There’s a lot happening with the St. Michael’s Youth Group! On Sunday, October 6, Lenia will lead her weekly group for middle-schoolers in the Raphael Room at 1:15 pm. From 5:00 to 6:30 pm, all high-schoolers are invited to the Parish Hall for snacks, games and conversation. RSVPs for this gathering and the confirmation class mentioned below are welcome but not required.

Hello from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania! The past week and a half have been a whirlwind of returning to my life as a college student and leadership educator, including moving back onto campus, saying goodbye to family and friends, and saying hello to my nine-to-five once more. In the time I’ve had to myself I can’t help but reflect on the experience I had at Saint Michael’s this summer.

Lenia has now officially joined the staff of St. Michael’s and is diving right in. She is attending staff meetings and planning meetings for the upcoming youth retreats, and she will participate in the first retreat next week in Bend. At the end of July, she will begin gathering with the 1:00 pm service youth, alternating middle- and high-school youth in the Raphael Room during the service. She will also participate in the Hope & Fire youth retreat at the beginning of August.

We’re excited to welcome Chloe Colbaugh to St. Michael’s this summer. She will be helping out with the youth in July and August at their retreats and marching with them at the Pride Parade. We’ll look forward to her joining us on July 1. Also, There’s still time to sign up for the first of two retreats this summer. This one is a St. Michael’s-only retreat happening on Monday-Wednesday, July 22-24, in Bend.

The Vestry has approved creation of a summer ministry internship at St. Michael’s. The position is for a rising college junior or senior, studying religion, education, social sciences, or another related field, to join the staff for six weeks during the summer. The focus of this position will be support youth ministry in the summer, including the summer retreat/service trip, meetups, and planning for fall programming.

On Sunday, April 14, Scott+ will return for two events. First, from 10:15 to 10:45 am, he will lead a Summer Service Trip talk, location tba. Then from 3:30 to 5:30 pm, there will be an opportunity for families of St. Michael’s to be in community with Scott+ and discuss a number of topics.

Looking ahead, the St. Michael’s Youth Group will gather again on Sunday, January 21, at 5:00 pm. In addition, on February 3-4, 2024, St. Michael’s youth are invited along with other diocesan youth for another Hope & Fire youth event.

This Sunday, November 5, the St. Michael’s Youth Group will meet from 5:00 to 6:30 pm in the Nativity Hall for dinner, games and fellowship. Please give us a heads up if you’re coming so we have enough food.

On July 4-8, four youth from St. Michael & All Angels attended Episcopal Youth Event (EYE) in Baltimore with others from around the Episcopal Church in Western Oregon and across The Episcopal Church. Rising high school senior Lucy offers this reflection from her experience at #EYE23.

Mark your calendars for two special youth-group events in June! First, on Sunday, June 4, the St. Michael’s Youth Group will meet for an end-of-year party with our new rector Scott Painter. The time for this event is from 5:00 to 7:00 pm in the Parish Hall, and it will include dinner, games and prizes.