Children’s ministries at The Table
Kara watches over our children’s ministries as the liaison to our Administrative Board. If you have any questions about either childcare or Godly Play, please email Kara here. We welcome conversation with parents & guardians about how our teaching teams might best support the unique needs of each child in our community. We hope to work with families to ensure we’re always providing a loving environment which fosters wonder & care.
Childcare during worship at 9:30am & 11:00am
We offer loving & professional childcare for infants through preschoolers throughout worship on Sundays at both 9:30am & 11:00am. Children are always welcome in the Sanctuary and families may utilize childcare whenever helpful. Childcare is located in the A Frame just down the hall from the Sanctuary. Please check-in children for childcare at the kiosk just outside of the Sanctuary upon arriving on Sunday and pickup children from the A Frame after worship.
Godly Play During Worship at 9:30am
We offer Godly Play upstairs during worship at 9:30am. Please check-in children for Godly Play at the kiosk just outside of the Sanctuary upon arriving on Sunday. Children are encouraged to begin worship in the Sanctuary with their families and will be released to Godly Play together about 20 minutes into worship. Families should pickup children from Godly Play upstairs following worship.
Fall & Winter 2024 Godly Play Story Schedule
- September 8: Circle of the Church Year
- September 15: Creation
- September 22: The Flood & The Ark
- September 29: The Great Family
- October 6: The Exodus
- October 13: The Ten Best Ways
- October 20: Story of Holy Baptism
- October 27: Celebration of Baptism & Deep Commitments (No Godly Play | Children with families in Sanctuary)
- November 3: The Ark & The Tent
- November 10: The Ark & The Temple
- November 17: Exile & Return
- November 24: Jonah, The Backwards Prophet
- December 1: Advent I
- December 8: Advent II
- December 15: Advent III
- December 22: Advent IV
An Overview of Godly Play
The goal of Godly Play is to teach children the art of using the language of the Christian tradition to encounter God and find direction for their lives. Jerome Berryman, who drew upon Montessori philosophies to create Godly Play, outlines six objectives to meet this goal:
- to model how to wonder in religious education, so children can “enter” religious language rather than merely repeating it or talking about it.
- to show children how to create meaning with the language of the Christian tradition and how this can involve them in the experience of the Creator.
- to show children how to choose their own work, so they can confront their own existential limits and depth issues rather than work on the kinds of problems dictated by others, including adults.
- to organize the educational time to follow the pattern of worship that the Christian tradition has found to be the best way to be with God in community.
- to show children how to work together as a community by supporting and respecting each other and one another’s quest.
- to organize the educational space so that the whole system of Christian language is present in the room, so children can literally walk into that language domain when they enter the room and can begin to make connections among its various parts as they work with the lesson of the day and their responses in art or other lessons. (from Teaching Godly Play: The Sunday Morning Handbook by Jerome W. Berryman)
Teens are encouraged to connect with our new ministries taking shape at Table Farm. Here’s a link to Table Farm.