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Our goal
St. John's goal, as a faith community, is
to provide continuing Christian education to children through a
variety of age-appropriate curriculum, thus nurturing and
sustaining their journey of faith.
Children in Worship
-- St. John's supports an atmosphere which includes children in
the total life of the worship experience. We encourage and invite
our youngsters to serve in a variety of capacities, including
music programs and special processionals. Additionally,
children are encouraged to participate in the following
opportunities:
Vacation Bible School: August 3rd
– Thursday, August 7th
We had a wonderful week of
Vacation Bible School from August 3-7th.
The children who attended enjoyed a week of learning about giving,
sharing, loving, growing, and praising God in our Rainforest
Adventure. We were excited to have a special Closing Ceremony for
the parents, friends, and members of the church. So many people
helped out in countless ways including 33 volunteers! Thanks to
everyone who helped as a volunteer or as a donor of many items!
You helped us have a wonderful week of Vacation Bible School we
couldn’t have done this without you!!! We look forward to next
year!
Opportunities for children during the
Church School hour:
Please NOTE:
Church School for all ages begins at
10:00 Sunday,
September 7th
Children up to grade 9 & their parents should
plan to meet in the Sanctuary
September - May -
Classes will resume in September the first Sunday after Labor Day:
weekly classes are provided for children of all ages from 10-10:50
a.m. Through a structured and progressive curriculum, children
receive instruction beginning with captivating children's Bible
stories through a more in-depth Confirmation (9th grade) and high
school curriculum. The following classes are available:
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Newborn-Age
4, Nursery Room, 1st Floor. St.
John's nursery program offers youngsters an opportunity to spend
time with children of the same age and to develop a positive
routine of church school attendance. Children will enjoy a
variety of activities, with Bible stories being an emphasis.
Church time
nursery needs your help….We
are only able to
provide ongoing staffing of this ministry with volunteers.
If you are willing to volunteer, please contact
the church office. -
Age 4 (as
of Sep 1) through Kindergarten, Room
1, 1st Floor. - Travel back in time to visit the amazing people of
the Bible! Experience the magnificent creation, sail the
flooded waters with Noah, travel with Moses across the
wilderness, and fearlessly enter the lion's den with Daniel.
Learn of Jesus' birth, his childhood and adult life, his death,
and his resurrection. All of these stories and more are
told and illustrated on a colorful flannel board. The
children will also enjoy a craft time, sing bible songs, and
recite the Lord's Prayer weekly.
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Grades 1 &
2, Room 2, 1st Floor. A two year
curriculum is designed to give the children a firm foundation in
the Old and New Testaments. The first year focuses on
themes of God's love and care for us and our response of thanks
and obedience illustrated by stories from the Old Testament from Adam & Eve
through David. This year also sets
the stage for God's promise of salvation, fulfilled in the New
Testament. The second year encompasses a
fundamental understanding of the life of Jesus, learning
about Jesus' birth and early years of his life, his miracles,
ministry, and an overview of his saving work and a brief view of
the emerging church. Each quarter there are memory verse
challenges and weekly take-home papers which illustrate and recap
the
session's Scripture story. -
Grades 3 &
4, Room 11, 2nd Floor. This two
year curriculum picks up where the 1st and 2nd graders left off.
Old Testament stories start with David and continue on through
Elijah, Ahab, the fall of Jerusalem, Jonah, and the return from
exile. The second year focuses on Jesus, who as
a premiere storyteller, used everyday illustrations (parables) to speak
about a particular faith truth, touching people's lives in
significant ways. The class will look at some of the
parables just as Jesus' early followers did. Time
will be spent studying how the church began and went about
spreading the gospel message in the first century, especially
looking at the missionary journeys of Paul which greatly
expanded the church geographically. -
Grades 5 &
6, Room 14, 2nd Floor.
Through an exciting combination of readings,
discussions, games, and activities, the 5th + 6th grade class
will be focusing on finding and maintaining faith and
understanding salvation. We will also begin a closer look at
the first four commandments. -
Grades 7 &
8, Room 10, 2nd Floor. Warning
to 7th & 8th graders...Prepare yourselves to embark on a
time warp to the beginning of time - before pizza and shopping
malls. Join this class for an exciting undercover story of
the greatest events of all history, recorded in the most
fantastic book ever written, the Bible. Hold on to your
Reboks and Levis because you're going to discover some
interesting and unbelievable plots from the Old and New
Testament that could read as if they were in Newsweek and
the Public Opinion. So don't sit around scratching
your head and wondering what this hype is all about. Come
and join the journey! You won't want to miss even one
action-packed discovery! -
Grade 9,
Room 12, 2nd Floor.
This year of intensified instruction in the Christian faith
offers ninth graders an opportunity to grow in their faith,
develop a deeper understanding of the Church, prepare themselves
to be disciples of Jesus Christ, and become actively involved in
the life of St. John's. The Confirmands will visit St.
Mary's Orthodox Church near Fayetteville, Temple
Beth El in
Harrisburg and experience a day trip to Washington D.C.
They will also work with an adult mentor during the year, and plan Youth Sunday
in January. They will be confirmed in the spring. -
Senior High/Post-Grads,
Room 13, 2nd Floor.
The
curriculum we will be using for the Senior High Youth is from
the Dare 2 Share website. Here are some comments taken from
their site to explain what it is about: energizing and
equipping teenagers to know, live, share and own their faith
in Jesus, and raising the bar spiritually for teenagers,
calling them to make a difference by taking Jesus Christ and
the Great Commission seriously. Dare 2 Share has crafted a
powerful strategy that could turn the tide of youth ministry
in America and capture their hearts!
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St. John's Camp Perfect
Attendance, St. John's
Church offers summer camping experiences for youth in
kindergarten through grade twelve. Campers having
"perfect" church school attendance the year prior to camp
attend summer camp for half price. To qualify for
"perfect" attendance, campers are permitted to miss ONE Sunday
per church school quarter. Registration information for
each summer camp season is usually available in March.
Opportunities for children during Worship:
-
Nursery Care
(newborns through pre-kindergarten) --
provided weekly in the nursery; Nursery School #1, 1st Floor.
During the worship service, nursery care is offered for children
beginning approximately ten minutes prior to the service.
Parents are asked to pick up their children immediately
following the service. On Easter Sunday, nursery care is
provided only for children newborn to age 2. -
A Time for
Children -- a special "sermon" for
children is presented prior to the Gospel lesson on various
Sundays each month. Children gather on the steps of the altar
as an adult or youth relate an age-appropriate story, often
relating to the lesson for the day or to the church season.
Additional opportunities for
Youth:
Friends are invited and
expected at ALL youth events!
If you have any questions about
events, e-mail office@stjohnschambersburg.org
or call the church office at 263-8593.
YOUTH GROUP:
Upcoming
events & meetings:
CAMP
RETREAT FOR ST. JOHN'S YOUTH & FRIENDS (grades 5-12)
It's back: "Camp with Dug & Scott featuring wings by Chicken
Lippy!"
(Otherwise known as the Youth Retreat at St. John's Camp)
Come up whenever you can make it, stay as long as you can, and
play games, volleyball, basketball, hang with your friends,
have fun, food, fellowship, wings by "Chicken Lippy",
campfires, and a few surprises. Bring a friend - it's
free.
Look for sign up sheets and additional information on the
bulletin boards @ church.
Remember to invite your friends
to all Youth events!
For more information, e-mail us:
office@stjohnschambersburg.org
St. John’s Troop
136
News
St. John's Cub Pack 136 is GROWING!
We are happy to
report our Pack has grown to 42 boys - 12 more than last spring!
This fall our Cubs (grades 1 - 5) attended the Wizard Western
Safari in York with 3000+ other Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts from
all over the region. The event is only held every 4 years - so
it was extra special. Some of our young Cubs even stayed
overnight with their older counter parts from the St. John's Boy
Scout Troop. Together they experienced the outdoors, fireside
cooking and fellowship with boys from all walks of life.
The Pack is
looking forward to several service projects in November -
Scouting for Food and fall clean-up here at St. John's.
Look for the Pack in the Chambersburg holiday parade and Veteran's Day parade. Plus our annual pinewood derby
is just around the corner in January. Some boys have already
begun designing their cars. For the second year there will be
an adult/boy scout category for pinewood derby competition! St.
John’s members are invited to design their own cars and enter
into the fun! This is great for former scouts who want to
relive their youth. More details will come next month.
The Pack Committee is also busy planning for our summer camping
season at Hidden Valley. Several of our Cubs will be in need
of camp sponsorships. If you are interested in donating toward
our Pack camp sponsorship fund or to the Pack general fund, we
would gladly provide you with a letter of donation for tax
purposes. We also except old uniform donations which help us
uniform boys who otherwise could not afford them.
If you know of a boy that is interested in the scouting program
– Cub Scouts or Boy Scouts – please contact the church office.
Thank you to St.
John's for supporting our boys in this very important program.
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