Children, Youth & Families Ministry

Sunday Morning Schedule

Nursery Opens - 9:15a.m.

Catechesis (Sunday School) - 9:30a.m.

Children's Chapel - 10:30a.m. *Children leave and return during service.

Almighty God, heavenly Father, you have blessed us

with the joy and care of children: Give us calm strength

and patient wisdom as we bring them up, that we may

teach them to love whatever is just and true and good,

following the example of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

-- Book of Common Prayer,

page 829

Registration for 2024-2025

We ask that all children and youth participating in classes, programs and events at Emmanuel Episcopal Church have a registration form on file. Complete the form HERE.

Faith Formation

Helping our children develop a strong relationship with God is one of the most important things we can do as parents and caregivers. Toward that end, we offer a Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program for children ages three years through fifth grade. This program follows a Montessori-based approach to spiritual formation, which fosters wonder and contemplation. It is taught by highly trained volunteers.

The annual curriculum typically starts in August and ends in May each year, with classes every Sunday morning 9:30 am - 10:15 am. Children gather in our upstairs Atria, located on the third floor of the main church building.

Children's Chapel takes place during the 10:30 am worship service. The children follow the cross out at the Sequence Hymn, and they will return at the Peace. (Instructions are in the bulletin).

On most Sundays, we offer Adult Formation classes, coffee hours and other interesting activities for parents who want to bring their children and then stay for the 10:30 worship service.

We invite you to bring your children to a class on any Sunday. A child does not have to start in August and can participate in the program at any point.

Children's Choir

Choristers training, a graded program inspired by The Royal School of Church Music, co-taught by Aimee Marcoux and Benji Stegner, is for children ages 5-13. Practice is Wednesdays from 6:00-6:45 pm in the music suite starting September 11th.

We ask that all children and youth participating in the Chorister Program register HERE.

During Lent, our children collected $137.44 in their mite boxes, which were presented at the altar on Easter Sunday.

All the money is going to Episcopal

Relief and Development to help the earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria. This project is a beautiful example

of the giving hearts of our children.

Children and Family Fun Events

Throughout the year, we host a wide variety of social events and service projects, designed for family fun. Everyone across the entire parish is invited to connect and enjoy one another, while often making a positive difference in our local community. Our parish families get to know each other, and our children learn to share their good work by serving and caring for the Athens area and beyond.

Some of our favorite events are Blessing of the Backpacks, Chili and Pumpkins, Blessing of the Animals, Advent Wreath Making, Community Angel Tree, Christmas Pageant, The Great Pancake Supper, The Great Easter Egg Hunt, Family Flower Arranging, The Week of Wonder (VBS), and more.

In the recent past, we’ve served organizations such as Family Promise, Athens Area Humane Society, Athens Community Council on Aging, the local Salvation Army, Episcopal Relief and Development, and more.