Children's Ministry
Discipleship
Sunday School
Sunday School takes place during roughly the second half of worship. Children are invited to come forward for the Children's Moment, where the pastor briefly discusses something related to worship or the scripture passage of the day. After a quick prayer, children may either return to their pews to continue worshipping with the congregation, or they can head to the Library for Sunday School led by our Christian Education Director and Safe Sanctuary-trained volunteers. Parents can then pick kids up during coffee hour.
Vacation Bible School
Our VBS week usually takes place mid-August, and offers a chance for kids to come together for games, Bible study, and music during the summer. Stay tuned for 2023!
Fellowship, Service, and Events
We also have several regular events for our children to get together, play games, celebrate holidays, and practice serving their community. Here are some highlights:
Feed My Lambs
Every month, on the third Tuesday of the month, our Missions Committee chair leads a cooking class for children roughly 9 years old and up. Class begins at 4pm and includes lessons in the basics of food preparation for a group. At 5:30pm, the pastor leads a few minutes of devotions, and then the children serve the dinner they have just prepared for their families and other members of the congregation. It is a wonderful marriage of fellowship, fun, and practical skills.
Trunk-or-Treat
Every year, we invite kids from our church and community to celebrate mystery and mischief at our annual Halloween party! (After all, the Holy Spirit is known to be fond of mystery and mischief at times!) Bring your kids to the church parking lot the Saturday before Halloween to trick-or-treat at church members' cars. Costumes of all kinds are strongly encouraged, for kids and car volunteers alike!
Christmas Pageant
The annual Christmas Pageant has been on hiatus for some of these COVID times, but stay tuned for next year!
Confirmation
Children who are of age for confirmation may join our spring Confirmation classes to prepare for becoming an official member of the church.
We'll talk together about what it means to be Christian, what it means to be United Methodist, and what you're promising when you join the church. In Confirmation, we affirm our baptismal vows and choose to participate in the Church (universal), as opposed to any other faith. So, we'll also talk a little bit about other faiths and other denominations, and about what makes us us at East Bloomfield.
If you haven't been baptized yet, you'll be baptized during Confirmation. If you've already been baptized, you'll be invited to remember your baptism and confirm the promises you made (or that your parents/guardians made for you) when you were.
Once you're confirmed, you're officially a full, professing member of East Bloomfield. That means you can vote at church conferences, join leadership committees, even go to Annual Conference as a delegate! If you're interested in any of that, let us know! We'd love to help you prepare for any of these.
Adult Volunteers
We're especially in need of volunteers around Vacation Bible School and Christmas time. It takes all hands on deck to host VBS or to put together a Christmas Pageant! But we also need plenty of volunteers to help us with Feed My Lambs, to be Sunday School helpers, and much more.
If you're interested in helping to lead some or chaperone any of our children's ministries and events, please let us know! Our pastor and Christian Ed Director will help you make sure you're up-to-date on your yearly Safe Sanctuary training, and that you have any materials you might need to prepare for volunteering.