Christian Education Programs

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Our Board of Christian Education provides a rich program of adult education, and a very active church school program for children of all ages.

Church School Program for Children and Youth

Classes are available for students age 2 through 12th grade on Sunday morning. The 2- and 3-year-old class is held during the worship service. Children ages 4 and older begin in worship and go from there to class until 11:15. See our 2006 - 2007 Program overview.

Our teachers are volunteers. We request that parents assist teachers in the following ways: encourage your child(ren)'s consistent attendance, make yourself known to your child(ren)'s teachers and volunteer to be a parent helper. Parents are asked to meet 4th grade and younger child(ren) in their classroom at the appropriate dismissal time.

Nursery

Our Nursery Care Worker is in the nursery each Sunday morning between 9:00 and 11:30. Newborns and infants are welcome there during the worship service.Children of choir members as well as children of church school teachers, nursery age and older, are welcome before church.

Youth Groups

First Parish Church has a commitment to youth groups as a vital part of Christian education. A Senior High youth group will be starting up this year and will meet every other Sunday evening from 5 to 6:30, with retreats, outings, fundraisers, and a mission trip to be planned along the way. We will also look forward to continuing the 7th and 8th grade fellowship outings of last year. We went to the Boston Museum of Science, biking in Franconia Notch, and to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. We're open to lots of ideas for this year as well. To offer input, for further details, or to volunteer, watch the newsletter and Sunday bulletins, call the church office at 434-0628.

Confirmation Class

A year-long confirmation class is offered to young people in tenth grade and older.Confirmation class gives young people an opportunity to explore their faith and the church. This is a time one makes a decision about becoming a member of First Parish. It will meet Sunday evenings every other week from 5 to 6:30, starting in October. The Confirmation Class alternates Sundays with the Senior High youth group.

Children and Youth Leadership

First Parish Church encourages the leadership development of children and youth. One way we do this is to encourage classes to participate in worship leadership throughout the program year. Please refer to the back page of this brochure for the specific dates for particular classes.

Family Sundays and Special Events Sundays

Family Sundays are offered for children to experience worship with their families. Special Events Sundays are a relatively new feature of the Church School calendar. On these Sundays, individual classes will not meet, but there will be interclass programming such as music, storytelling, and projects. Designated Special Events Sundays last year were February 29 and May 2.

Music Program

First Parish has an active music program with opportunities for people of all ages.Music is an integral part of church school. In addition, two children's choirs are available for children from the age of four through 5 th grade, and a Youth Choir is in place for older students. All of these choirs rehearse on Sunday after church and sing at various times throughout the church year. The Adult Choir rehearses on Thursday evenings at 7:30 PM and again on Sunday mornings at 9:00 AM. (Nursery care is available on Sunday mornings during the rehearsal.) There are additional musical opportunities for soloists, small ensembles, hand chimes, and instrumentalists. If you are interested in participating in any of the music programs, please speak with our Music Director, Sue Handy.

Adult Education

At First Parish Church, we offer a variety of adult education opportunities, both ongoing and short-term.

There is a Bible Study group that meets Wednesday mornings at 9:15 a.m. in the nursery. They are currently studying the book of Acts.

Sunday night potlucks with open discussion and conversation will be held every Sunday from 5 to 6:30.

There have been conversations about a multitude of other possibilities: Christianity 101 (an adult "basics" class), Exploration of Anger, The Relationship between Homelessness and Hospitality, Parenting, a Marriage Enrichment weekend.If you would like to know more, please speak with Pastor Alice.