Little Sparrows of St. Francis

In the ancient church, an “atrium” was a gathering place between the Church and the street. It was where the faithful recollected them selves before entering into the liturgy, and where the catechumens received instruction in the faith before their full immersion within the Christian community. 
At St. Francis, our “atrium” will serve a similar purpose for our children. It is not a “children’s church” separate from our “real” or “adult” church, nor is it a nursery or a classroom. It is a space that aids their fuller participation in the liturgical and communal life of the one Church that includes the baptized of every age.
Children in the atrium will maintain a prayer table and an altar complete with chalice, paten, candles, altar clothes, and candles. They will hear the Gospels proclaimed and work with specifically designed materials to aid their understanding, and they will practice prayers and gestures such as the Sign of the Cross, the gesture of invocation over the waters of Baptism, and the priest’s gesture of Epiclesis over the Bread and Wine. 
The atrium is open for the children Saturday's at 4:45 p.m. (see schedule below) Children work in the atrium until they rejoin their families for the Liturgy of the Eucharist.