Christian Formation: Children and Youth LRP

ST. MARY’S LONG RANGE PLAN


CHRISTIAN FORMATION
CHILDREN AND YOUTH

CHAIRS: LIZ RABIDEAU 508-362-0344
REV. KRIS LEWIS 508-362-3977

St. Mary Church
Christian Formation: Children and Youth
Long Range Plan Development

Where We Are:
The Church School Program and Youth Group are led by Connie Sullivan and Barbara Hersey. These programs were formerly under the auspices of the (now defunct) Christian Education Committee, but may be thought of as one component of spiritual formation, as referred to in St. Mary’s Mission Statement. Seen in that way, Christian Formation for children and youth includes not only church school and youth groups, but also Junior Choir (under the direction of Janet Armstrong) and Acolytes (under the direction of Kris Lewis).

Current offerings include:

Nursery
Church School
Pre-K thru 3rd grade: Godly Play
Grades 4 & 5: Share the Joy
Youth Groups
Middle School group
High School group
Confirmation preparation (not planned for this year)
Acolyte Program
Junior Choir Program
Vacation Bible School
Special programs (e.g., Christmas Pageant, Halloween party, participation in Blessing of the Animals)


Attendance:
There are 33 families with 60 children registered for Church School. Seven babies and toddlers are cared for in the Nursery. Our goal for attendance is 70% which averages to every child missing church school nearly once a month.

Church School:

Church School meets on Sunday mornings at 9:45 am. Children and teachers join the congregation at the passing of the Peace (approximately 10:30).

Teachers in Godly Play classrooms must be trained in the Godly Play curriculum. For Godly Play there are 8 regular teachers and 2 substitutes. (Training session for Godly Play teachers took place Nov 19th; 5 attended.)For Share The Joy there are 4 regular teachers and 2 substitutes. We are currently evaluating this program.

Teachers currently work on a rotating schedule, and teach once or twice a month, at their request, in order to share the teaching load. While reducing the drain on individuals, this rotating schedule limits the forming of deeper relationships between children and teachers. Because at this time the teachers are drawn almost entirely from the parents of church school children, and because most have taught for several years, the burnout rate is high. We hope to address this problem by recruiting additional teachers who are not parents. Ideally teachers would commit to being in the classroom every week to provide consistency for the children, and the pool of prospective teachers would be large enough that teachers could work one-year-on, one-year-off (for example).

The Nursery/Toddler group does not have a regular teacher at present time. One of the Church School Co-coordinators takes a lead role presently, assisted by parents and youth, but the Nursery should have a part-time paid attendant to ensure safe and consistent care for infants and toddlers. For the toddlers, a very simple form of Godly Play which includes basic classroom behavior instruction helps them to be ready to enter into the Church School classes in later years.

Youth Group: The Middle School Youth meet on alternate Sundays after church. This group is currently a combination church school class and youth group and uses the 7 Things Christians Do & Believe curriculum). The Middle School Youth have 2 teachers and 1 substitute. Another substitute is needed. The High School Youth Group meets on opposite Sundays at 5:30 pm. At the present time, no church school class or other educational offerings are available for the High School youth. This group currently has 2 adult leaders, assisted by one clergy person (Kris Lewis), and 1 substitute. The addition of a male leader/teacher for this age group as well as for the Middle School youth would be highly desirable. All teachers/leaders are currently female. Plans are currently being formulated to evaluate the program for both Middle School and High School youth.

Acolyte Program: Twenty-one youth from 2nd grade through High School currently comprise the Acolyte corps. Acolytes serve at the 10 am service and at special services (e.g., Christmas Eve, Choral Evensong) as requested. During Fall 2005, acolytes have undergone retraining with a new definition of responsibilities to compensate for the loss of the verger. At the present time, Kris Lewis is overseeing the scheduling and training of acolytes

Junior Choir
Lead by Janet and Jim Armstrong

9 children are registered – 2 have not participated this fall
Regular attendance ranges from 5-7
Rehearsals are 5:00 Wednesday evenings. The Junior Choir participates in each 10 am service. On the first Sunday of each month, the Junior Choir processes in with the Senior Choir, remains for the entire service, and performs anthems and other special offerings.

[Janet has been away, not sure if she would have any other input here].

Vacation Bible School
VBS takes place in summer, usually in August and is led by Lead by Connie Sullivan, Barbara Hersey, and Carrie MacDonald. In 2005 28 children and adults participated, and three children joined the Church School as a direct result of their participation.

Planning for summer 2006 will begin in February.

Takes place in August. 2005 attendance included 28 children and adults. Three new children are attending the regular Sunday school as a direct result of participation in VBS this summer.

Budget:

NOTE: Summary not available 12/-/05 – Will update when figures available

Summary of where we are:

Over the last few years, the programs for children and youth have undergone a period of transition mirroring the church’s transition. A restructuring of the Youth Director’s responsibilities as well as a major change in curriculum in the form of Godly Play in the last year has set a strong foundation for growth in the church school. Participation and attendance are within the goals set by the program directors.

The main challenge that the programs for children and youth face is the recruiting, educating, supporting and valuing the teachers and leaders of the youth programs. To be truly successful, St. Mary’s children and youth need the support of the entire congregation. This includes recruiting teachers and youth leaders from a broader pool rather than relying almost entirely on the parents. We need to work towards building a pool of teachers who can provide the stability and consistency our children need and deserve. It also includes the hiring of a paid attendant to staff the nursery to ensure safe and consistent care for the infants of both parishioners and visitors.

A second challenge is to develop a schedule that respects and meets the need for families to come to church and participate in their spiritual formation together as a family. The current schedule of programming splits families and generations apart by offering church school during the main Sunday service rather than before or after that service.

Objectives: Where we want to be

1. Strengthen our existing Church School program to nourish our children in faith as they grow.

• Retain and engage our current families and children and incorporate new members

• Recruit, train and engage Sunday school teachers and youth leaders that more broadly represent the makeup of the congregation, including parents and those without children at home..
--To provide more consistency for children, develop pool of teachers who are willing to make year-long commitment (At current enrollment levels, Goal is 8 full time, fully trained, fully committed teachers to serve the whole year)

• Establish St. Mary’s as a Godly Play Regional Training Center


2. Strengthen our existing Youth Programs to support our youth and incorporate them fully into the life of the Parish as they move into young adulthood.

• Develop a comprehensive Youth Program to meet the educational and spiritual needs of the youth.
--explore new programming (e.g., J2A, Rite 13)
--seek connections with youth outside the parish at the local, Deanery, and Diocesan levels
--develop program of Confirmation Preparation consistent with Diocesan guidelines

3. Work with Spiritual Formation Committee to provide opportunities for spiritual development across the life span.

• Develop intergenerational programming for seasonal events (e.g., Advent Evenings)

• Establish an annual Family Parish Retreats (target beginning date of Fall of ’07).

• Integrate Youth more fully into the regular Sunday services (e.g., as acolytes, Eucharistic ministers, lectors, ushers).


Strategies and Tactics:

Church School:

1. Recruit and train pool of teachers who are not parents—at least two by Fall 2006 with goal of increasing numbers each year (Youth coordinators and clergy).

2. Explore ways to nourish teachers to decrease burn-out. (on-going; Youth coordinators and clergy)

2. Staff nursery with paid attendant to provide safe consistent care (Youth coordinators, Vestry, personnel committee; target date no later than Fall 2007).

3. Work with Spiritual Formation Committee to establish Annual Parish Retreat beginning Fall 2007.

4. Host Northeast Regional Godly Play Accreditation at St. Mary’s. (May, 2006; B. Hersey and staff). Determine other steps necessary to become Godly Play Training Center.

Youth:

1. Form Discernment Committee for Youth to explore options for youth programming (e.g., Journey to Adulthood, Rite 13)—January 2006 (Clergy, Youth Coordinators)

2. Develop comprehensive youth program (Youth Group for Middle School and High School ages, possible church school/education program, confirmation program consistent with diocesan policies) to be in place for Fall 2006. (Youth coordinators/leaders, clergy).

3. Increase involvement of youth with congregation and with other youth on local, deanery, and diocesan levels.—2006 and beyond, (Youth leaders)

Parish wide/lifespan:

1. Form committee with Spiritual Formation Committee to develop plans for Annual Family Parish Retreat (Early spring 2006 with target date for retreat of Fall 2007)

2. Work with Spiritual Formation Committee and Staff to plan seasonal activities for all ages (on-going).

3. Work with leaders of liturgical groups to invite and incorporate youth participants. (on-going).

4. Work with Spiritual Formation Committee to develop organization structure to co-ordinate and oversee education/spiritual development for parishioners of all ages.

Issues:

As noted above, Christian Formation for Children and Youth is one component of the spiritual formation emphasized in St. Mary’s mission statement. Because formation encompasses all that we do to shape our lives as Christ followers, we need to consider it holistically . Having in place an organizational structure that not only allows for this but also expects this will help us to ensure that we are addressing the needs of our entire congregation. Such a structure would include members of the Children and Youth program staff, clergy, and members of the Spiritual Formation Committee. It might meet quarterly (or on an as-need basis) to coordinate programming and planning.

5 Year Plan: 2005-2010
Measures of Success *

Objective Met Deadline

2 Non-Parent Church School teachers
Recruited, trained and placed in classrooms Sept 2006

4-6 Non-Parent Church School teachers
Recruited, trained and placed in classrooms Sept 2010

Hire paid nursery school attendant Fall 2007

Establish Annual Parish Retreat Fall 2007

Host Northeast Regional Godly Play Accreditation May 2006

Formed plan for becoming godly Play Training Center Fall 2006

Form Discernment Committee for Youth Jan 2006

Comprehensive Youth Group Program Oct 2006


*Additional objectives have been discussed and formulated for Christian Youth: Children and Youth yet those stated objectives are either on-going (i.e. youth participation in liturgy) or the measure maybe subjective (i.e. nourish teachers to decrease burn-out)