Children's Church
every Sunday during school term-time,
for 0-11s,
in Michaelhouse
Children's Church is held in Michaelhouse at 10am every Sunday during school term time. It is aimed at children from preschool age up to age 11, but younger ones are very welcome too: we always have a space for babies and young toddlers, with soft matting and suitable toys. The atmosphere at Children's Church is warm and relaxed; we seek to make it a place of joy, wonder, community and creativity.
Each week at Children's Church there are some activities laid out for the children to engage in when they arrive. The activities are connected to the Bible story for the day*, and planned to suit a range of ages and interests. Once everyone has arrived, we gather in a circle for a welcome song, then we listen to the story, told in the style of Godly Play - with objects for the children to focus on as the story unfolds. The idea is to let the story to come alive for the children, and to let it resonate with their individual characters and experiences, so that they meet God in the story in their own way.
*We follow the liturgical year and, except on a few Sundays, we explore one of the Bible stories also being read in the service at Great St. Mary's, so that parents/carers and children can have conversations about the same passages each week.
After listening to the story, we wonder about it together, then we split into two groups for a time of creative response. The school-age children go to the cafe area where they can draw, paint, cut, stick, construct, write, read, think, discuss, imagine... (!), and the younger ones stay in the chapel. At the end of the creative-response time, the two groups come together again for a song, before sharing a sign of peace with each other. Then we walk over to Great St Mary's and join the service there in time for Communion.
Parents/carers of school-age children are welcome to stay with them in Children's Church, or the children can be dropped-off before the start of the 10 o'clock service, and then walked back to Great St. Mary's by volunteers. We ask parents/carers of children who are not yet school-age to stay with them in Children's Church.
