Meet our New Youth Ministry Team!

We are excited to announce our new Youth Ministry Team!

The Board of Christian Education, working with a smaller committee made up of youth and adults who have worked with our youth, evaluated our program, interviewed candidates, and have selected three people to lead our Youth program. 

We are adopting a team model of youth leadership, with three paid leaders, as well as including the dedicated parents and adults volunteers who have added so much to our program.

Director of Youth Ministry -- John Myska

John Myska is the Director at Winding Trails Day Camp in Farmington, CT and a paraprofessional in the Southington school system, working with special needs students who are practicing life skills as they get ready to transition into adult lfe.

Previously, John worked for 10 years at Camp Wightman in Griswold, CT, as well as serving on the Youth Committee for the American Baptist Churches of Connecticut.

John and his wife Brenda met at their home church in Southington and now come to us with their two daughters, Marissa and Karin.  They reside in Bristol, CT.

John has a love of singing and has participated in several church choirs.  You may recognize him from his participation in last year's Fiddler on the Roof. 

He also has a love of the outdoors and especially the fellowship that can happen around a campfire. 

When the committee met with John for his interview, they appreciated his warm and friendly presence, his contagious enthusiasm, his creative ideas, and the sense that all of this is rooted in a deep personal spirituality. 

John will be a true blessing to our new program model, and we are thrilled he will be leading our Youth Ministry Team!

Youth Ministry Leader -- Brynn Slicer

Brynn Slicer is a sophmore at the University of New Haven.  She is majoring in National Security Studies with a minor in Russian.  She is originally from Newark, Delaware, but is now a Resident Assistant for UNH and living in New Haven.

Many of us met Brynn this summer while we were in Cedar Grove, West Virginia for our Mission Trip.  Brynn was serving as the Crew Manager, one of the "Red Shirt" positions with Group Mission Trips.  We were impressed by her calm and helpful nature during some challenging circumstances.

When the committee interviewed Brynn, they appreciated her obvious maturity, her ability to creatively articulate her answers, and her variety of experiences and training.  They believe her to be an excellent leadership choice for our Youth Ministry program. 

Brynn will be working with the Director of Youth Ministry and our Senior High Youth Group. 

We are so excited to welcome Brynn to Wallingford and our Youth Ministry Team.

Youth Ministry Leader -- Kayla Perkowski

Kayla Perkowski has been a member of our church "since before she was born."  She was a member of both the Junior and Senior Youth Groups growing up.

Kayla has been teaching Sunday School since her sophmore year of high school, and is currently teaching 8th Grade.

Outside of church, Kayla works at Holy Trinity School and the Girl Scouts.  She has a very creative spirit.  This past year, she helped create two "Escape Rooms" for a fun evening for the youth group.  She also used her creativity this summer during the Summer Church School program where the children experienced the intersection of faith and science through fun experiments.

Kayla participated in the Youth Ministry Search and has agreed to help us with our Middle School Youth Group while we are still searching for additional young adult youth leaders. 

Kayla is excited about the new team and we are grateful that she has offered to serve.

On Sunday, September 17, 2017, our new Youth Leadership Team was commissioned to serve our youth, accompanied by members of the search committee.




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