Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What happens on Sunday mornings?

A. For the early risers among us, we gather at 9 for breakfast, and hang out, catch up, and color until about 9:30.  At about 9:30am, we transition into our morning activities of Music, Play, and Scripture.  We conclude each morning with prayer, before transitioning upstairs at about 10:20 for a donut/bathroom break before worship.

Q. What is "Music, Play, Scripture"?

A.  Music: At Fourth Presbyterian Church, we sing our faith, and so we are committed to music education as part of faith formation.  We will sing songs, play handbells, chimes, ukuleles, bucket drums, boomwhackers, and practice other forms of music making as preparation for worship.

Play: We/Rev. Katie Cole also believes that the time before worship should be as high energy as possible, and so we will play high energy games that involve running around and being active.

Scripture:  We will engage Scripture in a variety of ways, whether it is through reading the text, acting out the text, creating art in response to the text, or other ways to engage.

Q. It's really hard for me and my children to get to church by 9, especially if worship doesn't end until about 12:15.

A.  We’d love to see you, no matter what time you show up.  Being late is better than never coming at all!

Q. Do you offer a children's church during worship?

A. We do provide childcare for kids ages 8 and under, about halfway through the service.  However, we believe that everyone should be incorporated in worship, and so we do not offer a separate program during worship.

FaithMakers

What We Are About

Study

Our 3 year curriculum map works young people through a list of 100 Things Every Child Should Know before Confirmation (by Rebecca Kirkpatrick). At the end of the year, students should

  • be familiar with the stories of each unit,
  • know where to find these stories in the Bible, and
  • practice thinking critically and with curiosity about these stories

Worship

In FaithMakers, and in worship, we introduce and practice the various arts of worship –

  • praying,
  • singing our faith,
  • reading Scripture, and
  • engaging God in an embodied and creative way (through art and play).

Service

We do not grow our faith in order to keep it to ourselves, but instead build our faith through acts of love and service (Matthew 25:40). In the 2018-2019 year, we have scheduled five days of service as well as participation in a Presbytery-wide week of service (home repair and construction in Maine).

Fellowship

It’s really important to have fun together!! And, through these fun times, we model for everyone how to

  • greet and welcome new people into the fold, and
  • care for each other.

Every Sunday

FaithMakers – 9:00am – 10:20am, with Breakfast, Music, Play, Art, and Study. Sitting still and being quiet the whole time (like at school) is discouraged, and showing up late is better than not at all!

  • Fall Unit – History of Israel (10 Sundays)
  • Advent/Epiphany Unit – Gospel of Luke (6 Sundays)
  • Ordinary (Winter) Unit – Acts of the Apostles (8 Sundays)
  • Lenten Unit – The Sacraments (6 Sundays)
  • Easter Unit – Apocalypse Now: Daniel & Revelation (7 Sundays)
  • Ordinary (Summer) Unit – Church 101 (3 Sundays)
  • Summer Unit – Life of Jesus (7 Sundays)
  • Ordinary (Late Summer) Unit – Christian, yet Interfaith (4 Sundays)

Special Events

Pancake Party!  Join us on Sunday, September 16th at 9:30am for a delicious pancake breakfast and a FaithMakers Carnival!

Sunday School Launch! Join us on Sunday, September 23 at 9:00 for breakfast, and at 9:30am for our first Sunday on the History of Israel.

Jubilee! All are welcome on Sunday, September 30th as we celebrate a new year of church ministries.

Download 2018-2019 CE Calendar