Alumni News
Ms. Barbara P. Norton (’97)
The following obituary was originally posted by AWRich Funeral Home and can be found here.
Obituary
BURLINGTON, VT – Barbara Norton, 84, died peacefully in her sleep during the early morning hours of July 1, 2025, at Birchwood Terrace Rehabilitation and Healthcare.
Barbara Jean Perry Norton was born on October 5, 1940, to Francis and Melba (Chandler) Perry. She grew up in Fairfax, VT and graduated from Bellows Free Academy – Fairfax in 1958. She completed a secretarial program at Champlain College the following year. Barbara married Arthur Norton on November 16, 1963, and after a short time living in Burlington, they raised three sons in Fairfax. When she wasn’t working or being a parent, she enjoyed sewing, quilting, and reading.
Barbara worked several jobs during her life including The Burlington Free Press, Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans, IBM in Essex Jct., and as the assistant town clerk in Fairfax. She was also a member of Order of Eastern Stars in Fairfax as well as being one of the early volunteers for Fairfax Rescue.
In the 1980’s, Barbara felt the desire to become a minister but had only completed one year of college. After completing the requirements to become a Certified Lay Pastor, she led congregations in North Hyde Park and Eden Mills, VT. She took courses at CCV and transferred to Johnson State College where she graduated in 1994. She enrolled in Boston University’s School of Theology and earned a Master of Divinity in May of 1998. After graduating from BU, she became a minister in Eastport, Maine.
After retiring from the ministry, she and Arthur moved back to Vermont and settled in Chittenden County, eventually residing at Cathedral Square in downtown Burlington. In the years after Arthur’s death in 2012, Barbara was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and Dementia. She spent the final seven years of her life in the memory care unit of Birchwood Terrace Nursing Home in Burlington.
Barbara is survived by her sons and daughters in law Jim and Carol of Newburyport, MA, Joel and Pam Norton of Essex Jct., VT, and Jon and Christina Norton of West Springfield, MA. She is also survived by her 7 grandchildren Jonathan, Spencer, Jack, Gwen, Nick, Abigail, and Lillian well as several cousins. She was predeceased by her parents, her husband, and her brother, Rev. James M. Perry.
Barbara’s family would like to thank the staff at Birchwood Terrace for their excellent care for her during the past seven years. Her sons would especially like to thank their aunt and Barbara’s sister-in-law, Kareen Perry of Colchester, for her support of their mother since their father’s death in 2012.
A celebration of Barbara’s life is scheduled for Monday, August 11th at 11am at the First United Methodist Church in Burlington on 21 Buell Street. There will be no visiting hours. Interment will occur at the convenience of the family.
In lieu of flowers. The Norton family requests that a donation be made to the First United Methodist Church in Burlington or the United Church of Fairfax, 8 Fletcher Rd., Fairfax, VT 05454.
Service Details
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Celebration of Life
WhenMonday, August 11th, 2025 10:00pm
LocationFirst United Methodist ChurchAddress21 Buell StreetBURLINGTON, VT 05401
Assistant Youth Group Leader, Part Time, Winchester Unitarian Society: Winchester, MA
Assistant Youth Group Leader
Reports to: Director of Youth Ministries
FSLA Status: Non-Exempt (Hourly, .15 FTE)
Job Summary: The Assistant Youth Group Leader (AYGL) assists the Director of Youth & Children’s Ministries (DYCM) in planning and leading the Winchester Unitarian Society Youth Group (WUSYG). WUSYG is an active and well-established youth group focused on social justice and service. Serving youth in grades 9-12 from high schools in Winchester, Mass., and surrounding communities, WUSYG membership is about 15-30 youth per year. WUSYG benefits from The Winchester Unitarian Society’s rich tradition of youth ministry that is focused on acceptance, respect, and service to others.
The ideal Assistant Youth Group Leader sees the opportunities inherent in working with high schoolers and brings their own ideas, energy, inspiration, creativity, fun, flexibility and compassion to the role. The AYGL will be working with a multifaceted, smart, articulate group of youth who can (and will) have a serious discussion on social justice in one minute and the latest pop culture trend in the next.
Hours: This position runs from the last week in August through the end of the 2nd week of June, which is 43 weeks, at 5 hours per week, plus up to 100 additional hours for additional events including but not limited to sleepovers, fundraisers, worship services and a week-long service trip during Massachusetts April School Vacation.
Rate: $20/hour
How to Apply: To apply, please email the current DYCM, Sam Wilson, sam.wilson@winchesteruu.org with a resume, attached, and a “cover letter” as the body/text of your email. Applications will be taken on a rolling basis with the intent to be hired ASAP, then begin in earnest in the end August.
Nursery/Childcare Provider, Part Time, Winchester Unitarian Society: Winchester, MA
Job Description
Nursery/Childcare Provider
Reports to: Director of Youth and Children’s Ministries (DYCM)
Status: part-time, 3.5 hours/week, September - June (0.07 FTE). Possible additional hours in summer and for childcare at a few church events during the year, as mutually agreed upon.
Compensation: $25/hour
Effective: ASAP (August, 2025)
Job Summary: Provide a safe, healthy, nurturing environment for children as “childcare” (ages 2 through 13 years) during choir practice (8:30 - 10:15 AM), and “nursery” (ages 6 months through 3 years) during Sunday morning church activities/meetings/services (10:15 AM - Noon).
To Apply: please email the current DYCM, Sam Wilson, sam.wilson@winchesteruu.org with a resume, attached, and a “cover letter” as the body/text of your email. Applications will be taken on a rolling basis with the intent to start as soon as possible.
Church for Everyone Else
This article was written by Steve Holt and originally published in the 2025 issue of focus magazine, the annual publication of the BU School of Theology. This article can be found on page 20.
Amid dropping church attendance and rising religious trauma, two services—one in person and one virtual—welcome those who’ve been hurt by religion. They’re also redefining what a worshipping community looks like.
Boston’s Old South Church traces its roots to Puritans in 1669, more than a century before the birth of the United States. For 150 years, the congregation—which had split from Boston’s Puritans over a dispute about baptism—gathered in the Old South Meeting House, best known as the site where Samuel Adams riled up would-be revolutionaries against British occupation. The church moved to its current location at Dartmouth and Boylston Streets in 1875, and today its gothic stone campanile soars above Copley Square. To whatever degree Boston has a religious “establishment,” 356-year-old Old South Church is it. But behind those old stones exists a Christian community extending a hand to those who’ve perhaps been wounded by established religion. For decades, the United Church of Christ congregation has had progressive theology and an open posture to all comers—LGBTQIA+, doubting, unhoused, or undocumented. A new Thursday evening service, however, packages those fundamentals in a slightly more contemporary way. The candlelit service is in Old South’s stunning Gordon Chapel, which is largely stripped of trappings like organs and clerical vestments and is centered on community, simplicity, and the table—both a communion table during the service and a shared meal afterward. A small band, led by Audrey Woodhams (’26), Thursday Night Church’s creative director, plays music that is acoustic and radio friendly. (Recent services have featured songs by Coldplay and Teddy Swims.) A reflection from one of the ministers (not a sermon) is uplifting, practical, and theological. Prayer requests are spoken aloud into a mic that is passed between worshippers. Queer attendees are always specifically welcomed and affirmed from the front of the chapel. A website describing Thursday Night Church, which the congregation launched in the spring of 2024, says the service is for “those hurt by closed minds and closed doors.”
Plans for the revamped service began in late 2023, spearheaded by ministers Ashley Popperson (’14, SSW’14) and Rachel Barton (’23). “We spent a lot of time in prayer and conversation to try and discern the needs of the city,” Barton says of those early planning meetings. “The things we came up with were around longing to create spaces for vulnerability in community. We talked a lot about the epidemic of loneliness, particularly for younger folks. I think the pandemic tore up a bunch of ways that people knew how to connect with and relate to one another, and we really wanted to cultivate the opposite of that and make space where people could feel safe to be themselves together.” With church attendance plummeting nationwide and some queer or doubting Christians in search of a community where they are fully embraced, communities like Old South are breaking free of traditional and theological confines to extend radical welcome to seekers and saints alike. It’s a welcome embodied by the first few lines of “Seat at the Table,” the Common Hymnal tune Woodhams leads at the beginning of each Thursday service:
Don’t it feel good to know you’ve always got a place, yeah
A seat at the table that no one can take
I know that this road can be long
But, loved one, we welcome you home.
Virtual formation
The sanctuary at Church of the Young Prophets looks like others I’ve sat in: a large chancel, bordered by green plants, in the center of which is a table with communion bread and wine. A place for prayer is off to the side, and pride flags flank a circular stained-glass window at the center front of the room. Instead of pews or rows of chairs, couches are arranged in six semicircles around coffee tables, which hold more communion elements. On a Saturday in October, Rev. J.J. Warren approaches the lectern and greets those who have gathered for church. “We welcome you in the fullness of all of who you are,” says Warren (’22). “All of who you are is celebrated and welcomed and affirmed in this community.” He continues with several instructions for how to engage during the service. “We invite you, if you are in Gather.Town, to use the emoji bar at the bottom of your screen to let us know how you are approaching this time of worship. What are you feeling as you come into this space? In the chat, let us know where in the world you are, and who you are with as you worship with us today.” Emojis pop into the bottom left of my screen indicating feelings of anxiety, happiness, silliness. Members report in the chat that they are logging on from Oklahoma, Illinois, and elsewhere. Warren signed in from Vienna, Austria, where he lives with his husband and is pursuing a PhD. That’s right: Church of the Young Prophets is not built with bricks and mortar, but pixels and bytes. Members assemble each Saturday from seven countries using Gather.Town, a virtual meeting space that allows groups to customize it to their own needs and greet each other using avatars they control with their keyboard arrows. A Zoom-like video chat window shows each person’s face, unless they choose to remain off camera. Today, we’re in the sanctuary, but during the week church members and volunteers meet privately with Warren in his virtual office, sit around a shared table, walk the prayer labyrinth, or sing karaoke on the church’s rooftop lounge. A congregational channel on the gaming app Discord keeps the conversation and prayers going throughout the week—especially for Australian members who are asleep when the church is holding its Saturday church service.
“We’re still here”
Church of the Young Prophets was born following a speech Warren delivered advocating for LGBTQIA+ inclusion at the United Methodist Church’s 2019 General Conference, where the denomination reasserted its restrictions on queer members and clergy. LGBTQIA+ Methodists from around the world began to reach out to Warren, who was still working on an MDiv at STH, to express their concerns and hopes. To feel less alone. “I really felt this calling to create a space for us as our denomination was furthering harm against LGBTQ people, to create a space where young queer people could gather and say, ‘We’re still here,’” Warren tells me in an interview. They called themselves the Young Prophets Collective and initially gathered monthly on Zoom as something of a support group, facilitated by Warren and cocreator Alyssa Kuebler (’22). Over time, the group turned into a yearlong, global cohort of queer activists and ministry leaders working to “empower the people who were being disempowered by the church.” “We would work together for a year, and they would identify an injustice in their community, and then we’d work together to say, ‘How might you meet that need?’” Warren says. It was an opportunity to take theories Warren and Kuebler were learning at STH, like asset-based community development and liberation theologies, “distilling them into an accessible way for mostly lay leadership,” Warren says. UMC bishops have since voted to reverse course and formally embraced the queer community; the Young Prophets Collective is supported financially by the UMC’s New England Conference. But the virtual congregation remains vital to its members—a few of whom are in countries where living openly as queer persons is dangerous or illegal. This is why Warren makes a point of limiting who can attend to those who affirm LGBTQIA+ people and beginning each service with a statement celebrating the queerness in the room. “At a lot of churches, especially for queer people, you experience shame when you walk in,” Warren says. “Even the act of walking into a church can be triggering, so we are very explicit in the fact that we start every service with, ‘All of who you are is celebrated.’”
“I really felt this calling to create a space for us as our denomination was furthering harm against LGBTQ people, to create a space where young queer people could gather and say, ‘We’re still here.’” —J.J. Warren
Designing a space of welcome
In thinking about what the respective services would look and feel like, leaders of both Thursday Night Church and Church of the Young Prophets say they started with a vision of the people they wanted to serve. Old South’s Thursday Night Church was born out of Jazz Worship, a vibrant, music-forward expression that drew a different crowd than those who showed up for one of two Sunday morning services. When longtime musician Willie Sordillo announced in 2023 that he would be moving on from leading the Thursday service, Old South leaders assembled a “dreaming team,” which began to imagine a format change. Barton joined the ministry staff just as Popperson began holding visioning meetings for the future of Thursday worship. “We spent a lot of time in discernment and got to a strong sense that there was a community of people who likely had grown up in the church—either the Evangelical or the Catholic Church—and that those folks had not been able to find a place that they could call home, be themselves, and be welcome, but also deeply resonate with the music and the shape of the service,” Barton says. To shape that service, Old South tapped Woodhams—a Nashville-trained songwriter and worship leader who is pursuing an MDiv at STH. About a year into the revamped service, Barton says, around 60 percent of those attending are new faces and “largely exactly the people we were hoping to make a service for: younger folks, queer folks, young professionals, students coming into the city.” Like the leaders of Old South Church, Warren sought input from the community instead of building the church on his own preconceived notions of what it should be. He describes the Church of the Young Prophets as cocreated. One virtual service led to a four-week test run, after which Warren elicited feedback, which has led to a weekly service (and numerous other gatherings throughout the week) for two years. Services include prayers written by church members, both traditional hymns and contemporary worship songs, scripture readings, Warren’s mini-sermon, and conversation around the couches. “We’re constantly trying to reclaim different parts of the Christian tradition a little bit,” Warren says. He firmly believes their space is every bit as much a church—in all its pixelated glory—as the one with a steeple in the center of town. “Jesus says, ‘Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am among them,’” Warren says. “If we say, ‘Yeah, this meant something 2,000 years ago,’ how could we possibly say Jesus is not present here? Who are we to put a box on God and say that God could not be present through the media that we’re encountering here?”
Program Director, NFI Massachusetts: Beverly, MA
If this opportunity interests you, please view more details, customize your resume for the position, and apply here: Full Job Details
Children and Youth Ministry Coordinator, Part Time, St. John’s Episcopal Church, Jamaica Plain: Jamaican Plain, MA
| Job Title: Children and Youth Ministry Coordinator Job Description St. John’s Episcopal Church, Jamaica Plain is hiring a part-time Children and Youth Ministry Coordinator to nurture and grow our faith formation offerings for our children and families. We are a small, vibrant, welcoming and inclusive parish. The Children and Youth Ministry Coordinator is a vital part of our staff, working as part of a team of fellow staff members and volunteers under the direct supervision of the rector. St. John’s is a creative congregation and this job is both an excellent place to learn about faith formation and to exercise your creativity in a supportive environment. The ideal candidate has a positive, can-do approach, communicates well both in written and oral forms, is a skilled organizer and planner, and is able both to collaborate with others and to work independently. The Setting St. John’s Church is a eucharistically-based faith community of neighbors and families celebrating different understandings of the Christian faith within the Episcopal Church. As we live out our call to be the body of Christ in the world, we strive to be a beacon of justice-seeking and creativity, and to honor St. Benedict’s teaching: “Let all who enter here be received as Christ.” Located in the vibrant Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, we are part of a diverse, welcoming and exciting neighborhood. Average Sunday worship at St. John’s attendance is 60 people in the program year, 30 in the summer months, with approximately 120 active members of all ages. As a small parish experiencing growth, the Children and Youth Ministry Coordinator will be a part of a team developing and implementing faith formation opportunities to meet the shifting needs of families. It is exciting and challenging, providing the opportunity for personal growth alongside nurturing the growth of others. Job Responsibilities Package Details Qualifications To Apply |
Operations Manager, Part Time, First Baptist Church in Newton: Newton, MA
Operations Manager
First Baptist Church in Newton is a welcoming and affirming congregation affiliated with the American Baptist Churches of Massachusetts. We are located in Newton Centre, approximately one block from the Newton Centre T station and with parking on site.
Our Operations Manager will oversee the management of our large building and assist with the administrative needs of the church, including basic bookkeeping, communications, and support for our ministry teams. A large part of this job includes documentation related to a $4.5 million building project and multiple grants and fundraising efforts.
In this key role, the Operations Manager is responsible for the following:
Building Management
• Serve as the primary point of contact with tenants (a day care center and two non-profits who use the space full time as well as a few other organizations present on a more limited basis)
• Manage the rental process including communication with potential renters, rental contracts, arranging staff coverage for events, and documenting payment
• Coordinate and communicate with the sexton, properties committee, and vendors/companies providing services to the building or property
• Make appointments for regular maintenance and emergency service of equipment as needed
• Create and administer a major maintenance plan in collaboration with the Properties Committee
• Oversee work of the sexton and cleaning company
• Track, file, and submit all documentation related to our Tower Project and related grant management
Church Administration
• Basic bookkeeping including bank deposits, printing checks, bank reconciliations, and monthly budget reports
• Maintain all office supplies and equipment, including ordering cleaning supplies and special items for worship
• Monitor the office budget and debit card balance
• Manage and update database with congregant contact information
• Manage the IT systems including internet, printers, sound systems
• Provide fundraising support
• Support ministry teams with scheduling and event planning
Qualifications
• Extremely organized with a strong attention to detail
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Computer skills including MS Office, Quickbooks, database management
• Strong interpersonal skills and professional demeanor
• Ability to learn new computer programs easily
• Sound judgment
• At least 3 years’ experience in an office setting
Reports to the Pastor
25-32 hours per week
$25-28 per hour
To apply to this position, please send a resume and cover letter in a single PDF describing your specific qualifications and interest in the position to Rev. Jana Yeaton, minister@fbcnewton.org. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered.
| Additional Information | |
| www.fbcnewton.org | |
Associate Minister Position, Full Time, Glencoe Union Church: Glencoe, Illinois
Glencoe Union Church
Associate Minister Position Description and Application
Overview of Position:
Glencoe Union Church, a progressive, mainline Protestant church on the Northshore of Chicago, is seeking a person experienced in ministry who is eager to be a part of a collaborative, dynamic pastoral team. The Associate will work collaboratively with our Senior Minister, Rev. Erin Raska—and with our staff and lay leadership—to provide leadership for the overall ministry of GUC and will have a pivotal role in helping to generate and launch new initiatives. GUC is at an exciting time in its life and ministry as it continues to grow and flourish in its 150th year of ministry. While the Associate will have particular areas of focus, such as Youth, Children and Family Ministry and working with certain committees, she or he will also share in preaching tasks and planning and leading of weekly worship. The Associate will participate in the pastoral care ministry of the congregation and assist in various administrative tasks as well.
The following list enumerates the basic competencies we are hoping to find in our candidate:
Spiritual Competency:
A genuine spiritual life— an experience of faith that exceeds (even as it informs) one’s role as a Pastor
A life shaped by spiritual practices/experience that can be shared with others in a natural and inviting manner
A mentor to congregants, as a fellow pilgrim on the way, not as a high spiritual achiever
Emotional Maturity/Relational Competency:
Ability to work closely with colleagues in cooperative (vs. competitive) mode
Ability to freely give and receive feedback, valuing feedback as essential to the experience of shared ministry
Strong sense of self, possessing an accurate appraisal of one’s skills and competencies and, at the same time, eager to grow, develop, and improve
Ability to negotiate relational intimacy and distance with parishioners
Genuine care for others—ability to communicate that care appropriately across the spectrum of age and life situation
Communicative/Performative competency:
Conveys a relaxed presentation, and understands the importance of being well-prepared, thoughtful, and well-spoken—in preaching and liturgical leadership
Capacity to think on one’s feet and not appear scripted or stilted
A communicative style that puts people at ease
Thrives on collaboration
Strong work ethic -- sets a high standard for oneself in terms of job performance
Ability to generate ideas and take initiative in collaboration with colleagues
Contributes creative energy and ideas to worship planning
Assists with technology in worship and congregational communication
Intellectual Competency:
Curious, inquisitive, reader of books, lover of ideas, an insatiable learner
Facility with Scriptural interpretation and ability to communicate a knowledge and love of Scripture in a way that cultivates in listeners a desire to know and read more
Theologically multilingual, with a strong center of gravity...able to speak confidently of one’s own convictions in a way that does not close off conversation and interaction with others, and instead invites and stimulates engagement
Below we list the basic responsibilities and terms of the job.
Scope of Responsibilities:
Worship Leadership
Collaborate with the Senior Ministry and Director of Worship and Music in the planning and leadership of the Worship Life of the congregation
Preach, at least once a month and perform weddings, funerals, interments, baptisms as needed
Pastoral Leadership
Oversee work with children, youth and their families:
Cultivate a ministry to youth that invites youth to explore and grow their faith while also building a supportive and engaging community
Plan and lead Confirmation
Oversee Children’s Ministries, including supervision of the Director of Children’s Ministry and Sunday School staff
Nurture relationships and build a community with and among parents of youth and children
Contribute to Adult Education offerings in line with interests and capacities
Collaborate in pastoral care and visitation
Work with pastoral team and lay leaders in developing new member initiatives, fellowship gatherings and other strategic initiatives
Perform tasks related to worship communication; set-up technology/equipment to support communications
Outreach Ministry (service and justice work) Leadership, along with the Outreach Committee, engaging GUC members in the work of our nonprofit partners
Administrative and Communications Leadership
Attend Board of Directors meetings. Leverage technology to support communications, particularly the GUC website
Training and Experience:
Completion of a Master of Divinity degree from an accredited seminary
Ordination, or seeking ordination, within a Protestant denomination
A minimum of five years of experience in ministry preferred
Compensation:
We will offer a competitive compensation package, including healthcare and retirement and manse.
Application Process: Please submit the following materials via email to careers@glencoeunionchurch.org
A cover letter in which you respond to the following questions:
Why does this position appeal to you at this point in your ministry?
From the brief outline of the position and competencies we have provided, share two or three questions that have come to mind.
Your resumé—if you have a denominational profile that you would be willing to share with us, please include it with your materials.
BU STH Alumnus Publishes 5 Books
George Walters-Sleyon (STH'04,'06), an alumnus of Boston University School of Theology has published five books including a two volume work entitled: "The Rush for Black Diamonds," and "God in the Name of Jesus Christ." He is also an ordained clergy in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and pastor of St. James AME Church in Danbury/Connecticut.
He teaches five courses at Bunker Hill Community College: Intro. to Criminology, Applied Ethics, Intro. to Philosophy, Principles of Sociology, and World Religions. He did his MDiv.(2004) and STM (2006) at Boston University and PhD at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
Rev. Dr. George Walters-Sleyon's background is interdisciplinary. He is also a gospel recording artist of three albums. One of his original songs, "God's Been Good to Me" from his second album was nominated Gospel Single of the Year in 2004.
Children and Youth Ministry Coordinator, Part Time, St. John’s Episcopal Church: Jamaica Plain, MA
Job Description
St. John’s Episcopal Church, Jamaica Plain is hiring a part-time Children and Youth Ministry Coordinator to nurture and grow our faith formation offerings for our children and families. We are a small, vibrant, welcoming and inclusive parish. The Children and Youth Ministry Coordinator is a vital part of our staff, working as part of a team of fellow staff members and volunteers under the direct supervision of the rector. St. John’s is a creative congregation and this job is both an excellent place to learn about faith formation and to exercise your creativity in a supportive environment. The ideal candidate has a positive, can-do approach, communicates well both in written and oral forms, is a skilled organizer and planner, and is able both to collaborate with others and to work independently.
The Setting
St. John’s Church is a eucharistically-based faith community of neighbors and families
celebrating different understandings of the Christian faith within the Episcopal Church. As we live out our call to be the body of Christ in the world, we strive to be a beacon
of justice-seeking and creativity, and to honor St. Benedict’s teaching: “Let all who enter here be received as Christ.” Located in the vibrant Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, we are part of a diverse, welcoming and exciting neighborhood. Average Sunday worship at St. John’s attendance is 60 people in the program year, 30 in the summer months, with approximately 120 active members of all ages.
As a small parish experiencing growth, the Children and Youth Ministry Coordinator will be a part of a team developing and implementing faith formation opportunities to meet the shifting needs of families. It is exciting and challenging, providing the opportunity for personal growth alongside nurturing the growth of others.
Job Responsibilities
Plan and participate in leading Sunday School lessons for school age children
Participate in bi-monthly Youth Group meetings outside Sunday morning (time TBD)
Help coordinate and participate in First Friday Parish Family Nights, including promoting and inviting parishioners to the events and the planning and leading of activities
Recruit and equip team of Church School teachers; includes coordinating training of adults to teach.
Meet regularly meetings with Church School teachers and volunteers
Coordinate acquisition and maintenance of Church School curriculum, teaching materials and supplies.
In partnership with the rector, oversee the use of the Church School budget and funds.
Coordinate maintenance of activity boxes and children’s shelves in the narthex.
Communicate regularly with families about lessons, activities, schedules, etc.
Coordinate childcare providers for Sunday mornings and special events
Team with rector to develop and promote vision of intergenerational and lifelong faith formation in the parish.
Support parents and welcome new families to the parish.
Develop a Church School calendar and flyer for the start of the program year.
Be present on Sunday mornings of program year - time off to be negotiated.
Oversee registration and maintenance of church school records.
Manage and organize special events of the Sunday School program year, including.
Christmas Pageant, Easter Egg Hunt, and End-of-Year Picnic
Use social networking and electronic media to expand and enhance the program,
including Constant Contact, Squarespace, and Google Docs
Communicate regularly with Rector, Staff and Vestry
Package Details
Part-time position.
$20/hour for 10 hours/week. Except for Sunday mornings, hours are flexible.
Two weeks paid vacation.
The position is for mid-September to mid-June, with a start date of September 15. Position may be renewed each September.
No other benefits.
Qualifications
The ideal candidate will have:
An Associate’s degree or equivalent experience.
Experience with teaching, classroom management, and/or youth programs.
Excellent interpersonal skills and rapport with children, youth, and families.
Strong organizational and time management skills, with the ability to prioritize and delegate.
Strong communication and networking skills, especially with online and social media.
Working knowledge of computer applications: spreadsheets, documents, email, etc.
Commitment to Christian faith and teaching. If not an Episcopalian, the candidate will be willing to learn and support our tradition.
Candidates with experience teaching the Godly Play children’s formation program and/or the Journey to Adulthood youth ministry program will be given special consideration.
A CORI check and completion of Safe Church training will be required.
To Apply
Send cover letter and resume by September 1, 2025 to:
Children and Youth Ministry Coordinator Job Search via email (info@stjohns-jp.org)
or regular mail
St. John’s Episcopal Church
PO Box 300230
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 Rev. 07.10.25