Baptism Activities in the Children's Corner

We have baptisms in St Stephens 2-3 times a month, usually on the 2nd, 4th and 5th (if there is one) Sundays after the main morning service.

There are often 2 families and their guests so the numbers of people in the church for the baptisms can be anything from 20 to 200. Many of the people are unfamiliar with a church setting and there are usually several children.

During the service, parents with restless children are welcome to move to the Forum at the back of church and so it is important that the Children's Corner is a friendly, welcoming place for them. We have a low book shelf with a variety of books, some toddler toys and paper & crayons for colouring. Bethan, our church warden, is great at keeping it looking up to date and attractive.

The plan is to have colouring sheets available that match the Prayer Space theme.

This week for a baptism Sunday I've created these special sheets that can be folded into a card. Having coloured it in, a child can then give to the person being baptised, with the hope that the family will want to display it, if only for a short time.

I got the colouring artwork from http://catholicmom.com/ & http://www.biblekids.eu/

The verse inside the card emphasizes one of the points that the vicar makes as he goes through the service:

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith,

for all of you who were baptized into Christ

have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Galatians 3:26-27

As I usually act as verger during baptisms, I'll be able to see first-hand what the response is. This week there was only one family present and very few guests so I wasn't needed & I left the sheets out.  I'll review how they are received when there's been a larger group of people present.

Watch this space...

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