Where is my place in the United Church of Christ after confirmation class? This is a question that I continue to ask myself as a young adult. I have noticed that young adults don’t tend to see their demographic represented in their local church. The UCC has an established community of youth, but not for young adults. Nevertheless, us young adults didn’t simply disappear after confirmation class. I moved to Rhode Island in 2016, and wondered how we could bring the community of young adults together?
Woodridge Congregational Church United Church of Christ, where I am a member, has young adults, as do many of the churches I visited prior to my joining Woodridge. However I felt that these young adults could develop a stronger community uniting with other UCC churches in the area. In summer of 2018, I approached Kristin Putney, Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries for the historic Rhode Island Conference, and proposed the idea of a young adults’ ministry. As someone who was well connected in the Rhode Island Conference, Kristin knew many people who may be interested in attending, and could help get this initiative off the ground.
We launched our Millennials’ Ministries in Fall of 2018. We have had up to 20 individuals attend our events which have included game nights, apple picking, pumpkin carving, holiday gift swaps and bowling. The recent gatherings have been focusing on building community with fellow UCCers throughout the area.
Due to COVID-19 we got a little sidetracked with our events, but we are ready to restart this important ministry. In a time when people are looking for community to stay connected, we think it is more important than ever to restart our community of UCC young adults. Our hope is that this new virtual platform will allow more individuals to be engaged throughout all of the Southern New England Conference. We would love to engage as many people as possible in this important ministry, so we are asking for your help to spread the word! Please pass this along to anyone in your church community that you think may benefit from participating.
Woodridge Congregational Church United Church of Christ, where I am a member, has young adults, as do many of the churches I visited prior to my joining Woodridge. However I felt that these young adults could develop a stronger community uniting with other UCC churches in the area. In summer of 2018, I approached Kristin Putney, Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries for the historic Rhode Island Conference, and proposed the idea of a young adults’ ministry. As someone who was well connected in the Rhode Island Conference, Kristin knew many people who may be interested in attending, and could help get this initiative off the ground.
We launched our Millennials’ Ministries in Fall of 2018. We have had up to 20 individuals attend our events which have included game nights, apple picking, pumpkin carving, holiday gift swaps and bowling. The recent gatherings have been focusing on building community with fellow UCCers throughout the area.
"Millennials' Ministries really helped me get out of my comfort zone and meet new people, everyone was really welcoming and I made really great, lasting friendships. I think having an activity to do like bowling, apple picking, or pumpkin carving helped to create a fun and easy environment for making connections with people. I am so glad that I was able to be a part of it" -- Sophia Rustemeyer, Seekonk Congregational Church United Church of Christ, Massachusetts
Due to COVID-19 we got a little sidetracked with our events, but we are ready to restart this important ministry. In a time when people are looking for community to stay connected, we think it is more important than ever to restart our community of UCC young adults. Our hope is that this new virtual platform will allow more individuals to be engaged throughout all of the Southern New England Conference. We would love to engage as many people as possible in this important ministry, so we are asking for your help to spread the word! Please pass this along to anyone in your church community that you think may benefit from participating.
"Millennials' Ministries has offered me the chance to meet new people, connect with past connections, and develop lasting friendships. It has been an anchor to have people in my life who are faithfully grounded in a time when I am not connected with a physical church." -- Emily Goodman, United Congregational Church of Little Compton, Rhode Island
“Millennials’ Ministries has been a great place for me to socialize with like-minded people. We're brought together by the church community and stay together for the connections we make inside of it.” -- Jeffrey Noble, Seekonk Congregational Church United Church of Christ, Massachusetts
“Millennials’ Ministries has been a great place for me to socialize with like-minded people. We're brought together by the church community and stay together for the connections we make inside of it.” -- Jeffrey Noble, Seekonk Congregational Church United Church of Christ, Massachusetts
We will be hosting our first ever virtual meeting on Sunday, July 19th at 7:00 PM. This will include a time of getting to know one another with an element of fun. We will be having a PowerPoint party presented by some guest on fun and random topics.
To register visit: https://tinyurl.com/SNECUCCMM. For more information about future events please contact me at: katharine.howe1@gmail.com.
We hope to see you on July 19th.
God Bless,
Katie Howe
Photo is from the inaugural pumpkin carving event held in October 2018
Author
Katie Howe
Katie Howe is a member of the Woodridge Congregational Church in Cranston, RI and is on the Board for the Rhode Island Association.