Wilton Presbyterian Church welcomes, nurtures and incorporates children in our worship and community life. Children develop a sense of WPC as their church family and home. They are encouraged to be ushers, greeters, and scripture readers. We have a dynamic Church School program in partnership with St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church for children from infancy through 7th grade.
Church School meets during our 10 am worship service and provides for both activities-centered learning about the Bible and our Christian faith, and a weekly experience of worship. In addition, children have the opportunity to learn songs of faith in the monthly gathering of “Joyful Noise” after Church School.
Our Church School is a vibrant community of adults and children from both Wilton Presbyterian and St. Matthew’s Episcopal churches who come together every Sunday morning to worship, learn, pray, sing, play games, develop a sense of belonging, and explore what it means to be a child of God. Children in kindergarten through 7th Grade begin worship with their families and move to Church School after the reading of the first lesson. Younger children go directly to their classes at 10 am. Children in Kindergarten through 7th grade return to worship on the first Sunday of every month to take communion with their family
Our curriculum for children up through 5th grade, Bible Quest, provides an activities-based approach that emphasizes learning by doing and recognizes that children have different learning styles. Children are given the opportunity to experience, interpret and explore how New and Old Testament stories relate to their own lives as they study the bible. The curriculum for sixth and seventh graders is “Tweens in Transition”, which provides a biblical framework for the issues and choices that middle schoolers face every day. The class will present a sermon/play at our annual worship service led by the children, the Festival of Children.
Every Sunday throughout the summer, there is a combined grade Church School class for all children up through 3rd grade. Nursery care is also provided for children up to 3 years old.
“Joyful Noise” is a monthly program which gives our children from kindergarten through 3rd grade the opportunity to learn and sing songs of faith. On “Joyful Noise” Sundays, children will move from their Church School classes at 10:45 and will gather in the Upper Core where they will sing both hymns and old favorites as “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”, “Jesus Loves Me” and “Father Abraham.”
As part of this program, children will also receive communion, alternating between Episcopalian and Presbyterian traditions.
Throughout the year, families and children are invited to take part in activities that celebrate the seasons of the church year.
In Advent, families can take part in a workshop where they assemble unique Advent calendars which have an envelope for each day in Advent. Each envelope holds a daily message and a treat. Many families have found this has enhanced their experience of Advent.
During Lent, simple Lenten activity calendars and One Great Hour of Sharing mite boxes are given out. The One Great Hour of Sharing is a special offering for denominational disaster assistance, programs to alleviate hunger, and for employment training. This offering is received and dedicated at morning worship on Palm Sunday. On Good Friday at 4 p.m. there is a special worship service planned for children which allows them to walk through the events of Holy Week and experience them in a unique manner. For instance, they wash their hands to remember the way that Pilate washed his hands and visit a garden to remember the garden at Gethsemane.
There are a variety of mission activities throughout the year by which we hope to encourage our children to see themselves as givers to others.
At Thanksgiving and in the spring, children in their classes make small gifts and cards, which individual families personally deliver to members of our two churches to let them know that we care. These deliveries have sparked a time of additional intergenerational community and caring. In addition we do mission projects in which we collect items that have been requested by not-for-profit agencies supported by our church.