Sunday School
Wesley United Methodist Church offers Sunday School for Pre-K through High School students each Sunday September – June. Our program aims to teach the love and compassion of Jesus Christ through biblical scripture in the form of games, projects and music. Classrooms are divided into appropriate age groupings so that age appropriate teachings and conversations can be shared. At various times we bring all ages together for group projects. Our program is led by qualified and dedicated teachers who volunteer their efforts.
Children start in worship at 10:00 a.m., have special time with the Pastor and are then dismissed for Sunday School. The first Sunday of each month is Family Worship, during which children stay with their families for the full service, including communion.
Nursery
Nursery care is provided during Sunday services for the youngest members of our church family (infants – 3 years old) by qualified adult volunteers, allowing their parents to fully participate in worship as they wish.
Youth Group
The Youth Group (Grades 7-12) meets two times a month on Sundays after worship from Noon – 2:00 p.m. The activities of the group include: fellowship, fun, faith-building, community service, service to the church, and helping others. Some highlights of their time together include:
- Sponsoring and organizing a Blessing of the Animals Event
- Making greetings and treats to keep in touch with our home bound members
- Making pet blankets and treats to sell at the annual church fair
- Participation in our Living Nativity
Annually around Valentine’s Day they organize a Pasta Dinner to benefit Godwin, a 13 year old boy living in Ghana (the group has sponsored Godwin for the past 3 years). In March they participate in The 30 hour Famine by experiencing hunger, learning about hunger and homelessness, and raising money and awareness to make a difference. They also share fun adventures together such as Christian Concerts, Breezy Acres Water Park, Creation, and Canopie Lake!
Any interested youth, regardless of membership in Wesley UMC, are invited to participate in Youth Group activities.
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Wesley Church provides additional opportunities in addition to weekly Sunday School Classes for children and youth to explore, in depth, elements of their faith. We believe that giving our children and youth the gift of a living, growing and vibrant faith is the most important gift we can give them. We strive to help them develop a solid relationship with their God who loves them unconditionally.
Holy Communion
Children in the second grade and higher are invited to attend a class with the Pastor to learn about Holy Communion. They will explore the symbols of Holy Communion: the bread and the cup and learn about the history and the significance of Communion. Once they have a solid understanding of the Sacrament, there is an opportunity during the worship service for them to take part in a special service receiving Communion with their families and then serve the elements of the bread and the cup with the Pastor to the congregation.
There will be a celebration of the the children and their milestone following the worship service during our time of fellowship!
Confirmation
Youth in grade nine and higher are invited to attend a series of classes with the Pastor to explore Confirmation. During the classes there will be time to share our joys and struggles, to pray together; learning more about how prayer works, time to learn how to find things in the Bible with a friendly competition segment called “Bible Search”, time to explore their “burning questions” i.e. those questions about their faith that they either don’t understand or things that just don’t make sense to them, time to meet with members of the congregation that they choose because they would like to hear their faith journeys, this helps the youth to learn that we are all on journeys with God but that all journeys are individual and valid, they will learn about what it means to be Protestant, a Christian, and a Methodist, we will attend an awesome confirmation week-end retreat with other Confirmands from Rhode Island at Camp Aldersgate, and work on a service project to serve our church and/or community. On the Sunday after Mothers Day in May, there is a special service of Confirmation during which time the youth will have the opportunity to choose to continue their journey as a disciple of Christ and become Confirmed: full members of the Wesley United Methodist Church. There will be a celebration of the youth and their milestone following the worship service during our time of fellowship!
