Dear Parents,
At Tabernacle, we feel strongly that the formation of a child’s spirituality is built in several ways. These include the relationship between religion in the home and times set aside for learning in the church body (Sunday School, mission classes, etc.) as well as through worship. As we examine the life of the church as a whole, it is imperative to see, as Karen Marie Yust suggests in her book, Real Kids, Real Faith, whether the congregation has welcomed children into the whole life of the church, specifically in worship.
Here, at Tabernacle, we have made a conscious effort to include young children in active ways in our worship. However, one may still witness the curiosity of a seven-year-old turn into the apathy of a ten-year-old over time when it comes to singing, prayer, and listening attentively to a sermon in worship.
Everyone Worship! has been designed to give both children and parents the tools they need:
? to be engaged in worship,
? to understand church “lingo,”
? to be exposed to the intentional rhythms that are part of worship at Tabernacle,
? to open wide the windows of conversation about baptism, communion, prayer and the church year, and
? to include the children who find their way into this faith community in one of the most important things we do here – the worship of God!
We will begin the six-week Everyone Worship! program on October 1st. The children will be dismissed from the sanctuary at the same time as the Worship Explorers. While the Worship Explorers go to the front of the sanctuary, the Everyone Worship children will go to the back of the sanctuary. This program will be led by Penny Jenkins, and may have a handful of “guest speakers” come in to talk about certain topics. Because this program has not been offered in the last few years, children in 3rd to 5th grades are invited to participate. Each week parents of participating children will receive information about the topic discussed that morning to assist with review and reinforcement during the week and in worship in the weeks ahead.
Please be in touch with Jessica Corbitt at Jessica.corbitt@gmail.com if your child will be participating. Missing a session or two will certainly be understood.
We are looking forward to this time of learning and growing for your child and your family. We hope that as we continue to worship together, that your child will know that their presence in worship is important and valued. Thank you for your trust as we walk this journey together.
