The Children’s Chapel – Ages 4 to 11
The Children’s Chapel program is provided during the 10:00 AM worship service on Sunday mornings. Children ages 4 – 11 (preschool – fifth grade) are welcome. Parents/guardians register their child when they first attend Children’s Chapel and sign their children into the program in the chapel five minutes before the service begins. Children rejoin their parents/guardians during the announcement period, providing approximately 35 – 40 minutes of lesson time.
During Children’s Chapel, children receive instruction in the seasons and colors of the church year,the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion, key figures from the Old Testament, the Advent prophecies, key events in the life of Jesus, Jesus’ teachings and parables, the significance of Pentecost, and the lives of some Christian saints. Children also learn by doing about the work of the church and engage in group and personal prayer. They arrange vases of flowers, polish miniatures of articles used in worship, and learn how to place articles on the altar. They learn the meaning and practice the gestures used by the priest during Holy Communion and Baptism. They work with maps of Israel and the city of Jerusalem, retell the stories for themselves using dioramas and manipulatives, and create original art reflecting their growing understanding of their faith and the life of the church.
The Children’s Chapel curriculum is a synthesis of material from Catechesis of the Good Shepherd©, Godly Play©, and Children of God Storybook Bible© by the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The program is presented in a three-year cycle. Age-appropriate activities and wondering questions accompany each lesson so that older children will continue to grow as they repeat the cycle. Children who regularly attend Children’s Chapel for the full three-year cycle gain the understanding needed to be an informed communicant and participant in the life of St. Mark’s.
