True Christian education is not a negative thing; it is not a matter of isolating the student from the full scope of knowledge. Isolating the student from large sections of human knowledge is not the basis of a Christian education. Rather it is giving him or her the framework for total truth, rooted in the Creator’s existence and in the Bible’s teaching, so that in each step of the formal learning process the student will understand what is true and what is false and why it is true or false. It is not isolating students from human knowledge. It is giving the tools in the opening the doors to all human knowledge, in the Christian framework so they will know what is truth and what is untruth, so they can keep learning as long as they live, and they can enjoy, they can really enjoy, the whole wrestling through field after field of knowledge. That is what an educated person is.
– Francis A. Schaeffer
At St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, children and young people have a place in the life, worship, and governance of the faith community. As members, they share an important ministry with adults: to represent Christ and the church in their daily lives and to carry on Christ’s work of reconciliation in the world. We believe that from their earliest ages, children have a relationship with God, but may lack the vocabulary and the teachings of the tradition to voice their faith. Our Christian Formation programs (from nursery through adult) seek to nurture that connection to the Holy, and help it deepen into a mature faith by offering balanced curricula.
As important as the classroom experience is, the formation of our youngest members’ spiritual lives also happens beyond the classroom. By participating in the parish’s worship life as well as its fellowship and various ministry activities, our children and young people come to understand what it feels like to be a child of God and what it means to be a disciple of Christ.
We invite you to join us in studying Scripture, exploring the Faith, and learning to follow Jesus at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church!