Park Lake's Children's Ministry Gets WOW Grant
by Rev. Dr. Paige McRight, Children's Sunday School Teacher, Park Lake Presbyterian
Park Lake Presbyterian Church has received a $1000 grant to fund its worship education program for elementary-aged children through Columbia Theological Seminary. Dr. Kathy Dawson at CTS is directing the Lilly-funded project to benefit churches that want to improve the nurture of children through corporate worship. Park Lake will use the funds for books for our families to use at home ( A Children’s Guide to Worship and 100 Things Every Child Should Know Before Confirmation), children’s Bibles for the sanctuary and supplies for Prayground (Google it!).
Our children stay in church and use lap desks to complete a hands-on project related to the week’s sermon during the preaching of that sermon. Helen DeBevoise and Paige McRight have created an eight-week course on worship for Elementary Sunday School based on books from the Presbytery Resource Center, especially "Get Ready, Get Set, Worship!" The pictures show you how our kids decorated the verses that we share each week and how we learned about who does what to lead us in worship on Sundays. Paige and the children introduced the course to the congregation and taught them the chorus to the song I AM The Church, You Are The Church. We were pleased to see that the grown-ups caught on fast.
If you want to get in on the fun at your church, more grants are available. You are invited to conduct an inventory that CTS provides on what you are already doing that will help you to ascertain where the greatest need is for this money. As a part of this audit you will be identifying 3-5 places where you might make simple changes that can be done in the next year to engage children more fully in worship. After completing the audit, fill out the short registration form, including an approximate itemized budget, to explain how you will spend this money. This application is due by July 15, 2024. Expect to hear back from Wonder of Worship in July/August 2024.
Dawson says, "Churches are using these for a variety of reasons from beefing up their pray grounds and worship bags, to training for child liturgists, to adding to their Godly Play stories, and renovating their cry rooms to be more welcoming to families." You can email Kathy Dawson for more information.
Our children stay in church and use lap desks to complete a hands-on project related to the week’s sermon during the preaching of that sermon. Helen DeBevoise and Paige McRight have created an eight-week course on worship for Elementary Sunday School based on books from the Presbytery Resource Center, especially "Get Ready, Get Set, Worship!" The pictures show you how our kids decorated the verses that we share each week and how we learned about who does what to lead us in worship on Sundays. Paige and the children introduced the course to the congregation and taught them the chorus to the song I AM The Church, You Are The Church. We were pleased to see that the grown-ups caught on fast.
If you want to get in on the fun at your church, more grants are available. You are invited to conduct an inventory that CTS provides on what you are already doing that will help you to ascertain where the greatest need is for this money. As a part of this audit you will be identifying 3-5 places where you might make simple changes that can be done in the next year to engage children more fully in worship. After completing the audit, fill out the short registration form, including an approximate itemized budget, to explain how you will spend this money. This application is due by July 15, 2024. Expect to hear back from Wonder of Worship in July/August 2024.
Dawson says, "Churches are using these for a variety of reasons from beefing up their pray grounds and worship bags, to training for child liturgists, to adding to their Godly Play stories, and renovating their cry rooms to be more welcoming to families." You can email Kathy Dawson for more information.