Youth Education
Registration has begun for the 2022-2023 season!
Email: dirce@kingcongchurch.org
Church School Program Families of all sizes, shapes and hues are welcome and cherished at Kingston Congregational Church.
The church provides an engaging and comprehensive Christian Education program for infants through eighth grade. Rooted in the Scriptures and the Christian tradition, the program offers a range of options for learning, service, and friendship. We use a Bible-based curriculum which seeks to nurture Christian discipleship and community, love, justice, and peace.
Kingston Congregational Church provides a nurturing, safe and challenging environment for learning. Our caring and trained teachers, excellent curriculum, and a broad range of enrichment activities offer a variety of ways for children and youth to learn about the Christian faith and participate in the life of the community.
Visiting for the first time? Please inform a Greeter or Usher that you are new. Sundays – Childcare and Church School Upon request, loving and tender care for infants and toddlers is provided by trained volunteers and professionals. You may leave your child with them before the worship service as early as 9:15am. Our greeters or ushers can direct you to this area.
You are welcome to keep your young child with you during the worship service. If your child becomes distraught, you may want to take him or her to the library or fellowship hall. When your child is feeling better, please feel free to return to the worship service. Grades Pre K – 8 Children are welcome to worship with you for the entire worship service or may choose to participate in church school class.
Appropriate enrichment activities, including crafts, games, music, and other activities, are offered using the curriculum. On the first Sunday of each month, children participate in Communion with their family for the full worship service. Music is a very important part of the Church School Program. Each Sunday, children are invited to learn to sing sacred songs. All who are interested are invited to sing as part of the worship service on designated Sundays. Children have the opportunity to take part in special services throughout the year. This includes the Christmas Pageant and the Children’s Day Celebration Service, and during the month of June as Junior Deacons!
Confirmation
The Rite of Confirmation is offered through our program to people ages 14 and older (grade 9 and older). Classes and activities are co-led by our pastors and lay members. The focus of the program is three-fold:
• Relationship with God (Bible study and reflection)
• Relationship with the church (membership in KCC and the UCC)
• Relationship with community (community service) Classes are conducted once a month after service, plus an overnight retreat. The Confirmands will attend various board meetings (week-nights) to learn about church governance.
Service activities are done in conjunction with the Senior Pastor and lay leaders.
Confirmands will sign a covenant as they begin their studies that will require them to demonstrate respect and a commitment to the program. At the completion of the program, if they chose, they will be confirmed during a church service in May or June.
Christian Education & Spirituality (A.C.E.S.)
Living life fully requires continuous learning. The Christian Education program at KCC offers opportunities for adult learning throughout the year. Programs that nurture the ongoing spiritual development of individuals and groups are offered on a regular basis. Educational activities include:
*Sunday morning discussion series on spiritually-related books
*Every Thursday noon-time Bible studies
*Monthly topics of interest at Women’s Fellowship meetings
*Annual “Emig Lecture” on topics such as diversity, justice, peace and mission
We also host 5-8 week-long evening sessions that explore biblical texts and/or topics of contemporary interest in the Christian life, usually on Mondays on Zoom.
See the church calendar for specific program dates and times. All programs are free and open to the public.
Families with Children
For many generations, the Kingston Congregational Church has been the church home of families from all over southern and central Rhode Island. We speak of the congregation as our “church family,” and, like other healthy families, we take delight in welcoming new members into our church family.
Along with many single people, we welcome families of all kinds, two-parent families, single parent families, blended families, intergenerational families, families with parents of the same gender, families with parents of different religious faiths, families of every age and social circumstance, so everyone feels at home and comfortable.
With advance notice, we have a well-staffed nursery and you may leave your baby with them before the worship service, as early as 9:15. But you are also welcome to keep your baby with you during the worship service. If your child becomes very distraught, you may want to take him or her into the Library or the Fellowship Hall, through the doors on either side of the pulpit, or outside through the front entrance, if the weather permits. And when s/he feels better, you are welcome to return to the worship service. We regard visitors as our guests, so your baby is our welcome guest!