Children’s Ministries

Through nurturing relationships and engaging Bible-centered curriculum, Bethany seeks to communicate the love and grace of Jesus Christ to our children. We invite you to explore the opportunities for spiritual nurture and service listed below. For more information, please contact Sarah at sarah dot jung at bethanybrookline.org

Our Values

At Bethany the spiritual formation of our children is shaped by these four values/convictions:

• Children possess the capacity to worship, experience, and respond to God.
• Children need developmentally appropriate methods, experiences and materials for faith formation.
• Biblical stories are the key to helping children know God.
• The whole congregation has a baptismal covenant, role, and responsibility in the lives of our children, and children have a role and responsibility in the whole life of the congregation. Adults that aren’t parents need to learn concern and care for the weaker, more vulnerable members of the Body, and children also can help adults learn about authentic worship and discipleship (Jesus said as much!).

Children and Worship

To express all of these values, particularly the fourth one, we always welcome and encourage the presence and participation of children in worship services. Parents and other adults in the congregation actively guide our children so that they can learn to pay attention to God's loving words and ways and make active response in worship.

Christian Formation (Kindergarten through 5th grade)

On all Sundays except the first Sunday of each month (when children remain in the entire worship service), we offer Christian formation for children using the Godly Play curriculum. Godly Play is:

• A curriculum that engages the whole child in creativity and community fellowship
• An active version of "lectio divina" (biblical meditation) on stories of the Christian tradition
• A time of playful worship that invites relationship with God

At the heart of a Godly Play session is the telling of the story, experienced in the contexts of both the chronology of scripture and the church calendar. The storyteller uses simple, beautiful materials to illustrate the story and to engage imagination.

Childcare (Birth through Pre-Kindergarten)

Childcare is offered to young children during the worship service every Sunday and includes a circle time where the children hear a Bible story, sing and pray together.

Opportunities TO SERVE

We are always looking for:

• Childcare volunteers for birth through preschool
• Godly Play curriculum volunteers for elementary-aged children

Contact Sarah at sarah dot jung at bethanybrookline.org if you are interested in learning more about serving in our Children’s Ministries!