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Our desire is to create a place where people of all ages
are invited to participate in the full life of our community.
This includes children. We seek to make a special effort to
allow opportunities possible for the full involvement of children
in our spiritual formation. Children are not seen as simply
empty vessels that we pour information into, but full participants
in life with God. Therefore we seek to create age appropriate
opportunities for children's involvement in the life of Solomon's
Porch
Babies in the Solomon's Porch Community
Sunday Evening Worship Gatherings: While we do not
have an official nursery we do offer "baby holders", and a
changing/play room for babies. So, if someone comes and asks
to hold your baby, don't be surprised. Also, please do not
be bothered by babies making a little noise or crying a bit.
You are welcome to use the baby room, but we find that crying
babies remind us that it is good to take time to listen to
one another cry - even during the "important" times of life.
During the Week: Moms' weekly get-togethers offer
a chance during the week for involvement of parents and babies.
Babies are also encouraged at our Wednesday Evening Community
Meals. We encourage the presence of babies at many of our
get-togethers. Babies allow us all to participate in the special
and transforming activity of holding and playing with the
youngest and most innocent ones of us.
Toddlers in the Solomon's Porch Community
It is our desire to create an atmosphere of spiritual formation
for all people at Solomon's Porch including toddlers. While
we recognize the unique challenges of this effort and believe
that this role is best fulfilled through the home, we believe
that the responsibility of our community is to support families
by creating opportunities of spiritual formation at church
and at home.
During our Sunday evening Worship Gatherings: Our
"toddler hosts" encourage toddlers to join in the singing,
prayer and communion. During the "sermon" toddlers are invited
into an age appropriate climate involving dance, art, story
and music.
During the Week: Moms weekly get togethers offer a
chance during the week for involvement of parents and toddlers.
Toddlers are also encouraged at our Wednesday Evening Community
Meals.
Elementary Children in the Solomon's
Porch Community
Sunday Evening Worship Gatherings: During the Sunday
evening Worship Gatherings our Elementary age participants
are encouraged to participate fully. They are expected to
participate with their parents during most of the evening
including singing, prayer, communion and all that goes on.
During the "sermon" time they are invited to join in a children's
area to work on stories and crafts. During this time they
have the opportunity to listen to the sermon and soak in what
is being shared.
Catechesis program - From Carla Barnhill
Okay, for the children's formation stuff, here are some ideas
I've had: I think the basic goal of anything we do should
be to nurture the relationship these kids already have with
God. What I mean by that is that God is already working in
their lives. As adults, our role is to guide them to an understanding
of what that work is about. There's a program called the Catechesis
of the Good Shepherd that is essentially Montessori-based
Christian Ed. The idea is that adults present the stories
of Scripture to the kids in simple, basic ways, then let the
kids interact with the story with questions, ideas about what
it might have been like to be part of the story, even tangential
stuff. One of the other neat things about this program is
that it focuses on the character of God as revealed through
the stories of the Bible. So instead of teaching the story
of Jonah to tell kids about Jonah, the story is presented
as being about God at work in Jonah's life. With younger kids,
they learn about Jesus as the Good Shepherd and get a sense
of God as their loving protector. Then, as they get older,
basic morality is introduced as being our response to this
loving God--God wants good things for us so he set up rules
to help us live in a way that's good for us. The actual Catechesis
program has set presentations, but I think it would be great
if the kids were learning something related to what you'll
be talking about each week, even if it's just a thematic connection
and not necessarily working from the same passage.
Middle Schoolers in the Solomon's
Porch Community
We seek to create an atmosphere where middle and junior
high school people can fully participate in the life of Solomon's
Porch. It is our belief that middle and junior high schoolers
are at an ideal age to receive great benefit from having the
involvement of older role models who love them and help them
live a life of God's dreams.
Sunday Evening Worship Gatherings: During our Worship
Gathering Middle schoolers are encouraged to participate fully
in the entire evening. Many choose to help with elementary
kids as well as toddlers and babies during the worship gatherings.
Sunday Afternoon: There is an age appropriate club-like
meeting each Sunday afternoon from 4 - 5:15 PM in four-week
cycles, with the fifth week being a community dinner. During
this club the middle schoolers are introduced to Christian
practices and teachings as well as older role models who help
them understand how they can orient their lives into the passions
of God.
Activities: Each month middle schoolers are invited
to participate in service opportunities, often with the entire
community of Solomon's Porch. There are also occasional activities,
retreats, and trips for middle schoolers.
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