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Programs for Children & Youth
Weekly Sunday School is concurrent with the 9:30 worship service. Children and youth in grades 1-12 worship with their families through the sermonette and then dismiss to their classrooms for Christian Education.
Our goal is to help children and youth foster a better relationship with Christ, themselves and the community. We aim to help each child develop important spiritual Christian tools for life through action, learning and service.
We strive to meet these goals through Education, Fellowship and Service.
Quick Updates
Youth 2007-2008 Summary
This Month in WoRM
Christian Education
 Sunday School
Confirmation
Vacation Bible School
Fellowship
Children's Fellowship
Youth Fellowship
Wednesday Family Nights
Regular and Seasonal Activities
Christmas Pageant
Devon Horse Show Parking
Camp Re-Vision
Service
Mission trip
Community service
Youth 2007-2008
In June twenty seven adults and youth spent a week in Washington, D.C. working with the homeless. Out of our week together came a desire to continue serving in our area.
For the next year our youth will explore what the following scriptures mean to us as Christians and what God is calling us to do. Through service and study we hope to move in the Spirit of God.
“Let love be genuine, hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good,” Romans 12:9.
“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me,” Matthew 25: 35-36.
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This Month in WoRM
Join us as we learn about the story of Moses from Bulrushes to Burning bush, from birth to the call to save the Israelites. The story from Exodus 1-4, teaches us about God calling an ordinary man to do extraordinary things. Our memory verse is Exodus 3:12, God said, "I'll be with you, and this will be the proof that I am the one who sent you: When you have brought my people out of Egypt, you will worship God right here at this very mountain."
If you have any questions about the WoRM program, please call Elizabeth Ator or Erin Hayes 610-971-0670.
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 Christian Education
Sunday School
September 9 we will begin our new Sunday School year. How wonderful to see our children and youth learn more about God. Sunday School is a huge part of ministry to them. Please join us for an hour a week for gifts that last beyond the school year.
Babies- Chrissy Bouvier- Nursery downstairs in church building
2's and 3's- Pat Churchill- room below the sanctuary
Prek/K-Lauren Feldman, Sue Parsons- room below the sanctuary
First Grade- Debbie Railton, Karen Murray, Katie Eaddy, Jen Neely- bell choir room
Second-sixth grades- WoRM program
Seventh- eighth grades- Becky and Mike Wagner, Chris and Dick Oliver- McMillan room in Carriage House
Ninth-twelfth grades- Erin Hayes, Paula Hedderick- Senior High room in Carriage House
Sermonette
A long-standing St. John's tradition, the Sermonette is a way to relate an everyday object to God and our faith. Each week one of the children contributes to "the box," and during Sunday worship the children gather in the front of the church to hear the Sermonette. Afterwards children are dismissed to Sunday School.
Pre-K through Grade 1
Children in these grades enjoy a traditional Sunday School curriculum from Gospel Light, in which they use age-appropriate skills to become familiar with the messages in the Old and New Testaments.
Grades 2 through 6
Second through sixth graders utilize the Workshop Rotation Model (WoRM) curriculum. Over the course of six weeks children study the same Bible story employing a different learning style each week. Rotations typically include Arts, Cooking, Drama, Computers, Lessons, Games, and Movies. Third graders work on memorizing the books of the Bible as part of their WoRM rotations. In the Spring they are invited to recite them in front of the congregation, after which Pastor Wilson presents each child with their own Bible.
Junior High
Students in grades 7-8 continue their Gospel Light curriculum, now geared to pre-teen/teen years.
Senior High
Using a variety of teen-focused curricula, students in high school explore the ways the Word applies to their real-life situations and relationships. Senior High Youth remain in worship on communion Sundays.
Confirmation
Eighth graders receive additional Christian Education during a twelve week period of preparation for their confirmation as members of the church. Dr. Wilson meets on a weekday evening with the students as a group as they explore their faith and the responsibilities of church membership. In addition, each student is partnered with a mentor for one-on-one conversation about issues of faith. Eighth graders are traditionally confirmed during worship on a communion Sunday in June.
Vacation Bible School
During a fun week in summer, children ages 5 through grade 5 learn more about the Word of God through games, crafts, music, and stories. A family picnic and "show" closes the week-long day-camp adventure, held at St. John's. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind.
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 Children & Youth Fellowship
Junior High Fellowship
Sunday evenings, the carriage house glows with laughter and fellowship as the Junior Highs gather for weekly meetings. We spend time building friendships and learning more about the God we serve through planned activities. Students in sixth through eighth grades are invited to join us for Junior High Fellowship.
NEW Wednesday Family Night
The Christian Education committee and ACE over the past several months have been brainstorming about beginning or reinstituting a program with our St. John's family. Our congregation has expressed a desire for more intergenerational family events. In the winter of 2008 we would like to start a dinner program for all age groups. Adults, children and youth would be able to come for dinner and an education hour.
More information and details are to come. We welcome any suggestions or questions as we continue to plan. Please see any of the committee members for information, Paula Hedderick, Katie Eaddy, Elizabeth Ator, Kathy Johnson, Kathy Shaw, Shirley Hughes, Sue Chudy, or Stella Urbina.
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 Regular and Seasonal Activities
Celebrating and sharing our faith
Christmas Pageant
Every December we celebrate Christ's birth with a special program filled with Christmas hymns and carols, as the children re-enact the Nativity story.
Devon Horse Show Parking
For 10 days each spring, St. John's grounds become a parking lot for visitors attending the famous Devon Horse Show. This "extravaganza" is loads of fun, and provides the fundraising for our annual mission trip, a worthy cause chosen by the youth, and other youth programs.
Camp Re-Vision
An overnight camping week of fun, friendship and faith enrichment for students grades 6 through 12. Children participate in small group discussions, thought-provoking theme presentations, art & woodshop projects, team building games, free time and more! This week is a collaborative project with Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church.
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Service
Senior High Mission Trip
Partnering with YouthWorks, St. John's students embark on a week-long, Christ-centered, life-changing mission trip, targeted to the needs and capabilities of teenagers. Past trips have been to North Dakota, Mississippi, West Virginia, Maryland, Juarez, Mexico, and upstate New York.
The Other Carpenter
Senior High students spend a Saturday in Philadelphia plastering, painting, and tackling house repairs for those who are in need.
30-Hour Famine
Once a year Junior and Senior High participants collect donations to help provide healthy food and safe water to those in need around the world. Students fast for 30 hours to experience hunger first-hand. Held in St. John's Carriage House, the students learn more about poverty, and social justice.
NEW Broad Street Ministries
Over the past year Erin has been working with the leaders of Broad Street Ministries, www.broadstreetministry.org, in Philadelphia to develop a youth mission experience in the city. Bill Golderer, the convening minister and Erika Funk, Youth initiative minister feel called to create a place where youth can do the work of Christ in Philadelphia.
St. John's has been partnering with their initiative and would like bring our youth this fall for the program. Senior highs would share a night at the church with other youth from the mainline. Worship and dinner would be the highlights for that night. On Saturday morning teens would share in a local mission project, lunch and reflection. More information is coming soon.
Won't you consider serving your brothers and sisters?
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| He said to him,"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." – Matthew 22:37-39 |
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