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Christian Formation
Children's Education Program
Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19: 14-15
 Here at St. Dunstan's we regard the care and nurture of our children as an important part of our community life. Children are always welcome at worship and fellowship activities.
Bettianne Quinn, Director of Christian Education
Our Album
Interested in Camp St. Dunstans this Summer?
Final plans are being made for Camp St. Dunstan's! It is scheduled from June 28 to July 2. All members of the community are welcome to come and be a part of the fun. Please print our brochure and return the interest survey, or contact Bettianne at CampStDunstans@gmail.com for more information.
Children's Formation News and Events
Our graded Sunday School classes are now in full swing but it is never too late to participate in the fun and learning. Please join us as we celebrate each new liturgical season.
Lent is upon us and is a time to live more simply and reflect on Christ’s love. Our snack during class time will be pretzels to remind us to cross our arms and say a prayer of thanks to God. Don’t forget to join us on March 21 as we “Walk Through Holy Week.” This is a special program led by selected children to help us learn more about Christ’s final week.
2009 - 2010 Sunday School Registration Accepted Year Round
You may pick up a registration form at church or print one off below. Completed forms may be returned to the church at any time. New children are welcomed weekly.
Sunday School Registration Form
Sunday School (for children ages 2 through elementary school)
Sunday school begins at 10:00 a.m. each week. Children may attend the 9:15 a.m. service with their families and then come to Sunday school, or they may arrive at 10:00 a.m. for Sunday school and join their families at the peace for the remainder of the 10:15 a.m. service.
Nursery care is available each Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Terrific Tuesdays
Program offerings on a variety of topics. We start with an informal dinner at 6:00 p.m. and then have separate programs for children and adults from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Our final Terrific Tuesday program series will be a 5 week Lenten set beginning Feb. 23. During this final series the children’s theme will be “Why Worship?” When church gets boring, how can we bring the JOY back into worship? What did Christ ask us to do when he said “remember me?” Come learn why we worship and how to make the service more meaningful.
Outreach
Helping others is an important part of our children's ministry. During the school year, the children gather supplies to make bag lunches to help the poor who stop at our door as well as for Samaritan Ministry. The children also reach out to the elderly and shut-in members of our community by sending cards throughout the year and by preparing treat bags for Valentine's Day.
Annual Schedule of Events
Fall
Our special All Saints Day project was held on Nov. 1 with the children telling us about saints from our Terrific Tuesday fall series.
Winter
In December we decorated our parish Christmas tree with "Chrismons" (Christ's monograms) and made cookies for coffee hour. Thanks to all the children who did such a great job participating in the Christmas pageant and who prepared Valentine's Day sweets for our shut-in parishioners in February.
Spring
We will have our annual "Walk through Holy Week" program on March 21 and a special Pentecost celebration in May.
Summer
Programming will continue through the summer in new single session faith topics.
Camp St. Dunstan WILL RETURN this summer. Our dates for camp will be June 28 to July 2, 2010. Camp will be held between 9 am and 1:30 pm daily. A special evening program will be held on Thursday July 1. Our theme will be “WHERE IN THE WORLD IS PAUL? A WEEK LONG QUEST INTO BIBLE TIMES.” Come relive biblical events, occupations, church & synagogue, family life and the marketplace in the gentile city of Antioch Syria around 49 AD at the time of Apostle Paul. Registration forms are available at church. Cost will be $50.00 per child or $125.00 per family.
We hope you will join us and become part of a growing and lively community of faith. For more information about our program, contact Bettianne Quinn at 301-229-2960, extension 14, or via email at bettianneqn@comcast.net
Director of Christian Education
Bettianne Quinn was an active volunteer in the Christian Education Program at St. Anne's Episcopal Church, Damascus, Maryland, for ten years before joining St. Dunstan's staff in l996.
She earned her Bachelor's Degree in special education from Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania, continued her education at Virginia Theological Seminary and received her Equipping Lay Ministry certificate in Christian Education from Wesleyan Seminary in May 2007. She is married with three children.
My personal ministry beliefs are:
Children are a gift of God and in their innocence, openness, creativity and wonder can lead adults into a new faith about God. Children need to be encouraged to wonder, to reflect and to know that their special gifts are signs of God's love.
Children need to be received, nurtured and treasured by including them in our activities as participants, while advocating the integrity of childhood and dignity of all children.
The church is called to nurture and support families in caring for their children, and recognizing and fostering their children's spirituality and unique gifts.
Bettianne Quinn
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