12 youth attend UCC Western Youth Event in Montana

     "I always love attending UCC youth events.  The theme of the Western Regional Youth Event (WRYE) this summer was "Reach Beyond the Big Sky," and we had many events and activities that helped us think about what that meant to us," recalls Caitlin Kawaguchi, one of 7 youth from Congregational UCC, Danville to attend the every four year event.
     "One of the best parts was the worship services, where there were great speakers and awesome live music from the band Lost and Found.  The speakers, ranging from Jennifer Arnold of the TLC show "Little Couple" to Ann Hanson from the national UCC offices, all gave beautiful and inspiring talks about reaching beyond our limits and the role faith plays in our lives."
     Besides Caitlin, attending from Danville were Jameson Davis, Doug Leach, Lauren Erickson, Liana Egan, Jennifer Kawaguchi and Rachel O’Neal.  Becca Kephart from Eden UCC, Hayward, Sara and Ben Graves from Congregational UCC, San Mateo, Peter Tarantino from First Congregational UCC, Palo Alto and Maria Restivo from First Congregational UCC, Murphys also attended.  Marlie Heberling from First Congregational UCC, San Jose and Laura Barnes Coney from Congregational UCC, Danville were chaperones.
     Caitlin continues, "We also participated in a variety of local service projects in Billings as part of WRYE. I helped sort clothes at a local consignment store where families who couldn’t afford clothing could come in and choose ten free items every month.  I found the most meaningful part of the service to be when the store actually opened and I saw the people shopping there as I was putting clothing on the racks.
     "This was a week of great new friends, awesome worship, and inspiring experiences that definitely left me ready to ‘reach beyond’".