We believe that Christian formation at St. John's is important for all, ranging from the youngest to the oldest! We have programs for adults (to which older youth/teens are welcome), programs specific to older youth when applicable, and our program for younger children.
In recent years we have used the Spark Curriculum, Building Faith Brick by Brick, and StoryMakers. Our formation for children continues in the summer. In 2018 one of our young adults developed and taught a curriculum which she called “God’s Green Earth” featuring bible stories and activities focused on water, animals, and plants. The program in 2019 was “Building Faith Brick by Brick”. Since Summer 2020 we have explored parts of Genesis and Exodus using the StoryMakers curriculum.
StoryMakers
Formation for our young members uses the StoryMakers curriculum where we celebrate that we are all made in the image of God, the Ultimate Story Maker. We meet Sundays after worship, 10:45 am until 11:45 am. Children may attend in person or online via Google Meet. Contact the office for more information, class materials, and the sign in link.
We are currently exploring the Book of Exodus! Our next Adventure will be The Wilderness. Contact the office if you would like to join us as teacher or student.
Lent 2022
During Lent Our Joyful Journey Class explored the Parables of Jesus. We also had prayer cards. Each of the days of Lent we scratched off a sticker to reveal underneath a prayer concern. By the end of Lent we had prayed for all members of St. John’s by name!
Souper Bowl of Caring
The Joyful Journey Class participated in Souper Bowl of Caring on February 13. Share in God’s love for our neighbors in need and give generously. All of the donations collected were used to purchase groceries for the Spring Food Drive of the Clarkstown Family Resource Center facilitated by our Hunger Task Force.
Merry Christmas from St. John’s Joyful Journey!
Every Tuesday evening at 7:30 our Joyful Journey members and those adults we have come to call “Friends of Family Compline” gather online for evening prayers. The children of our parish lead the prayers and we are given a chance to reflect on our day with a guided question. There is a time in our service when we include extra prayers, be they from one of the prayer books we use or from our hearts. The week before Christmas Dave (aka Pop) offered up a blessing for our Christmas trees and helped us to remember that Christmas is a time when the Light of Christ shines in our darkness. We wanted to show you the Christmas trees we are gathering around this week as we celebrate the birth of Jesus! So here are Margaret, Dave, Maddie, Luke, Brayden, Sophia, Jacob, Keilana, Jack, and Jean (who joins us most weeks from New Hampshire!). We wish you all a blessed Christmas.
Click above to read the article that Sophia, Brayden, Keilana, Luke, and Jonathan wrote for the Episcopal New Yorker. Email the office if you would like to join us online Wednesdays at 7:30 pm for Family Compline.
Keilana, Brayden, Luke, Jonathan, and Sophia
Lent 2021
The Joyful Journey class for children Pre-K through middle school meets online Sunday mornings at 11:00. We are ready for Lent! We will use the StoryMakers Lent series to explore the story of Jesus’ ministry. We are also following a calendar of “Lenten Micro Practices” and when we meet together we pray using Common Prayer for Children and Families as well as prayers from our hearts. We are excited to use our new “holding crosses” from the Holy Land to help us center ourselves in prayer.
Christian Education at St. John's is overseen by the Christian Growth and Development Committee and includes Adult Education, Church School, and Youth Programs.
Thank you to Sophia Greenberg for producing this year’s Christmas pageant.
Joyful Journey
Our fall children’s program for our Joyful Journey class explores the story of the flood in Genesis using Storymakers NYC curriculum. We invite all children Pre-K through 7th grade to join us at 11 each Sunday online! Email the office for more information.
We designed our own ARKS!
Summer 2019: Building Faith Brick by Brick
Our summer children’s program was Building Faith Brick by Brick. Our children learned about many stories from the Bible and responded by building Lego creations.
