Child Care
After the children’s moment in worship service, babies four months and older as well as pre-school children are welcome in the Palo Cristi nursery. Our volunteers are moms and grandmas who love kids. The PC nursery has books, toys and a playground.
Godly Play (for Children Kindergarten and Up)
Each Sunday morning from August through May (except Sundays when communion is served), after the Moment with the Children, Palo Cristi's young people are excused to from "big church" to participate in Godly Play.
Godly Play is a Montessori-based Christian Education program that was originally developed by The Rev. Dr. Jerome Berryman, an Episcopal Priest. Palo Cristi Presbyterian Church has been offering Godly Play as part of its Christian Education Program since 2005.
The goal of Godly Play is to provide an environment that fosters discovery and learning, in which children feel safe and welcomed. It is a place where they can learn the art of using Religious language to encounter God and to find meaning in their lives.
Godly Play accomplishes this goal by:
Godly Play is a Montessori-based Christian Education program that was originally developed by The Rev. Dr. Jerome Berryman, an Episcopal Priest. Palo Cristi Presbyterian Church has been offering Godly Play as part of its Christian Education Program since 2005.
The goal of Godly Play is to provide an environment that fosters discovery and learning, in which children feel safe and welcomed. It is a place where they can learn the art of using Religious language to encounter God and to find meaning in their lives.
Godly Play accomplishes this goal by:
- Offering children stories – through sacred stories, parables, and stories about the liturgy of our church.
- Teaching children and adults that being quiet, careful, and deliberate can be as playful and as satisfying (if different) that being noisy, busy, and grabby. This counter cultural message is delivered in a gentle and consistent way.
- Offering an experiential “discovery” method, which engages the whole child – hand, heart, mind, senses and intuition.
- Using art activities differently than most curricula. Rather than have children create something prepackaged to show Mom or Dad, each child creates an expressive response to what he/she feels, thinks, or imagines after hearing and seeing the parable or story told in the group setting. The children have the opportunity to “enter” the story, “wonder” about it, play with it, and then find and express spiritual meaning that connects to their own lives.
- Modeling for the children how to work together as a community by supporting and respecting each other and one another’s work.
In most religious education, children are told who God is.
In Godly Play, children discover who God is.
Montlure (Summer Camp, 4th Grade-Senior High)
Montlure Presbyterian Church Camp is owned by the two Presbyteries in Arizona and offers an opportunity for campers to grow their faith in a beautiful outdoor setting. Over 550 campers attend each summer. The original location of Montlure is in Greer, Arizona, but since the 2011 Wallow fire, the camp has moved around to various locations throughout Northern Arizona. Check out www.montlure.org for more information!
