Children
Birth through Age 12
Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:3
At St. Stephen’s we respect and nurture each child’s innate spirituality and understanding of God’s profound love for them, tailoring experiences in worship, education, and fellowship to the individual developmental needs of the child. It is our role as their faith community to help support and be with our children along the way.
Holy Baptism
Baptism is the sacrament signifying our identity as children of God and our commitment to walk in the ways of God throughout our lives.
Baptism serves, as well, as a sacrament of welcome into the Body of Christ—for children and adults. In it, we celebrate God’s love and embrace for God’s people as unconditional and absolute; we are “marked as Christ’s own forever,” making Baptism a sacrament that is done only once in a person’s life.
Baptism is also a time when the community of faith gathers to renew its own commitment to Christ and to support those who are being baptized in their life in Christ. So it is appropriate that baptism take place, whenever possible, in the midst of the congregation during the Holy Eucharist as the chief service on a Sunday or other feast day.
The Book of Common Prayer designates certain days in the liturgical year as being especially appropriate for the celebration of Holy Baptism. These are the Easter Vigil (Saturday night before Easter Day), the Day of Pentecost, All Saints’ Day or the Sunday after All Saints’ Day, the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord (the First Sunday after the Epiphany) and the annual visit from one of our bishops.
Instruction
In the early Church, adult baptisms were the norm as more and more people heard and responded to the Gospel. Adult baptisms continue to be the cause for great celebration in our church. We encourage adults who are exploring the Christian faith at St. Stephen’s to discuss the possibility of baptism with one of the members of the clergy. Many adults who wish to be baptized take part in an Inquirers Class as part of their preparation.
If you wish to bring your child to be baptized, both the parents and godparents of the child will receive instruction from a member of the clergy in anticipation of this happy occasion.
Upcoming Dates
Upcoming baptism dates are listed below.
2024
- August 18 @ 10 a.m. (in the church; summer schedule)
- September 22 @ 9 a.m. (Palmer Hall service) and 11:15 a.m. (in the church)
- October 20 @ 9 a.m. (in the church)
- November 3 @ 9 a.m. (Palmer Hall service), 11:15 a.m. (in the church) and 5:30 p.m. (Celtic service); All Saints’ Sunday
2025
- January 12 @ 9 a.m. (in the church and 5:30 p.m. (Celtic service) the Baptism of Our Lord
- March 2 @ 11:15 a.m. (in the church)
- April 19 @ 7:30 p.m. (in the church) the Great Vigil of Easter
- April 27 @ 9 a.m. (Palmer Hall)
- May 4 @ 9 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. (in the church)
- June 8 @ 10 a.m. (summer service in the church) and 5:30 p.m. (Celtic service) the Day of Pentecost
- July 20 @ 10 a.m. (summer service in the church)
- August 24 @ 10 a.m. (summer service in the church)
St. Stephen’s Church offers a nursery for children through age 4. Trained and caring staff take care of young children during Sunday morning services (9 and 11:15 a.m. during the academic/program year, and 10 a.m. during the summer), the Sunday morning formation period (10:10-11 a.m.) and during the Sunday evening service of Celtic Evensong and Communion. The nursery is located on the lower level of the parish house in the same area as Dogwood Preschool. Greeters are happy to help you find your way to the nursery.
You are also welcome to bring your child(ren) to a service with you.
Questions: the Rev. Abby Kocher
Communion Preparation
An offering for children in grades 3–5 and their parents
As Christians we are eager to share the sacrament of Holy Communion with those who seek to receive this nourishing gift of divine presence. While a special course of instruction on Holy Communion is not required to receive the sacrament in the Episcopal Church, many—children and adults alike—may find it enriching, instructive, even transformative to spend several weeks in a course designed to deepen one’s participation in and appreciation of Eucharist and its centrality to the Christian life. At. Stephen’s, we offer a series called “Solemn Communion.”
During elementary school, children enter what is known as the age of reason, a profound phase of development, and one in which the religious formation of the child is particularly impressionable. It is an intensely sensitive time that we believe the church should take great care to nurture. In this developmental phase, children are uniquely engaged in becoming more aware not only of their own moral compass but of a discerning inner voice.
Solemn Communion is a five-week series for children and parents based on meditations from the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, the Montessori-based approach to religious formation that we use at St. Stephen’s Church. This series is designed with the spiritual life of the elementary age child in mind, with companion presentations given to their parents. As much as Solemn Communion is a deepening personal experience, it is equally a community-building relational experience for all involved.
When we schedule this offering for 2025, we’ll announce the dates and registration in the Spirit, the eSpirit, and the family ministry e-newsletter.
Seasonal offerings
Children and their parents can take part in a variety of seasonal offerings in addition to regular Sunday formation and worship. These include:
- Vacation Bible School in the summer
- Blessing of the Animals in October on a Sunday just before or just after St. Francis Day, October 4; there are two options: bring your pet to the Palmer Hall service service for a blessing and/or attend a service that afternoon on the lawn outside the church.
- Thanksgiving meals for those in need; St. Stephen’s delivers food boxes assembled by families and individuals to provide holiday meals to people identified by our outreach partners.
- Advent Fair; an all-ages event where you can make a fresh Advent wreath and find a variety of resources for observing the season at home
- Live Nativity; an outdoor pageant when children through grade 5 wear costumes and are arranged in several tableaux–complete with live animals–where older children read portions of the nativity story aloud for visitors who walk from station to station.
- Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper on the evening before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.
- Agape Meal: a supper and simple liturgy in the fellowship hall that recalls Jesus’ last meal with his friends before his trial and crucifixion; takes place on Maundy Thursday, the night before Good Friday. Instrumental music and optional foot washing are also part of this observance.
Sundays at St. Stephen’s
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Formation
Catechesis (cat-eh-KEE-sis) of the Good Shepherd is a unique approach to the spiritual nurture of young children. Based on the work of Sofia Cavalletti and Maria Montessori, this offering recognizes that children are already in touch with God in their deepest being. It is not “Sunday school,” in the traditional sense of the word, with adults imparting information to children. Rather, adults—specially trained for their work as “catechists”—accompany children on their spiritual journey. Adults who take part in Catechesis [kat-eh-KEE-sis] find that it enriches their own religious lives in a profound way. Families whose children spend Sunday mornings in the atrium (their sacred learning space) are similarly enriched. And the impact on a parish church using Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is profound.
Catechesis Level 1 Atrium
Children ages 3-6 years old work in the Level 1 atrium.
Catechesis Level 2 Atrium
Children ages 6-9 years old work in the Level 2 atrium.
Catechesis Level 3 Atrium
Children ages 9-12 years old work in the Level 3 atrium.
St. Stephen’s Choristers
The St. Stephen’s Chorister program offers not only an excellent education in music, but imparts skills for life. Formation in leadership, teamwork, service, work ethic, commitment, and friendship will serve each chorister well in whichever walk of life they choose. The choirs seek to instill confidence and poise in each chorister in order to be part of a team—both as members and as leaders—whose sum is greater than its parts.
The chorister program welcomes young people grades 1-5 and is inclusive of all genders. Choristers sing for services in the main church at St. Stephen’s and in Palmer Hall, a separate chapel that offers services for families with young children. Choristers are trained in the fundamentals of musicianship and chorister conduct. They serve primarily in Christian worship services, but welcome young people of any or no faith background.
The chorister program uses the curriculum from the Royal School of Church Music called Voice for Life, an excellent graded approach to vocal training, sight-singing, music theory, and leadership.
Dogwood Preschool
The leaders of St. Stephen’s Church and Dogwood Preschool are thrilled that this outstanding preschool relocated to our campus as of summer 2023. Read more about Dogwood here.
Register your child
When registration opens in August, please be sure to register your child for 2024-25 children’s offerings. Registration not only helps us plan more effectively; it also provides important information about your child(ren) to our staff.
The registration link will be available on this page and will be announced in our weekly communications.