Children's Programs
Children at St. Andrew's
You may not think much about church for your children until they're asked by a friend to go to theirs. Then the questions begin: What kind of church is it? What will my child be told about God, or people from other faiths? Will the church respect our family's values?
At St. Andrew's, children are valued for who they are. They learn how to worship in age-appropriate ways and help lead worship - ushering, lighting the candles, reading, and helping to lead the congregational singing. They learn about church by being the church.
Children are welcome to stay with their parents in the service, colour at the craft table in the sanctuary, or participate in the Joyful Path program that runs every Sunday after Learning Together. Babies are warmly welcomed in the service. But if you need a quiet place, there is a nursery with cribs, change table and toys available on the main floor of the church.
A Joyful Path Children's Curriculum
This behaviour-over-belief curriculum connects children with their own inner wisdom. It teaches interdependence, self awareness, respect for nature, stillness, forgiveness, prayer, meditation, and integrity. Using The Bible and other wisdom stories, A Joyful Path helps children learn how to follow the path of Jesus in today’s world. To learn more about A Joyful Path, visit ProgressiveChristianity.org
“The great need in the Christian church is for a Sunday school curriculum for children that does not equate faith with having a pre-modern mind. The Center for Progressive Christianity has produced just that. Teachers can now teach children in Sunday school without crossing their fingers. I endorse it wholeheartedly.”
~John Shelby Spong, Author, Jesus for the Non-Religious
“One of the major challenges for Progressive Christians in the years to come is paying more attention to 'equipping the saints.' The dictionary meaning for 'equipping' is 'to supply with intellectual, emotional, or spiritual essentials.' It is derived from an old French term which means 'to put to sea, to embark.'
ProgressiveChristianity.org has picked up this challenge and provided congregations and parents with two years of relevant and imaginative curriculums for the 21st century. They have taken the lead in reframing Sunday school teachings and made them into invaluable resources for 'equipping the saints' as they head out on the sea of our culture."
~Mary Ann & Frederik Brussat, Spirituality & Practice
