Children are vitally important to the life of St Margaret’s. We love having children with us in church and don’t mind at all if they are a bit restless or chatty.
The Faith Formation team partners with parents and grandparents as they teach their children to know that God loves and accepts them.
We also provide faith formation for parents through various small groups in the parish.
As a parent or grandparent faith formation may mean that you:
We support faith formation for families in the following ways:
Baptism is also called the door of the spiritual life; for by it we are made members of Christ and become members of the Church. When someone is baptised, that person is brought to Jesus Christ, and made a member of Christ’s Church. It is a new start to life in which the baptised person is accepted and sealed by God with God’s Spirit to represent Christ to the world.
If you are contemplating Baptism for your child or yourself, please contact the parish office to arrange an appointment with the priest Rev. Keren Terpstra.
We have a program that educates children about the Christian faith, our Anglican tradition and the structure of our services.
In confirmation, the candidate confirms the promises made (usually on their behalf when they were an infant) at their baptism. We prepare teenagers and adults to make their own commitment of faith in Jesus Christ through confirmation.
We conduct events that enable children, teenagers and their families to participate in activities that make use of our labyrinth and natural play space as well as meditative services for younger folk.
We encourage all children to participate in special activities in services during the seasons of the church year and support older children to use their musical gifts in special services of celebration.
The 10 am morning service caters for all ages. Children are encouraged to attend with their parents and participate in the services as much as they are able.
Parents of small children can sit in reserved seats on the left hand side of the church where there is a mat with comfy cushions, toys, books and activities for children to play with thatconform to child safety requirements.
If your child needs to be changed the change table is in the disabled toilet.
There is a comfy chair in the small meeting room for breastfeeding.
If your toddler wants more space to move around there are some toys stored in the cupboard in the entry and the service is broadcast there or you can take them down to the back of the church.
Young children are given a folder and some coloured pencils with materials related to the topic of the day. There are also puzzles and books in the kids corner of church.
Children between the ages of 8-11 are prepared to participate in Holy Communion and expected to take part in the service. They are offered folders with relevant activities and pencils. These children are encouraged to take part in services and will be rostered on age-appropriate roles.
Teenagers are offered opportunities to use their gifts to participate in the services through reading, prayers and music.
Visiting children are also offered age- appropriate activities
St Margaret’s church is very fortunate to have some lovely surrounds that include spaces and equipment for all age relaxation and faith formation:
A full size labyrinth where children and their families can walk or enjoy the garden, some of which was planted and watered by the children.
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