It has been an honor to serve with you!
It has been a joy to work with many of you in making HUCC a welcoming, inclusive place for all generations. Since I arrived before COVID until now, we have had about 25 families with children and youth under 18 affiliated with our church. As some families have graduated or chosen to step away to pursue other priorities, new families have come along to refill the ranks.
You may not see each of these young people on a regular basis. A need that many families have now, which is different from past eras of church life, is to be rooted in a church community without feeling the pressure to attend regularly. While different than in the past, this episodic connection is deeply appreciated and life-giving for families who, as a whole, have really needed more support from their communities in order to survive and thrive.
We can be proud of what we do at HUCC to meet the deep needs of parents and young people:
--A place where they can get help in caring for their children (Sunday nursery, support for the preschool)
--A place where their children can be known and loved (Sunday School, children’s chat, Bistro)
--A place where their children can experience community and learn how to participate in community (youth ministry)
--Opportunities to serve and make the world a more hopeful place.
To match this wonderful roster of younger families, this year we have had 20 older members of the congregation serving as periodic Sunday School teachers and youth leaders. This is a wide foundation upon which to rest a communal, intergenerational model of ministry. As I depart and Robb Carlson comes in as my temporary replacement, I know that Robb is in a great position to guide this pool of community stakeholders in a thoughtful time of transition and reimagining.
love, Pastor Chelsea
Favorite article on Children's Ministry:
Favorite article on Youth Ministry:
Favorite article on Staffing for Intergenerational Ministry: