CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

2008 Vacation Bible School Information & Registration Form

Sunday Church School 2007 - 2008

Welcome to Sunday Church School! We have an exciting year planned. Once again, we have a great group of teachers and assistants. We will be using several different curriculums called Exploring Faith (toddlers thru 5th grade), Tweens (6th grade) and Witness (7th & 8th grades).

Church School takes place during the 9:00 am service. Children attend the 9:00 am service with their families and immediately following the children's message, they leave the sanctuary for Church School. We also have childcare for infants and toddlers. The infants and toddlers can be dropped off prior to the start of the 9:00 am service. Child care is also available during the 11:00 am service.

Last year we tried many new ideas, including new curriculum. Listed below are several of the more popular ideas that will continue to be incorporated into the Church School program:

1) Children's Fellowship - once a month the children will meet together immediately following the children's message in church service in Fellowship Hall, where Heather and Diane will lead a 15 minute fellowship. This will include songs, offering, the Doxology, The Lord's Prayer. Periodically there will be skits performed. Afterwards the children will go to their Church School classes.

2) Bring your parent(s) to Church School. Each month a different grade will have an "open house" so parents can see what their children are doing in Church School.

3) Bible Sunday - will be on September 23rd. Third and Sixth graders will receive bibles on this Sunday. These bibles are for the children to use in Church School and on their own.

Church School will be held in session for 33 Sundays. As in the past, attendance pins will be given to students who are in attendance for 25 Sundays. This is to help encourage the children in wanting to participate in the Church School program.

If your children have not previously registered or you have updated information, please fill out and attach a registration form. The forms are available outside the church offices and can be turned into the teacher, the church office, offering plate or to me.

Freedom Plains Presbyterian Church is blessed to have so many wonderful children and teachers. We look forward to having a great year!

Christine Lent

Church School Director

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As the Parish Associate of Freedom Plains Presbyterian Church I feel so fortunate to be invited to work with our youth.  The teen years are such a pivotal time for young people to decide what they believe about themselves and about God in their lives.

Christ teaches us that all are welcome and all are worthy.  Christ teaches us to forgive even when we don’t want to; to show respect when we don’t have it in us.  The team of lay leaders and I believe that church should be a safe place where we are nurtured and challenged to live a life that shows Christ’s love.   Our Youth Ministry is in a period of growth and transition. We welcome comments and suggestions.  Read on to see what we are doing to foster the faith in our young people.

In Christ's Love,
Heather Finck

Our Team

The Rev. Heather M. Finck
Tracey Doherty (Jr. Highs)
Melissa Haras (Sr. Highs)
Tammy Maier (Sr. Highs)

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Junior High Youth Fellowship  

6^th – 8^th Graders 

We play games as serious as Charades and as loud as Pew Crawl (ask a junior high).  Together we work to build trust, encourage Christian love and respect while exploring the faith we have inherited.  Slowly we begin to claim it as our own.

Our group has 4 general rules that help us to foster a place where all feel welcome and safe. Our rules are meant to builds us up, not constrict us.   

1. No put downs
2. Respect one another
3. What is said here stays here
4. Right to pass 

After enjoying games that may or may not relate to our discussion, after enjoying the snacks that people bring to share, we close with our own ritual; The Tin Foil Ball.  Someone volunteers to be in the center of our circle sharing about the things that they are grateful for in life and the things that they are concerned about (family, school, friends, etc).

While they share they add a new layer of foil to our ball.  After they are done talking they stay in the center of the circle and hand it off to someone in the circle.  It is then that everyone else in the group has the opportunity to say something that they are grateful to God for in the person who has added the foil.  When everyone has had a chance to build up the person in the center then she/he joins the circle and we pray together.

            Our group will occasionally host fellowship/coffee hour on Sundays and we are looking for new ways to reach out in mission. We begin our meetings in fellowship hall every Wednesday afternoon from 4:00pm to 5:30 pm and have breaks according to the Arlington school calendar and inclement weather.  Friends and non-members are always welcome.  

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Senior High Youth Fellowship  

9^th –12^th Graders  

Amid busy schedules of sports, music, school, jobs and generally just being a teenager --our youth stay connected through meeting on the 3^rd Sunday of the month from 7-8pm.  Checking the church online calendar or the bulletin is helpful in order to stay on top of the schedule that has to be adjusted occasionally.  We also have special events periodically.

Our Senior Highs reach out to the larger community as they help raise money at the November Craft Fair while working in the kitchen.  Another fall activity is the Sleep Over the week of Thanksgiving when the youth cook a meal for the local homeless shelter. 

The group builds bonds of connectedness through a time called Share & Care at our meetings. We look to the future hoping to be involved with World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine this winter.  In the year ahead we hope to explore how our faith impacts the decisions we make through some Bible Study and conversation.

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