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KoG - Kids on God
The people of St. Andrew's Haney United Church believe that everyone participating in the congregation's life is important. Every single person has gifts to offer, as well to receive. The children in the congregation have as much to offer as anyone else... as long as the rest of the people are ready to listen!
Currently, we have a group of children between the ages of two and eight who are an active part of our Sunday gatherings. When they arrive at church, they're welcome to sit with the rest of their family (or with another part of the church family!)
For the first 15 or 20 minutes, the entire community is together in the announcements, gathering, opening prayers and singing. At each service is a "Learning Together" time, when the children are invited to gather at the front of the church with the minister or another member of the congregation. During this time, there is a child focussed faith exploration - sometimes a question, sometimes a story, sometimes a song or two.
As we grow together, we are learning new and different ways of recognizing the gifts that the children have to offer the adults in the congregation. Children will soon be participating in the leadership of the worship service, sharing prayers and lessons. We are also working to have multi-generational and children-led worship Sunday morning services on a regular basis.
After Learning Together, the children who
would like to
move into their own Sunday programme with our Teacher, Ms. Karen Mawhinney, and a couple of members of the congregation.
Parents are welcome to join with their children in the Sunday programme, as a way of helping the child to feel secure.
(Following The United Church of Canada's "Faithful Footsteps" policy, St. Andrew's Haney United Church has developed policies
and procedures to ensure the safety of all children who come into the life of the congregation. One of the reasons that
any photos of children posted to the website are blurred or stylized is to help keep them safe.)
In the children's programme, the group listens to music and stories, tells stories, dances, plays games, and do various crafts, focused on some part of their faith journey. (The "Blessings Tree" shown in the photo above was one of their recent creations.) Upcoming weeks are going to focus on "Animals of the Bible" and, as we move into the season of Advent, "Getting Ready". While we are not currently using a set curriculum, we are planning to do so in the new year.
The Children's programme is an exciting place to be... come check us out!
If you have any questions or commments about what you've read here, please contact us.