Youth

Confirmation Summer Trips
Weekly Events Summer Getaways
Upcoming Events Connect With Us

Welcome to Youth at Canterbury

Hi, there! YAC team here! We call our group the “YACs”, or “Youth At Canterbury”. YAC is the student ministry at Canterbury UMC, and it is for students in the 7th-12th grades. We may be a little biased, but we think our YAC Herd is the best!

Junior High and Senior High are major times of transition for students. We want to come alongside students and parents during this transition and provide a place for students to feel safe, grow in their relationship with God, have fun, and make memories that will last a lifetime.

We hope you’ll join our YAC Pack!
We know you’ll be glad you did!

Confirmation

  • What is Confirmation?

    We are so excited to welcome you to Confirmation at Canterbury United Methodist!  Confirmation is an ancient rite of passage where the Confirmand explores the tenets of the faith and what it means to be a Christian & a United Methodist. It is also a time where they begin to take ownership of their own faith stories as they prayerfully consider the commitment they will make on Confirmation Sunday to Christ & the United Methodist Church. Confirmation is a wonderful and immersive experience for our 7th grade students that will forever change their lives. We hope you will join us in Confirmation this year!

  • Confirmation Year 2025-2026 Registration

    We ask that 7th grade students interested in participating in Confirmation to please register. If you are interested in registering your student or have questions, please contact Gann at gann.waters-wright@canterburyumc.org or Eleanor at eleanor.kerr@canterburyumc.org 

    2025-2026 CONFIRMATION REGISTRATION

  • Subscribe to Confirmation Email

    Not getting our 2025-2026 Confirmation emails? No problem! You can sign up to receive our 2025-2026 Confirmation emails with the button below.

    SUBSCRIBE TO CONFIRMATION EMAIL

Weekly Events

  • MYF
    Sunday Nights5:00-6:45 PM 7th – 12th GradeCanterbury Hall

    MYF is a great night to come and have a lot of fun, while also learning about God. MYF is for all 7th-12th grade students, and it’s a great night to bring a friend! MYF includes games, worship, a message, and small groups. Sundays are a great night to invite your friends, make new friends, and grow in your relationship with God. Invite a friend, and join us at MYF!

  • Midweek
    Wednesday Nights6:00-7:00 PM7th – 12th GradeYouth Center

    Wednesday nights are a time for fellowship, games, and a more in-depth Bible study. We split into two groups for MidWeek — Junior High (7th-9th grades) and Senior High (10th-12th grades). Bring a friend, and join us each Wednesday night as we dive deeper into what God is doing in and through our lives.

    MidWeek includes a game, a lesson, and a group discussion. Wednesday nights are aimed at making the Bible more accessible to our students’ minds. MidWeek provides a great environment for students to begin to ask deeper questions about their faith and how they can live out their faith during the week.

    All YAC students (7th-12th graders) will start in the Youth Center. Jr. High MidWeek will then move to room M-118, and Sr. High MidWeek will stay in the Youth Center. Grab a friend, and come hang out on Wednesday nights!

  • Jr. High Breakfast Club
    Tuesday Mornings7:00 AM7th – 9th GradeYouth Center

    Junior High students meet on Tuesday mornings at 7am for Breakfast Club! This is a time of fellowship for students to gather together before going into the busy school day. We have a devotional and breakfast. Breakfast is Chick-fil-A biscuits! Bring $3 if you want a biscuit. And don’t forget to bring a friend!

  • Sr. High AM
    Tuesday Mornings7:00 AM10th – 12th GradeCrestline Bagel – Cahaba Heights

    Sr. High AM is an event for our 10th through 12th graders on Wednesday mornings! It’s a time to gather together and hang out before heading off for the school day. We eat breakfast together, and then there is a devotional. Bring money to buy your breakfast, and invite a friend to come with you!

  • Sunday School
    Sunday Mornings9:15-10:15 AM7th – 12th GradeYouth Center

    Youth Sunday School is for all 7th-12th grade students! We meet in the Youth Center from 9:15-10:15 AM. We hope you’ll join us!

Journey Retreat

  • Journey Retreat
    November 21-23 Grades 7-12Shocco Springs, AL Sign-ups Open September 29th

    Our Journey Retreat will be November 21-23, and we will be going to Shocco Springs in Talladega, AL. This is a retreat for all 7th-12th graders (friends are welcome!). It is an awesome weekend filled with meaningful talks, amazing worship, fun games, and more! Sign-up details to come!

    READ BEFORE SIGNING UP!!!

    -Registration will open at 7am on September 29th. The drop date to receive a refund is October 21 (one month before the retreat).

    -Our new scholarship policy will be that students will be limited to two scholarships for YAC events per school year. Please reach out to us with questions or concerns! We will consider each August the beginning of each year.

    JOURNEY REGISTRATION

If you have questions or need more information please contact gann.waters-wright@canterburyumc.org.

Summer Trips

Scholarships are available for most of our YAC trips. If you are interested in a scholarship, please contact Gann at gann.waters-wright@canterburyumc.org.

Summer Getaways

Highlight Videos

2025 Discovery Weekend Highlight Video
2024 Journey Retreat Highlight Video
2025 YAC Summer Highlight Video

Connect with Us

Weekly Email

We want to make sure that you are always up-to-date with the latest in Youth@Canterbury News. We communicate each week with parents through a weekly email that includes the happenings for that week and what you can look forward to in the upcoming months. If you would like to receive this weekly email please subscribe above, and you will be added to our mailing list. 

Subscribe to Weekly Emails

Text Message

To stay in the know about all things Youth@Canterbury, you and your student should sign up for our text messages!

To sign up, text @yac350 to the number 81010.

Meet the Team

Gann Waters-Wright

Director of Youth Ministries

Eleanor Kerr

Assistant Director of Youth Ministry

Social Media

We post frequently to both our Instagram and Facebook pages, and we would love for you to follow along! You’ll find pictures from events, news about upcoming events, and more on these pages.

Join our Facebook Group
Follow us on Instagram
Subscribe to our YouTube

We also post videos from retreats and events on our YouTube channel, so be sure to subscribe to our channel to follow along!