentation paired with visual images enables children to enter into the sacred stories themselves.  Each story is followed by a series of wondering questions.  The children are encouraged to “wonder” about particular aspects of the story and to consider how they feel about what they have seen and heard.  Next, children are invited to reflect on the stories individually by “working” with them.  The “work” of children is play; so the children are invited to engage in art projects, reading or playing with the figures in the story, as a way to process what they have heard.   Finally, the group reassembles for the “feast.”  The feast mirrors the basic elements of the Eucharist and allows the children to pray, eat and drink together in an intentional way.

9:30 - 10:15
JUNIOR AND SENIOR HIGH SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASSES

Both the junior high class and the senior high class are exploring sacred stories in their own lives, in the Bible, in history and through the eyes of people from various cultures and ethnicities. Their discussions are informed by various sources, such as video interviews and documentaries. For example, the students will reflect on video interviews of young people from different ethnic backgrounds who share stories of their family histories and how those cultural histories have impacted them. These interviews will serve as a springboard for class members to reflect on their own life histories and to investigate the biblical stories that shape our Christian faith tradition. Junior and senior high students will also explore youth participation in the Civil Rights movement in the United States and discuss how the tenets of nonviolent resistance empowered young people to confront injustices in the world around them. They will look at the life of Jesus and the beliefs of our Judeo-Christian tradition to examine the ways that our faith informs our interaction with the world. 

CHILDREN’S CHURCH

click HERE for Children's Church Schedule

Children’s Church now looks a little different. For the first part of the service the kids will be seated with their parents. We will then process out of the church at the Sequence Hymn prior to the Gospel to the Blue Room. There we will have a children’s-based Gospel and Sermon and the Prayers of the People. We will return to the Sanctuary at the Peace, and the children will return to their families. We do this recognizing both the importance of children in our church, as well as their developmental needs. Our Children’s Church program requires one other adult each Sunday, to assist the scheduled leader. It is important we have two adults present. There are times when one adult needs to attend to a specific child, (taking him or her to the rest room), while the second adult stays with the children. If we do not have a volunteer by the Thursday prior to each Children’s Church, it will be cancelled and the children will remain in the Sanctuary. There is a sign up sheet in the back of the Church. We need one adult volunteer each Sunday.