Children & Youth
Children and Youth are important members of our church. We value their perspectives and needs.
Children’s programs are from birth to teens, and our Youth program is for teens until adult.
Children at St. Jude’s (pre-K to 5th grade)
Children are welcome at all times in worship and our life as a community!
We have a special service for them once per month on Sunday mornings, offer Godly Play for them on the other Sundays, and often have special moments just for them in our regular services.
Contact our Children’s Minister Marion Lynch here for more information on Children’s programs at St. Jude’s.
We currently do not have child care available for the very young, but they are always welcome in our service.
Monthly Children’s Service
The first Sunday of each month, we will hold a special Children’s Service at 9:15am in the Fireside Room. It is a kid-friendly and interactive service, with a special children’s Eucharist, sermon, and music.
This service is geared toward elementary age and younger children and their families.
Godly Play
On other Sundays, caregivers and our Children and Youth Minister run our Godly Play program (see below for more information) for children Pre-K to 5th grade in one of our classrooms.
Children are always welcome in our services (we are comfortable with their joyful noises!) and they can always play with the children on the rug on the left side of our sanctuary near the piano. There are often special moments in the service just for them.
In the Sunday Worship Service
During services, children can:
- sit with their families;
- enjoy the hands-on Godly Play program held in classroom 6;
- use a small play area with toys near piano with plenty of space for parents to sit nearby;
- enjoy playing in the Narthex (entrance to the sanctuary) or the Parish Hall, both of which have seating and small toys/books.
Children and Youth sow wheat seeds in early 2024, which will grow into the wheat used for our communion bread!
What is Godly Play?
Godly Play helps children to explore their faith through stories, and to gain religious language and to enhance their spiritual experience though hands-on play. Based on Montessori principles and developed using a spiral curriculum, Godly Play is for children preschool age up to 5th grade. For more information on the program itself, click here for the Godly Play website.
Youth at St. Jude’s
Youth group is just for teens and has Youth Mentors dedicated to supporting this age.
The Youth at St. Jude’s enjoy many fun and enriching activities together, including games, cooking chili and outings such as bowling or ice skating, serving lunch at a local shelter, running our Mardi Gras/Shrove Tuesday celebration, and much more.
We are also currently running confirmation classes for Youth on Sunday afternoons and many of our Youth are involved in the Acolytes group here at St. Jude’s.
The Youth meet on Sunday afternoons at 3:00pm. Please contact our Associate Rector Annalise Deal here to find out more about Youth programs at St. Jude’s.
The Youth at St. Jude’s have pre-Christmas fun and make pies in late 2023.
Summer Day Camp
We hold our fun Summer Day Camp (SDC) every summer!
We again “camped” with St. Tim’s in Mountain View in 2024.
Here is more information on all camps for 2024, including diocesan camps, that St. Jude’s recommends for summer fun for you and your children! We plan to publish this information for 2025 in April.
Our Summer Day Camp has lots of hands-on play, songs, bible stories, and more!
ST. JUDE THE APOSTLE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
20920 McClellan Road
Cupertino, CA 95014
(408) 252-4166
office@saintjudes.org
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