Upcoming Events:

  • February 12 – Family Sunday (Outreach Sunday) – Children meet downstairs and proceed to Church for Family Sunday. They will sit together until after the Offertory.
  • February 19 – Church School
  • February 26 – Church School
  • March 4 – Church School
  • March 11 – Church School – Children will cook for the Paterson Men’s Shelter during Church School. Grade 4-5-6 will bring food to the shelter at 5 pm with Bryon Roshong and Shari Caloz. Watch for details soon.
Jesse Tree Decorated during the Service


Church School Calendar for January through June 2012.

Please remind your child to bring in non-perishable food to help Marina Reilly in her quest to collect 1,000 food items for the Center for Food Action. Children will bring their donations to the Altar on February 12, Outreach Sunday, in a show of support for Marina as she prepares for her Confirmation this spring.

Church School Sunday Schedule:
9:45 - Children - gather in their classrooms downstairs (Fellowship Hall)
10:30 - Children and teachers gather for the Proclamation of the Word of God
10:45 - All join parents in the Church for Holy Communion.

 

Children in Ministry – Sharing the gifts that God has given us
WE WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE!  As always, we will put our hands to work for God.  We are sending our children a clear message of personal initiative and empowerment to make a difference in the world no matter how seemingly small.  Your children can grow spirituallyand personally by sharing their time and talent with our church community and beyond. Please take the time to talk with your children about the spirit of gratitude. Encourage them to volunteer, according to their giftedness, for areas of ministry in the Proclamation of the Word, Family Sundays, and Outreach opportunities. It’s a GIFT to support you in your children’s faith formation!

Our Focus
This year, as in the past, we are truly blessed to have a dedicated group of volunteer teachers, a wonderful and a gifted children’s music director/faith formation coordinator, Angie Rispoli.  The teachers are even more blessed to have such a large, lively and active group of children to teach. 

The order of spiritual growth activities in Church School creates a “worship-focused” experience for them.  We begin class lessons downstairs at 9:45 sharp in Fellowship Hall (classroom area), then at 10:30 children and teachers will gather for the Proclamation of the Word of God, then all will join the church community for Holy Communion.

We are committed to helping young people grow spiritually and to develop their relationship with Jesus as well as fostering their sense of outreach and stewardship in the Church and the community.  Through lessons, videos, music, art, games, outreach and discussion, our children move from the basics to very complex and age-appropriate ideas about what it means to be part of a community of faith and specifically, a Christian.

Make the commitment to bring your child each week and on time so that he or she will be able to “feel the Spirit and Peace of Christ” at Atonement and then to take that wonderful sense of “At-one-ment” with them out into the world.

Also, please help develop your child’s faith formation by volunteering in some way! 

Grades/Teachers:
Kindergarten – Grade 1 - Vanessa Roshong 
Grades 2-3 – Sherry Diaz
Grades 4-6 – Bryon Roshong and Shari Caloz
Grades 7-9 and Confirmation – Carol Petrovich

Curriculum:
We use an Episcopal Children’s Curriculum called All Things New for Kindergarten through 6th grade. This curriculum teaches Bible stories, sacraments and worship and includes fun activities and crafts.  Aspects of the fun and interactive “Godly Play” stories are also used in these grades, as well as study of the Bible and the Church with real-life discussions and activities for older children.

Outreach:
On December 11, Church School children conducted a new clothing drive and wrap gifts for the men at the Paterson Men’s Shelter.  It is an annual event, which the children enjoy and which resonates with them during the Advent season, while they are awaiting the celebration of the birth of  Jesus. 

In mid March, we will prepare a meal for the men at the Paterson Men’s Shelter.  Families are assigned a food item to bring in for the meal, and all the children actually do the work: washing and tearing lettuce, mixing in the tomatoes, cucumbers, etc., chopping, seasoning, browning, pouring, mixing, slicing and more. It is very exciting for them, and they even got to taste the finished product.  Visiting and serving dinner at the shelter is a very important ministry and a teriffic experience for both children and aduts.  The whole trip takes about 2 hours from start to finish!!  If interested in volunteering to help cook or to go to the shelter to serve the food, please contact the church office or Shari Caloz.  It is a truly wonderful outreach experience that you and your children will enjoy.

Playroom/Nursery:
If your child is not yet old enough to attend Church School, you may bring them to the Playroom, where infants and toddlers learn that they are loved by God and God’s people. They’ll hear simple Bible stories read to them by a member of our Early Childhood Team. Our Playroom Coordinator, Maryann Silver, is a registered nurse.