Dear First Congregational Church, 

As we move into the fall and return to a full schedule of church activities, I am writing

to announce some changes in our church staff. 

First, after saying farewell to Er-Hsuan Li in July as he moved to a music professor position at Pacific Lutheran University, we are delighted to welcome Christine Teng as

our Children’s and Youth Choir Accompanist. Christine is a collaborative pianist from Rochester, New York. With degrees and honors in piano performance and keyboard collaborative arts, several years’ experience as the staff accompanist at the Eastman Community Music School, and a piano fellowship at Musiktheater Bavaria in Germany, she is currently enrolled as a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate in Collaborative Piano at CU’s College of Music. Christine will be working closely with Anne Martinez and Kajsa Teitelbaum, as our Faith Singers and Joyful Noise choirs make music and lead us in worship. 

Second, we congratulate Sam Bauman as he accepts an internship position at Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church in Denver, and we release him from his ministry with the youth of First Congregational Church. 

A little history: In July 2023, when our year-long search to find a new youth minister for an experimental collaborative program with two other congregations did not yield a suitable full-time candidate, all three churches turned to look at our own congregations for internal candidates. We created a leadership team of three people, each working part-time. We asked Sam, who had been serving as a volunteer in our programs since 2018, to fill this new role for our church. Sam agreed, and for the past year, he has worked to build compelling and consistent offerings for our youth – teaching Sunday morning church school, leading Sunday evening middle school group activities, hosting Tuesday evening game nights, and working with UCC Longmont to offer monthly combined events for all our youth. Additionally, as in previous years, Sam served as a counselor for Arts Camp, and at the end of May, guided a high school Racial Justice Pilgrimage to Montgomery, Alabama. 

You may also remember that during the pandemic, Sam contributed countless hours as one of two primary audio-visual technicians, making it possible for us to pre-record and post our worship services on-line. He served as the Chancel Choir’s volunteer sound and video engineer, carefully stitching together choir members’ at-home solo recordings into complete anthems for our on-line worship. He was one of the first to learn how to livestream from the sanctuary using our new cameras and Wirecast software. 

Recently, Sam has been exploring a deeper calling to local church ministry. In January 2024, he began studies at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and the Center for Youth Ministry Training. This summer, in preparing for his next academic semester, he searched for an internship position in another congregation where he could be intentionally mentored in youth ministry by a seasoned colleague. Montview enthusiastically extended an invitation to Sam to join them. His work there begins on Sunday, September 8.

Later in September, Sam will return to First Congregational on a Sunday morning, so that we can thank him for his service among us and bless him as he moves on to explore his calling in new ways.

Meanwhile, Lianna Campos, our Minister of Faith Formation, Sam’s partner with the youth since she arrived this past spring, is joyfully stepping in to lead our youth programs. In a church our size, it is not unusual for one staff person to carry responsibility for educational programs for all ages.  Lianna will be adding her leadership with the youth to her other faith formation responsibilities. To assist Lianna, we are launching a search for a part-time young adult intern. 

Additionally, First Cong’s pastors and the members of the Board of Faith Formation with Lianna are working to recruit a team of dedicated adult volunteers from our congregation. If you might be interested in serving as a volunteer with our youth or younger children, please reach out to Lianna for a conversation, lianna@firstcong.net.

Friends, our church community is constantly changing. People come and go, growing toward new places, new experiences, new opportunities. We honor these times of passage as we welcome Christine, rejoice in Sam’s calling, and give thanks for Lianna’s leadership. 

Thanks be to God in whose love and care we dwell.

Faithfully, 

Rev. Christina Braudaway-Bauman

Senior Minister