Engaged Growth

Laity Spotlight: Connie Offer, Children’s & Youth Formation Team Leader

When Connie Offer agreed to head the Children's and Youth Formation Ministry, she (or anyone else for that matter) had no idea that less than a year later, Covid 19 would force the closing of houses of worship and require church leaders to totally reinvent the way they ministered to their congregations. With her team of four, that's exactly what Connie Offer did. Although she is stepping down from her leadership role, Connie looks forward to continuing to serve at PUMC, a church that, for the Offers, began as a compromise.

Connie moved from Ohio to New Jersey after graduate school for a career opportunity. She joined First Baptist of Lincoln Gardens and involved herself in children's outreach there. When time allowed, "I volunteered with their Ministry for Foster Children and Families," she explained. Outside of church, she became a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer. (The CASA program helps monitor abused and neglected children in out-of-home placements.) In between work, church, and volunteering, Connie met her husband Stephen. After marrying, they began looking for a church to join that could serve as a compromise between her Baptist Church and his Church of England. " We were looking for a community that was diverse and welcoming and had a strong children's program," she said. They found all that at PUMC. Two years later they welcomed daughter Victoria to the family.

When Pastor Skitch invited Connie to chair Children's Ministry, she had an active four-year old, and a busy career in healthcare management. "After much conversation with [my family] and prayerful consideration, I accepted," she said.

Four programs fall under the umbrella of the Children’s and Youth Formation Ministry Team: Sunday School, Confirmation, Youth Group, and Vacation Bible School. That is a lot to say yes to, but Connie is drawn to working with kids, and the Ministry’s mission sets a goal important to her. “The Ministry was established to teach young people about God and to foster in them a growing relationship with God,” she said, adding "It also proConnie Offer vides an atmosphere of community that creates in our children and youth joy built around Christ and church." To help these programs flourish, Connie and her team work closely with the families, teachers, and mentors of PUMC children and youth "by teaching, training, encouraging, and supporting" them in their work. When Covid struck, having this family of volunteers proved invaluable to the team, whom Connie describes as collaborative and inclusive. "We invite feedback from our kids and parents, which helps us design (or redesign as the pandemic required) goal setting and programming to reach those goals," she said. The camaraderie of team members and volunteers helped the Ministry pivot during quarantine and continue to meet the goals of the team. One of the best-loved children's events put on by Children's Ministry is the annual Easter Egg Hunt. Brightly-colored eggs uncovered with shouts of "I found one!," the Easter Bunny hopping around sharing the children's joy, and music create a joyous experience.

Compassion Campers at Vacation Bible School Continued on page nine.

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Continued from page eight. When quarantine made it impossible to hold a traditional Easter Egg Hunt, Connie and her team went to work answering the question, "How do we do this virtually?" Marie Griffiths and Jenni Collins, two members of the Ministry team, took the lead on the project.

With the rest of the team and a host of volunteers, 50 children had a fabulous Easter Egg Hunt. Each child received a basket full of crafts and activities that, through Zoom, they were able to do together. They had a sing along and the Easter Bunny even made an appearance.

As Covid restrictions eased and the weather mellowed, Connie and her team devised ways for children and youth to meet in person (masked and distanced, of course). They organized a family event, a downtown scavenger hunt. When possible, Sunday School events were held at a local park. This summer PUMC, Kingston UMC, and Trinity Episcopal held outdoor Vacation Bible School. "Providing kids with experiences to connect with each other and to their faith, and to know that the church is behind [those efforts] is very important," said Connie.

Now near the end of her term, she reflected on her time leading the Ministry Team. Yes, there were a lot of hours spent planning and preparing then re-planning and implementing, but " because the work is so meaningful to me and so helpful to others to grow spiritually, it's worth the time," she said. "It makes me feel really good." Although Connie is stepping down as team leader, she will remain on the Ministry Team. She will also continue serving on the Reopening Committee.

Connie is so thankful to have led such a dedicated team and recognizes them here: Marie Griffiths, Jenni Collins, Steve Wong, Mae Potts, and Janis Davis. A special thanks to Children’s Ministry Director Evangeline Burgers and Pastor Skitch Matson.

Lena Hamilton, William Ponder, and Ana Francisco-Cabus at Youth Group this fall

PUMC Feeds Youth

“What do you want?”

They’re the words Jesus says to a blind man named Bartimaeus in Mark 10, and they’re the words we started our semester with at Youth Group. What do you want? Simple enough, right? …maybe not. Once we started to unpack the different layers; once we paired this question with our semester-long focus on mental health; once we realized the depth of the question a hush fell over all of us. What do we want? Deep down inside?

Throughout the Fall we have been looking at Faith and Mental Health through different Scripture passages in the Old and New Testaments, prayer practices like the Daily Examen, and even in talking with a local therapist about what therapy is and how it can help us. In all of these arenas, we are trying to answer the same question: If God cares about people being free and liberated (including the freedom and liberation that comes through healthy mental health), how can God and God’s love free me? How can I be “Fed” by God?

Along with this, our students have chosen to ACT out good mental health by supporting the local nonprofit HiTOPS by volunteering at the upcoming Princeton Half Marathon on November 14th. HiTOPS works with queer youth and their families, and as we learned one night at youth group, queer youth are among the highest percentages of populations that struggle with mental health. Our students aren’t just “Being Fed,” they’re trying to “Feed Others” by living out their faith through supporting the groups that can help those most in need. Amen!

There are still some spots that HiTOPS is looking to fill for adult volunteers, and if you are interested in supporting their efforts, find out more information at HiTOPS Half Marathon website: https:www.hitopsprincetonhalf.com/

PUMC Feeds Students: Wesley Foundation

Princeton UMC is happy to partner with the Wesley Foundation, guided by Rev. Skitch Matson. The group holds a Bible study in the Sanford Davis Room each Tuesday night and several students call PUMC their church home.

Student Intern Grecia Hernandez shares how formative the ministry has been in her faith life, “It has been a huge part of my spiritual community and source of strength here at Princeton. When I was in my dorm for most of the day last semester, I was still able to have a place where I could be connected to people who were interested in the same questions that I am and who came with open minds to talk about that. The Wesley Foundation was definitely a place of rejuvenation for me each week.”

Grecia sees the impact Wesley Foundation has on the students of Princeton University. “Now, being more involved with the Wesley Foundation as the student intern, I get to see the ways that the Wesley Foundation works to feed students’ spiritual needs. I would say that a lot of the work we do is trying to encourage students to participate in the conversations about their faith. I think that this along with the lessons from Skitch each week does a lot of the work of nourishing students. When people are given space and time to understand what they need and want, they are much better equipped to ask for it and create communities that address those needs.”

In 2022-23, WF and PUMC are participating in The Vinery, which will strengthen our connection to PU and help us "continue to reach the people on campus who would most benefit from the group. People who are questioning what progressive Christianity looks like in their lives and the world around them.”