Nursery and Preschool
Our Nursery Care includes play and activities for children under three each Sunday under the watchful and loving eyes of our Nursery staff during worship with a special class for Toddlers and Twos led by Sharon Kelly during the Sunday School hour.
The Preschool Class is for 3 year olds to those in Pre- Kindergarten will participate in hearing a story, singing along with others, expressing themselves with their bodies and hands as they hear the stories of faith for the first time. Karen Blair and Julie and Kyle McGill are the teachers for this age level in Room 113.
Classes for Older Children
Kindergarten - 2nd Grade - Meets in Room 118 - Anne Young, Sylvia Murray, Julie Donaldson and Stacey Mooney will share the teaching.
3rd Grade - 5th Grade - Meets in Room 121 Mary Speedy is the teacher.
Classes for Youth
Middle School meets in Room 119 Martha Smith lead teacher.
Senior Highs meet in Youth Room behind the Choir Loft - Jeanne Luksic is the teacher.
Classes for Adults
Women's Bible Study meets in the Library - Cathy Neubaum is currently leading the group using the book Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer.
New Testament Study meets in Room 124 - Acts of the Apostles will be the focus for this class starting September 14. Vic Neubaum is the leader
Topics Class
This series of classes discusses topics ranging from Bible Study to Contemporary Issues with a variety of leaders from the congregation, staff and guest teachers. The following are the classes for the Fall season.
*Nov 30-Dec 21—Advent through the eyes of those who waited. Pastor Best leading.
First, the prophets in the book of Isaiah present us with the idea of waiting and preparing for the Messiah—our work for Advent. Next we meet John the Baptist who announces the coming of the Messiah. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is the main subject of sessions three and four. Protestants, until recently, have not given her much consideration, but we have much to learn about patience and courage from the mother of Jesus. Finally, we learn from Elizabeth about how to accept a blessing so long in coming that it is no longer expected.
Nov. 30 - The Hebrew Prophets, especially Second and Third Isaiah, introduce us to Advent.
The prophets introduce us to waiting and to preparing for the Messiah, our work for these weeks of Advent. This is not a simple task as our culture (both the church and the community) pushes us to prepare in bigger ways each year.
Dec. 7 - John the Baptist heralds the coming of the Messiah, Jesus.
John the Baptist’s message was to alert people of the coming Messiah. He preached and baptized, the people repented, and God forgave.
Dec. 14 - The annunciation of Jesus’ birth to a small-town girl tells us much about God’s desires for the world.
On the whole, Protestants have ignored Mary, except for dressing her in blue for the Christmas pageant. We have shied away from paying any special attention to her, turning aside from statues depicting her and avoiding praying to her. However, in recent years Protestant scholars have encouraged us to take a closer look at this astonishing young woman. Two such scholars state that “The absence of Mary not only cuts Protestants off from Catholic and Orthodox Christians; it cuts us off from the fullness of our own tradition. We have neither blessed Mary nor allowed her to bless us. In the last two sessions, that loss to Protestants will be addressed.
Dec. 21 - The prophetic tradition continues with Elizabeth’s greeting of Mary and Mary’s song of praise to God.
These two women, Mary and Elizabeth, encourage us to slow down during this last week of Advent and join them in conversation as they and we wait for God to come among us.Monaghan participants may contact.
mspeedy@monaghanpresby.org to request a study guide to be emailed to you.