To support and care for those doing ministry with children, youth, and families

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Faith Formation Funday Monday

October 2025 Newsletter

Worship Engagement Survey

The survey is open through Friday, October 31, 2025 and we are hoping to engage even more children, youth, and families to help inform our Mitten Project work this year.

Please share widely in this final week of the 2025 Survey!!

These top churches have turned in 204 of 567 responses


Saint Clair – First Congregational UCC

Benzonia – First Congregational Church of Benzonia UCC

Owosso - First Congregational Church UCC

New Baltimore - First Congregational Church

Jackson - St. John's UCC

Grand Rapids - Plymouth United Church of Christ

Midland - United Church of Christ

To date: (38%) 52 of 138 Michigan Conference UCC churches have had at least one person fill out the Worship Engagement Survey.

Final Ideas for Children and Youth Participation:


Email the survey link to your church leadership and families


 https://www.research.net/r/UCCMittenProject 


Invite parents to specifically engage with their children to complete the survey


Group Text the link to your youth group

https://www.research.net/r/UCCMittenProject


Please complete the following survey:

https://www.research.net/r/UCCMittenProject and then share it with your entire congregation.


This survey is open to everyone in the Michigan Conference:

- pastors

- church leaders

- parents

- youth (13-18)

- children (ages 3-12)

- and all others in Michigan Conference UCC congregations




We hope you will share your experience of Worship in your local church setting, and ask everyone in your church to fill it out too! The anonymous survey includes a mix of multiple-choice and open-ended questions and should take approximately 7-10 minutes to complete. Please be honest and know that there are no right or wrong answers.

We appreciate your participation and look forward to sharing more with you about the Michigan Conference Mitten Project: knitting together children and adults in worship and prayer. You can find out more about the Mitten Project HERE


https://michucc.org/children-youth-and-families/

2026 Winter Youth Retreat Registration Open

Youth in grades 6-12 will gather along with chaperones from their local churches for the opportunity to connect with one another and the wider church on January 31 - February 1, 2026 at Haslett Community Church in the Lansing Area. Cost is $30.00 per person.


Meals, snacks, programming, recreation, sleeping space, and worship will be provided.


"Peacemakers" Retreat starts at 10:00am on Saturday and ends after worship on Sunday

Includes: service learning with Sleep in Heavenly Peace, Exploration of the local area, dinner, programming, Bible study, 'midnight' Communion, overnight lodging at Haslett Community Church, continental breakfast, worship, and boxed lunch to go.

APPLY NOW

Mitten Project 2026 Cohort

The Michigan Conference received a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. for $1,250,000.00 for the Michigan Conference Mitten Project: Knitting together children and adults in worship and prayer. The Michigan Conference Mitten Project is a 5-year program that invites congregations to engage children in worship, so that all of us, in each generation, can leave church more deeply connected with the spiritual and ready to find the sacred in our everyday lives.

Application Deadline November 14, 2025 at noon

Participants selected for the 2026 Cohort will be announced December 2, 2025.


For more information, please visit: https://michucc.org/children-youth-and-families/


Twelve Implementation Teams will be chosen from Michigan Conference UCC local churches to be part of the Mitten Project 2026 Cohort and each team will implement a year-long program in their local church setting.  Cohort Churches will be granted $5000 of unrestricted funds for their program and up to an additional $5000.00 in funds to participate in 2026 Mitten Project Trainings and events. Local Church Implementation Teams must have a minimum of three adults, including the pastor, a children’s ministry leader (volunteer or paid), and a parent or guardian of a child aged 0-12 from the local church setting. Children 12 and under, and youth age 13-18 may be included as part of the local church Implementation Team. Children and youth are not required to participate in online training. 2026 Teams will collaborate and reflect with other Implementation Teams in scheduled online meetings, participate in all Mitten Project online and onsite training, help develop resources for 2027, and adults will attend a celebration retreat October 21-22, 2026. The calendar of events for 2026 cohort participation can be found HERE.

Add 2026 Dates to your Program Year Calendar

view the full 2026 Calendar HERE

Networking Opportunity

Networking Zoom Meetings for Children, Youth, and Family Ministry Leaders in the Great Lakes Region

1st and 3rd Thursday of each month at 11:00 am ET click here


Upcoming Meetings:


November 6

November 20

December 4

Love of Children at the National Setting

The National Setting is building up a supportive network to sustain the work of children's ministry leaders and to support them with continued learning and resources to more effectively serve their children and families.


Read the October Newsletter HERE


You can find out more about their work and shared resources HERE

Additional Resources

FIND A LIBRARY of Searchable Resources


Click HERE to access the online learning platform The Damascus Project Network.


  • Choose "Join" then use your Google, Facebook or other email to create a free account in the Damascus Project Network.


  • JOIN the Faith Formation and Youth Ministry Leaders Cohort


  • Type any topic into the Search Bar to see recommended and verified resources from other CY&F Leaders


  • Networking Zoom meetings are the 1st and 3rd Thursday at 11:00am EST

Program Associate for Youth Ministries

Program Director Mitten Project


Jennifer Ringgold (she/her) Why are pronouns important?


Office Hours: M-Th 9am-3pm 

Google Voice ‪(517) 258-2165‬

jenn@michucc.org


"To believe is to care; to care is to do" 


Like Michigan Conference UCC on Facebook 
Check out the Great Lakes Association of United Church Educators and UCC Youth Ministers Facebook Pages
www.michucc.org