Sunday School at Saint Michael

Welcome to our Godly Play Sunday School program. Godly Play is different than the traditional approach to religious education. Through Godly Play, we teach children about God in a way that guides and supports them on their spiritual quest. At the heart of Godly Play is storytelling…helping them to know these stories well, ingraining them onto their hearts and learning how to use the language of the Christian people to help them make sense of their lives and how God is in and a part of that.

As your child’s teachers, we have prepared a special classroom environment to work in.  The routine will quickly become something students appreciate and look forward to:

1. Enter their classroom
2. Be greeted in the circle
3. Enter into a short experience with the liturgy of our Lutheran church
4. Listen to and experience a Bible story from the storyteller
5. Discuss the story together through shared Wondering
6. Respond and express themselves by creating artwork or playing with our many materials available to them
7. Close their time together at the end of class.

*Older students will have an added element of Scripture memorization, extended discussions and journaling experiences.

Through our time together, we will also help students realize their ability to make good choices, solve problems, articulate their needs, to get their own materials and to clean up after themselves. Know there will be weeks they have something they made to show you. There will be others that they won’t have anything, because they spent their time playing or working with other materials. They may not always be able to put into words what story they were told. Don’t worry. As they work and play they will develop the language to express how they are feeling about God and the stories they hear. Allow this powerful language to do its work. Trust the searching of your child to find what they need with God and the scriptures. And trust God that He is there, doing His work in their hearts.

Occasionally, we will invite you to come into your child’s classroom so that they can share their experiences with you, whether that be to create artwork together, for them to retell you a story with materials or simply to share time together reading a special book. The spiritual education and the importance of knowing God and having Him in their lives, is most influenced by you as their parents.

We are excited to share Godly Play with your child(ren). If you have any questions, suggestions or constructive feedback, we encourage you to contact us. We also encourage you to pray-for your child most definitely, and also for their Sunday School teachers who give their time & talents to this Ministry.    ~Kristin Knott & Jennie Bell

Here at Saint Michael, we believe that worship is a time that takes many voices and hands. We invite 4th and 5th graders to begin their involvement as leaders in worship services through communion. The 4th and 5th graders are tasked to help with communion by holding the empty tray for the communion glasses. Traybearers, as we call them, are train during one of the first Sunday School times by a knowledgeable lay leader. They are then placed on a rotating schedule throughout the year. This is a wonderful way to begin the journey of leading in the church.