The Nursery is available from 9:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on Sundays for newborns through 3-year-olds. It is staffed by trained and background-checked volunteers. If you are visiting GPC, please see someone at the Welcome Desk (just outside the Sanctuary in the Gathering Space), who will be glad to direct you to the Nursery, which is located nearby on the same level.
We believe that the children of our church should be seen as well as heard, that they are a vital part of our congregation. To that end, we begin each Sunday with the children in worship with their families.
Children are experiential learners and need to spend time in worship to soak up the sights, sounds and patterns of the church service and the church year. The children are excused from the 11:00 service following the Children’s Message to go to Sunday School. Though, on the first Sunday of each month, Communion Sunday, the children act as liturgists and are also often the music leaders consequently there is no Sunday School on the first Sunday, we all worship together.
Godly Play is an introduction to worship for young children where they can both hear and see scripture with the help of a storyteller and a box of story-related objects laid out before them to illustrate the story. Over the course of the program year, the children are introduced to the foundational stories of our faith in both the Old and New Testaments and also receive some liturgical education.
Children in 2nd through 5th grade participate in the Feasting on the Word curriculum in Room 32/33. It is a liturgically based curriculum published by PCUSA. Each Sunday the Children’s Message sets the stage for the Scripture that we will work with in Sunday School. We open with prayer, do a couple of minutes of music, read the Scripture or a paraphrased version of the Scripture, and then discuss and/or do an activity based on the Scripture. Over the years, we have used several different curricula. Many excellent ones are available, but we have chosen Feasting on the Word because it is lectionary based and offers, over time, a good foundational base. Also, because our pastors often preach the lectionary reading, this curriculum gives families a starting point for discussion on the way home or over the dinner table.
To Enroll in Text Message Updates:
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Held near Halloween, this is a fun party with games, silly activities, and pumpkin painting. Registration is not required but is requested so that we know how many pumpkins and donuts to buy.
On the first Friday of Advent, join us for ornament making and pizza eating. Sometimes we have a “snowball” fight too!
During the winter, families of our children and youth team up to enjoy an evening of skating at the Rockville Town Center outdoor ice rink.
Sometimes this activity is held at Sky Zone and sometimes we go bowling, but who knows what else we might come up with? It’s always a fun evening and a great opportunity to get to know some of the other families.
Held inside the church throughout the summer, classic GP-rated films are selected for all ages to enjoy viewing together.