UCC Summer of Service Internships Provide Valuable Experiences and Much Needed Help

Summer Communities of Service (SCOS) is an internship program enabling young adults to spend eight to ten weeks working and learning within nonprofit organizations and United Church of Christ churches.  

Through the collaboration between UCC Volunteer Ministries, Global HOPE and partner organizations, young adults are matched with community-serving organizations based on their vocational interests, work skills, learning goals and needs. The interns are provided with room and board, stipends, and mentors who support intentional reflection on work and related topics such as systemic injustice, theological grounding and service-informed advocacy and social action.

The Summer Communities of Service program was created over 15 years ago with the intention to place small groups of young adults in organizations where they would live in community, work in and learn about service and justice settings, have opportunities for spiritual and vocational reflection and congregational support. 

The UCC’s Minister for Volunteer Engagement, the Rev. Kelly Burd said the summer program stopped due to the Covid pandemic. But she’s pleased it’s up and running again. “This year the intentional community component was harder to establish. Still, we and our partners embraced the original program’s experiential learning and mentorship model, and I’m excited about the potential addition of a few more partner organizations for next summer.”  

This past summer, three interns were placed with Back Bay Mission in Biloxi, Mississippi, and one worked at Gould Farm in Monterey, Massachusetts.  All four students came with valuable skills they had gained as resident assistants in their respective college settings; that became evident during orientation, where each shared thoughtful insights and experience related to topics such as cultural humility, diversity and inclusion, decolonization, mental health, social justice, and professional boundaries.

Back Bay Mission interns

The temperature in Biloxi was 89 degrees by 10 o’clock in the morning on May 30, as three interns rolled into the visitor lot of the historic Back Bay Mission, but it didn’t stifle their energy and enthusiasm. The Rev. James Pennington, executive director, and Rachael Lee, executive administrative assistant, gave the interns a warm welcome, a tour of the facilities and an overview of the organization’s history and mission. Interns Zion “Z” Pinell, Kenzie Gray, and Elijah Cottrell shared their hopes for the summer and how the work at Back Bay Mission might inform their professional hopes or shape their vocational choices and direction.

Following orientation by Burd and Back Bay staff, the group left for dinner at a local restaurant along with Pastor Yvonne Harrison from One Coast United Church of Christ, a new church start in Biloxi and partner in the intern program. 

Pennington, who has been at Back Bay for six years, said having them over the summer was great for all involved. “We need the assistance, we need the help, we need the extra hands and heads and hearts, right? It was formative for them, helping to determine what their future is going to be.”

Lee added, “They were amazing, they kind of got out of their comfort zone and got to see some things that they may not have otherwise seen. One of the interns, Kenzie, got a chance to work on some grant writing, which was really, really cool. And another, Eli, got to run our Micah Day Center for our unsheltered guests. And Z got to start a creative writing class for our unsheltered guests, which meant a lot to them.” 

Pastor Harrison, with One Coast UCC, said their church is housed within Back Bay Mission and they have services twice a month at the Micah Day Center. “It was wonderful to have the interns with us. They shared they’ve not had much of an opportunity to work with people in our age group. I think one saw me as an auntie and another a mother kind of figure. So sharing generational bonds with us–not family or instructors–it was good.”

Harrison added it was great having their youth around, too. “They bring energy and idealism and they bring ingenuity. And of course, they’re tech savvy. So having them here was seeing things through fresh eyes.”

Pinell is from Fremont, Ohio with roots in Charlotte, North Carolina. They graduated in May from Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio, having majored in psychology and minored in gender and identity studies and worked as a resident assistant. They also have extensive experience and coursework in theater.

Gray is from Ottawa Lake, Michigan and is also a student at The University of Olivet. She is a resident assistant, an athlete on the college track team, and student leader who founded a student advocacy group on campus this year to help fill a communication and feedback gap between the student body and administration. She spent the past two years serving at Back Bay Mission during her school’s service-learning spring break trip, and was thrilled to be interning there.

“Back Bay Mission and the UCC gave me a place to explore my true, authentic self. I explored my values, passions, and the traits that make me who I am,” said Gray in a written reflection. “One way that I have grown is that I am much more intentional with the words that I use. I did not realize the impact that our words have on others. Being intentional and impeccable with my words leads to respecting myself and earning others’ respect.”

Cottrell is from Standish, Michigan, and just finished his freshman year at The University of Olivet, where he is a resident assistant, is on the track team, and majors in psychology. He said he came to Back Bay and felt drawn to the people, energy, and work there. 

Cottrell was enlisted to run the Micah Day Center. “It was very overwhelming, but I am so happy I got that opportunity,” he said in a written reflection. “It made me uncomfortable and I was really able to grow from it, in ways I didn’t know I needed to.” He continued, “I am truly from the bottom of my heart grateful for all the time and effort all the people at Back Bay Mission, the UCC put into shaping me. My time at Back Bay will forever hold an incredibly special place in my heart.”

Gould Farm in Monterey, Massachusetts

Gould Farm is a non-profit therapeutic community with a 700-acre campus dedicated to helping adults with mental health-related challenges move toward recovery and independence through community living, meaningful work, and clinical care. Gould therapy residents are referred to as “guests” and are supported with a holistic, supportive community environment made up of staff and their families. 

Tristan Braeton, a second year student from State University of New York in Geneseo, interned at Gould Farm.  By the end of his first day of work, Burd said he could be found playing a lively game of volleyball with several staff and guests in a shady patch of grass. 

Braeton was at the farm for eight weeks. “As a communication and marketing major, I have no experience in the social service field. So this was completely an eye-opening experience. I was a part of the community there.”

He continued, “It really widened my understanding of mental health and how it presents itself in different circumstances at different points in our lives. So it was really interesting to see. I have more empathy for those who are struggling through mental health disorders.”

The 2027 Summer Communities of Service program details and application will be shared on UCC social media and the UCC Volunteer Ministries page by December 10. Application deadlines are March 1, 2027 and final placements will be made by April 1. For more information, contact Rev. Kelly Burd at burdk@ucc.org.

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