Early Childhood Ministries

Ministering to the needs of children ages Birth-to-Five and their families

Early life faith formation is based on our promises made at baptism. Westwood offers worship, fellowship and educational opportunities which enable us to live out these promises. Please scroll down for more information. Welcome to the journey!

Sunday School at 10:30AM
2 Year Old Joyschool: A parent/child Sunday School time. Room 20.
3 year old, 4 year old and Kindergarten Sunday School. Rooms 10, 19 and 23 respectively.

Wednesday School from 6:00 to 6:45PM 
6:00 to 6:45   Music and Bible Story plus a brief Worship time for children age 2 through Kindergarten. Parents of 2 year olds are expected to attend along with their child.  

Worship at 9:00 and 10:30
God's house is everyone's house!! God loves children in worship and so does Westwood!

Worshipping at Westwood:

1. Children are an integral part of our worshiping community.
2. We are committed to drawing children into the life of the congregation through worship.
3. We celebrate the life, energy and challenges of having children in worship, and we strive to support parents in this journey of spiritual growth.
4. We believe that we are responsible for helping raise up the next generation of God's people.

Helpful hints for worshipping with children

Have proper expectations for your child.
To expect a child to be an adult during worship is not effective in faith formation. Let a child be a child. This isn't giving permission to disrupt the service, but let the child move if s/he is wiggly. Answer any questions s/he has. Let him/her color, read books, and make a reasonable amount of nsoise relative to their age. Rainbow Bags are available for your child while you are in worship. These bags contain books and activities to engage your child during worship. They can be found near the doors to the sanctuary or ask an usher.

Play Church. Have practice sessions at home and come early to practice in the sanctuary before worship. Help him/her feel at home with the building and the patterns of worship.

Fight the "Lutheran" urge to sit in the back. The further children are away from the front of the sanctuary, the more disconnected they will feel from the service. They can't see what's going on. This fosters disruptive behavior.

Encourage participation in all aspects. Encourage your child to sit, stand, sing and pray with the congregation. This will enrich your family's worship experience.

There will be days... There will be days your young one isn't able to settle down. Then the narthex (space between the back doors of the sanctuary and the glass wall) might be the right place for you and your child. Our nursery, (Turn right upon exiting the sanctuary, go up the stairs, turn right again. Second door on your left.) is another option. Don't feel like you've lost the battle because of one or two challenging days. Many members of the congregation have survived this phase of parenting, and you will, too. The more you and your children worship together, the less you and they will need these alternatives.



Baptism

WECC

For more information, contact Cara Coen-Pesch, the Director of Early Childhood Ministry at 952-767-5566 or c.coen-pesch@westwoodlutheran.org

Service Milestone: Kindergarten

Pictures from the Service Milestone for Kindergarteners.  They made sandwiches & decorated the lunch bags for Our Saviors - 80 Sandwiches!
They learned about the Good Samartitain and other ways to serve!

Photo Gallery

Downloads

Title	Date
Kinder Powerpoint 2013	02/25/2013