Faith, Fun, and Fellowship

At St. Augustine’s, we are blessed to have five adults directly involved with children’s ministry. Jennifer Rose serves as Sunday School Coordinator, Emma House as Children’s Music Director, and Shauna Elliot, Shara Shears, and Kim Osbourne as teachers. Together, these five leaders rotate teaching duties once a month, with the rest of the team helping out with crafts and snacks.

There is also a Christian Education Committee that provides additional learning experiences for children and adults alike, as well as an Outreach Committee that involves younger parishioners in its activities wherever appropriate. In addition, the clergy take time during each worship service to focus directly on the children.

Our Sunday School reopened after the summer break with 19 students between the ages of 3 and 11, organized into one large class. To start the school year, Rev’d Kay blessed school bags and prayed for a safe and happy year of learning.

Before heading to Sunday School, the children attend the start of the main worship service, where one of the clergy chats with them and introduces the Gospel story of the day. This is followed by prayer and often an action song. Then it’s off to class, which begins with an opening prayer, an offering, and a music session with Miss Emma. The children enjoy playing various musical instruments, including an electric keyboard, and learn a new song each month. This routine leads into the lesson, drawn from the Virtual Church School curriculum, and concludes with the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostles’ Creed. Afterward, the children enjoy an activity and a snack—with treats and juice generously provided by parents, teachers, and the ACW. The children and teachers then rejoin the congregation for communion during celebrations of the Holy Eucharist.

Children’s birthdays are recognized with a new pencil and a small gift, and each child has their photo taken for the birthday board. The photos remain on display throughout the year, and the children love comparing their new picture with last year’s to see how much they have grown.

Truth and Reconciliation Day was observed on September 28th at St. Augustine’s. The service began with an outdoor smudging ceremony. Then, instead of the regular class, our Sunday School welcomed Kim Golder from the Munsee Delaware First Nation Band, who serves as the Elders and Youth Program Director for NAWN. She brought drums, sang songs, and read stories with the children. All the children and teachers wore orange shirts or traditional dress for the occasion. The children had a wonderful time while learning about the significance of the day, with a special focus on forgiveness and love. They learned that every child has the right to be happy, safe, and loved.

Advent began with the annual Family Day on November 29th, when the entire church family was invited to work on crafts together using materials supplied by the Education Committee. Christmas cards and ornaments proved to be the most popular projects. There was even a challenging craft for the adults—a foot-high wooden tree outline adorned with carved nativity figures to paint or varnish. Even the youngest children joined in the fun with colouring sheets and homemade play dough in various colours, complete with Ziploc bags to take some home. The morning concluded with a community lunch of hot dogs and cookies.

On December 7th, the Sunday School teamed up with the Outreach Committee for a field trip to the Acadian Village Seniors’ Home. Dressed in adorable nativity costumes, the children sang songs and listened to the Christmas story. Miss Emma and her husband Louis, also an accomplished musician and singer, put on a special musical performance for the residents. All of the Sunday School teachers were on hand to help coordinate the event, making it a wonderful way to teach the children about the spirit of giving.

The children presented their Christmas pageant, “The Biggest Gift,” on December 14th, telling the Christmas story entirely in rhyme. Miss Jennifer and Sawyer, one of the older students, served as narrators while the rest of the children acted out the story, each contributing a speaking part. The children performed four songs, delivering an amazing show that impressed everyone present. The performance was followed by a celebration in the church hall hosted by the Education Committee, where the children enjoyed games, crafts, and a lunch complete with mini-pizzas, juice, and a make-your-own sundae station.

The Christmas festivities concluded on Christmas Eve with Baby Jesus’ Birthday Party, an event especially for the younger children. As always, they were joined by young out-of-town guests visiting grandparents for the holidays.

The gathering began with a procession, in which one of the younger children had the honour of carrying baby Jesus and placing him in the manger scene. Following the singing of “Away in a Manger,” Canon Dawn led the children in prayer and retold the Christmas story using figures from the nativity set. Afterward, everyone headed downstairs to the church hall for party games, crafts, and treats.

At St. Augustine’s, we believe in fully including children in worship and learning experiences at their own level, inviting them into the life and work of the Church every step of the way.