We are excited about our new and growing youth fellowship. Our middle school youth are sharing experiences of worship, education, and mission, and are enjoying fellowship and learning about what it means to be a Christian young person.

What our youth program has been up to lately...

We began the year of our UMYF program with a pool party — many thanks to the Hamre-Abbott family for use of their pool and barbeque facilities!

We have met twice a month since the "kick-off" and had fun at our regular meetings as well as special events. We began the first meeting with a "Get to Know Me" game. We shared things we like, things we don't like, some things we are afraid of, and some of our hopes and dreams. Later in September, we had our "lock-in." (I dare not call it a 'sleep-over,' because as typically happens at such an event, only the adults wanted to sleep!) The October special event was the church potluck and guest speaker from First Presbyterian Church. Our Halloween party on November 3rd was "terrifyingly" fun. Have you ever tried "Witch's hat frisbee toss"?

November brought lots of hard work, but was a wonderful month for the youth. The group planned and led the worship service on November 24th. They all did a wonderful job working in teams, writing and performing two plays. After all that, we relaxed with a movie the following week. We finished December with the annual Christmas pot-luck and a visit from Santa.

In January and February, various guest speakers, including George Stockbridge, Becky Brown, and Jill Marchak visited and shared with us some of their personal history, information about their occupations and Christian thoughts. Becky joined us in the Karaoke performances and surprised us with a beautiful rendition of "Ava Maria." The students in attendance seemed to enjoy the opportunity to sing along with some of their favorite popular songs. A few of the girls even got brave enough to ‘perform’ on stage. We have some great talent here at FUMC. March gatherings included a "Welcome Spring!!" party and Extreme Sports.

In April, the youth had outdoor games at the regular meetings and attended a Christian youth gathering at Jesse Lee United Methodist Church in Ridgefield, where the evening's entertainment included comedians and a Christian rock band.

— Contributed by Maureen Jacob