Our Children's Ministry provides a safe environment for families to be formed as disciples -- for children and parents to grow together as followers of Jesus.
Check out the different areas of children's ministry below. To learn more, contact our associate rector, the Rev. Dr. Cal Lane
Our Nursery is a safe, clean, and welcoming environment guided by current “Safe Church” standards with well-trained professional care providers. We offer Nursery on Sundays from 9am-Noon. We also offer Nursery for other significant programs and worship opportunities. In addition to Lori Constantine (supervisor) we have other staff members who serve when scheduled. Our nursery leaders have significant training (either currently working in daycare or in early childhood development). Unlike almost all other areas of ministry, our nursery staff are not volunteers; they are professional care providers.
We're pleased to offer Sunday School for preschoolers through 5th grade and are diligent to ensure all our children’s ministry volunteers have taken Safe-Guarding God’s Children.
Godly Play class for Preschool to 2nd grade is an exciting, Montessori-style Children’s Christian Education Program. It involves telling stories from scripture but in a hands-on way. In Godly Play, children learn through play as they move through God’s word. It is a tactile program using “sets” of figurines.
New this year, we've added our What's Up class for 3rd - 5th grade education and we will go deeper with Godly Play by learning an extended version of the lessons and stories from the bible. The children will be introduced and become more familiar with the use of the bible, building connections to the relationship of God and His people, and discovering what the Gospel means to us today.
While our nursery is available for infants to age 3 from 9am-Noon, all worship services at St. George's Church are family friendly. You are always welcome to have your child with you! We love having kids in our worship services -- we feel its vital for a child's development as a Christian to feel like she or he is part of worship, not an "interloper" in the thing adults do. Our 9am indoor service lasts about 45 minutes and our 11am indoor service lasts about one hour. The outdoor service at 11am (through October) is also a pretty good option for kids too.
But what if my kid is getting squirmy? Here are two suggestions. First, families are welcome to use our "busy bags" found in baskets near the baptismal font (feel free to ask an usher). Second, if your little one needs a breather, it's easy to step into the narthex (the entry area). The wall between the narthex and the church is glass and the sound comes through speakers, so it's sort of like you've not left worship. Above all, know that you and your children are welcome here!
Each Advent our children engage in a dramatic pageant. This has been both traditional depictions of the nativity as well as more creative portrayals of the prophets leading up to the nativity of Christ.
Vacation Bible School is usually held for one week in late June or early July.
Registration usually opens in April on our website and we welcome children age 4 to rising 5th grade. VBS runs 9am-Noon, Monday through Friday. Kids are organized into age-appropriate crews and enjoy singing, games, science projects, and Bible stories.
Vacation Bible School is one of the largest ministries of St. George’s Church involving easily 40 to 50 volunteers, some behind the scenes. One of the strengths of our VBS is that we provide live music. We are also proud to follow our church's safe-guarding protocols for ministry with children.
We hold a variety of events and programs aimed at strengthening families in our community. We're so very excited to offer a FREE concert on September 9, 2023 (6pm) featuring New York recording artist Melanie Penn. We also regularly offer a Fall conference called EQUIP aimed to welcome and help the local community in ways inspired by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. EQUIP has featured workshops on faith and the arts, the opioid crisis, and issues surrounding suburban families like children and technology. A portion of EQUIP is also for children, both enabling parents to come and to engage children (not merely baby-sitting). We often employ local Christian artist and Dayton Art Institute museum educator, Matt Burgy, to hold programs with kids. Matt has become, in a sense, our “artist in residence” and we are proud that he produced the commissioned murals in our nursery.
