I feel like I should be teaching them about God, taking them to church but Im lost...

[Freya]

I am baptised and all that jazz a Catholic. Dh is Lutheran. Neither of us have been to church since we got married. Not even regularly before that. Our eldest is baptised catholic out of habit I guess. The other two, well Im a slacker.

Ds1 has been asking about God and things recently so we've been looking through his childrens bible given to us by his godmother and talking about it. But I just dont know what to say. I feel like we should be attending church. I would like him to attend sunday school. I dont feel like doing it through the catholic church is "right".

I dont really have any religious friends to ask questions of. I wouldnt even know where to start in finding a church thats right for us as a family. Im not into judgement. Im not into having church and God take up 75% of your time. We are liberal in the sense that we drink alcohol on occasion, we are not anywhere near perfect but we do believe in doing right by others and living your life honestly and to the best of your ability.

I like the idea of a more liberal church, maybe lots of happy singing, teaching tolerance..........

Does your church sound like what Im looking for and if it is, tell me about it!

[CrystalBoo]

I love hearing that someone wants their kids to know God - hooray! We attend an Anglican church, and because we were brought up on it, my siblings and I prefer their traditional service (old style language etc) However, they do a 'family' service too, with modern language and more emphasis on children in conjunction with the Sunday School.
I think that sounds more like what you're after so I would suggest enquiring at various churches in your area for those that are youth/family oriented. Then it's probably just a matter of trying out a few to see what feels best to you. I wouldn't worry too much about the actual denomination.
Hope you find what you're looking for.

[Floweryfields]

I think you would probably like a more modern church - pentecostal often scares alot of people, but happy singing, etc is what we do best! My church has a large number of children and do children's church - children stay in for worship - singing and communion then go out to their own activities - usually a simple bible story, drawing, art activity, etc. Usually something yummo to munch on, a few games etc.

Many churches will allow you to send your children along even if you aren't keen yourself.

Try out a church of christ too as they aren't as loopy as us pentes!!

[Visitor7]

I would have thought maybe pentecostal. It's upbeat, singing etc, but still gets the message across. Anglican services are very traditional, so you may get bored (if that's the right word, no offence to anyone) with it. DH and I are Anglican, I prefer the traditional Anglican services whereas dh prefers pentecostal. Our girls like the environment that comes with pentecostal, so we attend those services moreso these days.
ETA: forgot to say, keep reading the books you've got. We have a couple of books which we read to the girls. Every night, we go through a story from the book titled 'My Good Night Bible' with Nina. She's very interested in learning about God.

[Jas]

I am at a C3 Church, they have changed name from CCC (Christian City Church) If you google c3i (i for international) you will find some good info

[Jennifer13]

We go to an Anglican church and attend the family service. Their kids' program is excellent and we still get the sermon, etc, (not as traditional as the morning services though). Why don't you have a look around your area and see which churches run something that sounds like it might suit. If you're used to a traditional catholic service, you might find something half-way suits you. We go once a week, although DP does go to some of the home bible studies (and not to church, he prefers the chats ).

[Bathsheba]

I went to a few churches in our area when we first moved here 7 years ago. Eventually i found the right one. It was a Uniting Church... which is essentially Anglican but very liberal (they ordain female ministers for example). They had a great Sunday school program too. The services were a good blend of traditional and modern. My kids eventually went along and loved it... made friends both young and old. DH also came along even though until then he was kinda reluctant to go to church. He agreed that the minister was a 'good bloke' and not too preachy... the kinda guy you could have a beer with... he was an ex farmer, very down to earth. We got more involved than i thought we would... i did sunday school occassionally. when we move we're going to miss having this network. There were a few times that we experienced family crisis that they were the only source of support. I feel that my kids are going to have really positive life long associations with going to church because of this connection... and they now know that there is more to Christmas than getting presents

[Starfish]

There is a great Uniting Church in Redfern (I think its called St Saviours, its Anglican). I attended a few of their serives when I was living there and it was very casual and upbeat with a playarea for children at the back, etc. My friend's father used to be the minister there, but he has since moved on, so I'm not sure what its like now, but I know that lots of young families attend and I found it quite fun.