Youth Gatherings 2011 

 A night in the alley

Scenes from a night of bowling at Schwoegler's Entertainment Center on May 22.

There was pizza, there were a couple of pastors trying to remember how to bowl, a parent along for moral support and seven teens scarfing pizza and knocking down pins. Great night. See more photos here.

Urban Immersion - November 2010 

Five young people and two adults spent from Friday evening, Nov. 5, through Sunday afternoon, Nov. 7, with the Urban Immersion program run by Bethel-Bethany United Church of Christ in Milwaukee. Below are the participants' high points from a packed day on Saturday. You can find many photos from the trip here.

Kayta - Going to Mt. Sinai worship and feeling an amazing hospitality from all the members and a new vibrant sense of worship.

Mikos - For me, it was when we made the eggs, sausage and and banana for the men at Guest House

Adam - My favorite moment was talking to the guys this morning and serving breakfast and seeing how kind and mature they were. They weren't the stereotypical homeless guys.

Angie - Let's admit, I talk a lot. The people at St. Ben's were not as talkative as I'm used to. It was our time at Mt. Sinai that was a life-changing experience.

Austin - The most memorable moment from the weekend was walking the path of a homeless person and thinking what would we do if we were homeless.

Leah - I loved being at the Islamic Society and hearing our guide share about how faith frames her life. She talked about how the five daily prayers reconnect her to the source, remind her who she is. She was passionate and very welcoming. It was also powerful to see the people together for prayers, seeing how they were trying to be faithful.

David - My powerful moment would have to be the welcome we received from every guy at the shelter where we served breakfast. As well as the men that were just happy to have a conversation with me.

 Summer Service Blast 2010

Our young people spent two days in mid-July (yes, it was hot) painting the hut used by the HEALTH Program of Meriter Hospital. This is the program that Dr. Cate Ranheim from Meriter Hospital shared about in worship earlier this spring. The kids went out on a pontoon boat on Lake Wingra the first evening, then had a pot-luck with their parents at church on the second evening.

What a great bunch of hardworkers! Thanks to Kaitlin Young, Dawn Gander-Ast and Pastor Phil for helping out.

Later in the summer, the folks at the HEALTH Program put up this plaque (picture to left) at the entrance to The Hut thanking our kids for all their work in transforming the old quonset hut into a welcoming place for folks seeking health care.

 Amazing Grace

 Our teens also won the Madison-area Amazing Grace on April 25th, 2010.  This was the third time in a row the trophy came to Memorial UCC! This event is much like the Emmy-winning TV reality show, The Amazing Race. Teams of church youth follow clues and complete challenges on their quest for the finish line. There were nine teams from five churches competing.