Children
CHILDREN’S CHRISTIAN FORMATION AND EDUCATION
We seek at Grace to build Christian community in which children are not merely accepted but listened to and treasured as a vital part of God’s presence among us. Children of all dispositions—quiet and introspective, loud and joyful, and everything in between—are welcome here.
We hope children and their families will offer their presence, their open hearts, and their spiritual gifts to the church.
In doing so, they enrich our whole community.
WORSHIP WITH CHILDREN
Families’ experience of worship with children are as diverse as children themselves. Some children like the ritual of the choral services; others like the informality of family-oriented worship. Some families are most comfortable sitting up front, where they can see and hear everything that happens; others like to be closer to the back, where they can move around more freely. We encourage you to find the way of worshipping that is the best fit for your family’s needs.
Acolytes: Children age 8 and up are invited to be trained and then serve as acolytes. For more information, contact Rev. Megan McDermott.
A Note About the Eucharist: In the Episcopal Church, all baptized members are welcome to receive communion. Many children take bread as soon as they are old enough to open their hands for it. We offer no rite of “first communion” and require no special preparation. Some parents and children, however, choose to wait to receive the sacrament. Any child who does not want to take either the bread or the wine can cross his or her arms over the chest and receive a blessing instead. Clergy are available to talk with families who have questions about the sacrament.
Food Basket Offering: When the gifts are brought forward by the ushers at the time of the offertory, children carry the basket of food donations. All children who would like to help in this ritual are invited to do so; our food basket has many handles!
Children’s Corner: In the rear of the nave, this open space offers art materials and other resources to allow children to respond to the liturgy as they desire. Parents are free to accompany their children there at any point during the service.
SUNDAY SCHOOL
All children are encouraged to attend Sunday School classes from 9:15-10:15 a.m., mid-September through mid-June. Friends are welcome and encouraged at Grace children’s events. Repeat guests to Sunday School will be asked to complete a registration form.
Classes are broken down into these divisions: Kindergarten – 2nd grade, 3rd – 5th grades, and 6th – 8th grades. Our Sunday School uses the Weaving God’s Promises curriculum. Weaving God’s Promises is a curriculum written specifically for the Episcopal Church that helps children learn what God’s promises mean for their lives. Over the course of the year, lessons will cover both the Old and New Testaments and involve age-appropriate opportunities for storytelling, prayer, play, and art.
This year, high school students can attend Bible Study on the passages that we’ll be covering in worship during the Sunday School hour.
For more information on Sunday School, please contact the Rev. Megan McDermott (mmcdermott@gracechurchamherst.org).
SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES
Christmas Pageant: At the 4:00 p.m. service on Christmas Eve, the Liturgy of the Word
is a dramatic presentation by the children of the parish. For more information, contact us.
Liturgical events: Feasts and fasts in our church are marked with special services for young children, including a Blessing of the Animals for St. Francis Day, a preschool
service on Ash Wednesday, and a children’s service on Good Friday.
SAFETY
Grace Church follows the Safe Church policies of the Diocese of Western Massachusetts, which can be found in full at www.diocesewma.org. All adults who work regularly with children have been checked for criminal records and trained Safe Church procedures.
Parents are asked to ensure a safe environment at Grace by being aware of their children’s whereabouts during the liturgy and coffee hour. Sunday School teachers cannot release children to go to church on their own; parents are asked to pick them up and bring them to the nave in time for the liturgy.