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A voice of religious social concern to the TX Legislature.
St. Andrew's is a TX Impact congregational member.
St. Andrew's Children's Programs:
Children's Church at St. Andrews
Every Sunday, St. Andrews presents a progressive Children's Church during the adult service at St. Andrews.1) Age range is flexible, but is basically 3-10 years old. (of course depending on the individual needs of the child and parents).
2) The children leave after the puppet show and return before the end of the service (for example, to have communion with their parents). Children's church lasts about 30 minutes.
3) These are services for the children, in a large group with the following elements:
4) The subject matter is connected to the puppet show and sermon. The whole church will be studying together on different levels the same themes.
5) There is one lead teacher, two adult helpers, and a couple of youths. The lead teacher is given a packet that the writing team has put together. The packet includes the rituals of children's church, the theme from the sermon, and ideas from children's curriculum about activities and stations for multi-ages. The teacher chooses from a variety of writing zones, art work, outdoor activities, music, and dance. This gives our talented teachers many options along with their own ideas.
6) Everyone is encouraged to be a part of children's church no matter if someone is a parent or not. We rotate teachers and helpers so each team has children's church once every six weeks. If anyone wants to be involved more often that would be very appreciated. The more volunteers we have, the more we can do.
Godly Play at St. Andrews!
www.GodlyPlay.org
Godly Play is what Jerome Berryman calls his interpretation of Montessori's approach to religious education. This approach uses an open classroom with selected, developmentally appropriate story materials. The ultimate goal of Godly Play is to teach children the art of using the language of our Christian tradition so that they may encounter God in a personal way and begin to find direction for their own lives.
Rather than giving pat answers or teaching doctrine, Godly Play seeks to support the child's own spiritual quest and enable the child to develop a faith that is continually growing. Central to this way of teaching is the assumption that children do have encounters with the mystery of the presence of God. What they do not have is the language to communicate about their experiences.
Godly Play takes two adults in the classroom. One adult is the door keeper and helps the children get ready to enter the classroom. The other adult is the Storyteller who leads the circle in the story of the day. The story is followed by a time of wondering with the children. Children then choose an art response or to use a story previously heard, helped by the Door Keeper. Children clean up, followed by a feast(snack) with the storyteller. Leave-taking means saying goodbye to the storyteller when parents arrive and children are ready.
Children love to hear and tell stories, a natural medium of childhood communication. Stories are where all of us, children and adults, find our identity, our family. Stories are where we challenge the deadly messages of the powers-that-be, whether greed and overwork or poverty and powerlessness, that would rob our lives of relationships and meaning. Stories are where we integrate the experiences of our lives into powerful acts of recognition, celebration, and meaning as we make our way through time and space. Through story we invite another to make meaning of our world and ultimately of our lives. (The Complete Guide to Godly Play Vol.1 p. 28).
If you have any questions or would like to be involved with Godly Play please contact Tammy Iyer, Children's CE Coordinator. 251-0698 or Iyers@bigfoot.com. Or you can go to Godly Play web page: www.GodlyPlay.org.
Watch Short Godly Play Video.
