ABOUT OUR WORSHIP
Oak Forest Anglican Church is formed and centered upon weekly Christian worship that is both reverent and joyful. We believe Christian worship is dialogical—it's a conversation between God and His people. Every Sunday, we combine all of our individual voices into one corporate prayer to God. He speaks to us through Scripture, through the Sermon, and through the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and we respond to Him with our songs and prayers.
For more information, please download the Guide to Our Liturgy, which briefly explains some of the biblical and pastoral rationale behind the sequence and structure of our worship service.
CHILDREN & WORSHIP
At Oak Forest Anglican, we value integrating children into the life of our congregation as often as possible, and we enthusiastically welcome children of all ages into our Sunday worship services. We of course know that small children can be noisy and/or distracting, but we believe these tiny voices represent new life and the Church's future. In fact, out of the mouth of babies and infants, God establishes His strength (Psalm 8:2). So we have a high tolerance for the presence of children in the sanctuary. "To such belongs the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 19:14).
More than quietly sitting through the service, we encourage parents to help their children engage with the liturgy as much as possible. Several of the elements in our services remain the same week to week, which allows children to learn and participate, even if they cannot read the bulletin. We also offer clipboards, coloring pages, and crayons for the purpose of keeping children occupied during the sermon (15-20 min). In addition, we encourage parents to play OFAC's songbook (iTunes or Spotify) at home and in the car so that children can begin to learn the songs we sing on Sundays.
The Nursery (0-3 years)
Although we desire to have children worshiping alongside adults, we understand that it may not always be practical, and we recognize that parents have the authority to determine the best way to integrate their children into the life and worship of the community. Therefore, we offer nursery services for infants and young children.
Activities: praying, reciting the Psalm of the week, singing the Lord's Prayer, playing inside and outside, and eating snacks.
Note to Parents:
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Please provide a water cup for your child.
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If you would rather your child not have Goldfish as a snack, please provide an alternative and let our volunteers know.
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For the safety of our children, we do not change diapers in the nursery. We have a changing table available if you need to change your child.
OFAC Kids (PreK to 1st Grade)
During the sermon, children PreK through 1st Grade have the option of being dismissed (along with adult volunteers) for a 30-minute, age appropriate Bible lesson. Participants will return to their seats in the sanctuary following the sermon.
Please check in your children prior to the service.
Sunday School (9am)
We also offer weekly Sunday School classes from 9–9:45am (we take a break during Advent/Christmas and over the summer). Our various Sunday School offerings are listed below.
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Class #1: Ages 0 to 3
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Class #2: Pre-K to 1st
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Class #3: 2nd Grade to 5th Grade
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Class #4: Adult (6th Grade+)*
* The adult Sunday School class has a designated table for teenagers.
