Thank You for Supporting Our Youth
By Rachel Mosher
Youth Ministries and Common Grounds Coordinator
I have been on staff in the St. Mark’s youth department for 7 years now, and have been deeply involved for much longer than that! It is undeniable how much this congregation loves its students. The love and care you all show for these students are evident. It is evident in the smiles while our students help in worship. It is evident in the concern for our students when we temporarily lost our space in the Wesley House. And it was very evident during our fundraising for this summer’s amazing opportunities for our sixth- to 12th-grade students.
In May, the Desert Southwest Conference South District brought back the Middle School Mission, with a twist. This year, it was offered as a one-day local mission. We had three mission partners (The Inn, SARSEF, and Ben’s Bells) along with cooking for Soul Station. The students made impacts they could see both in religious and secular settings. Pastor Kevin offered multiple devotionals, and it was a really fun time learning about how we can meet people “at the well.”
High school students attended Sierra Service Project again, this time serving on the Navajo Nation. We met so many other United Methodist and Episcopal youth from Arizona, Tennessee and even New Jersey! Students learned about “branching out” with other students and helped with basic home repairs and additions (like building a shed!).
All students in sixth through 12th grades were invited to attend Youth 2023, the quadrennial youth event that took place in Daytona Beach. This year not only was I on the design team, so couldn’t travel or supervise our students, but we traveled with our conference! The Desert Southwest Conference took 128 participants, 31 of them from St. Mark’s. In 2019, we took eight students, so when 26 signed up I was quite surprised! This huge increase shows that the students feel your care. The students are happy to represent St. Mark’s and love being part of our church family.
Thank you. Because of your prayers and financial support, 43 students were able to serve in fun and exciting ways. Thank you so much for your support of these incredible people who are in our youth department. In fall 2021, I asked you to commit to being our fan. You have gone above and beyond. Thank you.
See you Sunday,
Rachel
To see the summer recap video that was shown in church on Sunday, visit https://tinyurl.com/YouthReCap23.
To see the (nearly 10-minute!) thank-you video we showed at the Thank You BBQ with trip highlights and messages from our students, visit https://tinyurl.com/StMarksYouthTY.
SUNDAY WORSHIP SCHEDULE
8:30 and 10 a.m. Traditional service in Magee Campus sanctuary and child care in Rm 15
10 a.m. Modern service at Sanctuary Campus
10 a.m. Magee Campus youth and children’s Sunday School (except fifth Sundays) and child care
10 a.m. Traditional service livestream premieres on YouTube and Website
Worship online at 10 a.m. on Sundays at umcstmarks.org/live-worship or YouTube UMC St. Mark’s AZ. You can also watch the service at a later time.