KIDS & INTERGENERATIONAL FAITH FORMATION
Children
Sunday School for Pre-K through 5th grade is the first Sunday of every month during 9:30am worship. Through relational check-ins, storytelling, fun activities, and wondering questions, children will explore key stories and teachings from the Bible:
2025-26 Dates are:
• October 5
• November 2
• December 7
• January 4
• February 1
• March 1
• April 5
• May 3
COFFEE HOUR BUDDIES meets second and fourth Sundays of the month September to May. Trained adults are matched with children & teens. Guided questions are provided to help buddies connect for as many minutes as their age (i.e. 3 minutes for 3 year olds, 15 minutes for fifteen year olds) during coffee hour after worship at 10:30 am. We invite children and teens to help serve and lead.
Children celebrate three Faith Milestones. While everyone is invited to the Lord’s table for Holy Communion, formal instruction (formerly “First Communion”) is offered for children who are in 2nd grade, but any age is welcome. Those who haven’t been prepared for Holy Communion, and do not feel ready to communion yet, are invited to receive a special blessing instead of bread and wine. Third graders receive their first Bible with some practical helps on how to use it. Contact us to let us know interest and availability for scheduling either of these milestones or the first faith milestone of baptism.
Families & All Ages
During Sunday Worship, whether online or in person, join in the Children's Time during worship. To help children engage in worship through age-appropriate and tangible ways, pre-readers can use PrayGround with parents and readers can grab a worship bag full of tactile activities, a book, and a worship buddy from the stand in the lobby. As needed, families may take advantage of the wonderful play space in the Nursery.
Dinner Church is 6:00-7:00 pm every third Wednesday upstairs. All ages are welcome, so invite your grandchildren, grandparents, neighbors and friends for:
delicious food
connection with others
table conversations
space for littles to wiggle and move
worship with song
simple Scripture lesson
Holy Communion
spiritual practice or service project
Develop relationships across generations this year as we explore how to embody and live out our Welcome Statement.
September 17
October 15
November 19
December 17
January 21
April 15
May 20
During Lent we meet every Wednesday February 25 to March 25 and will focus on Sanctified Art’s Lenten theme.
While we appreciate an RSVP to help us with meal planning, it is not required.
Parent Connect is a new relaxed and organic opportunity for parents to get to know and support each other after worship (10:30 am) on second and fourth Sundays. Childcare provided.
Seasonal
September: Block Party, God’s Work Our Hands
October: Trunk or Treat
November: Turkey Bingo & Bowling
December: All ages are encouraged to participate in the Live Nativity. Little preparation is needed to join in the fun.
Spring: Family Service Project
Summer:
For a few hours a day during a week of each summer, Shepherd invites kids from Pre-K through 4th grade to Vacation Bible School (VBS). This is a collaborative opportunity with Good Samaritan UMC for new friends, fun experiments and games, incredible music, and learning about the Bible in the context of a unique theme! We need many adult and youth (5th through 12th grade) helpers. Registration opens in March.
We believe in the power of the experience of camp and encourage kids to branch out and explore God's love in this unique way. Each year we send kids to Luther Crest Bible Camp in Alexandria. Information about and registration for camp is available in the Spring at Luther Crest’s website.
