A Message from our Summer Pastoral Intern, Sarah Golemon-Mercer

As my time as summer pastoral intern comes to a close, I have been reflecting on some of the greatest joys of my time here at SPUCC - and Youth Summer Impact Fridays is pretty high up there. These Fridays have been such a beautiful combination of service and fun, and your brilliant kiddos were the ones who made it so.

Some of your incredible kiddos toured one of Urban Roots' farms on one of the hottest days of the Summer, and were even brave enough to throw on bee suits and walk straight into a beehive to learn all about the HARD work bees do to make honey. Some of them cleaned, gutted, and spray-painted upwards of 35 storm drains throughout the St. Paul area, and left helpful information around storm drains & pollution on 150+ doors around the neighborhood of the church! They collected full bags of trash around the area, and got to know some neighbors (and many dogs!)

They swam, dove from diving boards, and played Taco-Cat-Goat-Cheese-Pizza by the pool. They enjoyed (maybe a few too many) popsicles and listened to silly music in the car. They watched "The Bee Movie" (which has mixed reviews, understandably.... a bee falling in love with a human?? kinda weird...) They even came around to LOVING Ninja in the parking lot (No matter how much they say they don't, don't let them fool you - I saw it in their eyes).

Take good care and have a blessed rest of the Summer. It's been a gift to connect with all of you and your incredible families.

With love,
Sarah GM