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Children and Youth Formation

Christian Formation Education for Children


Our Mission:

To create a safe and nurturing space for children to learn and love, and grow closer to God and one another.
 

A Prayer

O God, you have created us all in your image and in your likeness and honor us by claiming and calling us your children. Watch over and be present all of us but particularly our children as they learn and grow in an uncertain world. Help us to learn to trust you more as we experience their trust of you. Plant in them a seed of love and nurture and care for it as it grows and grows. May we adults who journey with them be vigilant in our recognition of the gifts growing in them and be wise to receive and applaud them. Amen.
 

Godly Play

Preschool through 5th Grade
 

Leaders:
Becky Berkenstock and Mary Ann Lynn ( 3 years through 2nd grade)
Rodney Weems and Heather Scattergood (3rd through 5th grades)

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Welcome to Godly Play! Children have an innate sense of the presence of God. The Godly Play approach helps them to explore their faith through story, to gain religious language and to enhance their spiritual experience through wonder and play. Based on Montessori principles and developed using a spiral curriculum, the Godly Play method serves children through early, middle and late childhood and beyond. Come join us!

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Our weekly lessons will take a hybrid approach this year. We will start in person classes this Fall for all who are registered and comfortable with Covid protocols (see below). We will also send video story lessons to those who cannot attend or are more comfortable learning from home. The Lower Grades (Preschool – 5th grade) will all meet together at 9:15 in the Good Shepherd Chapel every week for a common story. After the story, we will break apart to discuss the story or complete age appropriate activities with their peers. The younger group will meet in room G5 with Mrs. Lynn and Mrs. Berkenstock. The older group will stay in the Good Shepherd Chapel with Mr. Weems and Mrs. Scattergood.

Nursery care will be provided each week from 8:30-12:00. Staff are vaccinated and will be wearing masks. All toys will be wiped down before another child plays with it. If it cannot be wiped down, it will be collected in a bin and kept out of reach.
 

Covid Protocols:

  • All children 3 years and older must be masked while indoors.

  • Children are asked to sanitize their hands when entering and leaving the room.

  • We will not be having feast time (snack) until further notice.

  • We will be keeping a 3 ft. distance from each other to the best of our ability.

 

WHAT IS GODLY PLAY?

The result of a lifetime of research and practice by theologian, author and educator The Rev. Dr. Jerome Berryman, the Godly Play® method is a curriculum of spiritual practice exploring the mystery of God's presence in our lives. The Godly Play curriculum engages what is most exciting about religious education: God inviting us into—and pursuing us in the midst of - Scripture and spiritual experience. Godly Play practice teaches us to listen for God and to make authentic and creative responses to God's call in our lives.
 

  • Godly Play is a creative, imaginative approach to Christian formation and spiritual guidance.

  • Godly Play has a Montessori foundation with 40+ years of research and practice.

  • Godly Play values process, openness, discovery, community and relationships.

  • Godly Play models the worship life, stories, symbols and rituals of Christian congregations.

  • Godly Play allows practitioners to make relevant and personal theological meaning.

  • Godly Play nurtures participants to larger dimensions of belief and faith through wondering and play.
     

You can learn more about Godly play by visiting www.godlyplayfoundation.org
 

Middle School (Grades 6-8)

We are so mindful that our young people are spending so much time in the Covid era online and virtually learning.

“Moments to Breathe!” is a weekly short emailed video designed to help bring healing and wholeness and to help your young person know they are not alone and living with God and friends in companionship. In addition, safe gatherings are being planned for socialization, fellowship, and fun!
 

Mentors: Alan Mendez and Paul Fox
 

Thresholds (Senior High)

The same is true for our senior High. Coming off a terrific week in August of Leadership development, the Thresholds group will continue with “Ted like Talks” for their reflection and development as growing Christian Adults in an unprecedented time.|
 

In person gatherings safe are being planned for socialization, fellowship and fun!
 

Mentors: Connie Andrejko, Meg Storm, Meg Seltzer

Pilgrimage Ministry

"To take time to be apart, which I consciously give to myself as something positive, creative, is not a luxury, it is essential. The gift of space for oneself seems so simple, and in a way it is; but it is so surprisingly difficult to do without some form of external encouragement. If we fail to find the time to stand back, to give ourselves a break, a breathing space, we are in danger of failing to be fully alive, or to enjoy that fullness of life for which we were created.

We are surrounded by noise, a constant battering of sound, threats of pollution and natural disaster, international crises at all levels. Stopping to take time to look at the pattern of my life, and to think and pray about it, will almost inevitably mean that I not only learn more about God, but I discover more about myself. As I change, so must my relationship with God."
Esther DeWaal, Lost in Wonder.
 

The first pilgrimage of nativity took place in the Spring of 2013. A group of 16 souls embarked on a Celtic discovery to Wales. There we immersed ourselves in the Celtic world-view and experience, visited ancient places of prayer, were fortunate to have renowned author, Esther DeWaal, meet and guide us, and make our way to Bardsey Island, the place of 20,000 Saints. Other experiences has taken us to Rome to pray for and work with refugees at the Joel Nafuma Refugee Center located at St. Paul’s within the Walls Episcopal Church.
 

The spirit of pilgrimage is to invite one into an experience set apart daily and worldly demands, and journey with one hope- to discover the holy voice that is within all of us. Pilgrimage should never be confused with touring, for it is holy work to be done on pilgrimage, and it offers a cup that overflows with grace.
 

 

Pilgrimages

Adult Pilgrimage is postponed until travel permits a safe journey for all.

Senior High School Pilgrimage - Navajo Land, Arizona
July 30 - August 6, 2022
 

As our young adults continue to grow though high school, they are invited to participate in a pilgrimage. The students choose the destination with church mentors guiding them through this process. The trip experience is largely planned by the youth, having them decide what they want to focus on when they arrive. Each day they build a new itinerary revolving around experience in faith in the location of their choosing. These trips are made free for participants as they work each year to fund raise for the trip. This has a long standing history at the church. Students have gone to such locations as Quebec, San Francisco, Maine, New Orleans, Seattle, and most recently Navajo Land in Arizona. They are provided the opportunity to build community and leadership skills in an inclusive atmosphere that promotes understanding, encourages open communication, and supports cohesiveness through service. Through these trips, our young adults will increase their cultural awareness and knowledge as it relates to the overall trip theme, while increasing self-understanding and personal spirituality.

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