Students serve their Church and Community By Henrieta Paukov It is no news to Ontario high school students that they must clock 40 hours of volunteer community involvement before they get their secondary school diploma. Many young people have found an easy and satisfying way to fulfil this requirement -they serve in their local parish. Says the Rev. Heather McCance, of the Parish of Sharon and Holland Landing: "When the community service requirement was first introduced, one of our young people said to me: 'I can't imagine being a Christian and not volunteering in the community.", The Ontario Ministry of Education brought in the requirement in 1999 in the hope that students will learn civic responsibility, strengthen their communities, enhance their self-confidence and network for future employment. Churches are on the list of eligible places to volunteer. The Toronto District School Board lists "religious communities/places of worship" as places for volunteering, while the Durham District School Board lists "religious activities, including participation as a volunteer in programs for children, child-minding, Sunday School assistance, special events and clerical tasks." Churches are pleased to have teens helping out. "We welcome young peoples' involvement in our parish ministries," says Ms. McCance. "They are full, contributing members of our communities."
Young people help run the annual vacation bible school at Christ Church, Holland Landing, organizing games, supervising crafts, working with small groups and helping with the dramas presenting the Bible story for the day. "Their enthusiasm and energy makes our teen volunteers popular with the bible school participants," she says. Teens also help with church suppers, sit on the Advisory Board, help with raking leaves and shoveling snow around the church, and on Sunday mornings act as sidespeople, servers, readers, Sunday School helpers, and choir members. "All this is in addition to the contribution of the youth group itself, running a car wash to raise funds for Faith Works or Habitat for Humanity, helping in the local food bank and participating in the Rally For Life to raise funds for the Cancer Society," she says. "By and large, our young members have fulfilled their 40 hours by the time they're in Grade 10, and very few of them have to make any kind of special effort to do it. As Kyle said, it's just a natural part of living their faith."
[Adapted from the Toronto Anglican, February 2005]
The Young people of the parish take an active part in worship, as Eucharistic Assistants, Servers or Bell Ringers. They also participate in a youth group, open to youth aged 11 - 16 years, for social events and special study events.
The Youth Group meets at the Church every second Friday for about 3 hours starting at 6:00pm.
With the departure of Steve and Nicole Coates the Youth Group has moved back to a bi-weekly schedule. It seems the kids actually prefer this level of commitment to a weekly schedule. We have almost doubled our numbers and the level of enthusiasm grows wash week.
The Youth Group is a social club for younger teens, It offers fun and fellowship in a safe environment. Among the wide array of activities there are in-house movie nights, movie (theatre) nights, special event parties (Halloween, Christmas, etc.) and we have plans for "field trips" this year.
As we continue to grow we need to maintain a proper participant/leader ratio. I am looking for your help. If you have 3 hours to spare every other Friday night, love kids (and pizza), please call or email me.
Brian Fairbrother sjtbyouth @ yahoo.ca
Welcome to the Church School Page
The page is for and about our very active Sunday School program.
The new curriculum (called "the One Room Sunday School") has arrived and the program has brought a new level of interactivity for our students (of all ages). Kathryn Kern has once again taken the lead and has already familiarized most of our teachers with this program. It seems very well suited to our St John's Sunday School demographics and it costs less than half the price of our previous program!
All families are invited. Come for a social time and introduction to the new curriculum. We are a co-operative Sunday School. All parents who would like to take a turn teaching are most welcome to do so.
How many times have you watched as a child was being baptized? Do you remember your part in the service? Just after the parents and sponsors promise to nurture the child in the faith and life of the Christian community and promise to help the child grow to the full stature of Christ, the priest turns to the congregation and asks you a question, "Will you who witness these vows of all in your power to support these persons in the life in Christ?"
Our Sunday Church School helps the child start on their journey to learn about their faith, the love of Jesus and about being a Christian in today's world. Many of the parents volunteer as leaders but we can't do it on our own. We are asking for your help. There are several opportunities: to be a teacher, lead a short worship, introduce music, play the piano, lead in a craft, or help in one of our several special events to mark the significant days in our Christian life.
We need teachers! If you sign up now, you have your choice of date: It’s wide open!
Who Can Teach? Anyone can. We believe in leading through example, which is why we encourage parents to also teach. If you would like to be involved in our Sunday Church School there's lots of ways; teach a class (our lesson plans are easy to follow and comprehensive), lead in worship, play an instrument, teach a new song or help with crafts.
Class Preparation Leaders are reminded to be sure to pick up your lesson plan the Sunday before you are scheduled to teach. On the Sunday you are to teach, we ask that you come to the Church School room by 10:15 to be sure the supplies you need for your lessons are set out. If you find that you cannot teach on a date that you are signed up, be sure to let us know by the Wednesday before so a substitute leader can be called.
Brian Fairbrother sjtbyouth @ yahoo.ca
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