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Programs for Children and Youth
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What's New in Spring 2008?Registration for Church School is on-going. If you are new to the parish, you don't have to wait for the new program year to start your children in Schola or in our Church School and/or youth program. Please contact Becky Taylor, Director of Children's, Youth & Family Ministries at reled@allsaintsbrookline.org. 3 Kings Party. This is an "all-ages" event to celebrate the Feast of Epiphany and to usher in the season of light. We've got a luncheon planned on Sunday, January 6th, immediately following the conclusion of worship. The general merriment includes good food, lots of singing, and a chance to be together. Please RSVP to Becky Taylor at reled@allsaintsbrookline.org. Cherub Family Potlucks. These are wonderful opportunities for families with young children to meet one another. We've got two suppers scheduled: Sunday, Feb. 3 and Sunday, May 18th. Both are at the church, 5:00 - 7:00pm. Contact Melinda Stanford for more information at stanfordgrimes@rcn.com. Pancake Breakfast on Sunday, March 2. A chance for a delicious breakfast and conversation with our Director of Children's, Youth & Family Ministries about ideas for the 2008-2009 program year. Lenten program: "Blessed are the Peacemakers." Children and young people will spend the 5 weeks of Lent reflecting on Jesus' call to be peace-makers and to love your enemies. A "hands on" mission project is planned during this time. Nightwatch 2008. This is one of the most important events of our program year. We begin with supper at 5:30 p.m. on Maundy Thursday, March 20th, followed by worship. Then we spend the next several hours engaging the stations of the cross before camping out overnight in the church. Nightwatch ends with breakfast and the Way of the Cross liturgy on Good Friday morning, March 21st. This event is open to all children and young people in the parish, Grades 3 and older, and their friends. Pre-registration is required. Information will be mailed to parish families, but if you are searching for a parish home and this looks interesting to you, please contact Becky Taylor at reled@allsaintsbrookline.org. Walk for Hunger on May 4. We gather at the church at 8:30 a.m., take the subway to Boston Common, and walk 5 miles back to church in time for worship at 10:30 a.m. This event is particularly geared toward middle school and high school youth, but open to all. Pledge forms will be available at church in April. |
Each week at All Saints Parish we look forward to the chance to worship God and to share the table fellowship that is part of the Holy Eucharist liturgy. We celebrate the wonderful diversity of our community gathered as one body, in Christ's Name.
Everyone is welcome to receive Holy Communion, regardless of age or baptismal status, at All Saints. Parents may question whether their young children should receive the sacrament. One of the clergy or the Director of Children's, Youth & Family Ministries is available for conversation about this and other matters related to raising children in the faith. Please feel free to give them a call or reach them by email
Holy Baptism is full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into Christ's Body the Church. The bond established by God in Baptism is indissoluble. Anyone who is baptized at any age is marked as Christ's own forever.
Baptisms occur in this parish when the community gathers to worship on four liturgical feast days: All Saints Sunday (November); the first Sunday after the Epiphany (January); Holy Saturday/Easter Eve (March); and Pentecost (May) A member of the clergy always meets with parents for pre-baptismal instruction. Please call the parish office to arrange for a baptismal date.
Nursery CareOur Nursery is open every Sunday morning, starting at 9:30 a.m. and is staffed for by two paid childcare providers. It is a clean, safe environment where children 3 years of age or younger can play and be cared for during the worship service. Childcare is offered free of charge.
We share this space with the Corner Co-op Nursery School, so parents can be assured that there are age-appropriate equipment, toys, and books in the room. The space is best-suited for children who are walking and potty trained (or on their way). Parents are invited to keep their infant children with them during the worship service.
At All Saints Parish we know that children and young people experience God in their lives. However, we also know that they may lack the scriptural knowledge and religious vocabulary that can help them describe and understand God's mysterious presence. Adult teachers and mentors guide them in this aspect of their faith formation. Our Christian education program helps children and young people to
Contact: Ms. Becky Taylor, Director of Children's, Youth & Family Ministries
Monday-Thursday, 10:00am-5:00pm, 617-738-1810 Ext. 104, reled@allsaintsbrookline.org
9:30am Schola rehearsal
Nursery opens for childcare
10:15am Church School classes (Grades 2-10)
Cherub Choir rehearsal
10:30am Worship begins
10:40am Cherubs go to Godly Play
11:00am Grades 2-10 go to worship
11:15am Cherubs go to worship
11:45am Youth meeting (once a month)
Fellowship in Guild Room
We introduce our 4, 5, and 6-year-olds to the Church School program by using Godly Play. Designed by and Episcopal priest over 30 years ago, Godly Play is a method of Christian education and spiritual direction that is especially well-suited for young children. In Godly Play sessions, children listen to and reflect on
All the activity in our Godly Play classroom takes place in a circle on the floor as adults and children wonder together about the sacred in their lives.
In these classrooms we use the Episcopal Children's Curriculum. It offers children a way to explore scripture as well as to learn about the rich liturgical and historical tradition of the Episcopal Church.
This year, children in Grades 2 & 3 will spend the fall learning how God established a covenant relationship with God's people, calling Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses to be special leaders. Then, in Advent and Epiphany, they will turn their attention to Jesus, focusing first on his birth and then on his healing ministry.
Children in Grades 4 & 5 will begin the year by exploring how the covenant relationship between God and God's people continued beyond the events recorded in Genesis and Exodus, to include the anointing of kings and the calling of prophets during the time of exile. During Advent and Epiphany, they will reflect on the new covenant that God established through the birth of Jesus and how Jesus' healing ministry made God's love known in new and miraculous ways.
Both classes will participate in a special Mission & Outreach project during Lent and end the year learning about Baptism.
In June 2007, a team of 7 young people and 4 adults from the parish traveled to Quezalguaque, Nicaragua - Brookline's Sister City. While there, they helped refurbish the backyard of the town's public library. This trip was the first time people from All Saints Parish had traveled internationally to engage in mission ministry.
At All Saints Parish we use Journey to Adulthood, a 6-year program designed to foster the formation of Christian spiritual identity in teens and prepare them for lay ministry in the church and in the world.
Middle School (Grades 6-8)
Young people in Grades 6-8 participate in the first two years of the program Rite-13. The goals of Rite-13 are:
Our middle school teens also oversee the parish's support of the Brookline Food Pantry's ministry to our neighbors who are hungry. This involves advertising the need for donations of nonperishable food items, collecting these items each month, and taking them to the food pantry. Opportunities to work at the food pantry also exist for teens who are interested.
They also participate in Project Bread's annual Walk for Hunger in early May. Last year "Team All Saints" raised $1000!
High School Grades 9-10
Young people in Grades 9-10 participate in the second two years of the Journey to Adulthood program as Pilgrims. The goals of this module are:
Pilgrims will spend the 2007-2008 program year preparing to make a pilgrimage to a holy site. This preparation helps them develop skills in the following areas:
High School Grades 11-12
Young people in the upper grades of high school are actively planning how to establish themselves as responsible adult members of society. The question, "What's next?" permeates much of their day-to-day thinking and activity. The Church plays an active role in their discernment, offering opportunities for leadership as well as adult mentors to serve as companions and guides.
Teens in this phase of the Journey to Adulthood program are considered to be Young Adults in Church. They assume leadership roles in the worship and ministry life of the parish. The clergy, vestry, Schola Director, and Director of Children's, Youth and Family Ministries work individually with teens to help them discern how their gifts can best be used at All Saints.
The Charles River Deanery Youth Collaborative comprises the Episcopal parishes in Brookline, Needham, Newton, and Wellesley that are using Journey to Adulthood. The organization brings 6th, 7th, and 8th Graders together once a month for a meal, activity, and worship. These events are designed to augment what is happening at each parish and broaden teens' awareness of the larger Church and its ministry.
2007 Fall Events
(Date and time to be determined)
Confirmation is a sacramental rite in which baptized members of the Church make a mature public affirmation of their faith and commit themselves to the responsibilities of their baptism. The rite includes the laying on of hands by a bishop.
It is the policy of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts to confirm young people and adults in multi-parish liturgical events. In 2008, young people from All Saints Parish can be confirmed on Saturday, June 7th or June 21st.
All high school young people in the parish can prepare to be confirmed by attending confirmation classes, starting in January. More information will be forth-coming later in the fall.
Anyone in 4th Grade or older is welcome to become an acolyte. Acolytes lead the altar party procession into the worship space each week and assist, as needed, during worship. Training is required and offered during the year.
Contact: Meg Bridge, Acolyte Coordinator, margaret.bridge@post.harvard.edu
It is a special tradition at All Saints Parish for children and young people (Grades 3 and older) to keep an overnight vigil in the church each year from Maundy Thursday evening to Good Friday morning. Participants in Nightwatch gather for supper and fellowship before participating in the Maundy Thursday liturgy, which includes the foot washing ritual. For three hours they walk the stations of the cross and meditate on the events of Jesus' trial, suffering, death, and burial. Then the sleeping bags are unrolled in the worship space, and yes, sleep eventually comes. Nightwatch ends on the morning of Good Friday with a simple Way of the Cross liturgy. Nightwatch 2008 will take place on March 20-21. Details will be available in February.
Parish Picnic: September 9, 11:45am
Church School begins, September 16, 10:15am
Blessing of Animals: October 7, 10:30am
Children's Sabbath: October 21, 10:30am
All Saints Sunday, November 4, 10:30am
Advent Wreath-making, December 2, 11:45am
Epiphany Celebration, January 6, 11:45am
Rite-13 Sunday, January 27, 10:30am
Annual Meeting, February 3, 11:45am
Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, February 5, 6:00-7:30pm
Nightwatch, March 20, 5:30pm - March 21, 9:00am
Church School ends, May 18, 10:15am
Becky Taylor is Director of Children's, Youth & Family Ministries. She is a graduate of Andover Newton Theological School and has extensive Christian education/formation experience with children, young people and adults in parish settings. Becky can be reached Monday to Thursday at 617-738-1810, Ext. 104, or by email at reled@allsaintsbrookline.org.
Keith Glavash, Schola Director since 1981, is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music. Keith may be reached at 617-738-1810, Ext. 107, or by email at glavieri.home@verizon.net
Please do not hesitate to get in touch with one or both of them to learn more about the parish's ministries with children and young people, or how to get involved.
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