CHILDREN @ ST JOHN'S CATHEDRAL

Update of news for children

2006 CHILDREN’S CATHEDRAL CELEBRATION
Theme: Children – Called into the Light
When: Sunday 22nd October 2006 2.00-4.00pm
Where: St. John’s Cathedral, Ann Street, Brisbane
What: Celebration Service at 2.00pm followed by
afternoon tea then fun and activities
Who: Children and families whether part of the church
or not and those who work with children.
More information: The Rev'd Carol Roth or Wendy Walton
Ph 3514 7443

Good News
Being inner city and a Cathedral means that the children who attend our Sunday Program are a multicultural sample of Brisbane’s children.

Our Sunday Program is a gathering place for them and their families, and as such is filling a gap in Cathedral life that has been present for several years. We have a multi-age Sunday Program to provide the children with opportunities to mix across age groups with all the challenges and benefits that brings.

Our exciting news is that our program will be changing.

On Sunday 29th of October we will be opening the first Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Atrium at the Cathedral.

What is the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd?
The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is an approach to religious formation of children, 3-12 years of age. It is based on the conviction that God and the child are in relationship. The child has a deep need to experience and a special capacity to enjoy the presence of God.

The task of the adult, or mentor, is to help the child live fully the encounter with God. When helped to do so, this experience becomes formative of the child’s whole person and generates great joy.
(Taken from Brief Overview of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd)

More about Catechesis of the Good Shepherd

Our new Cathedral Sunday School is offering us the truly exciting opportunity to reach out to the children who attend the 9:30am Service at the Cathedral.

This opportunity has been brought about by the combined efforts of so many dedicated people at the Cathedral – from the fundraisers raising much needed funds for the resources, to the willing hands at the working bee to make the room into a welcoming environment, to the people willing to lead and guide our children. Thanks to their efforts, the dream of having some form of children’s ministry at the Cathedral has become a reality.

The Cathedral Sunday School commenced at the start of the Second Term of the school year, and it was wonderful to have thirteen children attend our first few Sundays! But the dream does not stop here. Over the next few months some of those who have offered to mentor and encourage the children’s spirituality will be attending training for the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd being run by the Rev’d Carol Roth from ACRE.

The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is a Christian education process for children aged 3-12 years, in which they experience and form an authentic, faithful relationship with God. What is so special about the COGS is that it is not about taking the children out of Church but rather preparing them for Church, so that they too will have a greater participation in the liturgy and want to be part of it.

Children are not our future but our present, and if this is so then we at St John’s Cathedral feel blessed that we have so many children enlightening our present and making the Cathedral a place of worship where all are included.
11/5/06

• Organisers
  Miss Lindsay Henderson
  The Reverend Canon Susan Robertson