Wanting your child to grow in faith, in hope, in love?
Beginning Sunday, February 16, 2025, join us for a brand-new program celebrating children and the joys of making music!
Designed for children, this engaging program will run in conjunction with the 10:30 am service, offering a dynamic, music-centered experience that nurtures spiritual growth, creativity, and community. If you have children who would like to participate, be sure to register!
In this fun-filled Sunday morning experience, participants will explore the foundations of singing, rhythm, and movement in an engaging and supportive environment. Through interactive activities, children will discover musical concepts, learn songs and rhythms from around the world, and be introduced to diverse instruments and cultures.
Music is a powerful way to connect, express, and nurture the spirit. This program encourages children to embrace the joy of music while fostering a sense of community and well-being. The goals of the program are 5-fold:
- To create a welcoming and friendly environment for kids of all ages to explore and enjoy the myriad dimensions of social music-making;
- To create social encounters for children (outside of school and sports, and not involving a smartphone);
- To encourage children to experience the world through relationships and connection, cultivating awareness and kindness;
- To foster a child's learning experience of creativity using their voices and bodies to explore rhythm, melody, and harmony;
- To create opportunities for fun-filled intergenerational encounters.
Using storytelling, physical movement, instruments, singing, listening skills, mindfulness practices, and opportunities to connect with the community, the program is designed to engage children through their minds and imaginations, their hearts and senses, and their dreams, questions, and challenges.
History
Sunday School has long been a part of the tradition of James Bay United Church (and James Bay Church before that). Methodism, the mother denomination of this congregation, emphasised education quite heavily.
In this iteration, though, education per se has a small emphasis; experience has a much greater emphasis. This iteration will not focus on the content of the Bible, for example, but might equip children to interpret its meaning. Similarly, children might not learn the Lord’s Prayer or A New Creed, but they might come to understand why these have been and remain important.
HELP WANTED
James Bay United Church is looking for several adults to engage with children on Sunday mornings in a program of spiritual nurture.
QUALITIES: You have a faith that energizes your life that you would like to share with children; a sense of wonder that welcomes the same in children; a sense of humour and patience; responsiveness
TIME REQUIREMENT: as much or as little as you are able to offer: once a month as a minimum.
BENEFITS: Rejuvenate your personal spiritual life; watch God’s shaping hand in a young person’s life; experience a great sense of accomplishment and pride in being part of something life changing.
If this speaks to you at all, God has abundant blessings in store for both you and the kids!
