Christian Formation Classes

for Children & Youth

Two-Year Old Class:  This is an informal parent and child class for the youngest of our congregation designed to give them their first experience of Christian community and to begin to learn the stories of their faith.

Three & Four- Year Old and Kindergarten:  These three classes use "Living the Good News," a lectionary based curriculum that uses the weekly Gospel lesson as a theme of each week.  They meet along with the First Grade in chapel for worship at 9:15 a.m. each Sunday.

First Grade:  The children in this grade spend the year preparing to receive Holy Communion.  They use the Episcopal Children's Curriculum and other Communion preparation materials in their class.  They also participate in a Communion Workshop on a Saturday morning close to their Communion Sunday, and along with their parents, explore many of the Communion themes they have learned about during the year.

Second through Sixth Grade:  These grades also use the Episcopal Children's Curriculum.  They cover many stories from the Old and the New Testaments, as well as the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion, and the Church Year.

Rite 13 (grades 7 & 8):  Rite 13 is the first step in the Journey to Adulthood program.  These young persons will spend two years together building community and begin to take their first steps away from the roles they have played in their families and into some new roles in the church.  This program includes a liturgical rite of passage around their 13th birthday, celebrating the gift of womanhood and manhood.

Journey to Adulthood (J2A)  Grades 9 and 10:  J2A is the next step in a program of spiritual formation that begins with Rite 13.  It is a program that attracts, instructs, and nurtures youg people at the ages when they are most likely to drift away from church.  It provides a flexible schedule of lessons to meet the needs of the group of young people as well as real work while celebrating and nurturing the gifts they already possess.  At the end of J2A, the youth wll embark on a pilgrimage before they are confirmed.

Young Adults of the Church (YAC):  This is an informal discussion group for High School youth in grades 11 and 12 that is held after the 9:00 a.m. service.  The group meets together periodically for brunch as well. 

Sunday Morning Extra:  Parents of children two-years old through First Grade may have their children attend an extended morning program in the Church School from 10:15 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. so that they can attend the adult education programs provided after the 9:00 a.m. service.  This program will be held every Sunday that Church School is in session. 

 COMMUNITY COVENANT OF TRINITY CHURCH

In response to concerns about the safety and conduct of the children and youth of our parish, a Community Covenant has been written to clarify the expectations of our parish family. Please read it over and discuss it with your children. Together we can maintain a safe and welcoming faith community at Trinity Church.

•  We will respect each person as a Child of God and receive, nurture, and treasure each person as a gift from God.
• We will respect the buildings of the church that belong to all of us, and treat God’s House the same way we want our own home to be treated.

• We will strive to know children, youth and adults by name, minister to each other, and work together as partners in serving Christ in the world.

• We will appreciate the abilities of the children, youth and adults of Trinity Church and their readiness to represent Christ and his church, to bear witness to him wherever they may be, and according to gifts given to them, to carry on Christ’s work of reconciliation in the world, and to take their place in the life, worship and governance of the church.

• We will respect the time we worship together and keep our movements in and out of the church service to a minimum. If we must leave during the service, we will be as quiet as possible so that we will not disturb those around us.

• We will do all that we can to protect the children of our congregation. We strongly discourage allowing them to leave the church premises or to be alone in any part of the church buildings during morning worship or Church School as we will not be able to insure their safety while they are away from us.