The parents' view:
"We have found All Saints Church to be extremely welcoming. Our son has been coming to All Saints since he was a week old, and we have always felt that he was embraced (sometimes literally!) by all the congregation. Young children are not always quiet, and certainly not always still, but our son's wanderings round the church and vocal contributions to the goings on have been greeted by smiles and helping hands rather than frowns."
"At one side of the church there is a carpeted area for the little ones, with books, soft toys and games (though our son seems to prefer to build barricades out of hassocks!). For slightly older children there is a small but lovely Sunday School in the adjoining hall, where the children do lots of painting and drawing, and talk about Bible stories. The Sunday School children join the main congregation in time for communion, and remain in the church for the rest of the service. On the first Sunday of each month we have an All Age Service where the Brownies, Rainbows, Guides, Scouts and Venture Scouts join the 'regular' children. The sermon, prayers and Hymns reflect the different congregation."
"All Saints seems to us to seek to include children in all that it does without making them a 'special case'. There are chilldren in the choir, in the music group, serving at the altar, joining in the projects and activities and, most importantly, just being there, sharing in the fellowship and community which they, and we, feel a part of." |
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A child's view (age 6):
"All the people who go there are really nice. When the children are being noisy, they let you finish and don't make you stop. They do Brownies and Guides and Scouts and Ventures and all that stuff. Last year we all made angels to celebrate the millenium. It was really good. In Sunday School you can make things. They do lots of talking about God and Jesus. We sing a lot. You can have lots of fun. It's the best church in the world." |
