Worship Wonder
Here’s How it Works
- The 3s and 4s begin the hour in worship and are dismissed to their classes following The Time with the Younger Church
- The Storyteller leads the children in preparation for worship.
- One story is told for four week using wooden figures and a scripted story.
- The children work with the story and respond to it through art and other activities.
- The Storyteller prepares the feast and the children say a prayer of thanksgiving and enjoy the feast.
- The story is read from a children’s Bible.
- A blessing is given.
The Storyteller changes each month, but a Shepherd is there throughout the program year to provide warmth and welcome to the children and help for the storyteller.
Children learn at a very young age to worship by experiencing worship. The flow of the Worship Wonder class is modeled after a worship service and the tone is set with preparation for worship as the children enter the room. They are reminded to walk more slowly, talk softly and sit quietly in this special place. Why do we come to this place? We come to worship, to hear stories of God and pray.
The goal is to teach children the art of using religious language as they experience parable, sacred story, silence and liturgical action. Through experiential worship, multi-sensory storytelling methods and “wondering” questions, children learn the language of worship. It enables them to bring their lived experiences into dialogue with God through the biblical stories. They become more fully aware of the mystery of God’s presence in their lives.
This program was originally created in the Montessori tradition. The repetition of the story for four weeks enables the children to really learn it and respond to it in different ways.
The wooden story figures were primarily made by members of our congregation. The stories used are from Jerome Berryman and Sonya Stewart’s books Young Children in Worship, Following Jesus and other resources.
Click here to view our Worship Wonder brochure.
