Dear Families of St. Paul’s,

We’re excited to share some exciting news and changes for our youth group and teens. Beginning Sunday, March 12, all teens are invited to a youth group lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. We’ll cook together, play games, catch up, refresh, and grow new friendships. We’ll pause church school for students in grades 7 to 12 and invite them to attend The Forum during the formation hour after the 9 a.m. worship service. The youth choir will also use the formation hour to rehearse and begin at 10:15 a.m.

Since returning to in-person activities, we have noticed that many of our teenagers are hesitant to take part in ministries like youth group and church school. Our youth choir, however, stays strong and vibrant. After careful consideration and discussion with parents, staff, and clergy, we have decided to experiment with a new approach to engage the teens. We plan to build on the momentum of our thriving youth choir by scheduling youth group right after choir rehearsal on Sunday afternoon.

We understand that change can be challenging, but we are excited about this approach and believe it could help us build a more connected and engaged youth group. At the end of the program year, we will reevaluate this system to ensure that we meet our teenagers’ needs and interests.

We strongly encourage all teenagers to give youth group lunch a try! The vibe will be casual, and friends outside the church are welcome to join. We hope this new timing works well for those who like to sleep in on Sunday mornings and those who use Sunday evenings to finish homework.

We thank you for your continued support and look forward to working together to build up our youth ministry in a way that best serves our teens!

Sincerely,

Jeanne
John
Lauren
Kelsey