Sunday School for infants through 6th grade
Meets at 9am on Sundays
Nursery care is available in Room 5 for infants and younger toddlers so that parents are free to enjoy the adult meetings or teach Sunday School themselves.
The toddler/pre-Kindergarten class meets in Room 4. Bible stories, crafts, games, prayers, and songs all reinforce the central idea that they are beloved children of God, and that even the very young can be shaped by the experience of Jesus’ love and teachings.
The K/1 and 2/3/4th graders use the Workshop Rotation model to explore Christian themes or Bible stories over several weeks through different activities: science, drama, cooking, art, games, and more. The emphasis here is relationship-building, a deepening personal knowledge and experience of God, and a sense of connection to Jesus’ life and teachings.
Our 5th and 6th graders have a new class this year, designed to be a bridge between the children’s classes and the youth group. Called “Treasure Island,” the class is meant to give form to Jesus’ teachings about earthly and heavenly treasures. Students survey the whole Bible through selected stories, engage in personal prayer practice, create music to perform in the worship service, and find ways to serve the church and community as a group.
Worship Childcare
Children are welcome in worship and encouraged to worship with their families as they are able. Childcare is available during worship for infants through Kindergartners in Room 5 downstairs. Activity bags and books are provided in the sanctuary (front left alcove) for younger children, and older children may choose to pick up a children’s bulletin and/or puzzle on the table in the Commons.
As Christians, we are called to enter into relationship with God, our true selves, each other and the world. At Hamline Church, children and adults of all ages come together to deepen those relationships through activities, study, prayer, discussion, service and community.
Sunday Morning Offerings
Youth
Youth grades 7 -12 engage in an exploration of the story of God’s relationship with humanity as told in the Bible. Using a unique method of storytelling and re-telling, the classes use discussion, prayer, art and music to learn how we continue to turn away from God and how God continues to welcome us home.
Adult
Adults who want to deepen their spiritual lives through study, prayer and community will find a range of opportunities this fall. There will be four offerings Sunday mornings during the Education hour:
Enneagram
Use this ancient Christian method to discover your spiritual type and transform your vices, your relationships and your life.
Book Study
The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Heart and Mind invites us to make the Bible a “dynamic, living and transforming part of our lives”.
Incubator
Gather for a discussion and exploration of the aims. Each month we will use readings, DVDs, handouts and spiritual practices to deepen our own personal spiritual life and to strengthen our community’s spiritual life. Topics change monthly. Come as you are able
Confirmation
The Hamline Church confirmation program does not simply to give students information about the church and God, it strives to ignite their passion for the Christ-life to help them find their own path to Christian adulthood. Seventh-graders are active participants in their own learning in this project-based curriculum, engaging in self-directed work, taking part in church life and interacting with a variety of adults.
WEEKDAYS & EVENINGS
Centering Prayer Weekly Prayer Session
Make time in your week to reconnect with yourself and your God. Join us as we pray in silence for 20 minutes and return to your week refreshed and centered in God’s love. Everyone is welcome, no matter what your experience with Centering Prayer.
Sundays 9:10 am
Tuesdays 7:30 am
Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays 4:30 pm
School of Love: Centering Prayer Fall Retreat
The ancient Christian mystics called Christianity “a school of love,” the place for us to practice the radical love and faithfulness Christ calls us to. The cornerstone of the School of Love is centering prayer. When we sit in silence and contemplation, we experience God’s presence within us, closer than breathing, closer than thinking, closer than consciousness itself. Centering prayer is both a relationship with God and a discipline to foster that relationship.
During this four-hour mini-retreat we will learn and practice centering prayer techniques, watch a DVD of Fr. Thomas Keating, an internationally renowned theologian who had led the movement to revive Christian contemplative practices. Participants are strongly encouraged to commit to the seven weekly follow-up Centering Prayer Intensive sessions.
School of Love: Centering Prayer Intensive
These intensive sessions are intended to be a follow-up to the Centering Prayer Retreat and are designed to help people develop a personal daily prayer practice. We will view a Fr. Keating DVD, pray together and check in to see how everyone’s daily practice is going.
Home for the Holidays
Whether you go back home or play host to family, the holidays can be stressful. When multiple generations from all over the political and cultural spectrum gather, arguments are bound to arise. Old wounds can open. We can fall into old, unhealthy ways of communicating and behaving. Learn how to avoid the conflicts you can, and cope with those you can’t. Join us this November for a one night class to learn how to bring joy and meaning to your family holidays.
Small infants are welcome in adult classes. Childcare is provided for older babies and children.
