Children & Youth Programs at Pilgrim Church

What to expect on Sunday Morning

News Flash

Confirmation: Our next 8th grade Confirmation Class will start in January 2025. Contact our church office for more information.

Youth Groups: We have a vibrant and welcoming program for Middle and High School Youth led by Pastor John of Pilgrim Church and Kayla from the Dover Church. This is a nondenominational program and all are welcome to try it out, bring a friend!

Sunday School: Every Sunday through the program year, all welcome. Please register so we may notify of any changes to the schedule.

10am Services begin Sunday after Labor Day
9am Summer Services from June to September

Youth Education & Service

Have fun helping out! Mission Trip chaperones, Youth assistants, Sunday School teachers, Training and support; Sunday am or pm; April Vacation; Summer Programs. Opportunities include:

PreK-8th Grade Church School
Middle School Youth Group
High School Youth Group
Service Work
Sunday Worship help
Special programs
And more!

Want to help teach Sunday School alongside our Director of Christian Education? Pick a date to help! See our >Sign Up Here

Sunday School Helpers

Interested in Sunday School or Youth Groups?

2023-2024 Registration for all grades

Download and Mail

Middle & High School Youth Groups

Permission & Medical Form

Online Form

Sunday School

We are on! Join us on Sundays for classes offered to children Pre-K through 8th Grade, from the first Sunday after Labor Day through mid-June.
Join us in the sanctuary for our Children’s Message during service. We will then go downstairs together for a lesson, craft or service opportunity, and time of fellowship.

Sunday School will be held during our regular Sunday worship as posted. Sign up for our eWord to stay up to date on the latest news! We encourage you to register online for the year so we will know to expect you, all are welcome. Bring a friend!

Professional childcare for infants and toddlers to age three is available during service.

Please reach out with questions about our schedule. All welcome!

Contact Information: Director of Christian Education (508) 655-1667 x18 education@pilgrimsherborn.org

Nursery Child-Care

Sunday School

Middle School Youth Group

6th, 7th & 8th Graders

5:00-6:30 pm Sunday nights during the school year at church, meets two to three times monthly. Our super fun Middle School Youth Group (MSYG) focuses on activities that help to spread kindness in the world. We will play games, make crafts, do service work and have lots of fun along the way!

This club has an interfaith sensibility and is open to all 6th-8th graders in the community. Members are encouraged to invite friends, we look forward to cultivating lots of kindness this coming year! We welcome all for faith, fun, and fellowship. God calls us to be His hands on earth so our group reaches out to others.

Contact Information: (508) 655-1667 pastorjohn@pilgrimsherborn.org

Special Events notices will be sent via email

8th Grade Programs

Human Sexuality from a Christian Perspective

Sunday nights, mid-September to early December – Fall class, offered in partnership with the Dover Church UCC, helps young people reach informed, healthy, smart decisions about their God-given sexuality and maturing relationships with others, all in the context of their Christian faith.

A nine-week course, it is based on the UCC’s Our Whole Lives, and is led by trained adult teachers, including medical doctors.

Contact Information: phone (508) 655-1667 admin@pilgrimsherborn.org

Confirming Our Faith

Sunday nights at church, mid-January to May – 8th grade youth are invited to participate in a multi week spring confirmation class that asks young people to consider the basic beliefs of our faith, the meaning of being a Christian, and the choice to become a full member of the Church.

Led by Pastor John and assistant volunteer advisors, this engaging class offers a chance for youth to dig into their faith in a fun environment. Meetings include a parent prepared dinner each week for time of fellowship, and activities with peers and adult mentors from our congregation.

Contact Information: phone (508) 655-1667 admin@pilgrimsherborn.org

Information and Forms

Sunday School

High School Youth Group

9th – 12th Graders

7:00 – 8:30 pm Sunday nights during school year Open to all 9th-12th graders regardless of church affiliation. Explore Christian values in the complicated world, have fun with peers, and serve others. We boast members from ten different school systems, all are welcome!

We have a great year in store, packed with opportunities for fun, fellowship, and service. Activities include service projects, discussions, interactive games, a fun fall yard sale fundraiser, youth-led Christmas and Easter worship services. There is an annual April vacation or summer mission trip where we spend time helping others while building community with each other. Some of the destinations in the past have included trips to New Orleans, Puerto Rico, New Mexico, D.C., New York and Appalachia to work in partnership with God’s people in need. We have a great trip planned for this year! We welcome you to join us!

Contact Information: Pastor John Hudson (508) 655-1667 pastorjohn@pilgrimsherborn.org

Special Events notices will be sent via email

Adult News

Oberammergau Passion Play Tour: In September 2022 a group of Pilgrim Church members and friends travelled for a week from Munich to Milan, with a train ride across the Alps and a trip through white wine country. The Oberammergau Passion Play, performed every ten years only, was a highlight of the visit.

Adult Education

> Learn about our 1619 Discussion Group

The 1619 project

Beginning in the fall of 2021, twenty members and friends from Pilgrim Church and Bethel AME Church (Jamaica Plain) began discussing The 1619 Project in the hope of creating deeper racial understanding and reconciliation and strengthening the relationships between congregations which have been connected for more than twenty years.

The 1619 Project is an ongoing initiative from Pulitzer Prize winning author, Nicole Hannah-Jones and The New York Times Magazine that began in August 2019, the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery. It aims to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.

The group read sections of The Project and discussed them in weekly Zoom meetings. Members continue to plan additional discussions and events (both online and in person). If you are interested in joining or learning more about this group, contact Matthew Fontaine at matt.fontaine@comcast.net

> Learn about our Adult Writing Class

Writing About your Life, A Spiritual Memoir Class

In December of 2019, Pastor John offered a short writing class during the Christmas season. Six church members signed up, and for some of them, it would be the beginning of an ongoing exploration of the meaningful events of their lives.

After the Pandemic started in the winter of 2020, the group continued on Zoom. Many of the participants said they felt it was enormously helpful to have something creative to focus on during those difficult times.

Since then, the group has expanded to include members and friends of Bethel AME and has proved to be another effective way of getting to know each other through sharing stories about our lives. To learn more, contact Pastorjohn@pilgrimsherborn.org.

Check back for updates.
See more opportunities below and on our SERVE page.

IBL Webinar

April 24th

Conversation with Regenerative Farmer and Advocate Gabe Brown of the featured film of this year’s Faith Climate Action Week – Common Ground and IPL President, Rev. Susan Hendershot

RSVP through our Sign Up. Thank you!

Wed. & Thu. AM Bible Study

THE WORD IN OUR LIVES

Our Wednesday class is a wide open fellowship of seekers led by Pastor John, this weekly study tackles a wide variety of spiritual issues using the lens of the Bible and scripture as a starting point.

Thursday morning is a Bi-Weekly Men’s Group Bible Study class, new members always welcome anytime! Contact the office for more information and to keep up with any schedule changes.

Biblical knowledge not a prerequisite—just curiosity!

Wednesdays 9:30 to 11 am, on ZOOM

Thursdays 7:30 to 8:30 am, at church and on ZOOM

Reach out to join us, all are welcome. Email or call for a ZOOM meeting number, pastorjohn@pilgrimsherborn.org or (508) 655-1667.

Missions & Education Trips

JESUS WORE WORK BOOTS!

Brochures are available in the Church Office or you can download HERE. Scheduled for right after Easter, 2024, the trip is planned for April 3-17, leaving from Boston. Highlights include staying at a kibbutz on the Sea of Galilee, visiting the magnificent ancient city of Petra in Jordan, staying at a hotel/spa in Jordan on the Dead Sea, having dinner with an Arab Christian family in Bethlehem, visiting Ramallah in the West Bank, attending a Sunday worship service in a Lutheran church a stone’s throw from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Old City on Jerusalem – and more!

Put faith into action with a fun group of adults. Our staff leads annual trips to do mission work and to learn more about the world we live in.

Past trips have included locations like New Orleans, Appalachia and Puerto Rico for mission work, and others such as Greece, Germany, Italy and more to explore the history of our Christian faith. College age and older; no special skills required.

Our 2020 Trip: A 12-day trip with the Oberammergau Passion Play as a highlight. The tour started in Munich, Germany with day trips from there, including Oberammergau, and Salzburg, Austria. After a train ride across the Alps, the second half of the trip was centered in Padua, Italy, allowing a day in Venice, a trip through the white wine country, and a visit to Verona and Lake Garda. It concludes in Milan, where a visit to da Vinci’s Last Supper and an optional evening at La Scala was included.

For more information about our future trips contact our music director music@pilgrimsherborn.org.

FELLOWSHIP & FRIENDSHIP

There is always an opportunity to come together for breakfast, discussion, sports games, book groups or service projects. Ask us about creating a small group, or reach out to join one. Meet throughout year, plus special one-time events

Reach out to let us know you are interested!

ministries@pilgrimsherborn.org or (508) 655-1667