The following was written by Bonnie Zimmer, an elder at Prairie and outgoing Children’s Ministry coordinator.
We are especially thankful for Bonnie’s work in this important volunteer role over the last number of years. In September, Bonnie is stepping back from the coordinator role.
See below for the current plan, how the coordinator role will be divided up, and how you can be involved!
As many of you will know, Prairie has continued Sunday school throughout the pandemic through the use of puppet shows and mini lessons in the form of “Things to think about”, all available on the Prairie You Tube channel.
As well, since Easter Week, children have had special packages delivered to their doorsteps. These packages contain a variety of craft materials and activity sheets supplied by Sheila Anderson, and books for the youngest children supplied by Janet Simpson.
We have not been able to meet in person since March of 2020 but we are hoping that will change as we move into the fall!
We anticipate that September will be a “transition” month, and will have a revamped form of Sunday school for at least that month, to be reassessed at the end of September. Here is how it would work:
The activity bags would still be created and delivered at the beginning of each month, complete with the stories for the weeks in that month.
If children are not physically in church on a given Sunday, they can do the story and activities at home, as they have been doing in recent months.
When they are able to be in church, we will encourage them to bring their activity bag with them, but extras will be available for anyone who is not able to do this, or forgets to bring them.
This system will greatly reduce pressure on teachers to provide activities as they will be already organized.
Teachers, then, will be performing more of a “supervising “ role as they will have little to no preparation to do in advance, other than familiarizing themselves with the story.
We anticipate having two classes, one for children from Kindergarten to Gr. 4 or 5 and another for grades 6 and 7.
We anticipate that the nursery will be available for use by preschoolers and their parents.
Assuming that classes will go ahead as usual in the fall, we would like you to consider whether you would be able to help with one of the following areas:
supervising/teaching classes
scheduling teachers/supervisors
seeing that criminal record checks for volunteers are up to date
ensuring that basic supplies are in the supply cupboard
being a storyteller
coordinating/overseeing the above roles
You will notice that the above roles have traditionally fallen under the heading of “coordinator”. We feel that by having roles divided up as above, it will be a great help to the coordinator.
We are grateful that a couple of major areas are already being covered –Janet Simpson has agreed to continue to conduct the Orientation session that we are required to hold each fall. Thanks, Janet! As well, a huge thank you is due to Sheila Anderson for looking after activity sheets and crafts!
Please give these needs some prayerful consideration and let us know where you think you might be able to help out.
Our children are experiencing a great deal of stress at present, and it is our hope that by helping them build a strong foundation of faith, it will help them through not only the current times, but through the inevitable difficulties they will face as they navigate life’s future challenges.