Four Parishes Children’s Choir at St Nicolas, Forest Hill

St Nicolas Church, Forest Hill hosts the Four Parishes Children’s Church service at 4pm on the first Sunday of every month.  The service was created to be particularly suitable for pre-school and primary school children and lasts 30 minutes. It aims to provide children with a gentle introduction to the experience of being in church.  There is always a warm welcome for all, and we do not expect children to be completely silent, but comfortable in the surroundings.

With the support of members of the regular St Nicolas Choir, Julia Stutfield has recently started a Children’s Choir to sing at this monthly service and we are ready to recruit a few more singers.

What age of children? The target age is 5 – 9 years old, but older children are also welcome, as are younger siblings.

How many children in the choir? St Nicolas Church is very small, so the number of children that can be accommodated in the choir area is limited.  We are aiming for a maximum of 8 children.

What will the children sing? Children’s Church usually includes three hymns or songs (with percussion instruments for younger children), along with simple, structured prayers and liturgy.

Do parents need to accompany the children? Parents are expected to accompany the children; we hope they will listen in on rehearsals and take part in the service.

When will the choir rehearse? The Children’s Choir rehearses from 3.30pm immediately before Children’s Church, which starts at 4pm. Recordings of the music will be available on the website beforehand.

Will children be expected to read music? Not immediately, but we will provide music to sing from, and we will teach children (and parents if desired) to learn the basics of how to read it.

Will children be expected to attend regularly every month? Attendance every month should be an aspiration, but we do understand that this may not be possible for everyone.  However, priority will be given to children who can attend regularly.

Do children and parents need to be Christians to sing in the choir? No.  People of any faith or none are all equally welcome to sing in the choir, and the adult choir at St Nicolas includes people from many different backgrounds.  The one thing that they have in common is a love of singing, and this is the main thing that is required.

How much will it cost? Nothing.  Membership of the choir is free, and all music is provided.

Does St Nicolas Church have Safeguarding processes in place? Yes.  Everyone involved in leading the service and the choir, from St Nicolas, has a DBS check and has done Church of England Safeguarding Training.

What could the future look like? St Nicolas Choir is affiliated to the Royal School of Church Music so there are opportunities for the children to gain medals through the RSCM ‘Voice for Life’ scheme.  Other possible opportunities include joining with the adult choir for occasional services or concerts, the possibility of forming an instrumental group to accompany some of the songs during a service, participation in occasional services elsewhere (e.g. in St Mary’s, Wheatley where Alexandra Hewitt has also recently started a children’s choir), and opportunities to try out and learn the organ.

Benefits Increased confidence, new skills such as reading music, learning new songs and new vocabulary, singing as part of a group, meeting new friends and maintaining friendships with other local children who go to different schools.

Background material

The first three Children’s Services were recorded on Zoom and can be found on the Four Parishes website https://www.fourparishes.org.uk/children-s-videos.

The scripts that have been written for the Four Parishes Children’s Church can be found on the St Nicolas website https://www.stnicolasforesthill.org/scripts-for-childrens-church.  The Service Sheet for the Children’s Service is also on this page (you need to scroll down to the bottom)

Rehearsal tracks for the next Children’s Church can be found on the St Nicolas website https://www.stnicolasforesthill.org/songs-for-childrens-church-05

Any Questions?

Please email julia.stutfield@gmail.com.