High School Ministries

Who We Are

Our high school ministry, Forum, welcomes grades nine through twelve.

Who Lead Junior Forum

Associate Pastor Rev. Maeve Hammond and Youth Ministry Associate Luke Vaughn lead Forum. Please check out their bios on our website to learn more about them.

When We Meet

Forum meets every Sunday evening at 7 PM (September through May) at First Congregational Church for ninety minutes of games, fellowship, food, Bible education, and prayer time. Occasionally, we offer special on-campus and off-campus service events and seasonal events.

What We Believe

We believe in a safe, considerate, Spirit-led, and playful space where all youth in our church community can ask big questions, learn about Christianity, foster their relationship with God and discipleship with Christ, and be themselves. Our core values are compassion, collaboration, play, Christ-centered learning, and service. As an Open & Affirming 🌈and Open Table 🍇Congregation within the United Church of Christ, we believe that all belong–questioners, believers, and “questioning believers” of all backgrounds and identities.

What We Do

Forum meets weekly to build fellowship and strengthen their relationship with God. Here’s what you can expect. We gather and catch up over snacks. Then, we play games for a bit to get out some energy and encourage team bonding. Afterwards, we turn to Scripture, dive into a selected passage, and apply the biblical message to an everyday, ethical dilemma we experience, such as authenticity, social justice, identity, and Christianity in the modern world. Finally, we have a time of prayer, wherein we listen to music, light candles in a circle, and share prayers for ourselves, our neighbors, and our larger world.

Once or twice a year, we have a 24-hour overnight retreat for our high schoolers! Typically, we start with some games and ice breakers, engage in a service project, settle in for dinner and a movie, and then wake up the next day for breakfast and worship.

Outside of regular weekly meetings, we offer service projects throughout the year, such as preparing food for neighbors in our community, serving at a local soup kitchen, cleaning up our environment, fundraising for and purchasing needed goods and supplies for in-need families, building beds for children who do not have access to their own through Mass Coalition for the Homeless, and extending opportunities to visit church elders during the holidays.

We also invite Forum to participate in our seasonal and liturgical offerings. Members of Forum help lead worship services, act in the annual Christmas Pageant, gather in celebration of Epiphany in early January, and volunteer at our community-wide Easter Egg Hunt, just to name a few.

How to Get Involved

If you think Forum would be a good fit for your family, please swing by one of our Sunday evening sessions! All are welcome. For more information, please contact Rev. Maeve Hammond at maeve@fcc-winchester.org.