The St. John’s kids are hard at work on their Moses projects in Sunday school.

Welcome Back!

Sunday School resumed on September 11th, 2011.  We currently have 10 children registered for Sunday School plus a number of visitors who join the children from time to time.  Our roster of teachers and helpers include Maggie MacDonald, Rebecca Atkinson, Kasandra Sampson, Betty Ash along with parents Ian and Kelli Stewart who help out when we are short handed.  Ted Stebbing continues to be a support in many ways including helping the children to set up and take down the tent etc.!

Our Studies

As the stories were explored the children were given the opportunity to consider the many ways in which God’s word is revealed to us.

In our first month of Sunday School the children have been exploring the stories of Moses.  We began by discussing the context of the People of Israel who were enslaved under the rule of the Egyptian Pharaoh at the time of Moses’ birth.  We examined the heroic actions of the midwives, who defied the Pharaoh’s directives to kill all baby boys at birth, as well as the courage of the mother and sister of Moses who were determined to save him by hiding him among the bulrushes.  The rescue of Moses by the daughter of the Pharaoh became part of God’s plan to ensure that the rescue of the Israelites would ultimately happen.

As the stories were explored the children were given the opportunity to consider the many ways in which God’s word is revealed to us.  They were able to think about the ways in which God provides us with the support and skills that we need to do his work.  They reflected upon the complexities and dilemmas that we face as we try to understand the roles that we are being called upon to fill.

We hope to conclude this study with a special book project.

Other Activities

During our Sunday School we create time to sing together, to pray together, to worship together.  We reflect upon the gifts that God has bestowed upon us and think about issues of social justice that come to our attention.  The Sunday School curriculum flows from the lectionary  that is used during the church services as well as from themes that emerge from our discussions with the children.

We would love to have you in our Sunday School Class!
Join us for Sunday School this Fall at St. John’s.

Christian education for children ages 3 to 12
Starting September 11, 2011
Sunday Morning, 10:30 to 11:45

Pre-registration forms are available at the church.

This Sunday will be the last day of classes for this Sunday school year. We’re celebrating this past year’s success with a luncheon held after church. Thank you to our dedicated teachers who have taken on this important ministry here at St. John’s.

 Sunday School will start up again in the Fall.
Watch for details!

Just a reminder that Sunday School resumes this week. We’ll see you under the tent Sunday morning!

"Abraham's tent" is the worship area for the children at St. John's Cathedral

So… you might be wondering what we’ve been doing downstairs!

In the first week the children were introduced to “the tent”.  It serves several purposes.  It is intended to be a sacred place of worship, teaching and learning for the children.  In our first class together Ted Stebbing led the children in a dramatic exploration of life as a nomad in the times before the birth of Jesus.

we are hoping that the children are remembering first and foremost that they are loved by God and that they are loved by the members of their faith community

Our amazing teachers, Maggie, Kasandra and John have used drama, story and art to help the children to understand that God loves them and will be with them at all times.  In the first lesson the children wandered in the desert with Jeremiah.   Jeremiah was feeling unworthy of God’s love and found reassurance that God, indeed, was with him and helping him during his difficult journey.  The children learned an action song that reminds them that they are “beloved”.

In week two the younger children went “back into the desert” with Kasandra.  They imagined that they were helping a young girl to plant seeds and to persevere in developing a new life in a new place with God’s help.  Maggie’s group used a comic book version of the Bible to explore the theme of the week’s readings.   In the large group the children had an opportunity to talk about things or people for whom they were thankful.  They searched in magazines for pictures that represented those things and created their own prayer chalices filled with samples of table graces that they might say at home.   Children contributed their own prayers of thanksgiving during the circle time at the end of the class.

In our third week the children helped to disassemble the tent.  This will happen from time to time when the space is required for larger diocesan purposes.  The children were reminded that the nomads also had to pack up their tents and move to new places when necessary.  They then completed the work on the prayer chalices as we talked together about the themes that had arisen in the readings thus far:  thankfulness, God’s love for us, prayer, persistence, forgiveness and faith.  During the prayer time the children were encouraged to think about people who might be in need of their prayers.

Last week the children heard about the tax collector and the Pharisee.  We discussed the importance of not jumping to conclusions about the nature of others.  It is important to be humble, just, peaceful and compassionate in our relationships with God, the world and self.  The children made some prayer books.

SO… If it sounds like we have been trying to accomplish a great deal in a little bit of time then that is true!  But we are hoping that the children are remembering first and foremost that they are loved by God and that they are loved by the members of their faith community.  They seem to really enjoy each other’s company in a multi age environment.

Special thanks…

• To Reverend Canon Rick Condo for his songs and talks that help start the day in a very special way.
• To several anonymous friends who have been sewing book bags for the children.  These will be put into use shortly.
• To Shirley, the Cathedral’s wonderful secretary for making the children their own name tags!
• To Kelli Stewart for help with graphic designs for our Sunday School poster
• To Vic Janzen for the carpet in the children’s tent
• To Ted Stebbing for his ongoing help and support
• To Bunny Mc Cormack for her help in sewing the tent
• To the Shoestring Players for their support of the Sunday School program
• To members of the congregation for their prayers

New Registrations

We welcome new children at any time.
Visitors are also welcome.

Sunday School information