The Nursery

• The nursery is a three room suite, located on the first floor of the education building.  Enter through the double glass doors located near the breezeway and you'll find/hear it down the hall on the right!
• Staffed for ALL Sunday morning services, and many other functions as well.
• The nursery is for infants through the age of 4.  It is important to know that children are welcome in all of Centenary's worship services, should you choose to keep them with you.
• Children are signed in and the parents are loaned a vibrating pager should it be necessary to summon their presence during services.  Children are released only to the person who signed them in.
• All attendants have undergone the Safe Sanctuaries Training that is necessary in order to work with children in a United Methodist Congregation.  Also, all attendants have undergone a Missouri State background check. 

The Moses Room, a nursery for babies with an Egyptian desert theme, has a mirror at floor level so "crawlers" can see themselves as they learn to move.  The carpet is laid to look like the Nile River and is reflected in the mirror to look endless.  There is a changing area, stocked with diapers, wipes, hand sanitizer, etc. Miss Virginia, the Sunday morning attendant, is a jewel.  After one visit, babies return to her with outstretched arms.  She's always there to greet babies, toddlers and preschoolers with a smile on her face.  Even the grown up children of Centenary stop in to say "good morning" to Miss Virginia.

The Noah Room, for toddlers, has a plank floor simulating a ships deck and the walls are hand painted with 57 different birds and animals.  The swinging gate and counter are painted to look like the outside of Noah's Ark.  It is stocked with tons of stuffed animals (in pairs) and has lots of toys and books for your toddler to enjoy.  Miss Gina has lots of fun playing with all of the children.

Jonah's Room is for pre-schoolers and has a "Disneyesque" quality.  The whale is a friendly purple with Jonah taking a ride on his back while all sorts of sea creatures frolic around them.  The Sunday Morning Attendents in Jonah's room are full of energy and ready to play and preschoolers have so much fun they don't want to leave!!

As a "new mom", I was reluctant to leave my precious babies with strangers.  What a mistake!  My son took up instantly with Miss Virginia and was delighted to be with other children.  My daughter is a very discerning child.  I will never forget her first complete sentence.  One Sunday, as we removed coats and were settling in, Zoe eyed the situation and clearly stated, "Miss Virginia, you put that baby in a bed and carry me!"--Jamie Mayfield, mother of Zak (age 4) and Zoe (age 3)