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Christian
Education
Our
Church School
St.
Andrew’s has a lively Church school that meets every Sunday
from 9:00 - 10:00 AM. We
use the curriculum Weaving
God’s Promises.
This
curriculum was developed for the Episcopal Church, and
designed to demonstrate how God’s promises of salvation are
inextricably woven into our lives. Children
are given a solid grounding for Christian life and future
youth programs by studying:
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Holy
Scripture - the great
stories of the Old and New Testaments are the core of the
lessons, with special emphasis on the life and teachings
of Jesus.
-
The
Church - the curriculum
includes information about church history, seasons of the
Church year, church practices, use of The Book of Common
Prayer, our Anglican and Episcopal tradition, the
principal sacraments of our Church: Holy Baptism and Holy
Eucharist.
-
Christian
Living - applying Christian
principles to our lives as essential to faith. Includes
the principles and practices of prayer, outreach and
service, Christian ethics, and contemporary issues.
Generally
we follow the Framingham/Ashland public school calendar,
taking only the first Sunday off of each vacation week.
Call the church office for snow info!
Our
Church School Curriculum
Church
School Lesson Plan
Our
Special Events for Children:
Many families find it very difficult to attend church school
every week. As a way
of reaching out to them, and to highlight special days of the
church year, our church celebrates a variety of special events
which are self-contained “mini-lessons.”
We have a full calendar of these special events, clearly
marked in our “Fridge
Calendar”: St.
Francis Day Animal Blessing, All Saints Day Celebration,
St. Nicholas Day, Mardi Gras Family Party, Children’s Ash
Wednesday Service, Palm Sunday Pony Rides and Activities,
Children’s Good Friday Stations of the Cross, and others.
Please join us for these events as your schedule allows.
No church school registration necessary!
Our
Middle School Youth Group:
This group for
6th to 8th graders meets Sunday at 9:00 AM in their new
personally-decorated lounge.
Middle schoolers follow the highly-praised Journey
to Adulthood program's Rite-13 curriculum.
(More information can be found at www.leaderresources.org).
Monthly “Fun Stuff” activities this year will include a
movie night, a laser tag outing, and a snow day, for starters.
This group is also very active in outreach work, and is
invaluable in serving younger students by helping with special
events like St. Nicholas Day and Vacation Bible School.
Parent
Letter for Rite-13
Our
Senior High Youth Group: This
busy group meets twice monthly on Sunday 4:00 - 6:00 PM,
followed by dinner and a youth band rehearsal: Our Jesus
Rocks Association worship band, known around the diocese
as a fantastically talented group.
The group is particularly focused on mission and on
the creative arts. Almost
all members go on mission trips annually, last year to
Washington, D.C., and this year to Honduras!
The group also sponsors Open Mic Nights for area high
schoolers, to raise money for charity.
Last year they raised $700 for the Trevor Project to
prevent gay teen suicide and over $1200 for Cystic Fibrosis
Research. This
year’s plans include a bilingual Christmas play for the
students of our parish’s Saturday Portuguese language
school (our Núcleo),
and a student-written Lenten reflection journal.
Youth
Calendar
- Fall 2011
Sacramental
Preparation: Baptism, Communion and Confirmation
Baptism: St. Andrew’s offers baptism
to anyone desiring to raise their child in the ancient
Christian tradition. Baptism
is available on several dates throughout the year.
Parents should contact the Rector and receive a copy of Taking
the Plunge, Baptism and Parenting, by Anne E. Kitch.
From the Publisher: “You’ve
chosen the godparents, dressed the baby in yards of white, and
headed to church for the christening. Now what? What does the
sacrament of baptism mean in your child’s life – and yours?
In Taking the Plunge, parents explore how the Baptismal Covenant
helps to shape the experience of raising children. What are you
promising when you baptize your child? Why are “please” and
“thank you” theological words, not simply polite things to
say? Anne Kitch writes with a light touch and includes plenty of
real-life stories.”
Parents are also asked to attend a Baptismal Family Dinner,
generally scheduled for about a week before their child’s
baptismal date. At
these simple dinners for the whole family, parents meet other
baptismal families and begin (or enhance) their relationship
with the other parents with whom they will share the next few
years of Christian parenting.
Communion: Episcopal
children generally take communion as soon as they reach out
their hands at the rail. However,
we take seriously our responsibility to teach the meaning of
communion, and also want to serve the pastoral needs of families
from the wide variety of backgrounds for whom “First
Communion” is part of a cherished tradition.
In the spring, every other year, the church school
children experience several weeks of preparation for our special
event called Communion Recognition Day.
Some families utilize this event as their child’s first
communion experience; others just enjoy the review of doctrine
and the children’s evident joy in learning the meaning of this
special sacrament.
Confirmation: Confirmation
instruction is provided every other year for students in 9th
grade and up. We use
a fantastic new curriculum, very well-received in the 2010-11
school year, called Confirm,
Not Conform. Rather
than imparting information from the outside, Confirm not Conform
explores the beliefs and questions that come from the students
themselves. The debate and discussion sparked by the students
ignite their faith into something lively and real. CnC
takes the idealism and skepticism that co-exist in young people
and uses that energy to help youth become engaged with their
faith and their community. In
addition to sixteen class sessions, CnC students go on field
trips, attend a retreat, work with mentors, participate in
liturgies, and design and implement a service project as a team.
This is a demanding year-long program, with a proven
track record of success, and the experience forms the basis for
our dynamic youth group.
Autism
Spectrum Confirmation Class in Spring
2012:
"Rhythms
of Grace" is a church experience for those who don't feel
comfortable in a traditional setting. Using this new
format, confirmation for Autism Spectrum students will be
offered, and will include a weekly Rhythms of Grace service,
with a bible story, an opportunity to interact in therapeutic
arts and crafts projects, and communion. Rhythms
of Grace is designed to operate under the principle of
"reverse inclusion," with the service conceived and
designed to be hospitable to all.
For more information, see www.rhythms-of-grace.org.
Christian Education Program
If
you have any questions about our program for either adults or
children, please do not hesitate to contact
us. We
are always interested in your suggestions for how we can improve
our program to meet the changing needs of our growing
congregation. Enjoy the program year!
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