Come walk with me. I’d like to take you on a visual tour of the educational opportunities that are available to our church family and their guests at 1st Presbyterian in Pittsford.
The youngest members of our family enjoy playing in a room full of toys on Sunday mornings. While the big people attend the worship service, infants and 1 year olds learn
that God loves them and church is a friendly place. They are attentively cared for in the Nursery a few strides from the Sanctuary. Meanwhile, 2 and 3 year olds are close by in a room equipped with different toys. These boys and girls will enjoy a bible story during circle time, maybe a simple craft, and time to explore their room. At the age of 4 they will venture downstairs into a full time preschool room. I say full time because this same room is used Monday through Friday by Pittsford Cooperative Nursery School. Your preschooler will enjoy more age appropriate stories, crafts and playtime all while learning of God’s Creation and His love. When your child is ready for school, they join their classmates in a rotation style of Sunday School. Each unit allows your child different ways of exploring a bible story or lesson. Through engaging subjects like arts-n-crafts, music, science, cooking, computers, drama, games and movies, your child will learn classic truths of the Christian faith. 
The rotation method teaches children that have different learning styles and allows all children to more fully understand particular stories without trying to cram too much information into their developing minds. When a boy or girl reaches 7th Grade they will advance their learning in a pre-confirmation class. Here they explore the Bible, filling in the gaps between the stories they learned through 6th Grade. They also will discuss other ways that people worship God by taking field trips to other churches in the area. We want to prepare them to make personal faith statements in their 8th Grade Confirmation Class. As they prepare to confirm God’s promises bestowed upon them in baptism, the students will discuss what it means to be a disciple of Christ as well as what it means to be called a Presbyterian. Along with the Bible, they will look at things such as the Creeds that Christians throughout the centuries have used to solidify their beliefs. Confirmands are accepted as adults into the life of the church on Pentecost Sunday, 50 days after Easter. At this point, the young men and women are encouraged to attend worship services with their family. As an alternative, 9th — 12 Graders can also attend Senior High Forum which takes a casual approach to topics that are relevant to a teen’s faith journey.
1st Presbyterian isn’t only for Sunday mornings. A very popular choice among our young people is Logos. Logos meets on Wednesday afternoons during the school year. K-6th Graders participate in games, crafts, bible study and choir, then gather for a family style dinner. This program was so popular that 7th — 12th Graders wanted to modify it to meet their interests. These older grades spend some time assisting the younger ones, then have time to socialize and discuss a topic of their own prior to dinner.
Throughout the year there are special things going on. Some of the highlights tend to be our Christmas Pageant, Souper Bowl of Caring, Heifer Fair (a fun way to raise money for Heifer International), the Youth Service and the Children’s service (these worship services are prepared and presented by the young people). The church is very mission minded, supporting numerous charities through financial and volunteer staffing. Young and old alike are encouraged to learn about these programs. The Christian Education committee supports these mission areas as much as we can through our programs. Examples are RAIHN (Rochester Area Interfaith Hospitality Network), Cameron Community Ministries, Wilson Commencement Park, Heifer International, and others.
We don’t only expect to teach young people. Adult education is alive and full of energy. Sunday morning offers a choice between two great groups. One meets during each service. We also offer midweek bible studies on Wednesday morning and again on Wednesday evening. Crown biblical financial studies occur as interest prevails. Bethel bible study has also been popular on a weekday evening. We host guest speakers, usually in the fall and in the spring. We try to meet needs in our community through programs such as MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers), and as mentioned previously, we sponsor a preschool in our educational wing for 3 and 4 year olds.
True to our Presbyterian heritage, the Christian Education programs here are reformed and always reforming. We will do our best to provide the most up to date information. One place to check on upcoming information is the monthly newsletter called Newsbrief. Of course our Sunday bulletins always have important announcements as well. We truly hope to see you soon.
