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Making Room

Welcome to Worship

Children at Westminster Presbyterian Church are very much a part of our worshiping community. Their presence here is based on the biblical tradition and Reformed conviction that children are members of the covenant community. Worship is one of the basic ways people learn what it means to be Christian. Children learn to worship by worshiping with the congregation.

Express your joy in having children in worship. During the Greeting be sure to welcome the children near you. Include them in your conversations before and after worship to let them know they belong. Free yourself from worry about children's behavior. Be open to receiving their ministry to you.

Children gain the following from worshiping with the community of faith:

  • They learn that they belong to Christ and are welcome to Christ's church.

  • They come to know, through repetition, the Lord's Prayer, the Doxology, the Gloria Patri, and other frequently used responses.

  • They build memories of shared experiences of Christian community.

  • They are enriched by the beauty of music and art as creative expressions of human praise to God.

  • They hear stories from the Bible read and interpreted, and begin to experience worship as one place where God may speak to them.

  • They witness the drama of baptism and the Lord's Supper - both visible signs of God's grace.

  • They discover that they are valued as persons by God and by God's people.

The Preschool Child ?

Parents may wonder at the wisdom of including preschool children in worship. They can be restless and distracting to those around them. Their behavior can sometimes be embarrassing to their parents. The preschool child comes to worship with a rather limited attention span, seemingly endless energy and a growing curiosity about everything. While these ingredients can combine to test a parent's patience, there are several things parents can do to make the preschooler's worship experience (and their own) more relaxed and enjoyable:

  • Sit near the front where children can have a clear view.

  • Prepare children for the various parts of the worship service

  • Allow children to place the offering in the plate or let them bring their own coins.

  • Encourage children to use the children's worship activity bulletin

  • Allow children to bring a favorite stuffed animal, book or quiet toy

  • Encourage children to bring their own Bible.

  • Sensitivity to the preschooler's abilities and needs can help make worship a pleasant and meaningful experience for everyone.

The Primary Child ?

The school-age child brings some new abilities to worship: a greater capacity for attentive listening, an increasing ability to read, and the ability to organize and memorize information. Parents can help the primary child toward greater participation in worship as these capacities develop by using the following suggestions:

  • Help children memorize the Lord's Prayer, Gloria Patri, and the Doxology.

  • Review the bulletin with children to identify new or difficult words, previewing together those parts where the congregation responds by reading and speaking.

  • Encourage children to put their own offering in the plate.

  • Invite children to follow the reading of the Scripture lesson in the Bible; encourage children to bring their own Bibles.

  • Encourage children to locate hymns in the hymnal, and go over the words; place book marks at each hymn in advance.

  • Encourage children to listen to the sermon for stories, answers to questions, or important thoughts.

  • Talk about the service after church and ask the children what they remembered

  • For this age group, some parts of the regular worship bulletins will be meaningful.

We include children in our life together and in worship by providing these other options:

  • Nurturing child care for infants and toddlers through age two at 9:30am and 11:15am. Sunday school at 9:30 and 11:15 for children age 2 through 5th grade

  • Opportunities for children to participate fully in holiday celebrations and sacraments

  • Children's Choirs on Sunday mornings

  • Worship-activity bulletins for children, available from our ushers

  • Kid's Fellowship Club - Tuesdays, 4:30 - 6:00 pm for elementary age children

  • Mission-focused Vacation Bible Camp every summer

  • Summer Celebration June-August



For More information Contact:

Children's and Family Ministries 818 889-1491 x128