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Jesus was very clear in both his teachings and his ministry about the value of children in a community.  Not only did he want to ensure that, in his own life, children had free access to him;  he also wanted his disciples to welcome and nurture them and---perhaps most surprisingly---admonished them that they need to emulate children in order to enter the kingdom of heaven.

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So we at Hornsey Parish Church welcome children just as they are---expecting them to be real children, not miniature adults or plaster saints.  And we take them seriously as Christian disciples, valuing their frank (and sometimes sceptical) questions, and the often unexpected associations they make.  We view our own (adult) role as creating a safe, accepting space for them to be themselves, and sharing with them the stories of our faith, allowing them the freedom to experience their own responses in an authentic way.  Our work is largely based on the approaches developed in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and Godly Play, though we are not constrained by either.

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As we reestablished our children's work after the pandemic, it is now mostly based in the community and at our parish school, where we run a number of groups and provide pastoral and spiritual care to children and their adults.  

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We periodically run activity days for children in the community, and provide pastoral support to the most challenged children through our Y Hornsey project.  

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In the parish, we run Noah's Ark baby, toddler and pre-school stay-and-play on Wednesday and Thursday mornings, and a children's liturgy on Sunday mornings, in which we follow the structure of the main liturgy (gathering, letting go, celebrating/thanking, listening and responding to the Word, and offering intercessions, before joining the main service to receive communion or a blessing).  

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We prepare children to be admitted to communion from the age of seven, and we prepare candidates for confirmation once a year.

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