St. Margaret's Episcopal Church

This winter, in Godly Play, we will be exploring the six weeks of Lent building up to the Mystery of Easter.  This is a wonderful way for children up to 12 years of age to learn about this very special event!  Also this winter we will have parables for the students to listen and think about.   The older children may find the challenge of the parables intriguing. Older children, as well as adults, are encouraged to help tell stories, welcome the students to enter their holy space and aid the story teller during the story telling, during the work after the story and during the feast.  The children are encouraged to think about what medium would serve them individually the best, help in serving the feast, change the circle or church year calendar and participate in cleaning up after the work session and feast. 
Class begins at 9:45 so that there is time for the lesson, the work session, and the feast.  Then the children enter the church service in time to participate in the Eucharist.
All are welcome whether it is every week, occasionally, or as a guest.  Please come enjoy this interactive and visual style of learning, modeled from the Montessori style, with us!

Sunday school classes 9:45 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

      unless otherwise indicated below

01/17/10 - Godly Play:  The Sower Parable
01/24/10 - Godly Play at 8:45:  The Good Shepard Parable
                (Annual Meeting after the 9:00 a.m. service)
01/31/10 - Godly Play:  The Great Pearl Parable

02/07/10 - Godly Play:  The Holy Family
02/14/10 - Godly Play:  The Mystery of Easter 
02/21/10 - Godly Play:  The Faces of Easter I
02/28/10 - The Bishop comes for confirmation. 
                 There will be one service at 9:00 a.m.
                 No Sunday School, children will come
                 to church at the beginning of service.

03/07/10 - Godly Play:  The Faces of Easter II and III
03/14/10 - Godly Play: The Faces of Easter IV
03/21/10 - Godly Play:  The Faces of Easter V
03/28/10 - Palm Sunday:
                 One service at 9 a.m.  The children will come to the beginning of
                 service to participate in the palm parade around the
                 church  and then go to the Sunday school.
                 Godly Play:   The Faces of Easter VI

04/04/10 - Easter:
                  The children will come to the beginning of the
                  10:15 service to participate in the
                  Passion Play.  There will be an Easter Egg
                  hunt for the children during coffee hour.
04/11/10 - Godly Play:  Easter Eggs
04/18/10 - Godly Play:  Jesus and the Twelve
04/25/10 - Godly Play:  The Good Shepherd and the World
                 Communion

05/02/10 - Godly Play: Circle of the Holy Eucharist
05/09/10 - Godly Play: Symbols of the Holy Eucharist
                 (Mother's Day)
05/16/10 - Children's service - The children will select a
                 Godly Play lesson to present to the Parish!
05/23/10 - Godly Play:  The Mystery of Pentecost 
                

Church School at St. Margaret's promises exciting changes with our new rector, Martha Kirkpatrick and Godly Play curriculum!
As we enter our second year of  the curriculum, Heather Emerick will be the story teller and Sue Lopez the door person.  However; we welcome parishioners to try their hand at either role if interested. 
We are hoping to find someone as a permanent helper with the nursery, but in the meantime welcome volunteers to help.  Heather, Sue, and Martha will be pulling together curriculum and planning activities for the Godly Play Curriculum.  All of which they hope will draw more children to the new and inviting classrooms on the second floor of the Parish House addition.  This may even entail having a service for families with children when it works into their schedule better!

Godly Play is a wonderful program that promotes a deeper relationship with the lessons by giving the children hands on activities related to the lessons.  It is similar to the Montessori method of teaching.  The lessons are sacred stories, parables, and liturgy lessons.  The use of silence, body language and wondering are all used to capture the student's attention and challenge the children to think about the lessons.

Please find a list of the events.  There are flyers on the bulletin board in the lobby at St. Margaret’s.   You may also contact the Diocese directly or you may ask us at St. Margaret’s.  You will find a link to the maineyouth.org at the end of the web page on Sunday School.  Please remember that there are sources for scholarships so do not let cost or the number of children you have detour you!

Outreach

·         International Youth Mission Team serving the Dominican Republic in July 2011.  (Encouraged to apply before Easter).  www.maineyouth.org   www.dominicanepiscopalchurch.org  Or call 800-244-6062x29.

·         For Maine outreach we have a family with teens that their house was destroyed by fire.  See www.maineyouth.org for more details about how you can help.

Growth and connection

·         TEC (Teens Encounter Christ) March 19-21 at Trinity Church in Portland.

 www.maineyouth.org www.dominicanepiscopalchurch.org  Call 800-244-6062x29

·         Down East Youth Event at St. Anne’s in Calais, Maine April 10-11^th  Sherry Sivert 214-5754 or 454-8016.  This is for grades 6^th-12^th.

Summer camps

·         Camp Bishopswood – see campbishopswood.org for more information.

·         Camp Bion (believe it or not) grades 6-12.  Discount if you register before June   20th.   www.maineyouth.org  www.dominicanepiscopalchurch.org  Call 800-244-6062x29

Last October 11th the Sunday school students had a very appropriate lesson on Baptism and then came to the service in time to witness three Baptisms.
Two families had their children Baptized that morning at the 10:15 service.  It was a second Sunday so a light meal followed the second service.

CREPES AND BERRIES AND CRÈME – OH MY!

Everyone who entered the Parish House social room on the third Sunday last month saw the children of the Sunday school ready to serve them with clipboards and order sheets. There were gasps of delight when four choices of crepes were on the menu:

            1.  Plain crepes to which the devourer could then add butter cinnamon or a choice of maple, raspberry, blueberry, or strawberry syrup for a finishing flourish.

            2.  Fruit-filled crepes with raspberries, Maine blueberries or strawberries which could be topped with whipped cream.

            3.  Whipped cream cheese-filled crepes with a choice of fruit spooned over the top, and again the option of slathering whipped cream on top.

            4.  Chocolate crepes filled with cream cheese with a choice of fruit and a little powdered sugar sprinkled on top.

Each Sunday the children have a feast as part of the Sunday school.  The children take turns serving the juice and the matzo crackers.  This breakfast gave the children the opportunity to serve the Parish members, and they took great pride in it. There were also helpers in the kitchen ladling out the fruit onto the crepes.