Youth Programs
Youth of all ages are an essential part of the community and ministry of Rock Spring.
Rock Spring UCC offers opportunities for children and youth to grow in Christian faith, values and service. Our YoRS (Youth of Rock Spring) program is our outreach to and with the youth of our congregation and community. YoRS takes part in service projects, special events and weekly programming to lively groups of middle school and high school youth.
Middle High YoRS
Our Middle High youth group is open to 6th to 8th graders. Each week, we engage in activities, games, service projects and discussions are scheduled regularly. Meets Sunday evenings 4:30 to 6:30 pm.
Senior High YoRS
Our high school youth group is open to 9th through 12th graders. High School YORS offers a variety of Bible Study/Faith reflection programs, games, service activities and involvement with the adult community at Rock Spring. Meets every Sunday evenings, 6:30-8:30.
For more information about the YoRS programs and activities, please email YoRS@RockSpringUCC.org
Summer Mission Experience
Each summer, our youth journey out from their homes to serve our wider community in mission. The annual Senior High YoRS Mission Experience usually takes place in mid-July. The adventure is open to all youth who have taken part in the Senior High YoRS program, and have completed their 9th Grade school year (or equivalent).
Planning Sessions and Leadership Retreats begin each autumn. If you are interested in joining the experience, please email YoRS@RockSpringUCC.org.
2010 Senior High YoRS Mission Experience: A Report back
Check out the article in the August Print Edition of the Rock Spring News!
With well-tanned arms, and tired feet, the 2010 SME returned to Northern Virginia on Saturday, July 3. The weather for the week was incredible! Warm, but not too hot; rain, but only at night-to keep the dust down; Sunny, with the right mix of clouds to keep everyone from overheating. We could not have asked for a better time to share in our mission outreach.
Speaking of better time, what a great time we had! Joined by youth from three other congregations in the Potomac Association–Christ Congregational UCC-Silver Spring, MD; Little River UCC-Annandale, MD; and United Christian Parish-Reston, VA. When we arrived in Franklin, we shared in a commissioning and blessing for the week, taking on the name Potomac Youth. We came to the Volunteer Center as four churches, and left as one body in Christ.
Together, we went to serve Almost Heaven Habitat for Humanity in Franklin, WV. AAHFH was established in 1988 to meet the housing needs of the residents of Pendleton County, West Virginia. Since then, they have built over 90 homes in partnership with low-income families, making their dream of homeownership a reality. They also have worked on over 150 major rehabilitations and repairs and continue work towards the elimination of poverty and substandard housing in their community. Recently, their leadership in simple, decent housing has allowed AHHFH to
merge with Habitat for Humanity-Greenbrier County, to provide an increased impact in southeast West Virginia. AHHFH will now serve the communities of Pendledon, Pocahontas, and Greenbrier Counties (these three counties span over half of the Monongahela National Forest). As you read on, we’ll talk about our plans to continue building our relationship with their work!
Our work was a mix of a lot of things. Each day, the crews were mixed up between three worksites, spanning the entire labor of building a new home for a partner family. One crew each day journeyed to the Buffalo Hills development, setting the footing and foundation walls for a new home (we later discovered that this would be the 100th house for Almost Heaven HFH!). A second crew worked on correcting an error in the depth of the gravel fill in the foundation at the River Bend Condominium sites, preparing for the final pouring of the floor slab. A third crew worked on
the final touches at another of the River Bend sites, even helping some of the homeowners move their possessions into their new home! Truly, we saw the depth and breadth of what it means to serve in this ministry. If a picture is worth a thousand words, we spoke 1,758,000 over the week! The YoRS Bulletin Board outside of the Saegmuller Room will show you all that we did.
What we’ve got planned for the future
From our first day on the worksite, we started talking about how cool it would be to actually build a house. Several of the chaperones on the trip had shared in a blitz build in the past (John, Robin, Warren, and Pastor Hank included!). Sitting around one evening after work, one of our friends from Christ Congregational said, “If I could, I’d do this every day!” We all agreed.
Later in the week, a member of the AHHFH staff came out to tell us about the work that Habitat for Humanity does. She shared the story of Almost Heaven, and how huge an impact they have on the community. What was really special, though, was her sharing that she was a partner family—a group like us built her home in the early 1990’s, and did a rehab on it just before she moved in a couple of years ago. When we got back to the Volunteer Center, we kept talking about her testimony, and how much we’d like to do something like that—build a house for someone.
On Friday morning, the chaperones from the four churches came together for a quick meeting. The leadership from AHHFH had brought an offer to us that fit
exactly how we were feeling. Unfortunately, another group had “bought” our week next summer by securing a house sponsorship. Fortunately, the next week was ours—and we could do the same! We gathered for our morning breakouts, and decided together that we wanted to join in raising the funds for a Potomac Youth Blitz Build next year, July 3-9, 2011. Here’s what we’re thinking:
- It takes 60 people to do a blitz build. We had 30 this year, and are already hearing excitement in our churches to add to our number. To that, we are inviting the other 31 Potomac Association churches to participate, hoping for at least two other youth groups to join our four.
- The cost of a half-house sponsorship is $20,000 (plus our expenses for the week). We did an estimated budget based on this year. The total expenses for the trip would max out at $38,000, with income of $23,800. That leaves about $15,000 to fund raise.
- Divide that amount between six churches, and you get $2,500. With more churches, the number goes down.
- In 2009, YoRS rasied $5,200 alone; and with a minimal effort this year, we have over $1,500 rasied. This is an easy cost for such a meaningful ministry!
Some folks have said that it is easy to dream big, but the proof is in the doing. Well, we did do the doing this year. Habitat for Humanity’s current campaign for affordable housing is called, “Build Louder!” We’re taking that on as our challenge, too. We believe we can raise the funds, and organize the builders. This is a tremendous mission, with a tangible impact for the communities in West Virginia, and our own in the DC-Metro area. We are asking for your support in this mission, and your prayers, too. We’ve got a lot to get ready before next July! You want to come with us?
Finally, we all want to say thank you to all the leaders from the churches:
Christ Congregational UCC—Kristen Curlee (our kitchen organizer for the week!)
Little River UCC—Amanda Hopkins, George Nelson
United Christian Parish—Billie Sutter, Paul Traunero (Mr. T)
And of course, John Overholt, Robin Overholt, Warren Overholt, and Pastor Hank. Without you, we’d never have gotten over the first mountain. You’re all welcome to come back next year (we guess…).
Please, do keep your eyes on the lookout for more information from the Senior High YoRS on next year. We’ve got some fun plans to get the whole congregation into the project (and all of the Potomac churches, too!). We’re taking a break for the rest of the summer, but we’ll be here in September, ready to Build Louder with you all!
Thanks and Blessings,
The Youth of Rock Spring
Ben Foster, Devin Divecha, Kapri Grant, Joia LaRoche, Max Lindsay, and Mae Whitesides
Other Faces of Service
Senior High Youth are also welcome to be involved with leading church programs (teaching Sunday School, serving on various committees, sharing in leading worship, etc.)!
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