St. Mark’s Sunday School

The 2005-06 year ended with a wonderful pool party, followed by cake and ice cream. There was an excellent turn out.

Over the summer, we sadly said “good-bye” to Annette Harnish and her family. Many of us gathered at St.Mark’s to wish them well. Annette’s presence has been greatly missed in the Sunday School. Thankfully, we have a wonderful group of 13 teachers and 4 nursery helper who are extremely helpful. I send my thanks to all of them, as they have all been acting as “mini-superintendents”. I would like to extend a special welcome to Heather Blundon who has joined us as a teacher this year.

On September 10th, we had Sunday School Registration. We currently have 16 children registered. We are continuing to use the “One Room Sunday School” curriculum, with separate Junior and Senior Sunday School groups. Our registration is ongoing, and we would welcome children to join the Sunday School at any time. We are also in need of more Sunday School Teachers, and are hopeful that there may be other men or women in the congregation who are interested in volunteering. The teachers are currently scheduled on a two week basis, and the curriculum is extremely easy to follow. There are many of you in the congregation with gifts to share with our children, and the rewards of teaching are tremendous.

On October 2nd, the Sunday School Teachers, along with Elaine Noseworthy (CE Committee Chair), Rev. Pelley, and Camille Chapman (CE Committee member), met to discuss the needs of the Sunday School children, particularly the Senior group. We received greatly appreciated advice from Rev. Pelley with regards to helping to prepare the children for Confirmation. Rev. Pelley reinforced the idea that preparation for Confirmation should begin in the early Sunday School years, and he offered us some valuable teaching tools to assist with this preparation. The senior class now have updated duotang binders with copies of this information. The Senior Sunday School teachers have their own copy, and they are documenting the items reviewed each week to aid in continuity. The evening ended with tea, and lots of delicious treats.

The Sunday School children participated in the Thanksgiving service by carrying the congregation’s food donations to the alter. The food was later delivered to the Port Hawkesbury Food Bank. Thank you to all who donated items, and to those who delivered them. The children are beginning to prepare for the upcoming “Hanging of the Greens” service on December 3rd at 7:00 pm. This service will be in conjunction with the Youth Group, and will replace the White Gift Pageant which has been held in past years. I would like to say thank you to the Youth Group, and to Lana MacLean (Youth Group Leader) for including the Sunday School in what is sure to be a beautifully meaningful service. We also thank you Al Fougere and the choir for their willingness to participate. All of the Sunday School children will be included in the service, and we welcome any other families with children to participate, even if they have not yet registered. The first practice will be on Sunday November 26th following the church service. We will meet again on Friday December 1st at 6 p.m. to decorate the church and to practice. We will provide pizza for the children on Friday night. Families in the congregation who attend the service will be asked to bring an ornament to place on the Christmas Tree during the service.

I would like to thank Lana MacLean for taking on the role of Youth Group Leader. She is working very hard, and doing a wonderful job. My sincere thanks goes out to all of the Sunday School Teachers for their willingness to help in so many ways. Thank you to the CE Committee for their support, and to Jane for all that she does to help us. And a very special thank you goes out to Rev. Pelley and Mrs. Pelley for their ongoing advice and guidance. Finally, I would like to say good-bye and good luck to Terri and Neil Fraser and their children. On behalf of the Sunday School, I would like to thank Terri for her help over the years, and wish their family the best of luck in their new community.

Heather Brander Roussy