JYO (6th and 7th Graders)
Sunday morning activities for 6th & 7th graders happen three times a month: the 1st, 2nd, and 4th Sundays. Our Sunday morning gatherings are not Church School based, but are directed and shaped by the interests of the students on a three-month basis. Considering Christianity, spiritual practice, the Bible, life, the universe, big and small questions, students brainstorm areas of interest with David, the Minister for Children and Families, and lessons and experiences based on those are planned.
The first Sunday morning of every month is dedicated to service: Hancock 6th & 7th graders have been making and donating 40+ bagged lunches for our mission partner Cambridge Outdoor Church. These lunches are prepared during Sunday morning worship, blessed by the church at the Communion table, then brought into Cambridge where Outdoor Church distributes them to our unhoused neighbors.
The third Friday of every month is middle school youth group night! From 6:30-8pm our middle schoolers meet with David and Genna, Hancock’s Minister for Youth and Young Adults. This is a time for community, games, sharing, food, and fun!
For more information on JYO, please contact David Clark, Minister for Children and Families, at david@hancockchurch.org.
Our Whole Lives
We are now accepting enrollment into our 2023 OWL sexual education class. Fore more information, please CLICK HERE.
For over 2000 years, the Christian faith has controlled and dictated the romantic and sexual lives of people. In the name of God, real harm has been, and continues to be, inflicted on people seeking to understand themselves. Feeling called to create a new narrative and work for justice for all people, the United Church of Christ and the Unitarian Universalist Association created the Our Whole Lives (OWL) program. OWL is a progressive, socially conscious, scientifically based, and spiritually inspired curricula that believes young people deserve honest information about physical intimacy, personal identity, and personal responsibility.
Along with sexual health, OWL addresses areas such as building healthy and honest romantic relationships, recognizing abusive behavior in partners and friends, how to address bullying, how to say no and stay safe in potentially unsafe situations, how to stand up for yourself in friendships and romantic relationships, understanding the plurality of sexuality, gender identity, romance and coming to see it all as a Divine gift that can add meaning and fullness to our lives.
For more information about OWL, please contact Office@HancockChurch.org.
Confirmation
The Confirmation program is for youth in 8th and 9th grade. It has been a long tradition at Hancock to gather students at this transitional time in their lives to learn and reflect upon some of the central themes and principles of the Christian tradition. In Confirmation, students explore their faith and consider what it means to belong to a church and practice Christianity. The Confirmation program includes Bible studies, fellowship, spirituality and spiritual practices, visits to other places of faith, and opportunities for personal spiritual discernment and expression. Our Confirmands lead and participate in two worship services every year – the Christmas Eve family service and the Good Friday service. In May, the Confirmands affirm their baptismal vows and become members of Hancock church. For more information about Confirmation, please contact Office@HancockChurch.org.
Hancock Youth Group
Hancock Youth Group (HYG) is for youth in 9th – 12th grade and meets on Sundays from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. During the pandemic, HYG is meeting primarily via Zoom, with the occasional in-person, outdoor, socially-distanced meeting. HYG is a vibrant group of high-schoolers who value community, social justice, and asking big questions about faith and life. Meetings are led by teens elected from the group to serve as “officers,” in partnership with our Minister for Youth and Young Adults.
HYG is a tight-knit and welcoming community that loves to discuss relevant issues of faith, play silly games, eat lots of frozen yogurt, and work to make the world a better place.
HYG is open to members and non-members of Hancock.
For more information about HYG, contact Office@HancockChurch.org.
