{"id":251,"date":"2016-02-16T22:18:25","date_gmt":"2016-02-16T22:18:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/crownheightsumc.org\/site\/?page_id=251"},"modified":"2026-08-24T19:11:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T01:11:01","slug":"youth-ministries","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/crownheightsumc.org\/site\/youth-ministries\/","title":{"rendered":"Youth Ministries"},"content":{"rendered":"

YOUTH GROUP<\/span><\/h3>\n

Youth at CHUMC are middle school, high school, and some college-aged students who meet weekly on Sunday mornings (10 a.m. – Noon) to eat, socialize, play games, and read and discuss Bible stories and current events.<\/span><\/p>\n

The group also meets on the first and third Wednesdays of every month (5:30 – 7:30 p.m.), unless there is a special event. Youth Director Atticus Shires (they, them, theirs) is proud that this group is queer-friendly, diverse in faiths and beliefs, and governed by our shared values of humor, quality time, and kindness.<\/span><\/p>\n

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YOUTH SCHEDULE<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Join each Sunday at 10am for breakfast in the Fellowship Hall and a lesson in the Youth Room. <\/span>Typically, Youth Group meets the first & third <\/span>Wednesday of the month from 5:30-7:30pm.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Our Youth program continues in a season of thriving, and with it comes welcomed adjustments. Especially as students rise from elementary school to middle school to high school, each year can feel more and more like its own chapter of life. College is no stranger to this phenomenon either–and half of our Youth are now in college! This is growth in time. We have a new high school student who participates in our weekly Bible lessons, has attended the last lock-in, and helped with CHUMC\u2019s role in the June 2026 Pride parade. This is growth in numbers. Another student has begun to show more interest than usual in our Bible lessons, asking more questions and taking more detailed notes. It is a joy to see this growth in spirit.<\/span><\/p>\n

In growth, we expand, and expansion reveals limitations of our space. Areas that once served us now fall short; where void was now is filled; what was given has since been taken, and \u201c…whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance.\u201d The way Jesus rewards boldness with abundance in the <\/span>parable of the talents<\/span> is a virtue our Youth program is honored with. We are changing our schedule to accommodate busier, older teens. We are developing strategies to welcome the much younger, soon-to-be Youth in a way that respects the important relationships long standing in our older group.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I am grateful for the ways this church supports our Youth and this program (like financial support); and if I may be so bold, I ask you to consider how your support can grow with us. Come introduce yourself at breakfast. Invite us to a church event you\u2019re excited about. Inquire about <\/span>Skyla\u2019s cosmetology career<\/span>–she graduates in two weeks! Talk to <\/span>Katie and Severin<\/span> about what OU was like back in your day. Contribute from whatever abundance you have been given, and the kingdom will come.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Atticus<\/span><\/p>\n

UPDATE FROM THE YOUTH DIRECTOR, Atticus Shires<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lately, the students are studying Holy Week through a Jewish lens, which I\u2019m delighted to say they\u2019re engaging in naturally and dare I say enjoying, perhaps because Jewish hermeneutics is often more mystic than that of Protestant Christianity, i.e. more comfortable with mystery and uncertainty. As Youth Director at Crown Heights, I am not interested in spoonfeeding answers (especially ones I don\u2019t have); instead, I hope to facilitate questioning and careful consideration of both scripture and self. Jesus often acted as a not-so-clear mirror, requiring onlookers to really squint to see the truth of themselves, speaking in bizarre and poetic terms, not merely as a person but as a vine, a drink, an ovine, and even wind. This group of youth are bold, and I want them to be proud of who they are while also remaining open to who they are becoming.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last week, we had an overnight lock-in, where we celebrated Severin\u2019s eighteenth birthday, played games, and didn\u2019t really sleep.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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2026 Ford Scholarship Application – Crown Heights UMC Endowment<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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For youth who are active members of Crown Heights UMC, please see the attached Ford Scholarship Application. Applications are due no later than May 1, 2026.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

2026 Ford Scholarship Application – Crown Heights UMC Endowment<\/a> (.doc)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

2026 Ford Scholarship Application – Crown Heights UMC Endowment<\/a> (.pdf)<\/p>\n

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Youth Mission Projects<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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We want our youth to participate in mission through the year. They often work at the church or find ways to give back to our community.\u00a0<\/span>Our youth group handed out 80 snack and hygiene bags in downtown OKC. Our youth were kind and courteous. They enjoy brightening the day of someone else.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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YOUTH GROUP Youth at CHUMC are middle school, high school, and some college-aged students who meet weekly on Sunday mornings (10 a.m. – Noon) to eat, socialize, play games, and read and discuss Bible stories and current events. The group also meets on the first and third Wednesdays of every month (5:30 – 7:30 p.m.), […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1125,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-251","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crownheightsumc.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crownheightsumc.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crownheightsumc.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crownheightsumc.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crownheightsumc.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251"}],"version-history":[{"count":68,"href":"https:\/\/crownheightsumc.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2744,"href":"https:\/\/crownheightsumc.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/251\/revisions\/2744"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crownheightsumc.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crownheightsumc.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}