Christian Formation

St. Paul’s Episcopal Youth Christian Formation

Nursery
Our nursery is available every Sunday for all of our infants, toddlers, preschoolers and Kindergarten children. Ashley and Andy are back from summer break and have some fun games and music planned for Sunday mornings. Parents have the option of taking a “beeper” with them to church – if your child needs you we’ll “beep” you – no need to worry all through church!

Grades 1 - 5
St. Paul’s is offering Sunday morning values and Saturday morning fun to children in grades first through fifth each Sunday morning during the 10:00 service. Our lessons will be based on the Veggie Tales curriculum “Veggie Connections”. Each Sunday we will explore a life lesson such as honesty, kindness and forgiveness in a fun format. We will incorporate stories, music, art, outdoor play and more to make this a meaningful and fun experience for our children. Most importantly, our children will want to come to church!! We will meet each Sunday at 10:00 in the church parlor and we will join the congregation for communion.

Grades 6 - 8
St. Paul’s is in the process of developing a youth program for our older kids in grades 6th, 7th and 8th. We will communicate the details soon!

High School
Our program for all of our high school age children is off to a great start. Please contact the church office for details. Our youth programs are also a great way to get service hour requirements for high school!

Many people are already involved in this important ministry and we thank all of you!! If you want to get involved or have any questions please contact the church office at 488-3749 or Stacey Hayden 421-0280

St. Paul’s Episcopal Youth Christian Formation

Veggie Connections Update –
Sunday morning values, Saturday morning fun!!

Faith, Communication, and Love. These are just a few of the lessons our children are sharing with Larry, the Cucumber, and Bob, the tomato, each Sunday morning at 10:00 AM. Check inside and you may see the children witnessing God talking from a burning bush. They may be acting out Paul’s precarious sail for Rome – complete with wind and rain or they may be playing charades, acting out small acts of kindness. No matter when you check in, our children are learning about God and they are having fun doing it! Jan Friend, Stacey Hayden, Ashley Michele and Kristin Weidner take turns leading our energetic 1st – 5th graders each Sunday. We have many volunteers who help, too. We had a very successful Veggie outing in January when a group of about 25 went to see “The Pirates Who Don’t do Anything” a Veggie Tales movie. The Veggie Connections program has been so successful with our elementary age children that we will be introducing Veggie Connections for our pre-school children who are in the nursery after Easter.

We are blessed with new families every Sunday! Please help to spread the word about our Sunday morning youth program as well as the many wonderful programs that St. Paul’s has to offer. If you would like more information or would like to volunteer to work with our youth, please contact Stacey Hayden at rhayden1@cox.net or 421-0280.

St. Paul’s is truly a beautiful place to be!
By: Stacy Hayden

St. Paul’s is a beautiful place!! This was one of many comments made at the Vestry Retreat in early June. This particular comment did not refer to our buildings and grounds (they ARE beautiful!) but the beauty comes from what we have been given and the gift we give every day to each other, our community and the children! We have launched some wonderful programs for our youth this past year and we are planning bigger and better for all age groups in the fall. Our youth education is an amazing ministry and we would love for you to get involved!!

Ashley and Andy have consistently offered a warm and fun environment every Sunday morning for the youngest members of St. Paul’s. We are very fortunate to have them during the school year and the children look forward to seeing them every week! Ashley is staying in town this summer so she is welcoming all children to join her on Sunday mornings for arts and crafts and maybe even a Veggie Tales story or two!!

We launched a very lively Sunday morning youth program this year with the help of many dedicated volunteers. Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber joined our children in first through fifth grade every Sunday to teach a fun Lesson about building a personal and special relationship with God. In May, the children collected coins in baby bottles for Hidden Treasures Home in China. This home helps orphaned special needs children with their medical expenses and to find their forever home. Our children will present their gift in July. A very special thanks to Jan Friend, Ashley Mitchell and Kristin Stewart for enthusiastically stepping in to lead our Veggie Tales program every Sunday. We are taking a summer break and classes with resume after Labor Day on September 7th.

Laser Tag and a World Hunger Dinner – what do these two events have in common? Our St. Paul’s “Yuts” program!! The St. Paul’s youths in grades sixth through eighth have gotten together on several occasions this spring to explore fellowship and outreach. This program will grow in the fall with Margaret Albert introducing Rite 13 for this age group with Jan Hayden’s assistance. We are already planning some fun fall events like a Wii tournament so spread the word – this will be another exciting group at St. Paul’s!!

We are also taking a look this summer at programs to offer our High School group. Several of our members in high school participated in Father Hood’s Confirmation classes and have met with him to discuss goals and plans for their group. Bob Veith is planning a summer fellowship activity to get everyone involved in the fall program.

This summer we are calling all Pirate Heroes – your Bible Adventure awaits!!
We are inviting all preschoolers through grade 5 to participate in a week long evening excursion. Our ship sets sail on Sunday, July 27 and we will arrive at port on Thursday, July 31. Program details will be communicated soon! We need many shipmates this week to help out with things like check in, activity assistance, group leaders, music, skits – we have a job for you if you want to help!! We would love to involve our high school kids so please pass on the word and contact Stacey Hayden to help out, 421-0280.

If you have any ideas or suggestions for any of our youth programs please contact Jan Hayden, Stacey Hayden or Bob Veith. We are planning a youth leadership dinner in July to discuss our fall programs that we will launch after Labor Day on September 7th, 2008. God’s Grace gives…St. Paul’s is truly a beautiful place to be!!