Families, Children, and Youth

Families, Children & Youth

Children & Family Ministry We had a big year this last year and much of the beloved ways we have of connecting with our kids were not available to us as usual due to the pandemic. This year was a year full of innovative thinking and creative new ways of coming together to learn and have fun with our younger ones at Trinity. Below are some highlights of the many ways we sought to connect with our children during this pandemic season. We learned a lot along the way, including how well kids adapt to Zoom learning and meeting! We also figured out ways to have families connect with each other despite the distance. Youth continued to meet and get creative with how they were learning and growing together. While this was a hard year in many ways, we grew as a community and with the help of our children and youth, we braved new technological waters. We are so grateful to our children, our families and our youth as well as our Sunday school and youth leaders who continue to find ways to connect with kids and keep the formation going despite the distance and hurdles of the pandemic. We are so grateful for you and all that you offer to our community. Highlights for the many ways we connected, learned and had fun together in 2020. Before the pandemic hit we kicked off Sunday School and Youth the usual way meeting in-person and having fun and robust Children’s Chapel opportunities during worship. We were also able to have a children’s Ash Wednesday service coupled with the Tuesday Mardi Gras party. That evening we invited all children into the church to learn about the meaning of Ash Wednesday and Lent and receive Ashes with their families. It was a very successful event and a great learning experience for us all. Lent: We continued with Sunday School and other ways of connecting including virtual movie nights on the platform Scener and a remote game night. Virtual Summer Learning with Families: Through the SALT Curriculum, we were able to create video lessons to be viewed by kids and families along with fun activities and music to go along with those lessons. Many families also connected with each other to discuss what they were doing together while following along with the lessons. Virtual Backpack Blessing: As we got back into the swing of what would be a very unique school year we led a backpack blessing via Zoom for our kiddos. We mailed home, to all families, prayers and backpack tags for them to begin their school year in faith that all shall be well, that we were all in this together, whether you were going back to school in-person or virtually. Family Hike at Fort Ben: We enjoyed a long hike with about 10 families at Fort Ben in October. A way to be safely together during an isolating time which provided fun for the kids and connections for our families. Family Game Night at Holiday Park: We enjoyed a picnic dinner at Holiday Park and played some fun socially distance games together, another opportunity for us to come together safely and connect. Family Movie Night Drive-In with SRES: With St. Richard’s Episcopal School we partnered to host a double feature drivein movie event. We passed out snacks and fun Halloween themed crafts while enjoying seasonal movies together in a safe and socially distanced way. Sunday School Continued in Zoom, with different groups based on age so that those in similar age groups could learn together in a small group setting. We also integrated some intergenerational lessons so the kids could all come together and see one another. Advent Drive-Thru: We held a Advent Festival Drive-Thru event where families and all parishioners could drive by the church and pick up seasonal goodies, an Advent Wreath and some seasonal activities, crafts and devotions for the Advent and Christmas seasons. Our First Ever Zoom Christmas Eve Children’s Christmas Pageant!

We worked with the 6th and 7th grades of our church community to write a Christmas Pageant and from there we organized the kids of the congregation to record the pageant in Zoom. We had so much fun collaborating with one another, laughing at the silliness of the play and the costumes and not to mention the Zoom setting we were using for the production. It resulted in a beautiful, joyful and sweet pageant for the congregation. Fun was had by all and was surely the most entertaining event of the year.