Category Archives: Children’s Ministry

Children’s Ministry To Host Traditional Seder Dinner

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The Children’s Ministry will be hosting a Passover Haggadah (traditional Seder dinner) on Sunday, April 17th, following the 9:30am service.

The Passover Seder is a Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover and is a ritual performed by a community or by multiple generations of a family, involving a retelling of the story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt.

This Seder is a learning opportunity for the children and adults of our parish as we recognize the common Jewish heritage shared by all Christians. This is NOT a pot luck. The food will be prepared and served in the Passover tradition along with the rituals. The entire event will take about 2 hours.

Everyone is invited to join us! We would very much like to have an idea of the number who would like to add this event to their Lenten season, so please add your name to the sign-up sheet in the parish hall if you would like to attend.

If you have questions, please contact Anne C., Wende B or Noralyn P.

The Passover Seder Plate is a special plate containing symbolic foods eaten or displayed at the Passover Seder.


The Passover Seder Plate is a special plate containing symbolic foods eaten or
displayed at the Passover Seder.

Take a Peek at the Saint Mark’s 2010 VBS Photo Albums!

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Early last month, the children of Saint Mark’s participated in a week-long Vacation Bible School program called ReNew-The Green VBS.

This program, an environmentally-focused vacation bible school curriculum, inspired both kids and adults to grow in faith, have fun, and change the world as they learned to practice stewardship of God’s creation. In short, it was a blast!

Children participated in three age groups: Preschool, Lower Elementary, and Upper Elementary. Preschoolers had their own activity site where they learned the Parable of the Sower and explored creation through free play and other activities.

Lower and Upper Elementary groups also learned the Parable of the Sower and alternated between various activities highlighting what each person can do to grow in faith and care for creation.

Planned activities enabled participants to encounter the part of creation we call community and helped the children recognize God at work in our relationships with one another.

We hope you’ll take a moment to browse through the two photo albums below and leave a comment to let us know what you think!

A New Year of Sunday School at Saint Mark’s

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We just completed a great Vacation Bible School program and are actively planning for the new year of Sunday School and Chapel. We have a few updates for you and your children as part of the Children’s Ministries at St. Mark’s Church.

Children’s Chapel

  • Children’s Chapel will be available the last Sunday of every month for ages 4 through 12
  • We continue to follow much of the same Liturgy of the Word as in the main church by reading the psalm, Gospel, and reflecting on the readings. Our prayer cards continue to be a way for the children to share their thoughts with Jesus through the offering plate in church. Time allowing, we confess our sins, practice our formal prayers, or sing songs related to the day’s lesson.
  • Chapel will be led by Anne Cordell and Noralyn Pickens.

Sunday School

  • We return to Sunday School on Sunday September 12th.
  • We have a wonderful curriculum with a focus on the Seasons of the Church Year and Catechism. “Most Certainly True: Living the Catechism” will focus on Bible stories related to the Commandments, the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Holy Spirit, and God’s grace. “Circle of the Seasons: Living the Church Year” helps the children fully experience the church seasons of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost. The two programs are interwoven throughout the year to help the children seamlessly move from church season and catechism. The lesson units are covered for two-three weeks to allow the children to learn in depth. The programs are built around a broad variety of learning opportunities – from art to music to movement to nature.
  • We have two age groups: K – 2nd grade taught by Kathy Whitgrove and Rachel Harris
    and 3rd – 6th grade taught by Wende Burton and Jenifer Jones.

Children’s Ministries leaders:

  • Directors: Anne Cordell and Noralyn Pickens
  • Teachers: Wende Burton, Rachel Harris, Jenifer Jones, Kathy Whitgrove
  • All of our leaders have completed the Safe Church requirements in order to work with children. All who work with children are required to complete the Safe Church program every three years. This includes learning modules and background check.

 

Thank you for bringing your children to Sunday School and Chapel. We are blessed to have them in our program. Please feel free to ask questions and provide feedback.

Call For Supplies – Help Make The 2010 VBS A Success! UPDATE

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***** UPDATE *****

Thanks to each of you who have donated supplies for the 2010 ReNew VBS. We still need a few things, however. Please see the list of items below.

The August 9 start date is fast approaching. Anything on the list that you can contribute would be much appreciated!

*********************

The start of our 2010 ReNew Vacation Bible School is fast approaching, but we need your help to make it a success!

The theme of this year’s curriculum is “ReNew: The Parable of the Sower,” and we need the following supplies in order to make this learning experience as rich and meaningful for our children as possible:

Seed Packets Bold colored construction paper
Glitter paints Butcher paper
Magnifying glasses Stamping ink
Globes Material scraps
Magazines with pictures of plants 2×4 pegboard (can be larger)
Projector with transparencies Vegetables stamps
Books on pollution Clothing to make a detective costume

Please contact Anne Cordell directly if you can provide any of the above as soon as possible. This way we’ll be sure to have enough of each item to go around and can avoid duplicates. Please call the Parish Office at (972) 253-7124 if you need Anne’s contact information.

Children’s Chapel Service – An Introduction To Our Liturgy

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“Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19:14

A few short words on the Children’s Chapel Service that is such an integral part of the early childhood Christian Education curriculum at Saint Mark’s.

Here, the children experience the same Liturgy of the Word, albeit shortened, as we have in the church proper. In general, we open with a collect, read several lines of the day’s psalm, read the Gospel story, have a question/discussion-based homily, create a “prayer card,” discuss the cards, and confess our sins. When there is extra time we practice our formal prayers or sing songs related to the day’s lesson.

We will continue to keep you informed. Please feel free to ask questions and provide feedback. We encourage you to visit with us at Chapel this summer!

2010 Vacation Bible School Registration Is Open!

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Are your kids ready to grow in faith, have fun, and change the world?

Please join us for Saint Mark’s Children’s Ministry VBS this summer. This year’s program is ReNew-The Green VBS — an environmentally-focused vacation bible school that will inspire both kids and adults to grow in faith, have fun, and change the world as they practice stewardship of God’s creation. It’s gonna be a great “green” summer!

Children can participate in three age groups: Preschool, Lower Elementary, and Upper Elementary.

Preschoolers will have their own activity site where they will learn the Parable of the Sower and explore creation through free play and activities oriented around the self and the community.

Lower and Upper Elementary will alternate between various activities highlighting what each person can do to grow in faith and care for creation. Planned activities enable participants to encounter the part of creation we call community and recognize God at work in our relationships with one another.

ReNew is about hope, opportunity, and service. Kids and congregations lead the way as stewards of the earth.

A light supper will be provided before classes.

Register your children and grandchildren for the 2010 ReNew Vacation Bible School at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church today! All children between the ages of 3 and 14 are invited to grow in faith as they play, learn, sing, and work to RENEW our congregation and community.

DATES: Mon., August 9 – Fri., August 13
TIME: 5:30pm – 8:30pm

VBS Registration Form Download

Download and fill out a registration form for each child who wishes to attend. Return completed forms to the Parish Office, attention Noralyn Pickens/Anne Cordel or to Noralyn/Anne directly: 2010 ReNew Vacation Bible School at Saint Mark’s