We are all about youth

... and we are all about keeping our youth and their families safe and healthy.


(Only you and your loved ones can decide what's right for your family.)


St. Paul’s has a large and varied program of youth ministries overseen by a Council on Youth Ministries (CYM) and directed by our full-time Youth Pastor, Mr. Micah Smartt. 


SCROLL DOWN to find upcoming events, registration forms, and youth news.

Youth Forms

For your convenience, we've moved sign-ups, registrations, applications, & payments online! Below you will find registration or sign up forms, information for events which require payments, surveys, and permission slips for events.


Confirmation Class Registration


St. Paul's Educational Award

St. Paul’s, through its Council on Youth Ministries, provides an Educational Award annually to one or more graduating High School Seniors to help cover expenses for their next stage of life, whatever that may look like! 


Award amounts vary and are dependent on several factors, including available Educational Award funds and student responses to the application, which include academic and extracurricular achievement, need, and service to and engagement with the St. Paul's community. Only those who apply can be considered!


Applications DUE by June 4, 2023.


Click the button to go to the Educational Award Application Form! Ed Award Application


This streamlined form should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.


Awards will be presented in worship at 10:30 AM during Senior Recognition Sunday, June 25, 2023.



Award funds are made available through our youth operating budget and generous donors! To contribute to this fund, make checks out to St. Paul's UMC with "Ed Award" in the memo line, or go to the Giving page and scroll down to Additional Contribution Options.


Since 1989, over $80,000 has been distributed to 120 college-bound students who have attended over 55 different college campuses in 18 states and the District of Columbia. 


Questions about the Educational Award? Contact Micah Smartt, Minister of Youth and Design, at msmartt@stpaulsk.org. 

Confirmation Class

Each year, youth in Grade 7 or above who have not been confirmed are invited to join Confirmation Class.

 

OVERVIEW

Confirmation is a serious commitment requiring regular attendance, study, service, and participation in certain worship services. Classes introduce important concepts about our faith, church history, and our membership vows, and build connections across generations within our faith community.


JOINING THE CHURCH

Participants who completed confirmation classes and chose to become full church members will be received into membership during the 10:30 a.m. worship service on Pentecost Sunday, or another Sunday.


MEETING SCHEDULE

The exact series of dates and courses can vary year to year. Classes generally run one night a week for 6-8 weeks.


SIGNING UP

Click to sign up using our secure form: https://app.clovergive.com/App/Form/daf35b3e-d4ca-44ae-9a35-71caf81b183a

Or contact Mr. Micah Smartt at msmartt@stpaulsk.org to express an interest in joining!


PLANS FOR CONFIRMATION 2023

The class schedule for 2023 has not yet been finalized. We expect classes to run on-site at St. Paul's, 7:00-8:00 PM on Tuesday nights starting April 11, 2023. Additional activities like the traditional Confirmation Retreat and service projects are still in the planning stages and dependent upon students' participation and availability.


Please contact Micah Smartt, Youth Pastor, at msmartt@stpaulsk.org if you have any questions.

SPY News

Updates and news-to-know can be found right here. Be sure to sign up for the email newsletter, too!

  • SPY Fall ACtivities

    St. Paul’s Youth meet most Sundays

    Middle School & High School Combined SPY

    4:30 - 6:30 PM


    Kick off the new year on January 8! 


    Please note: Traditionally we have NO meetings on the following days:

    • January 15 - MLK Jr Weekend (Traditionally, this is a weekend we take off anyway, but Micah and Holly will be out of town as well - so enjoy the weekend in whatever way you prefer! J&C sponsored service projects and giving back to the community would be awesome!)
    • February 12 - Super Bowl Sunday
    • February 19 - Presidents Day Weekend - a three-day weekend and many families travel or make other plans.
    • Spring Break (Montgomery County schools are off April 2-9, 2023) - check with Micah for details.
    • May 14 - Mother's Day. Go celebrate the mother-figures in your life!
    • May 28 - Memorial Day weekend, another three-day weekend with lots of traveling.


    This year we have our first attempt at a combined group! We are excited to see everyone and spend some time playing games, getting to know each other, and learning more about living out our faith together.


    Combining the groups was not a decision that we came to easily, but seems like the most logical solution to several challenges. We'll continue to assess how this is working throughout the year, and may make changes in order to bring our youth quality programs and events. We are excited to see where this path leads us and hope you'll join us in this new endeavor!


    Enter the MPR through the back door on Fawcett Street. 


    Questions? Contact Mr. Micah Smartt, msmartt@stpaulsk.org.

  • RE-ENTERING WELL FOR YOUTH

    As Christians, our goal is to model what it looks like to care for others like Christ cares for us and so we ask that you follow all the following procedures to the best of your ability as we move into the next phase of covid reopening


    1. Wear your mask if you want. The science shows that beyond vaccinations, mask-wearing is the single easiest and most helpful thing we can do to stop the spread of COVID. St. Paul's is now mask-optional, but that means you can choose to wear a mask, or not wear a mask. Either way, we'll respect your decision!
    2. Bring a reusable water bottle - we suggest youth skip drinking straight from water fountains. We can fill our bottles from fountains and faucets multiple times and keeps us from transmitting or receiving various germs. We will have single serve flavor packets (like lemonade) during our time together. Plus, bring a reusable bottle is good for the environment - that's a win-win!
    3. We have a new entrance/exit we are asking everyone to use. It allows us to keep better track of who is entering the building and gets you into the youth spaces with fewer twists and turns. Our SPY entrance will be at the back of the building - the exterior entrance to the Multipurpose Room, below Fellowship Hall on Fawcett Street. (See picture on right.) This will likely remain our entrance for the entire year, and well into the future.

    Of course, we may change these procedures throughout the year to keep our youth, volunteers, and families safe.

  • wilderness trail 2022

    We had a great time on the Wilderness Trail Trip in Summer 2022! We will be looking forward to doing it again in 2023.


    Wilderness Trail is a backpacking ministry set along the Appalachian Trail in southern Virginia with the aim of participants getting to better know themselves, each other, and God as we hike and camp over 4 days on the trail and 2ish days of activities at "the Property." WT has changed some of their schedule from last year, which includes more of some favorite traditions from a time before COVID.


    We generally request slots in late July, toward the end of the Wilderness Trail season.


    As always, camperships are available as needed - simply reach out to Micah for a completely confidential conversation about financial aid. If you'd like more information, please contact Micah at msmartt@stpaulsk.org

  • Campership Financial Aid

    Did you know...


    We do a lot of great things here at St. Paul's Youth, and many are free or fairly inexpensive. However, we do have some events and trips that can cost quite a bit.


    We never want a youth to be left out because of money. St. Paul's has a scholarship/campership fund available to help individuals and families cover part or all of the costs associated with youth fellowship, retreat, camp, or service activities. 


    These events we attend can be life changing experiences and we don't want anyone to miss out! Don't let an activity's price tag hold you back. Contact Micah Smartt (msmartt@stpaulsk.org or 301-933-7933 ext. 111) to discuss scholarship/campership financial aid needs confidentially, one-on-one.

  • Youth CHoir update

    Our Youth Choir is looking to return... but not this fall.  


    Experienced youth singers may find a good fit in the Sanctuary Choir, which rehearses on Sunday mornings and sings each week for worship. For questions or more information, visit our website or email Tom Pedersen, Director of Music, at tpedersen@stpaulsk.org.

  • you've got (less) mail

    In an effort to cut down on some costs, streamline our flow of information, and to be a little more environmentally friendly, we've made the decision to stop production of the stand-alone printed SPY Briefing newsletter.


    From now on, we'll be putting all of our SPY information into the pages of the church's monthly newsletter: The Epistle from St. Paul's. If you would like to be added to the Epistle mailing list, you can email Erin Steele in the church office at stpaulsunited@stpaulsk.org and a copy will magically show up in your real snail-mail mailbox about once a month. 


    Micah Smartt sends out a weekly email newsletter with updates, which is probably the quickest and best way to stay on top of the most recent SPY news - including updates if we should have to cancel activities due to winter weather or illness. Email msmartt@stpaulsk.org to be added to the list!


    We'll also be revising and updating this website regularly so it's up to date with more info and links to things.

Wilderness Trail

Registration info for Wilderness Trail 2023 will be available soon!


Below is information for Wilderness Trail 2022. Click on each tab for information, PDF files, or the Registration link.

  • 2022 Dates: July 26-31
  • Participants: 12 youth spots, 2 adult chaperone spots. Anyone currently in 6th - 12th grade - though others may be added depending on registrations in the Spring (Contact Micah for more Information)
  • Cost: $305 per participant. We ask for a $75 deposit for the trip. Scholarships/Camperships are available. Please contact Micah to discuss options privately.

CONGRATULATIONS, 

CLASS OF 2021

Congratulations to these graduating high school seniors from the St. Paul's community for reaching this milestone. We wish you all the best as you move boldly into the next chapter of your lives!


CLASS OF 2021

Alexander Bartleman

Deirde Jane Bartleman

Emma Rachelle Cooper*

Alec Cornwell

William James Crittenden IV

Kiera Green

Boyd E. Hammond

Lucas Jack Hartmann

Rudy Kaufman

Sarah S. (Sadie) McMullen

Kathryn Grace Orndorff*

Meghan Ainsley Simpson*

Ellie Tan

Clifford Thomas Weaver*

Jonah Webb*

(* recipients of the St. Paul's 2021 Educational Award)