Director of Christian Education and Youth Programs -- Amy Grella
Children’s Programming Updates
When our children and youth programs launched on September 13, they were designed for a fully remote climate. As the church transitions to in-person worship, the Youth and CE committees are doing our best to modify meeting formats and frequencies to meet the needs of families. We will continue to provide meaningful connection and safe spaces to grow, learn and practice faith for your children. Be sure to look for communications to stay up to date as we test new schedules and routines. Below is an overview of the changes; look for an email from Amy for full details by age group.
Children’s Worship (Preschool through Second Grade)
Weekly children’s worship stories using the Godly Play format will continue to be pre-recorded and posted on the church website. For this age group, the CE committee felt it was important to provide parents content in order to engage in Children’s Worship together with their child. We will host a monthly Zoom meeting for children to share and visit with each other. The first meeting will be held in October.
Tweens (Third and Fourth Graders)
For the next few weeks up through Sunday, October 18, we will try a combined in-person meeting for our Tween and Pre-teen groups. We will meet on the church lawn immediately following worship for organized games and fellowship for 30 minutes. We will use the next few weeks to reach out to families to gauge comfort levels and formulate plans to return in-door, in-person classes using The Holy Moly curriculum. For the tween group, we plan these future classes to be held during the worship service, as we’ve done in the past.
Pre-teens (Fifth through Eighth Graders)
5th through 8th graders will meet in person on Sundays immediately following worship. Through Sunday, October 18, these meetings will be held outdoors and will be combined with the 3rd and 4th graders for organized games and fellowship for 30 minutes. For as long as we meet outdoors, we will not use the Connect curriculum due to difficulties playing sound and video outdoors. We will use the next few weeks to formulate plans to return to in-door, in-person classes using the Connect curriculum. For the pre-teen group, these classes will be held immediately following worship so that pre-teens may sit in worship with their family
Confirmation Class Update
Pastor Brian will confirm youth on Sunday, October 18. Confirmation class will meet outdoors and in person on the church grounds in the shade of a tree immediately following worship through October 18. Students are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets to sit on. Worship services are only allowed to last 30 minutes under Covid-19 best practice guidelines, so it makes sense that classes, too, should be no more than 30 minutes.
Senior High Weekly Meetup
9th-12th graders will begin a new weekly meetup once Confirmation ends in mid-October. This meeting will be planned for immediately following worship service and last 30 minutes. We will use Echo the Story, a biblical narrative journey designed for youth using a collection of learning styles. Click here to learn more about Echo the Story.
Senior High Youth Group Meetups
We will continue to schedule out-door fellowship opportunities for youth in grades 9-12. Please note the change in event on October 3rd (no longer biking - but hiking) from what was sent out last month.
Saturday, October 3, at 2:00 p.m. We will hike the Emerald View Trail along Mt. Washington. See location details here. We will meet at the church to carpool. Bring water. Snacks will be provided.
Sunday, October 25, at 1:00 p.m. Simmons Farms Fall Festival. We will meet at Simmons Farms and spend a few hours. The cost of this event will be covered. RSVPs are needed in order to reserve time at Simmons.