We welcome children at St. Peter's! Simply by bringing your children to church, you are beginning to provide them with lifelong faith formation, and we want to encourage you in every way that we can. Whether you are bringing children into a worship service, participating in one of our formation activities, or looking for resources to learn more, know that you and your children are welcome here!
Dear Parents of Young Children,
You are doing something really, really important. I know it's not easy. I see you with your arms overflowing, and I know you came to church already tired...
Bringing Children to Church
Bringing children to church makes a huge impact on their faith formation! We know Sunday mornings can be busy, and it may seem intimidating to bring small children into a worship service, but we want to encourage you to come whenever you can! We offer several programs geared towards children to help:
- LIFE 2.1 is our formation program for families. We offer weekly sessions during the program year that highlight events and stories from the Bible and our church year. All ages are welcome--we do crafts, learn stories, serve others, and have fun!
- Wiggle & Worship runs most Sundays during the 10:00 am Sunday service. This offers children 6th grade and under a chance to engage more interactively with the Gospel during the time between the Sermon and the Peace.
- For our youngest children, we offer a Children in Church resource area at the back of the church, where parents and caregivers can find coloring pages, crayons, and Bible stories to take back to the pew.
Bringing Faith Home
As Christians, we gather to share our faith and worship God, but the most important influence on a child's lifelong faith formation is at home! At St. Peter's, we fully support a variety of Faith at Home initiatives. We want to equip parents and families with the skills and tools to make the home an expression of the church. Parents are key role models of how a life of faith works in the world. This is not complicated, and we work to enable parents and families:
- to bring in simple prayers, perhaps at meals and bedtime
- to offer a willingness to answer questions of faith honestly--it's ok if the answer is "I don't know"!
- to include Bible and faith stories in the family library
- to create meaningful traditions & rituals that connect home life with church, e.g., in Advent, Lent, and at milestone moments
“From the lips of children & infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise.”
