You can trust you will find St John’s a safe, loving place for your children and youth. They are not only the future of our church but more importantly they are our church!
The Sunday school follows a program named the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, which is a Montessori-inspired religious education program for children (ages 3-12) that fosters a personal relationship with God, focusing on Scripture, the Liturgy, and prayer in a specially prepared space called an “Atrium”. The program seeks to teach children about Jesus, liturgy, the Church and the Eucharist and especially to form children as active participants in the community of the church.
Deirdre Mackay is the Sunday school director and has completed training in this program. We invite all families with children to come see our Atrium and join Sunday school!
A Special Place (about the atrium)
There’s a place where
I can be myself;
A place with treasures
On every shelf.
A place to learn
about God and pray
A place where I’d like
to be all day
It’s a place right close
to the heavenly shore
filled with the Holy Spirit
and angels galore
It’s a lovely room
with memories to hold,
made jewels, silver,
and gold
It’s just called “Atrium”,
a quite short name,
but it’s still a wonder,
all the same
I just love that little room
where I can be myself,
and I may explore,
as I please, those
treasures on the shelf.
Not your mother’s Sunday School!
There is a current blue jean manufacturer that tries to make an impression about the
contemporary style of their product by asserting that “these are not your mother’s jeans!” The
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is not simply a re-casting of the traditional child Christian
education and Sunday School programs of the last century. It is a contemporary approach to
helping children encounter God in the Person of Jesus Christ with their whole being – body,
mind and soul. They don’t simply learn about the Christian God. They’re enabled to experience
the sacramental presence of God through both hearing, experiencing and acting out the biblical
narratives with physical materials. They are “mentored” to grow spiritually by observing and
entering into this sacramental presence as mediated through the facilitators (teachers) who guide
them. Inevitably, it also deepens and enriches the spiritual lives of the adult facilitators because
they, too, participate in the portrayal of the living narratives of Scripture. Instead of merely
learning about God and the Bible, the young people actually come to know the God revealed in
Jesus Christ in the context of the contemporary disciples of Jesus Christ – the members of our
Churches, attending to the Word of God and gathered around the Eucharistic table.
Rt. Rev. Don Phillips, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Rupert’s Land
Our atrium and toddler area
Please contact Father Robert or Deidre MacKay for more information.