Jesus said, "Let the children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven." - Matthew 19:14
We love our kids! At St. Peter's, it is our hope and desire to create an environment where kids can experience the reality of God's love for them in Christ. We believe that kids can have "big lives" with God and that starts with a faith that is rooted in a loving church family, engages the imagination and is grounded in God's Story. For more information, contact the Rev. Christine Lee at clee@stpeterschelsea.org.
Children's Worship: At our Sunday 10 AM service, right before the sermon, children ages 3 through 12 are invited for Children's Worship in the Rectory. We use StoryMakers, a creative spiritual formation resource that sparks curiosity, hope and faith by drawing kids into God's redemptive narrative in the stories of the Bible. They return to join the rest of the congregation for the Eucharist.
Note on Nursery: We have plans in the works to host nursery aged children during children's worship. There is also a dedicated parenting room with a diaper changing station, toys and livestream of the service. Please contact Christine (email above) for more information.
Junior and Senior High Students: Starting on Sunday, September 25, we are going to be gathering the jr. and sr. high students weekly after service from 11:30-12:30 for a time of faith formation, exploring the essentials of what it means to be a Christian, that we hope will lay a solid foundation for the rest of their lives. The tween/teen years are a time of identity exploration. Who am I? Why am I here? What is my purpose? We believe Christianity has meaningful answers to these questions, while also leaving room for the mystery, doubt and struggle that is part of being human. We want to walk with our children as they explore their questions and to help them to know, above all, their belovedness as children of God.
In Episcopal churches, this is called "confirmation class" (which sounds boring, but ours won't be!) where kids who were baptized as infants have the chance to explore faith and (if they so choose), make a public affirmation of faith themselves. It's also for kids who haven't been baptized to learn about the faith for the first time. Bishop Mary Glasspool will be visiting us sometime in the first half of 2023 (date TBD). At that time, she'll confirm and/or baptize those who wish to participate.
We'll be covering four themes drawn from former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams book Being Christian: Baptism, Bible, Eucharist, Prayer and begin with a focus on baptism and prayer. To do that we’ll introduce the examen, embodied prayer with silence and centering, enjoy a workshop on learning to pray the Anglican rosary, take a trip to the ocean, experience a prayer walk, make discoveries on a treasure hunt and explore art with a self-portraiture class. Contact Christine, clee@stpeterschelsea.org with any questions or to express interest in reserving a space for your child/children.
Top row from left to right: Youth Parents dinner; fun times in the garden; serving as acolytes! Bottom row: Game Night, Creative Arts Camp