Congratulations, Hirut! And welcome, new childcare staff!

Dear First Universalist Church,

As July turns to August and we look toward the Fall, I am delighted to share two exciting announcements about staffing in our Children, Youth, and Family Ministries (CYFM).

First, we are thrilled to announce that Hirut Hedge has accepted a new role as Assistant Director of Children, Youth, and Family Ministries at First Universalist Church. Hirut comes to this role with a depth of experience in our particular congregation and significant expertise in Unitarian Universalist faith formation for children and youth. In this new position she is taking responsibility for increased supervision of staff and volunteers, as well as assuming a primary leadership role with new and returning programs. We are incredibly lucky and grateful that Hirut is expanding her leadership in this congregation, and we are honored to have the opportunity to continue learning from her wisdom. Please take time to congratulate Hirut on this new role and be sure she knows how deeply we appreciate her ministry. 

A note from Hirut: “I am thrilled to share that I have been promoted to Assistant Director of Children, Youth, and Family Ministries! Having served in four different roles working directly with our kids and families during my time here, I am deeply invested in this community. I am so grateful for this journey and truly excited for this next chapter. I look forward to challenging myself, growing professionally, and continuing to support our amazing children and families!”

In addition, we are happy to announce that we have hired three new adult childcare staff. These adult staff members will work in our nursery and PreK rooms on Sunday mornings. They will provide care to older children during additional programs such as Saturday Sprouts, after Community Dinner, and during programs after worship on Sundays. 

We hear clearly that those of you with young children rely on predictable, consistent, trained childcare in order to participate fully in the life of our congregation. Last year, we were not able to consistently fill needed adult childcare roles with congregant volunteers. In response, you, the congregation, voted to add these staff hours when you approved this year’s budget. We hope that the addition of these staff members will relieve stress and add consistency for those of you who rely upon our childcare ministries. 

The hiring process for these staff members was led by Associate Director Hirut Hedge, with support from the Children, Youth, and Families Advisory Team and fellow staff members. Each of these new staff are experienced, qualified, and thoroughly trained in their role. Please stop by Room 104 on a Sunday morning to welcome our three staff members El, Nancy, and Ava to our congregational team. We are so glad to have them on board!

With care and gratitude,

Allison Connelly-Vetter