Over the past year, a number of church members and staff have worked very hard to publish a children’s hymnal. The finished product, Sing to God: A Hymnal for Children and Their Families, has been published and has arrived from the printer. The hymnal features over 70 hymns in a variety of styles — tunes familiar to our congregation, Sunday School hymns and even two original “books of the Bible” songs by Jerry Monds. The hymnal also features beautiful illustrations by three artists from our congregation: Leslee Bechtel, Ansley Black and Carey Haynes. These hymnals will be presented by the Children’s Ministry as a milestone for four-year-olds annually. They are available for purchase in the FPC Bookstore.

The choirs share their songs in worship at least once per month; 2017-18 Choir Calendar-Fall.  Additionally, they will work on songs for the Family Christmas Eve worship service.

Children spend time with all ages, but split during rehearsals into two specific choral groups.

The Hosanna Choir is for children ages 4 through 2nd grade. The directors are Kelly Posey and Brianna Doughtery.
The Doxology Choir is for children 3rd through 6th grade. The director is Jerry Monds.

Why should your child join Children’s Choir?

The goal of the Children’s Choir Ministry at First Presbyterian Church is to build and nurture lifelong Christians through actively praising and worshiping God with the gift of singing.

• Children will learn another form of worshiping God. As St. Augustine once wrote, “To sing is to pray twice.”
• Children learn various aspects of the worship service and come to have a greater understanding of what each part of the service means. They also come to understand music’s role in praising God.
• Children participate in various devotional activities during rehearsals to strengthen their faith and foundation.
• Children learn how to work with one another as part of a group. Choirs are the strongest when every member works together for the good of the whole.
• Children gather a great base of musical knowledge with our wonderful directors. Children spend time not only singing, but learning the basics of music reading. They develop their singing voices and gain an appreciation for music.

It is really fun! Our directors love music and spending time with the children. They aim to make it an enjoyable experience for all and develop a lifelong desire for music and worship.