Young Adult Ministries take seriously the spiritual needs of relevant experiences for young adults, post-high school to 30-something. Young adults at First Congregational are single and partnered, students, working, or balancing the various roles and developing their gifts. Some were raised in a spiritual community, some are just beginning to explore spiritual community for the first time. One thing can be assumed: young adults at First Congregational are a diverse group. They appreciate both developing their own community and opportunities to integrate into the life of the congregation.
There are two opportunities for connection:
At present, young adults gather in monthly after church lunches to explore "Living the Questions," which engages questions of life and faith as we navigate what it means to be Christian in this time and place. Young adults also form community and develop spiritually in the Our Whole Lives: Sexuality and Our Faith covenant group that meets 14 times through the fall, winter and spring. For more information on Young Adult Ministries, contact Pastor Melanie Oommen, 541-345-8741.
"Our Wholes Lives: Sexuality and our Faith"
Our Whole Lives (OWL) is a lifespan comprehensive sexuality education curriculum that helps us make connections between our sexuality, our values and faith commitments. Young adults ages 18 – 35 gather with a team of facilitators beginning in the fall and covenant to stay together for the 14 session program. To find out more about the Our Whole Lives Program, go to http://www.ucc.org/justice/sexuality-education/our-whole-lives.html
While the group is closed to new members at present, contact Pastor Melanie if you would like more information or would like to be included in next fall’s group.
Young Adult Our Whole Lives Celebrates a Wonderful First Year!
Since November, young adults ranging in age from 18 to 34 have been gathering for our first Young Adult Our Whole Lives Sexuality and Our Faith group. Meeting once or twice a month, the group delved into topics such as “Mind, Body, Spirit,” “Exploring Gender,” “Communication,” “Family Matters,” and much more. We are grateful for the five facilitators who so willingly and capably stepped forward for this great experiment in young adult ministries: Don Gall, Suzanne Congdon Garitty, Jeneka Joyce, Jake LeMasson, and Pastor Melanie. It was a remarkable experience of truly learning and connecting all the dimensions of our lives: mind, body, spirit, relationships. On our last night together as a group, participants took a few moments to write down how they have been blessed by participating in this group. Here are some of their reflections about the OWL experience:
“What I most appreciate about participating in the OWL group was the opportunity to connect with people around my own age and look at and discuss the many facets of human sexuality. I have really enjoyed the conversations.”
“I really appreciated the opportunity to explore and discuss all aspects of sexuality in a completely open, affirming, and thought-provoking way. Through conversation with peers I had the chance to get to know myself and understand my own relationship better. For the first time sex education was not just about preventing pregnancy and STD’s, but about intimacy, self-knowledge, and promoting positive sexuality in our communities.”
“This group has allowed me to discover the important connection between passion, intimacy, and communication. I enjoyed learning in a group setting, sharing thoughts, and listening to others, and realizing how incredibly lucky I am to belong to this church community.”
“Thank you for the interesting dialogue. The safe space to explore interesting issues around sensuality, sexuality and spirituality was tremendously helpful in continuing to shape my own views.”
“For the first time in my life I was in a safe yet open setting to explore issues of intimacy and sexuality. I found myself saddened that it took this long to find a safe group with whom to explore these very important, fundamental-to-the-human-experience topics. However, I am grateful too for this experience, and I’m excited for the next step!”
“It has been helpful and empowering to have had open discussions about sexuality in all its many forms. What has been most valuable about this for me is feeling more comfortable with my own sexuality and more able to talk about my needs, feelings, concerns, opinions, and questions. I also feel so deeply grateful to have felt the intersection between the spiritual and the sexual, the erotic and the beautiful, the sacred and the human.”
We hope to form another Young Adult OWL group in the fall. If you are a young adult who would be interested in participating, contact Pastor Melanie, 541-345-8741.
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