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-11:45pm. We also offer Nursery for other significant programs and worship opportunities. In addition to Lori Constantine (supervisor) we have four 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.
Children’s Sunday School includes Godly Play for children age 3 and potty-trained through 3rd grade and our "What's Up" class for children in 4th and 5th grades. We are diligent to ensure all our children’s ministry volunteers have taken Safe-Guarding God’s Children.
Godly Play is an exciting, Montessori-style Children’s Christian Education Program for our pre-school age and younger children. It involves telling stories from scripture but in a hands-on way. In our Godly Play room, children learn through play as they move through God’s word. It is a tactile program using “sets” of figurines. Some of these have been purchases while some have been made by talented volunteers.
What's Up is for our older elementary children. We present kids with their own Bible at the start of 4th grade and help them start to navigate the text. We focus on how to find different books as well as learnings some basic building blocks of the Christian faith like the Nicene Creed, the Ten Commandments, and the Lord's Prayer.
Children’s Chapel is not education but rather a worship experience and it is set fully within the context of our 10:30 worship service. It runs all year round (just like our 10:30 service).
Children begin in the main worship service with their families and then at the start of the sermon, kids age 3 to 3rd grade are invited to join our chapel team in the parish hall for a time of child-oriented worship. They are formed in some of the same liturgical patterns we experience: dressing the altar, hearing a Bible lesson, singing, praying the Lord’s Prayer, and learning the Nicene Creed. They also have an opportunity to give an offering which goes to Heifer International. This is not required for participation. Children rejoin families in the main worship space at the Peace to receive Holy Communion. Each quarter of the year the children learn a new song (with a seasonal emphasis) and they share it with the wider church during the offertory (so this is not exactly a performance like a children’s choir, but more of a sharing in their worship).
Children’s Christmas Pageant currently scheduled for Sunday, Dec 20, 2020 (4th Advent)
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. In her capacity as children’s music minister Hannah Village is our pageant director. Pageant is currently scheduled for Dec 20 and takes places within the 10:30 service.
Vacation Bible School is usually held for one week in 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.
Each Fall we host a gathering 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.
