St Ignatius of Antioch Episcopal Church -

This new school year brings with it a real sense of renewal in the Church School and Familiy Ministries at Saint Ignatius of Antioch. Our Family Ministry Committee and I have been hard at work on plans for the 2010-2011 academic year and we are all excited about the possibilities that it brings.

As most of you know by now, we have undertaken the renovation of the Sunday School room and this will be ready for the start of school on Sunday, September 12, when we return to our regular Sunday morning round of Masses at 9 and 11. Sunday School is scheduled from 10:10 to 10:50 each Sunday and will consist of a variety of lessons concerning our Church life and from Scripture as we journey from Genesis through Exodus. We hope that our children will learn more and more about our faith and common life and become more and more comfortable in and excited about Church. Sunday School is open to children from age four and will be geared this year to our nucleus of four to seven year-olds. Older children are most welcome, too, and we will provide them with great opportunities for learning and leadership. We also hope to begin to have more of our older children serving at the altar and I welcome inquiries from parents who think their child might be interested and ready.

As for our youngest members, I must say that I have been thrilled that over the past year we have welcomed so many newborns into the world and into our parish family. We continue to offer excellent nursery care during our services and we are happy that our regular child care givers will be back with us this year. Children of all ages are encouraged to attend all services and parents and children are welcome to come and go throughout as needed. Indeed we have Sunday School between our two Masses both so that families can choose which liturgy they wish to attend and so that our young people will learn how important it is to participate in the liturgy and partake of the Sacraments.

Please also save the date for our Annual Family Christmas Party in the afternoon of Saturday, December 18th and also for a Family Parish Picnic on Rogation Sunday, May 29 that will mark the end of the Church School Year. A full Calendar of Family activities is enclosed and will be available on the parish web site.

I look forward to seeing all of you in the coming weeks as we begin a new and exciting academic year at Saint Ignatius and I encourage each and every one of you to be in touch with me if you have any questions, concerns, or would like to help (and we will be asking for your help!). With all my warmest wishes, I am,

Faithfully yours,

Andrew C. Blume+
Rector