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Children's Education

God's Big Backyard Vacation Bible School - Where Kids Have a Blast Serving God! Mark your calendars for July 28 - August 1 for the best VBS ever! Our children will spend the week discovering how rewarding it is to serve Jesus at home and in the community! Please join Ann Lowrey Forster, our 2008 VBS director, by signing up early to help make this a great week at the Chapel!

Parent's Night Out - Our first Parent's Night Out was such a great success that the Guild of the Christ Child is putting more dates on the calendar! The next one is scheduled for May 9 in honor of Mother's Day! Please reserve your child's spot in the nursery by calling the church office or emailing the group at christchild@gogglegroups.com

More Children's News:

• You won't want to miss Percy King at the Chapel on April 30 for an exciting presentation with animals! Bring your cameras! We will not be having Catechesis this night.
• Please watch for 'Thank You Boxes' set up around the Chapel giving everyone the opportunity to thank those serving in the Chapel by writing a note of thanks and placing it in the box.
• Summer Sunday School - We are looking for a few parents to lead summer Sunday School. Our curriculum is called Jerusalem Marketplace - A Holy Land Adventure. If a couple of you would like to team up, that would be great! Please contact Lynn as soon as possible if you are able to help out!
• Did you wonder why we had butterflies to release on Easter Sunday morning? The children completed the series From Caterpillar to Cocoon to Butterfly: God's Metaphor of Metamorphosis. We had seven wonderful lessons about the caterpillars journey to becoming a butterfly while relating it to the story of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. We then culminated this study with the butterfly release!
• If you did not get to turn in your Lenten Project Money Box, you can still bring it to church with you. We will be sending the collected money to Mission Sebenzila in a couple of weeks.
• We have spots available in Mother's Morning Out for this summer and fall for children 6 months - 3 years old.
• The next Catechesis Training opportunity is coming up quickly on May 16! We are helping everyone get registered now. Please contact the church office for more information.
• Please contact Lynn Ward for more information about any of the Children's Activities at the Chapel by calling the church office at (601)856-2593 or by emailing to elynnward@hotmail.com.

Children's Choirs 1st - 3rd Grade choir meets on Wednesday afternoons at 5:15pm. 4th - 6th Grade choir meets on Sunday mornings at 8:45 a.m.

Chapel Playgroup The playgroup meets weekly in the church nurseries on Thursday mornings. You are invited to bring your little one and have a cup of coffee with other parents while watching your child play.

Guild of the Christ Child The guild wants to know if you are expecting a baby! Please contact the church office so the guild can start praying for you as you prepare for your new baby.

Mother's Morning Out We are now registering for the summer and fall Mother's Morning Out program. Stop by the Children's Ministries desk for more information.

Spring Irish Dancing Classes begin Friday, March 7 at 3:30 pm! The Chapel is hosting a spring session of Irish Dancing classes for kids of all ages, or at least all ages 6 and over. The classes will begin March 7th and take place every Friday from 3:30 to 4:30, for about 2 months. The instructor will be Catherine Scherer Bishop, of the Jackson Irish Dancers. (www.jacksonirishdancers.org/) We are very lucky to have such a talented teacher available to us. Catherine holds the TCRG certification for teaching solo and ceili dancing from the Dublin-based Irish Dance Commission, along with an MFA in dance from SMU and an MA in ethnochoreology from the University of Limerick in Ireland. This will be an informal course which will happen again in the future should there be enough interest.

There is no need to commit to the whole session. Fees include a $12.50 family membership to the Jackson Irish Dancers, and then $10 per class attended. The classes will be for beginners and are geared towards, but not limited to, kids and teens. In other words, if this is something you have been wanting to try, come on and join the fun. You've never had a more enjoyable workout. Boys are encouraged to give it a try as well. Check out this video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=cA88D_qkOqo

For any further questions, call Liza Johnson, 601.605.8685.

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
Catechesis is a wonderful children’s Christian education program that is grounded in scripture and liturgy and enriched with prayer, worship and a spirit of celebration. Tangible, self-teaching materials allow children to delve deeply into the Christian message. It is setup in three levels: Level One is for 3-6 years old; Level Two is for 6-9 years old; Level Three is for 6-12 years old.

Sunday School
Sunday School for our children is held during the 10:00 a.m. Church School hour in the main Education building. Classes correlate to the grade the children are in at school and the classrooms are marked with signs. Classes are also provided for pre-schoolers and a nursery is available for the younger children. The children graduate to the next level at the beginning of each new school year. Enrollment is holding steady at about 100 children. Volunteers are always welcome to serve as teachers. Lesson materials are provided.

Children's Church
Our children age 3-5 are encouraged to attend Children's Church during the 8:45 and 11:00 a.m. services. The children come to the worship service in time for Communion. The lesson materials relates to the Scripture readings for the regular worship service.

Special Programs
Special children's programs are held throughout the year. A favorite is always the St. Nicholas Program during Advent. The children always delight in the stories about the wondrous deeds of St. Nicholas, the special St. Nicholas cookies and a visit from the Saint himself.

Other special occasions which the children particularly enjoy are Blessing of the Animals, carving pumpkins for the All Hallows Eve service, the burning of the greens after Christmas, and decorating a cross with flowers at Easter.