Worship

We recognize children are fidgety, sometimes loud. Children need to move around to see what is going on. They perceive the world and think about things in a way different than adults. Rather than force children to be little adults in church, we honor who they are.

Every Sunday at 9:00 a.m. we offer a worship service designed with families of young children in mind. We choose music at this service with children in mind. We use guitars and drums and select music with a strong beat because children can feel the rhythm in their little bodies. The words and melodies are simple. They are songs any child can sing.

The children come and sit on the steps of the altar with the preacher who has prepared a message that connects with young minds. Children are very concrete and practical in their thinking. If they can't see it, it doesn't mean a thing. The children build a relationship with the preacher, someone they come to recognize as a friend.

Other aspects of the worship service include prayer and a ceremony that invites children to cast their sorrows and regrets of the past week onto sea-shells. They receive the shells when they enter church and bring them up to the baptismal font. The children love to crowd around the font and get splashed with the water as the priest pronounces the absolution and washes all their sorrows and regrets away.

Worship lasts about 45 minutes. After worship the children depart for their Sunday School classes while their parents hear the adult sermon.

Tips for worshipping with children