Young People at St. John’s

At St. John’s we strive to incorporate young people fully into our worship and enable them to know they are loved, wanted, and needed within our communal worshiping life. Young people serve independently or alongside older children or adults in any ministerial role they wish, and older children and teens are encouraged to join our program for acolytes.

If your child is a reader, we recommend they sit next to you or another trusted adult during the service and have help following along in the bulletin and juggling the hymnals. They can also use one of our Circle of the Holy Eucharist flip books to learn the order of the service and why we do what we do. Children who are not yet readers can look at the pictures while you give them some information about what’s going on. For those not quite ready to follow a whole service, we have finger labyrinths, books of breath exercises, coloring pages, stickers, and sensory materials. You can find these and occasionally additional take-home materials in the vestibule (main entrance) of the church.

Know that it really is okay for kids to color or use stickers or sensory items during the service. They are absorbing a huge amount of what is going on around them. It’s great if they can be in the pew with you so you can be guiding them, but there is a lounging area for kids in the back of the church on the Park Street side. The Park Street side of the church in the very front has open space for dancing or vigorous flag waving. There’s also a TV in the Upper Room live streaming the service if you or your child needs a more substantial break.

The Nursery: 8:50am – 11:15am

Children of any age are always welcome in our services. The nursery is there, though, to give caregivers a break when they would like one and to introduce our youngest parishioners, through picture books, to God’s extraordinary love for them as well as to concepts of Christian living such as kindness, acceptance, and inclusion. The nursery is staffed by Safe-Church-trained, experienced adults from 8:50am-11:15am each Sunday. The nursery play space is also available to the wider community for use under parent/care-provider supervision during non-holiday weekdays from 9am-2pm.

Godly Play (Ages 5-10) 

Godly Play is a Montessori based approach to spiritual formation used internationally and with all ages. In Godly Play we create a sacred space in which to present the stories of our faith and traditions, wonder about them together, and then allow open-ended opportunities for hearers of the Word to engage with the story on their own terms through play. The storytelling uses tactile materials, and the class time follows the rhythm of a Sunday service.

To add your name to the Youth Ministry email list, please send an email with your name, email address, and the names, birthdays, and grade levels of your children or grandchildren to youthministry@stjohnswilliamstown.org.