Children & Youth Spiritual Formation

You and I both, as parents (and grandparents and friends and even passers-by!), want our kids to be loved, to be loving, to grow up with some stability and resilience, to help others, to leave the world better than they found it. We want them to experience God in their daily life and work. And you and I both know that this is hard work and so often mystifying and terrifying work. The world doesn't respond well to open-hearted, caring people and, as my husband said when our eldest was born and he held them in his arms the first time, "The world is not good enough for you." I feel that deep in my heart.

So how to share the faith we have, how to help our kids navigate a dangerous world with compassion?

At St. Timothy’s, we offer several doors to family spiritual formation:

·       Weekly “Kids and Their People” time between our 9:15 and 11am services—rather than dividing up into grade-level classrooms, we learn about our faith in family-units, parents included. We have one group for families with toddlers up to kindergarten, and one for families with grade-school-aged kids.

·       Weekly kids’ sermon at the 9:15am service—the preacher for the week invites the kids forward to chat about something related to the Bible readings and they receive a small candy (typically Starburst or a Dove chocolate)

·       Weekly Junior High School group—late tweens and early teens meet in the youth room (across from the kitchen) to talk about current events, self-awareness, and to plan sharing Bible stories with the younger kids

·       First Communion instruction—email Alice if you or your kid is interested in a 3-session class in 2025

·       Confirmation instruction—four monthly classes beginning in August for teenagers who would like to go deeper in their understanding of the faith

·       Diocesan youth events—we are a part of a larger Episcopal family, the Diocese of Southern Ohio, who sponsor several inter-parish events through the year

·       Dinner at Someone’s House (DASH)—a cross-generational casual dinner where families can get to know each other and make friends with people of different generations

There are four generally-agreed-upon touchpoints that make the faith we share with our kids stick with them for their whole life. You could consider this a checklist, though each one is complex (each of these bullet points is also a link to further musing):

The idea is, if our kids have these in their experiential toolbox, they are significantly more likely to be part of spiritual community later in life, but they're also significantly more likely to be those compassionate, resilient people reaching out to others as Jesus did. As Cole Arthur Riley writes, "Together we won't get lost in despair."

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Safety Issues

Classrooms

Please do not leave your children in their classrooms before the teacher is present. Additionally, only children in grades 4 and higher will be released from the classrooms after the Children & Youth Programs. Children in Pre-School through 3rd grade will only be released to parent, guardian, or sibling, or other adults indicated on the registration form. Take advantage of this opportunity to chat with your child’s teacher.

Health & Wellness Programs

St. Timothy’s Health & Wellness Committee provides a number of beneficial services for our children on Sunday mornings. First Aid kits are readily available in several locations for the use of teachers. Teachers receive instruction on choking prevention and are encouraged to take CPR classes. An evacuation plan is in place in case of fire and fire drills are held periodically.

Child Abuse Prevention / The Safe Church

With rising incidents of child abuse in our society today, it is important that we as a Church do all in our power to make St. Timothy’s a safe place for our children. The national Episcopal Church requires that all clergy, paid staff and youth leaders attend a 6 - 8 hour workshop on issues of child sexual abuse in church settings. St. Timothy’s has gone beyond this policy to require that all Children & Youth teachers also be trained in the awareness and prevention of child abuse. If you are interested in completing the training, contact the office administrator. We also require that a new member of the parish does not teach in the Children & Youth Programs until they have been a part of our community for at least six months.