Children

We celebrate the gift of growing in faith with the young people who are part of our community.

In worship, classes, events, and activities, they are welcome here! We know that having young people with us means wiggles and whispers, and we’re OK with that; it seems to us God put the wiggle in them, so we should celebrate it!

Children are always present and welcome in worship. When parents feel they are ready, children begin to receive Holy Communion – simply let the pastor know they’d like to receive. On Sunday mornings, families will find:

•Staffed Nursery during worship at 8 and 10:30 (infants and children up to three years old)
•Children’s Time in worship with the Pastors to learn together
•Sunday School at 9:20 (three years old through adults)
•Activity Bags — available at the back of the worship space
•CLC Doodle Pads for quiet drawing, sermon art, etc.
•Cry Room with audio and a view of the worship space
•Bookshelves in worship and in the Gathering Area with age-appropriate books, coloring resources, and more

We have learned that whatever sacrifice of energy and effort we can make to include children in worship is multiplied as the good news of God’s love takes root in our lives together.

Our Nursery Ministry

The Christ Lutheran nursery serves infants and children up to three years old; our caring nursery staff is present during both services and the Faith Formation hour.

Walt Wangerin’s “Water, Come Down!”
The nursery was lovingly painted by many volunteers with a Noah’s Ark theme. The walls are filled with pairs of many different animals. A signature wall displays words from Walter Wangerin, Jr.’s book “Water, Come Down!” – reminding us of the gift of being a baptized child of God. The nursery was officially dedicated with Walt reading his book to the children and signing the wall.

Faith Formation

Faith is caught, more than it is taught! We recognize that families are the first, and best, teachers of faith – and we’re excited to partner with parents to help them share God’s love with their children.

Sunday School

Sunday School meets during the school year during our Formation Hour, from 9:20 – 10:20 a.m. We’re always glad to welcome children who are visiting or coming to Sunday School for the first time. Three year olds through Kindergarten meet in room 107 off the Gathering Area, and 1st-4th Grades meet in the Church Hall. (5th - 8th graders are invited to join us for Fusion, our middle-school ministry.)

Sunday School adds to the important learning that kids are doing at home and in worship, where we learn the habits and practices of faith. In Sunday School, we dig deeper into the story of God’s love – this year we’re exploring all the different faith practices that are a part of following Jesus.

Throughout the year, we invite Sunday Schoolers to serve together as worship leaders – by sharing a song, reading scripture, inviting us into prayer, or serving at God’s table. An annual Christmas Program gives them the chance to tell the story that we all need to hear! We believe that the Spirit calls and equips us all for ministry, and as a congregation we treasure opportunities to learn from and with our young people.

Vacation Bible School

Every summer we look forward to a special week of exploring God’s love together – with singing and crafts, with games and prayer, with Bible stories and with general silliness!

All-Ages Easter Vigil

On the evening before Easter, we gather for a special all-ages service that involves all our senses and creative/interactive telling of the stories of God’s saving love – and then we break our Lenten “fasts” by sharing s’mores out by the fire pit! We’re learning to love this kind of worship so much that we’re working on ways to give it a bigger role in our life together: kids and grown-ups alike need the opportunity to engage our whole selves in worship!

Communion Conversations

Children are invited to receive communion whenever their families find that they are ready. To support parents in teaching their children to treasure Holy Communion, we gather families for Communion Conversations on a Saturday morning – talking about the ways God comes to us in this meal, and baking bread together.