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The children are not the future of the church, they are the church.
- Father Matt Sunday School takes place each Sunday during the 10am church service during the school year. The children are invited to join teachers in the choir room of the church for approximately 20-30 minutes for storytelling. The curriculum presented is Storymakers, which is used by the Episcopal Diocese in NYC. It is designed for children in grades K-5. Younger children are welcome to attend with an adult. The children return to the church service before communion. If you would like more information please call Marilyn Schiller at the church office. (845)677-3064. (There is no Sunday School on three day holiday weekends).
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A Letter to Parents
November, 2025
Dear Parents,
A big part of the role of church is to provide help for parents in raising their children to be people of faith, courage and hope. To know right from wrong, and be able to question those worldly values that our culture presses upon them relentlessly: to consume material objects and seek social status as if these are the highest ends of life. They are not.
Here is what I think are among the highest values:
●Faith and hope: a sense of purpose and transcendent value
●Believing in God
●Justice and mercy: a strong ethical foundation, striving for peace
●Doing good, love above all
●Belonging to an intergenerational community, being part of a deep tradition, learning spiritual practices such as prayer, sacred singing, corporate worship, and community service/ volunteering.
I am far from alone in thinking this. “Believing, doing, and belonging are three complementary yet distinct aspects of religiosity, according to many scholars” writes one of them, Jonathan Haidt, known to many of you for his recent book, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. And religiosity—that is, going to church, practicing spiritual values in community—is correlated with life happiness—see for instance Arthur Brooks on faith and the loneliness epidemic in a recent Atlantic article here.
So there are good reasons for encouraging families to regularly attend church. But I know it is not easy to create this habit—it is hard to schedule, to prepare, to insist, to resist (sports schedules!) and so on. But I also know it really helps when there is a good curriculum for age appropriate learning, a welcoming and safe environment, and friends to meet. We at least can provide the curriculum and safe environment. It is up to you all to create the cohort. Please make the connections and encourage each other!
For our part, we are introducing a new curriculum for children K to 5 but suitable for younger children as well: StoryMakers. I hope you will make an effort to bring your children to church for Advent Sundays, November 30 through December 21,not only to try out this new curriculum but so that they can also prepare for our Christmas Eve service at 5pm (I don’t think we are ready to resume a full pageant, but at least we will have parts for the children to play).
It takes time to build up a thriving children and youth program. Ours was really hit hard by Covid and other factors. But we are a people of hope and faith! Let’s build back our Sunday School together.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and I’ll see you on Sunday,
Your friend in Christ,
Fr Matt +
November, 2025
Dear Parents,
A big part of the role of church is to provide help for parents in raising their children to be people of faith, courage and hope. To know right from wrong, and be able to question those worldly values that our culture presses upon them relentlessly: to consume material objects and seek social status as if these are the highest ends of life. They are not.
Here is what I think are among the highest values:
●Faith and hope: a sense of purpose and transcendent value
●Believing in God
●Justice and mercy: a strong ethical foundation, striving for peace
●Doing good, love above all
●Belonging to an intergenerational community, being part of a deep tradition, learning spiritual practices such as prayer, sacred singing, corporate worship, and community service/ volunteering.
I am far from alone in thinking this. “Believing, doing, and belonging are three complementary yet distinct aspects of religiosity, according to many scholars” writes one of them, Jonathan Haidt, known to many of you for his recent book, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. And religiosity—that is, going to church, practicing spiritual values in community—is correlated with life happiness—see for instance Arthur Brooks on faith and the loneliness epidemic in a recent Atlantic article here.
So there are good reasons for encouraging families to regularly attend church. But I know it is not easy to create this habit—it is hard to schedule, to prepare, to insist, to resist (sports schedules!) and so on. But I also know it really helps when there is a good curriculum for age appropriate learning, a welcoming and safe environment, and friends to meet. We at least can provide the curriculum and safe environment. It is up to you all to create the cohort. Please make the connections and encourage each other!
For our part, we are introducing a new curriculum for children K to 5 but suitable for younger children as well: StoryMakers. I hope you will make an effort to bring your children to church for Advent Sundays, November 30 through December 21,not only to try out this new curriculum but so that they can also prepare for our Christmas Eve service at 5pm (I don’t think we are ready to resume a full pageant, but at least we will have parts for the children to play).
It takes time to build up a thriving children and youth program. Ours was really hit hard by Covid and other factors. But we are a people of hope and faith! Let’s build back our Sunday School together.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and I’ll see you on Sunday,
Your friend in Christ,
Fr Matt +
