St. Peter’s welcomes you to
St. Nick’s Chapel for Children!
At St. Peter’s, we have a special worship space run by adult and youth volunteers for children 6 years old and younger called St. Nick’s Chapel for Children. You’ll see it on the south side of the church—designed just for little ones to experience worship in ways that fit them.
Children are invited to be in the chapel space with our volunteers, who help lead them in worship. Parents are welcome to sit with their children in the chapel or find a seat elsewhere in the church—whatever works best for your family. The chapel is here to support you! If you decide to sit elsewhere, we ask that children remain in the chapel space until you pick them up. We will help with that.
If your child needs you for a bathroom break, a diaper change, or just a tough moment, feel free to move through the church as needed. There are bathrooms available in Bender Hall, just down the ramp through the north doors. If you are sitting elsewhere in the church, we’ll let you know if you are needed. No worries!
The space is also available during the week between 9:00am and 5:30pm for private prayer and play.
At St. Peter’s, children are not only welcome—they belong. This space is one way we show that worship is for all of us, whether it’s your first Sunday or your hundredth. We’re so glad you’re here.
An Intergenerational
Worship Experiment
August-December, 2025
From August to December of 2025, in place of a traditional nursery we will be creating a worship space for young children in the church itself for more inclusion and deeper spiritual formation. By shifting away from a child-care model to an intergenerational community model during worship, we seek to live more fully into our mission, striving to be a “welcoming Christian community of all ages.”
What will that look like?
A section of the church will be set up as a beautiful children’s chapel in which children ages 6 and younger are invited to participate in the worship service with activities designed for them. The chapel will be staffed each week at the 10:30am service by 1-2 adults and 1-2 youth who will help facilitate and engage the children in worship through a combination of guided activities and free play. All toys and activities will be centered on the liturgy and prayer. Parents will have the option of joining their children in the chapel or sitting elsewhere in the church. Aesthetically, the chapel itself will be intentionally designed to reflect the beauty of the rest of the church. It will have a children’s altar that reflects the high altar, a baptismal font, wooden play communion sets, children’s vestments, a table, etc. When possible, the use of plastic will be avoided, opting instead for earthy, sacred designs. The goal is not simply to entertain children while adults worship, but to invite children into worship in ways designed for them.
Why is this experiment
worth trying?
Unity of the Body of Christ
Each week the Body of Christ gathers around an altar to hear God’s holy Word, to hold our prayers in common, to offer ourselves at the altar, and to receive God’s grace through the sacrament of holy communion. It is a gathering intended for the whole Body of Christ. While there are wonderful benefits to having a nursery (the support of parents, fun activities for children, etc.), it also removes our youngest members and the volunteers that care for them from being able to fully participate in the gathered Body. Not only do they miss out, the rest of the congregation misses out. As St. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12, we are each members of the Body of Christ and we lack something when members of Christ’s body are absent. Or as Jesus speaks to the disciples when they tried to keep the children away from him in order to keep order, “Let the children come to me; do not stop them, for it is such as these that the kingdom of God belongs” (Mark 10:14). Sometimes we worry that children will be a distraction in worship or that worship will be boring for children, but in reality the presence of children (even with their wiggles and noises) leads us closer to God’s kingdom and our worship should intentionally be shaped to include them. This speaks to our vision at St. Peter’s of becoming a truly intergenerational community and not simply a multigenerational community.
Deeper Formation of Our Children
The early years of childhood are some of the most developmentally formative seasons in a person’s life. There is tremendous opportunity for our youngest members to be formed and shaped by the liturgies of the church. Imagine some of their earliest memories being the sounds, and smells, and sights of worship within church itself. It is important for corporate worship to play an influential role in this formative time of a child’s life.
Safety and Security
Safety and security is always a concern and a challenge in communities, especially when children are involved. While most of us have experienced St. Peter’s as a profoundly safe space, we do have certain architectural challenges that leave parts of our community vulnerable in crises. Our current nursery is at the back of a separate, unlocked building with minimal communication with the rest of the campus. It is not the ideal location for a nursery.
Welcoming Newcomers with Young Children
Related to security and safety, when families with young children visit a church, the vast majority will not send their young children to a nursery for at least the first few months. Most families need a period of adjustment to feel comfortable in a new community before they entrust their children to our care, especially when the nursery is so far from the rest of the congregation. By providing an opportunity for children within the church with staffed volunteers, we both support parents and their children while helping them feel comfortable. A nursery located in another building will not typically be used by a newcomer family, but a space within the church is much more accessible to our youngest visitors and their families.
How Can You Support/ Participate in this Experiment?
Pray for the Experiment
We ask for your prayers in discerning how best to care for and include our youngest parishioners in the life of the congregation. This experiment is not simply a means to solve a practical challenge; it is discernment to more fully live into our common life as the body of Christ.
Encourage Our Children
Receive the sounds of young children in the church not as a distraction but as a gift of the Holy Spirit and with hope for the future. We are incredibly blessed to have so many children among us and we benefit from their presence. When you see movement or hear the sounds of children in the church, give them and their parents a smile and a thumbs up! They are doing a wonderful thing! And if a tantrum breaks out, remember that Jesus cried as a child as well. No worries! This is part of being human! Also remember, by including children in church, we are not only benefiting our community in the present, we are investing in our future. We want children to feel like St. Peter’s is their home from the very beginning of life.
Volunteer to Serve in St. Nick’s Chapel for Children
We continue to need volunteers to support our youngest parishioners and will continue to have schedules and sign ups for volunteers. Every Sunday we’ll need at least two people assisting in the chapel.
Contribute to the Building of the Chapel
You can contribute to the building of the chapel by purchasing some items from our registry or by helping create play vestments and play church items. Here is a link to the registry: https://www.myregistry.com/organization/st-peter-s-episcopal-church-plant-city-fl/4905926
Offer your Feedback and Ideas
This is an experiment that will need some adjustments in it’s implementations. We are eager to hear from you how it is going and what you think about it! Send your comments to Fr. Derek or a vestry member.
St. Nick’s Chapel for Children is a joyful and hopeful experiment, rooted in the conviction that children are not just the future of the Church—they are part of the Church, right now. Through this new space, we seek to embrace their presence more fully, honor their spiritual lives, and nurture their connection to the sacred story we share. Whether this model becomes a long-term expression of our life together or helps lead us to another way of deeper inclusion, we trust that God will guide us through your prayers, participation, and feedback. Thank you for being part of this journey as we grow together in faith, hope, and love.