Welcome back, Allison!

We are delighted to announce that Allison Connelly-Vetter, Director of Children, Youth, and Families Ministry is returning after several months of parental leave. Allison has been on leave since December, spending sweet time with her new baby, Frances. 

Allison returns next week for 30 hours per week to supervise staff and lead the Children, Youth, and Families (CYF) program during the week. She will return to working on Sunday mornings on April 12, when we will gather to dedicate children and welcome new members. She will take the remaining days of her parental leave this summer. 

None of us could have imagined the intensity of the time that Allison has been away. We are so grateful to the staff and key volunteer leaders who held this time with such integrity, care, and professionalism. Claire Tralle, Our Whole Lives (OWL) Program Coordinator, and I both took on additional hours and responsibilities overseeing staff, volunteers, and key program areas. Hirut Hedge worked tirelessly organizing religious education (RE) volunteers, childcare, overnights, and assuring that Sunday morning RE ran smoothly. Hirut, Nico Van Ostrand, our Hallman Ministerial Intern, and Andrew Tralle oversaw the fabulous annual Christmas Pageant. 

Shared ministry is a deeply lived practice in the CYF program. Sara Heuser, who leads our Coming of Age (COA) Program, focused on updating the COA curriculum, recruiting and orienting 23 mentors for the youth in our program this year, and helping congregants understand recent changes in COA. As part of our incredible CYF Advisory Team, Sarah and the team led several information and listening sessions about changes in the RE curriculum and especially about COA. If you did not have a chance to attend those sessions and are curious, a recording is available on our YouTube page. Gratitude to the amazing CYF Advisory Team (Samatha White, Annie Holtzclaw, Trio Ferguson, Kirk Cozine, and Johannah Scheurer) whose continued leadership held this time along with planning for the future. In addition, many thanks to Tami Eshult and Katherine Harrell for their unwavering support of all RE volunteers. Seth Anderson-Matz, Intergenerational Service, Justice, and Leadership Coordinator, created several Common Ground Sunday gatherings over those months, bringing kids and youth of all ages together for interactive Sundays.

Allison looks forward to reconnecting with all of us at church, and appreciates our grace as she continues to navigate the transition into parenthood.