AUGUST 15, 2023

Dear First Congregational Church, 

Last fall, our church came together with Community UCC Boulder, and UCC Longmont, with a dream – to create a Collaborative Youth Program for our middle and high school youth – a shared multi-church program with shared leadership.

A committee comprised of members and pastors from all three congregations was formed to search for a new Director of Youth Ministry. 

After many meetings and contacts ecumenically and nationwide, the Director we imagined did not emerge. Even so, our commitment to a collaborative endeavor in youth ministry never flagged. In time, we also began to think about its leadership differently. 

For one thing, in recent weeks we realized that to create a vibrant and sustainable multi-church program, one that will last through inevitable transitions, we need to build a bench of leadership, rather than relying on one person to form and hold the whole program. 

Secondly, because the pool of qualified candidates for every kind of church work

is shifting dramatically, leaders in the wider church and youth ministry training programs encouraged us to turn around and look at our own congregations to see

if we might already have the people we are seeking to launch our dream. 

We did. 

And, we do! I’m delighted to introduce our Directors of Youth Ministry to you. 

Directors of Youth Ministry 

Rob Cronin is a member of UCC Longmont and has been active in supporting the youth program in that congregation for the last three years. He was born and raised in Minnesota and grew up loving the outdoors and all the adventures to be found there! He and his wife, Maaike, married 20 years ago, and lived in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area until May 2020, when they moved to Longmont to follow a dream of living in Colorado. They have three children: Mary Jane (16), Bekah (13), and Emma (10). Rob holds a BA in Religious Studies from the University of Minnesota and an MS in Education - Training and Performance Improvement from Capella University. Over the years he has worked with young people in a variety of capacities and programs from youth ministry to Girl Scouts to substitute teaching. Rob continues to love finding time to be outdoors and adventuring; primarily through mountain biking, hiking, paddle boarding and snowboarding… though he’ll try just about anything once! He is grateful to be a part of the youth ministry and says he is “super excited for the adventures we’ll have together!”

Sam Bauman, a member of First Congregational, Boulder, is a graduate of College of Wooster and of University of Colorado, Boulder, earning a BA and MA in Religious Studies and a Certificate in College Teaching. Sam has five years of experience working with youth and children through Renaissance Adventures here in Colorado, where he currently serves as the Program Coordinator, training and supervising staff for regional after school programs and summer camps and prior to that, seven years’ experience as part of a leadership team running a youth adventure program in eastern Massachusetts. In recent years, he has also worked with youth in our congregation as a counselor for ARTS Camp, a Sunday school teacher, and as a leader for our Middle School program, where he is known as the Games Master. Sam enjoys playing piano and percussion, figure skating, and exploring the Colorado wilderness. He vividly remembers his own years in church youth group, and is excited to draw on that experience to make our new program

a meaningful experience for everyone!

We have asked Rob and Sam to make a commitment to this new program for one year and to participate in a process of regular review and evaluation as we learn together and see if the program needs something different or more. Sam and Rob will be supervised and supported by a team of pastoral staff from all three congregations: Rev. Linda Kowatch, Rev. Amelia Richardson Dress, and Rev. Nicole Lamarche.

Important Dates

This Sunday, August 20, at 11 AM, following worship, all middle and high school youth and parents are invited to an Information Session in Grace Gallery to learn more about the plans we are making for our Collaborative Youth Group. Can’t make this meeting? Other information sessions will be held on Sunday, September 3 at UCC Longmont at 11:15 am and again on Sunday, September 10 at 11:45 am at First Congregational, Boulder. Community UCC’s information session will take place during their Congregational Meeting on August 27. 

The first meeting of the Collaborative Youth Program will be held on Sunday, September 10 from 5 to 7 pm at First Congregational Church, Boulder. Middle and high school students will meet together for games and dinner and then split into age groups for small group discussion and closing prayers, beginning the pattern of Sunday evening youth group meetings while rotating locations week to week. 

Monthly special events, service projects, a Work Trip in June, and a Parenting Support Group facilitated by Deborah Voss are also being planned, so if you are a student in middle or high school, or are a parent of youth, please plan to attend an information session to learn more!

What a joy to see this dream of ministry with our youth begin to come to fruition!

Faithfully,  

Rev. Christina Braudaway-Bauman

Senior Minister