Faith Formation for Children at St. John's
The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) is a Montessori based religious formation approach based on scripture and liturgy through which children encounter and grow in their relationship with God. This is accomplished by encouraging children to ask the questions and to discover the answers through work with specially crafted presentations and materials. The content corresponds to the liturgical seasons and the life of the church.
The atrium is an environment prepared to nurture the already present spirituality of children. The term “atrium” was used in the early church for the space where the catechumens were prepared for Baptism. Each of the atria contains a variety of hands-on materials that are developmentally appropriate for the age range of children that they serve. Many of the materials were lovingly made by the catechists and other parishioners.
Traditionally, children begin the CGS at or around age three. As with the Montessori model, each atrium serves a three-year age span of children up to age 12. At. St. John's, we have three atria, located in the Education Building and an additional nursery for our littlest disciples.
The CGS program is offered on Sundays, beginning at 9:45 a.m. when the children, catechists and priest gather for opening worship. According to their ages, the children go to their specific level atria to engage with the materials. Following their time together, they join with everyone in church for communion.
For more information, please visit the Catchesis of the Good Shepherd website www.cgsusa.org or speak to one of our dedicated catechists to learn more about this exciting educational program offered right here at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church!
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