Children & Youth Infants and Toddlers Pre School and Elementary School Middle and High School Contact Us Church School Registration Form (MS WORD 24KB)

Children and Youth

Our children and youth are a precious and essential part of our congregation. We believe that each member of our community of faith--adults of all ages, teens, children, as well as families, benefit from increased opportunities to interact with each other and enjoy each other's gifts. Our overarching goal is to create a place where children feel safe, valued, and loved for whom they are, and to teach our children how to be connected to God and incorporate the teachings of Jesus into their lives. Our Nursery Program, Elementary Church School, and Youth programs bring over 150 children into our building on Sunday mornings. We will make every attempt to accommodate children with special needs into our nursery and church school programs.

General Information about our children's programs:

All of our nursery and children's spaces are peanut free zones. We have several children with peanut allergies and this is a very important policy to maintain their health.

Our church school and youth programs use email to communicate to parents. Please be sure to provide an email address, and let us know if you do not use email so we can use another method to get information to you and your family.

PLEASE be sure to let us know if your child has any illness, allergy, or other condition that would benefit from accommodation in the classroom or youth group, or note anything that will help any adult work better with your child. It is our goal to accommodate all children in our church school and youth programs.

It is important that children of all ages be registered before joining the nursery or a classroom. You will find a registration form in each classroom, or download the Church School Registration Form to print one out at home: It can be returned to your classroom teacher, or put in the mailbox outside of the Director of Christian Education's office.

Children in preschool through 5th grade begin the morning in church with their families, and stay through the Time for the Young. They will be formally dismissed from the service, and their teachers will be waiting for them in their classrooms. Young children should be escorted to class by a parent, or older sibling.

Students in the Rite-13 /Journey to Adulthood program begin class at 10:00AM and should go directly to class.

Each Sunday a bible lesson activity sheet is available at two age levels for the children's use during worship. The bulletins are available, along with crayons, at the back entrances to the sanctuary.

Classes are dismissed at 11:15. We ask parents of children up to 2nd grade to come to the classroom to pick up their children. Older children will be instructed to head to Chidley Hall coffee hour if their parent is not waiting for them at the end of class. While the formal part of class is over at 11:15, most elementary classroom teachers will not dismiss children unless the service is over, so if the service is running long you do not have to leave early to collect your child.

The church school s always looking for volunteers to teach, and to support the educational programs in other ways. Please speak to Carol Jones, or any member of the Education Commission if you can help.