Let’s go back in time to February 1945 at United Memorial Church (now part of Hope United Church) in Halifax. Judging by their newsletter, The Young People’s Union, or U.M.Y.P.U. as they referred to themselves, was very active.
The U.M.Y.P.U. didn’t do so well in their Bible Baseball game against Oxford and Bethany but hopefully things went better for them when they played J. Wesley Smith later that year. 
Below are the minutes from the “delightful Valentine Social” held with Woodside. It looked like a fun evening although it got off to a late start as the Social did not begin until 9:30 pm!
Despite all the fun activities outlined in the newsletter, World War II was ever present and there is an acknowledgement of the group members who were overseas at the time. 
Here are the financial accounts for January and February 1945. The $2.36 that was collected during the meeting on February 6 would amount to approximately $35.00 in today’s Canadian dollars.
Unfortunately the Archives does not have any photographs of the YPU in 1945 but this photograph appears to be of a youth group at United Memorial in the 1950s
Feel free to share your memories of YPU in the comment section below!
The Young People’s Group at Central United Church, Moncton, NB in 1962-3 was a small and enjoyable group of 12 or so members, with about 8 average at each meeting. Some of us were also members of the 32 member Young Adults Choir. Although I don’t recall the names of most of them, only being a part of it for just over one year before moving to Fredericton, one was Bill Mitchell who later moved to BC. Occasionally Malcolm Freeborn (son of the organist Professor Freeborn and the Choir Director, his wife) and his girlfriend (Diane?/Joanne?) McSweeney appeared. Minister at the time was Rev. Joseph (Joe) Berridge whose son John came occasionally. He, Malcolm and Miss McSweeney were older, so didn’t hang out with the younger young adults often. Mr. Berridge had a great pulpit presence, an interesting sermon, was kindly, dignified and scholarly yet down-to-earth. He moved to Bermuda later on and died there a few years later. A great loss to the Church. It is a privilege to have known him.
There didn’t seem to be much of a lengthy structured meeting with President, Secretary, Treasurer, as far as I recall. Mainly we met in the parlour, sometimes with a fire in the fireplace, chatted, played games, went bowling, toured the church for the benefit of the new members, and had an occasional party. No one played the piano except for myself, and I wasn’t too far along with doing hymns but I would plunge through when we sang at devotional period, on occasion not playing the tune that was familiar to them as I had grown up in a village congregation before moving to Moncton — even though we used the same UC Hymnal..
As dances were not favoured too much at Central, we would go to Wesley Memorial on occasion to the monthly YPU dance there. Rev. Don Boothroyd was the minister at Wesley. He attended the dances as a chaperone, sitting in one corner of the gym in an easy chair beside a floor lamp and read a book. Every now and then he would stand, walk around the periphery of the dance and have a friendly chat with those not dancing. All happy memories.
Roland Hutchinson
Nov. 24, 2020
This is a picture of the United Memorial YPU in 1955. Each winter/spring the group held an “AT HOME” where members of the congregation could attend. This would consist of a banquet and a special speaker . Joyce Tupper (pres.) and Wilfred Dillman(vice pres.) are in the center of the first row. Doug MacEachern was the Pine Hill student associated with the church and Janet Tupper (the minister’s wife } are pictured on the left end of row 1. I (Joyce) can name almost all the people in the picture. What fun I have had -with some help remembering! Thank you for pulling this from the archives. Wilfred and I were married in 1956 and our 2 children are very active in the United Church. Janet Sollows is president of Region 15 and Rev. Paul Dillman is minister of Riverside United Church in Ottawa.