The primary objective of our Youth Director is to plan and guide the spiritual education of children and teens and support those serving on the Youth and Family Ministry Team in successfully mentoring the young. Another objective is to create a safe environment where the young can grow through spiritual self-discovery.
Our Youth Director is available to support children, their parents, and our team members and attend to the administrative details connected with managing our Sunday morning youth experience. The Youth Director also identifies and provides a Unity curriculum, coordinates with the adult Sunday service, creates classroom environments with appropriate enrichment resources, and works with other teams to involve our youth in all areas of our spiritual community.
We welcomed Sara Schlegel as our new Youth and Family Director in June 2024.
Sara began her Unity adventure in Thousand Oaks, California, where she delighted in getting coffee for the members who used walkers and wheelchairs and singing at the top of her lungs in the hallway. Her family eventually moved to Ohio, where they tried out many Unity Churches and came to know and love what was then the Church of Unity Westlake. There was no Unity Hall or Labyrinth yet, but there was a luscious community garden and small orchard where she hunted for garden snakes and toads. Sara blossomed in her Y.O.U. days which culminated in 2002. She left for college out of state, and life led her further away from church. After many bumps in her college career, Sara graduated from Tri-C, Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Liberal Arts and Humanities in 2021.
In the summer of 2023, she was made aware of USC's need for a nursery attendant and applied immediately, excited to be back in her old stomping grounds. The leadership skills she learned in Youth of Unity all those years ago, combined with her previous work experience as a Daycare Teacher at No More Monkeys and a Home Economics Teacher at Menlo Park Academy gave her the confidence to expand.
She began volunteering for the Youth Group, and after much prayer and deliberation, she decided to listen to her inner calling for the Youth Director. Following in her father Tom's footsteps, she has led the Youth and Family Ministry Team since June 2024.
Sara has two children, Sophie and Jack. She recently remarried and is looking forward to her new life as Mrs. Scott Schlegel. Sara runs a couple of food pantries and is a Church Administrator at an Open and Affirming church in West Park. Her many jobs keep her busy, but they also fill her soul. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, playing her cello, and crocheting, and she finds solace in the woods.
To contact Sara, please email sara@uscwestlake.org.