Youth Formation

Formation for Children

We take Christian formation very seriously at St. Mary’s Church. Programs are offered from ages three on up from September through May. Classes are held in the educational wing.

Preschool ages 3-5 and elementary grades 1-6 use the Bible-based All Things New – The Curriculum for Today’s Episcopal Church.

Secondary students, beginning with the Middle School students, use Rite 13 Curriculum and High School classes use the Journey to Adulthood Program.

For additional information, please contact Father Michael at (252) 523-6146.

Childrens' Ministries

St. Mary’s seeks to give children a meaningful worship experience by incorporating them into the worship service whenever suitable, and offering age-appropriate worship alternatives.

Worship is one of the basic ways people learn what it means to be Christian. Children learn worship by worshipping with the congregation Sunday after Sunday.

  • They learn they belong to Christ and are welcome in His Church.
  • They learn to know the Lord’s Prayer and other parts of the liturgy from memory.
  • They build a fund of memorable, shared experiences of Christian community against which they may draw when they are older.
  • They are enriched by the beauty of music and art as expressions of praise and as human responses to God.
  • They hear stories from the Bible read and interpreted, and begin to see Christian worship as one place where God may speak to them.
  • They witness the drama of Baptism and Eucharist as signs of God’s kindness and favor.
  • They discover that they are valued as persons by God and by the people of God at Church.

Bringing children to worship may not always be easy, but it is an essential part of their growth in Christ. The Body of Christ assembled is incomplete in their absence. We need children.

 

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