The Children's Mission of St. Paul and St. James

We have four programs. Our Light and Peace programs revolve around worship, while our Mustardseed Programs are secular. All of our programs focus on providing loving adult attention, positive discipline, imaginative play, and good stories. Click on the links below to learn more about each program.

The traditional parish church is unique among urban institutions in its potential to serve as the "whole village" that, as the proverb says, is needed to raise a child. One of our original goals was to break down the barriers between the "privileged" member of the parish community and the "disadvantaged" outsider, by constantly proclaiming the Good News for all, and inviting all into membership.

We rejoice when a family chooses to join the church -- as happens, usually, about once a year -- and when a family then brings friends, neighbors, and relatives to church, because adults and children have found meaning and hope in what we do here as a community of faith.

We rejoice also when the mere fact that we are a church -- and one with a diverse membership -- breaks down barriers for other families, whose children are in our programs but who do not join our congregation. They approach us very differently than they would approach an "agency" or "social service." They see us as neighbors, friends, and allies, as part of their community, rather than as part of the "system."

Out of this neighborly trust, we have offered parenting tips and suggestions to families, and listened as they struggled with family crises. We have gotten to know the children's schools, and compared notes with their teachers on how best to help a child who has trouble with skills and behavior. We have offered financially strapped families the opportunity to volunteer in lieu of program fees, or extended the deadline on payments, or renegotiated their fees. We have counseled families who were unaware of the vast differences in quality among the public schools, and helped them apply to excellent magnet schools, or shepherded them through the application process to St. Thomas' Day School in New Haven.

Members of our staff have often enrolled their own children in our programs, which gives them the opportunity to work and be with their children. It also provides us with the opportunity to mentor the entire family unit, including on-the-job training both in marketable skills and in ways of interacting with children.

All of these outcomes have grown organically out of our programs. The programs are the center of our life together, where we first get to know each other, and where we come together to learn, pray, sing, read, play, and share meals.