Another outing to the Mega Maze in Sterling, MA is in the books! Some records were set this year for the fastest times in maze completion, leaving plenty of time for the outdoor games, swings, trampolines, and petting zoo. After some “dinner” – mostly sugar, but a few nutritious items as well – we all warmed up around the campfire. This is a yearly tradition that won’t be going away anytime soon.
Nothing could dampen the spirits of the crowd at this year’s Minuteman March. The WCUC Youth Group joined many Sunday Fellowship friends in this important walk to raise awareness and money to support the amazing services that MMA provides annually for 1400 children and adults with disabilities. This year happens to be their 20th Anniversary which added to the joy of the celebration. A huge thank you to all who donated to the WCUC team, helping us to surpass our goal as we raised a total of $2135.00. It takes a village to support those we care about and we are very blessed to be a part of this one!
After a successful helping hands trip to the Jenkins-Man house this past winter, word got out that our WCUC Youth are pretty adept at crawling into small spaces and working together as a team to clean out and relocate attic boxes. They were “hired” again for similar work to be done for a donation towards the cost of our new heating system. On Sunday after church, the youth made their way over to Ann and Tom Bailey’s house for another attic adventure. The pictures will speak for themselves, but please pay special attention to the “ancient” Bible they found with Bailey birth records from the early 1800’s! It was a fun and very productive afternoon.
One of the many great donations to our church auction was a promise by the youth group to spend a few hours helping out someone in need of their energetic and resourceful labor. This promise was fulfilled on Sunday as we traveled to the home of Polly and Keith Jenkins Man to help them begin the process of packing up for their move to Lincoln Commons. The kids climbed up into a small attic space to bring down boxes and other assorted items, and then into an even smaller cubby storage area to do the same. Next were the highest cupboard shelves in the kitchen and finally outside to rescue a beloved garden toad from its frozen spot in the snow. All of this, plus a pizza lunch and fun chocolate sticks for hot cocoa, made for a fabulous and productive afternoon.
In a world where many feel isolated, disconnected, or even invisible, it’s increasingly important for our church to find ways to bring people together. Now that we’ve made it through the pandemic and we’re not forced to look at each other only on computer screens, our in person gatherings feel even more special. Whether we’re at Walden Pond for walking prayer enjoying the company of others in nature, at With Us Wednesdays sharing stories and laughter, or baking pies together for church members who could use some extra cheer this year, the people of WCUC – young, old, and young at heart – are finding comfort and joy in this weary world.
It was a night to remember. Live music, backyard games galore, festive food and drink, and a giant corn maze. Happy to report that all of the youth made it out of the maze before dark. This is one of our favorite annual youth group traditions. Fun for the young and the “young at heart”!
On Friday night, September 8th, the youth gathered in North Hall for their annual Welcome Back Game Night, complete with pizza, ice cream, and of course a few suspenseful rounds of Sardines. (the game, not the fish) We then returned to church on Sunday for our first class of the year to learn about how the early Christians learned to form community and to brainstorm ideas about what makes for a fun, safe, and meaningful community in Youth Group. Kindness, mutual respect, inclusivity, trust, and non-judgement all ranked high among these young people. It is such a gift to be walking with them in faith and in life. Today, I give thanks to God for joyous play, contagious laughter, and friendships, old and new!
