Our Savior's Lutheran Church of Lafayette, California Our Savior's Lutheran Church of Lafayette, California
 

Children's Ministries

How will your kids make sense of the world?  

          

           At OSLC, we work to give kids a set of experiences, stories and tools that will serve as a foundation for the growth of their faith throughout their lives.  

           We seek to inspire children to understand their world, and try to make it better.  

Experiences for children and families at OSLC (click to jump to information on each topic):



Questions?  Ask Janet Katari, Director of Family Ministries.

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Family Programs

We seek to help families to learn together and live out their faith in the world.

Ongoing:

Support Group for Parents of Young Children:  We meet the first Wednesday of each month, at 9:30 in the OSLC Nursery, to examine how we raise our children spiritually, and support our own spiritual growth in this chaotic time.  Sometimes we learn together by reading and discussing, other times we just talk.  All parents of young children are welcome.  For more information, contact Pastor Holly McHale-Larsen.

Parent Discussion Group:  We are in the process of forming a discussion group for parents of children in the elementary and middle school age group.  If you are interested, please contact Janet Katari.

God's World:   Our God's World Discovery Hour, 9:45 - 10:30 on most Sunday mornings during the school year, provides childcare for babies and toddlers, and education for all ages from three through adults. More information on the specific programs for all ages can be found below (up to 5th grade) and on the middle school, high school, and adult faith formation pages of this website.

Upcoming:

Kids' Night Out and Parent Lecture this spring:  Join us at 4 p.m. on a Saturday tbd this spring.  We will have a lecture for parents (speaker tbd), and childcare.  After the lecture, parents are welcome to go out (until 8:30) while the kids play with our carefully screened, fun caregivers.  RSVP is required for childcare.  Email Janet in order to RSVP.

Summer Family Field Trips: Last summer, Pastor Holly led a set of fieldtrips to fun child-friendly destinations in the Bay Area this summer.  Watch for more details as next summer approaches.

All Church Retreat:  Open to all, the retreat is a great opportunity for families to recenter, be guided in new directions, and enjoy great fellowship.  Watch for more details on our Fall Retreat, October 8 - 10, 2010, at Mt. Hermon Conference Center.

Family Trip to Rancho Santa Marta:  Each year over Presidents' Day Weekend, a group of families ventures to Rancho Santa Marta in order to spend a few days working to improve the facilities at this school in Mexico.  Details on next year's trip are available now - contact Greg Wikler for more information.

 

Also, watch for other church-wide events on our front page and elsewhere- all of our events and programs are designed to be inclusive of families, either by inviting children to participate, or by providing childcare.

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God's World

Our final Advent God's World is this Sunday, December 20. We will focus on what gifts we bring to Jesus and the world.

After a break on Sunday, December 27, on which day there is a single service at 9:30, we return on January 3 with an all-church God's World.

That Night I Dreamed of Lions: Daniel and the Lions's Den starts January 10.


God's World is our Sunday morning education hour, offered for all ages at 9:45 on most Sundays during the school year.



What does it mean to walk with Jesus? These are the children's footsteps on the Road to Emmaus

God's World Kids showing off their masks from the Esther Story

What happens during God's World for Kids?

  • Core stories from our faith are presented in depth over the course of 4-5 weeks
  • Children are encouraged to live in the focus story to fully incorporate it and see how the story can influence the way in which they live out their lives
  • Aspects of the story are presented in different ways to reflect the different strenghts and learning styles of the kids
  • The story builds each week; the story evolves in the telling and different layers are added in each re-telling
  • Children are split into age-based groups so that kids can enter the story at their level
  • Children discuss and experience examples of how such a story might be lived out today


Click here to download a 2009-20010 Registration Form
Click here for the 2009-2010 God's World Schedule

Epiphany 2009 Intergenerational Event Photos

Photos from 2008 God's World Kickoff

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Milestones

Milestones are offered to individual grade level groups as focussed education in important faith practices.  Each milestone is presented over several weeks.  Currently, the milestones offered are:
  • My Church - an exploration of the church site for preschoolers
  • Worship - a guided introduction to the worship experience for kindergartners
  • Prayer - an introduction to many different types of prayer for first graders
  • Communion - Communion instruction for second graders
  • Bible - an overview of the Bible, it's evolution, and how to use it for third graders
  • Mission - a guided group experience in which fourth graders choose an organization and carry out a project to support it (e.g. a food drive for the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano)
  • Remembering Baptism - a study of the history of Baptism and what it means to "live wet" for fifth graders


Click here for the 2009-2010 Milestone Schedule

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Worship for Children at OSLC


We believe that corporate worship is an important part of children's faith development, and we encourage you to share worship with your children.  Children of all ages are an important part of all of our services, and often assist in the service by presenting music, reading or serving Communion. We seek to make worship a meaningful time for all members of our community, including our children.  

Why worship with your children?

  • Children learn worship by worshiping with the congregation Sunday after Sunday
  • Children learn they belong to God and are welcome in God's church
  • They discover that they are valued as individuals by God and by God's people at church
  • They build a fund of memorable, shared experiences of Christian community, from which they may draw when they are older
  • They are enriched by the beauty of music and art as expressions of praise and as human response to God
  • They hear stories from the Bible read and interpreted
  • They begin to see Christian worship as one place where God may speak to them

Children's Choirs

We are currently not offering any choirs for young children - older children (high school age) are welcome to be a part of our adult choirs.  Click here for more information on music programs at OSLC.

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Vacation Bible School

  

Thanks for your interest in Vacation Bible School at OSLC.  After many years of providing a Vacation Bible School at OSLC, we are taking a break in 2010.  We are giving our dedicated volunteers a well-deserved break, and taking time to consider how best to serve the children of OSLC and our community in the coming summers.  


Nursery Care

Child care is provided during regularly scheduled services and most special meetings and events.  Our nursery interior has recently been upgraded to better care for our youngest children.  Our nursery is always staffed by two screened adult caregivers who enjoy spending time with your children.  

Nursery care is provided for newborns through age 4 during services.
Childcare for children kindergarten and older is provided for special events.

What to Expect

Join us on a Sunday morning - you and your children are always welcome!
Our early, more traditional service, begins at 8:30 a.m. Our later, more contemporary service, begins at 10:45 a.m. Services are followed by a time of fellowship, including snacks and beverages.  

God's World, our education time for all ages, is offered from 9:45 to 10:30.  God's World will take a break on December 27, on which day there will be a single service at 9:30.  Then God's World begins again on January 3.  All ages follow the colored path to their classrooms.  Children and adults reconnect in the lounge prior to the 10:45 service.  

RED:  3's to Kindergarten
ORANGE: 1st - 3rd Grade
YELLOW: 4th - 5th Grade
GREEN: Middle School
BLUE: High School
PURPLE:Adults

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