Youth
Celebrating and Stewarding our Youth Ministry
St. Francis Youth Ministry is set to begin our meetings and activities on September 10, alongside the Church School and Nursery components of our Christian Formation program!
This year, exciting developments are happening in our church’s youth ministry. Church staff and our gracious volunteer leaders are preparing to help our middle and high school students as they journey to adulthood. The growth in the number of students participating has prompted us to seek out separate, age-appropriate curricula for younger and older students, and to plan for each group to meet in separate spaces with separate primary leaders. We will integrate elements of the Episcopal “Rite 13” and “Journey 2 Adulthood (J2A)” curricula over the next two years. These programs are wonderful supplements to our existing way of doing things. To mark these developments and to celebrate our youth and their important place in our church, we have given new and special names to our youth groups.
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6th and 7th Graders will RISE
RISE group will meet regularly on Sundays from 11:30 to 1:00 in Fellowship Hall. The group’s primary leaders this year are Linda Shelton and Greg McGurin. This fall we’ll participate in team-building activities, visit a ropes course, walk the CROP Walk, explore our gifts and talents, and prepare for a special liturgy of self-dedication later on this year. There will be snacks! There will be games! And there will be Jesus, too! We are “rising” more than just a grade level, after all…
Register your student using this form.
8th and 9th Graders will TREK
TREK group will also meet on Sundays from 11:30 to 1:00, beginning in Fellowship Hall and moving on to the Library (and sometimes other spaces…). The group’s primary leaders this year are Laura Caswell and Matt Haynes. This fall we’ll go beyond team-building, beyond the usual activities: we’ll begin a two-year process of planning, praying about, and fundraising for a spiritual pilgrimage in Summer of 2019. Where will we go? How will we change and grow? We will “trek” through these questions and then go on our trek together! And as we go along, we’ll be thinking about Confirmation in the church and how we feel about making the baptismal vows our own. And…yes, there will be snacks. And games!
Register your student using this form.
For older youth members
Students who have been confirmed are ready to be “Young Adults in the Church.” They are ready to participate in our adult ministries (and many of them do this already!), and ready to organize group activities, Bible studies, trips, and more (with help and encouragement from their church family). If your older student is interested in getting started with one of these activities (or something of their own design).
Please use the Registration Form to let us know and we will be in touch with plans to support.
Fall Parent Meeting
Parents/guardians of RISE and TREK students are invited to attend a meeting for adults and students together on September 10 a 12:30 in Fellowship Hall. We will go over what to expect from this year’s youth activities, the two-year curriculum plan for each group, expectations for students and caregivers, and a bit about our summer travel plans. Students and adults can depart together when the joint meeting has finished.