Youngsters

Youngster Program

For Summery 2025, the Youngster program will celebrate the summer with our “Fruit of the Spirit” classes. We will start our class time reading a children’s story or two around the week’s “fruit of the spirit”, and then discussing it. After reading, we enjoy a snack (sometimes it’s popsicles; sometimes it’s fresh fruit) and then transition to activities and time for fun and community building.
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Throughout the school year, we read a story from the Bible each Sunday. This summer, we are reading books that AREN’T the Bible, but that might remind us of some of the ideas in the Bible. We hope by reading these stories, we learn more about the ways that people practice living with love and mercy. The Bible may have ended two thousand years ago, but God’s love and mercy did not!

Not all the stories we read this summer will be perfect examples of love and mercy. (Not even Bible stories are always perfect examples!) But there can still be lessons to learn from these stories. Exploring ways to understand God’s love and mercy is a big reason we come to church

Grownups are also welcome to join their Youngsters in class–as an observer, an assistant, or teacher! We embrace new perspectives on the Youngster lessons. If you’d like to sign up to lead one of the weeks’ Bible stories or activities–or be an assistant/second pair of hands in class–please email youngsters@houseofmercy.org or sign up here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13LP4SYbcoEabrSwM1KW-3GEaZbZS76_Ki3FfTT_FryA/edit?usp=sharing

Mission

The mission of the House of Mercy Youngster Program is to point youngsters to the grace of God revealed in Jesus Christ by the following means:

  • Learning the story of Jesus and the story of God’s dealings with the Hebrew people
  • Exploring & experiencing the classic elements of Christian worship
  • Celebrating God’s gifts of creativity by making songs, images and stories
  • Fostering an ethic of care and a sense of responsibility for each other and for all of creation

Motivation: Free, Inquisitive, Creative Faith Instead of Religious Manipulation

At its best, the Church in its history has been moved by the Holy Spirit to proclaim Jesus Christ as the Good News of God’s radical love and engagement with the world. But at its worst, the Church has used tactics such as manipulation, fear, and shame. Since children are especially vulnerable to such tactics, we believe that we must pay great attention to our attempts to teach our children about faith. While our community is far less than perfect, our aim is to create a climate of trust and to foster receptivity to the love of God as revealed in Christ and experienced in worship. That is, we aim to have no other agenda than simply pointing to the free, radical, and life-changing grace of God that is given to us in Jesus Christ.

During the Sunday service, an unstaffed nursery space (AKA the Rumpus Room) is available for infants and toddlers in the back of the sanctuary. There are lots of fun toys!

Youngsters  participate in the beginning of the church service and leave for class via the Youngster Parade. The Elder Youngster (youth) program is for middle and high schoolers. All ages are also welcome to stay during the service, or enjoy the nursery space (AKA Rumpus Room) at the back of the sanctuary.

Baptism is offered throughout the year. Please contact Rev. Russell for more information or to schedule a baptism: russell@houseofmercy.org

For more information or if you’re interested in helping with or donating to the Youngster Program, please contact Nancy Abts, Youngster Program Coordinator, at youngsters@houseofmercy.org. Or, find her sitting near the back of the church on Sundays before the Youngster Parade, giving out ’10-peace’ with her daughter 🖐️🖐️  instead of the ‘2-peace’ you might find in other pews ✌️ !