Ministry to and with Children and Youth

We believe at St. Anne’s that we are on pilgrimage! This pilgrimage means that we are searching and learning to grow deeper into our understanding of the mystery of our Baptismal Covenant, a covenant that calls us to relationship with God, our neighbor, and a life of ministry and service. We believe in the nurture, challenge, and formation of our children and youth to strengthen them in this pilgrimage.

Church School
Grades Pre-K through 5th
Meets Sunday Mornings 9:35–10:25,
September through first week of June

The Episcopal Children’s Curriculum

Offers nine years of fully developed material for three age groups: Preschool/Kindergarten, Primary, and Intermediate. There are three years of material available for each age group: Shell (in the year Baptism is studied), Chalice (in the year the Eucharist is studied), and Cross (in the year Worship is studied). This format allows churches with multi-age classes to alternate study material.

Each year of the curriculum is organized into four units—Old Testament, New Testament, Sacraments, and the Church. This format is consistent across all age levels, so that students’ understanding of core concepts grows week by week and year to year.

Leader Resources

This single volume provides a comprehensive overview of the entire curriculum. Helps Christian education directors design an ECC church school program, train and recognize teachers, and plan intergenerational activities.

ECC offers nine comprehensive Teacher’s Guides with easy-to-use, modular lessons that can be adapted to small or large classes. Now with expanded teacher resources for building effective sessions:

• Four study units; 36 total lessons in each guide
• Updated lesson backgrounds with NRSV references
• Age-appropriate activities using art, music, and movement
• A Parents’ Letter for each unit with session highlights and suggestions for at-home activities

A valuable resource for new and experienced teachers. Offers creative options for expanding lesson plans, activities for multi-age and intergenerational groups, and suggestions for using learner’s materials. Three guides available: Preschool/Kindergarten, Primary, and Intermediate.

Preschool/Kindergarten (Ages 3-5)

Episcopal Children’s Curriculum is a natural fit for the boundless energy of Preschool/Kindergarten children. Threes, Fours, and Fives are constantly striving to make sense of their world through sight, sound, and touch.

ECC was designed with active kids in mind. Lessons are written in developmentally appropriate language and built around stories that engage young children in talking about familiar concepts like feelings and values.

Each lesson follows a consistent structure—the gathering, followed by a story, activity period, and the going forth. Colorful visuals help children remember important themes, and teachers can choose from a long list of activities that use music, crafts, and movement to capture and keep children’s attention.

Colorful Take-Home Cards feature engaging artwork and text summarizing the week’s theme. Includes ideas for sparking discussions at home.

Twelve beautifully illustrated child-sized books recount Bible stories referenced in each unit. Written in a language young children will understand, these books are ideal for reinforcing learning by building a bridge between the classroom and home.

Primary (Ages 6-8)

Children at this age level are energized by relationships with people around them—their parents, peers, and teachers. As they grow in self-awareness, children often wonder about people of the past—why they lived as they did, and how they differ from people of today.

Primary lessons build on this natural curiosity through experiential activities that bring biblical characters and church history to life for students. In a lesson on saints for example, children might make a banner to commemorate Christians who were faithful to Jesus, or create sun catchers to honor Christian heroes through the ages.

A consistent class structure and easy-to-use materials keep learning on track and provide students with an imaginative, fun-filled experience.

Each Teacher’s Guide includes 36 class sessions across four units. Sessions can be customized to fit small and large classes of varying lengths. A Teacher’s Packet provides vivid posters, charts, patterns, and maps that clarify session themes.

Take-Home Cards for Primary learners feature full-color illustrations, prayers, poems, and text from the Bible, The Book of Common Prayer, and the Hymnal 1982.

Children love these 36-page, reproducible puzzle pads. Covers an entire year of material: Shell, Chalice, or Cross, and includes crosswords, acrostics, word searches, mazes, and more.

Thirteen Primary level books are written in age-appropriate text and include classical art, photos, and illustrations that help students visualize lesson themes.

Intermediate (Ages 9-11)

Children in the Intermediate level are no longer limited just by what they can see, hear, or touch. They can think about situations from more than one perspective and begin to apply scriptural understanding to everyday life. Storytelling remains an integral part of ECC at this level, but in the form of a lively interaction between students and teachers.

Concepts such as covenant, prophecy, parables, Creeds, and the Gospel are explored through art, poetry writing, plays, and interviewing members of the congregation. This hands-on focus makes children active participants in their spiritual journey as they begin to understand their responsibilities to God and other people.

A series of colorful posters with classical art, descriptive maps, and Church symbols help Intermediate students visualize lesson concepts.

Intermediate Teacher’s Guides follow the same format and structure as other ECC levels, but with more interactive elements. Includes many activities that get children out of their seats and exploring lesson themes from a unique perspective. The Supplemental Guide offers creative ideas for fun projects that bring students and adults together to share individual talents.

Colorful newspapers with biblical stories, historical information, memory tasks, games, and more. One issue for each session.

Collectible-sized cards help students remember key concepts. Features colorful church symbols, and scriptures for each week’s lesson.

Intermediate learner resources include these fact-filled Treasurebooks with historical references, explanations of Old and New Testament text, Church history, and traditions.

Journey to Adulthood

Rite 13, J2A, YAC
Sundays 9:35–10:25,
as well as scheduled retreats, fellowship events, service programs

The journey for young people to adulthood is admittedly difficult and challenging. With the story of Jesus as a boy “escaping his parents” to enter the temple to hear and teach the word at the center of this program, The Journey to Adulthood program is a fine and comprehensive approach for young people to join with adults other than their parents to take on the serious work of becoming adults of faith. This journey includes a structured curriculum in a group dynamic as well as retreats, opportunities for service, fellowship, and the culmination of a pilgrimage for spiritual growth and development.

Journey to Adulthood

The Journey to Adulthood (J2A) is a complete youth ministry program of spiritual formation for 6th – 12th grades. It uses Bible study, prayer, rites of passage, outreach ministries and both serious and playful activities to underscore its core messages:

1. Manhood and womanhood are free gifts from God.
2. Adulthood must be earned.

There are three two-year segments of the program:

Rite-13

The first two years (6th & 7th or 7th & 8th graders) that focus on celebrating the individuality of each young person and their creative potential. The Rite-13 liturgy (A celebration of Manhood and Womanhood) is the community expression of this.

J2A

The middle portion of the program (8th & 9th or 9th and 10th graders), engages youth with the skills and critical thinking involved in adulthood. The youth plan and embark on a pilgrimage together at the end of this segment.

YAC

A mentor-based program helping older teens (11th and 12th grade) to discern and carry out a ministry within their church or in the larger community. Vocation and development of a personal credo are also emphasized.

The 2005 Journey to Adulthood group went on pilgrimage in New England. The young people raised all of the funds and planned the 9-day pilgrimage which included learning about faith practices of the pilgrims who settled in Massachusetts. In addition were visits to two monasteries, a service project with Food for the Poor, and visits to synagogues, mosques, a Friends Meeting House, and many other places of worship. Each day the young people reflected as a group on where they saw God, where they encountered the Holy.

Many in the 2005 Rite 13 group are currently in the J2A group this year. This group is busy planning their pilgrimage for the summer of 2007 to England!