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Children's Worship Guides and Bags
Children belong in worship. At First Presbyterian Church, we celebrate children as part of our worshiping community. We know that children are wonderful gifts from God and that God has entrusted them to our care to help them know God's love and grow in their love of God. We also know that children grow in the faith through their regular inclusion and participation in the worship of the congregation.
We honor our partnership with you, parents, in our shared roles of raising our children to be faithful followers of Jesus Christ. We designed several tools for you to use with your child(ren) to guide them in worshiping God.
The worship guides, Let Us Worship God Together, are available Sunday at the entrances of the Sanctuary. The Guides are updated weekly to follow along with the subject of the sermon and scripture readings. The purpose of the Guide is to help children (Kindergarten-3rd grade) understand the order of worship and the meaning of the different parts of the service, in order to bring them into the larger communal worship group.
Children can use the Guides to learn when to listen, when to pray, when to sing, and when to give to God. Included in the Guide are questions about the sermon to help your child engage in and listen to the sermon.
This Guide is a complement to the Worship Bags, located right next to the Guides. The Lord's Prayer, as a finger tracing, has been added to the Bags, as well as the Seasons of the Church Year. The Guide gives a visual clue so that children can locate the current season using the calendar.
Children can use these Guides and Worship Bags, with minimal parental help, to follow along, enjoy, and participate in the Worship Service.
Please take the time to introduce your child to these wonderfully helpful guides to the worship service. Christian worship joyfully gives all praise and honor, glory and power to the triune God. It is in worship that we acknowledge God present in the world and in our lives. When we respond to God's claim and love for us, we are transformed and renewed. Children need worship, just as adults do! As parents, we want our children to enjoy coming to church – not to dread it! With a little help, our children can learn to follow along and be an active part of our Sunday morning worship. Rather than simply keeping them distracted and quiet during the service, these Guides can help your child become a participating member of the service! |
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Ministry of Worship Preparation for Preschoolers and Parents
It's called Noah's Ark!
Children of all ages are welcome in the Sanctuary for worship; however, some children and families find a year in Noah's Ark a helpful transition from the loving care and free-play of the church nursery into the full one-hour worship service. Worshipping God is the central act of our faith. Our hope is that each and every child will fully participate in weekly worship with the gathered community at First Presbyterian Church and encounter the one, true Living God!
Children who are four years old by September 1, 2007 and are not yet in Kindergarten are invited to attend Noah's Ark during either 8:30 or 11:00 worship. Families begin worship together in the Sanctuary. The children are invited right before the sermon to journey to the Noah's Ark Worship Center, located in room C-105.
Parents are asked to attend Noah's Ark with their child once per month. We call this role a Greeter. You simply choose which worship service (either 8:30 or 11) and the week number of the month (first, second, third, fourth Sunday). A schedule is created and shared among all the Greeters, making it very easy to locate a "trade" with someone if you are unable to attend one of your assigned Sundays.
Child and parent both benefit when they participate together in the Noah's Ark worship center -- in the less formal worship center children are able to learn to be still and listen to God, use quiet voices, experience movement to praise God (as the children continue developing longer attention spans), and become familiar with the order of worship by using our Children's Worship Guide. Parents will find encouragement and support to guide their children as they worship God in the moments of ordinary life, too.
Serving as a Noah's Ark Greeter requires no preparation. You simply journey to the worship center with the Worship leader and all the children. Parents from previous years will tell you that it is a very worshipful experience for all!
The Noah's Ark ministry is based on the work of Jerome Berryman and Sonja Stewart who are co-authors of the book Young Children and Worship.
For more information on this approach, click here
You may wish to pre-arrange your child's first visit to Noah's Ark. Please contact Deb O'Brien. |
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