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 Weekly E-news
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Dear youth and parents,
Lots of youth and parents took advantage of our Camp Registration Sunday last weekend, and it's not too late to register for summer camps and receive the $130 early bird discount! Just be sure to get your registration in by this Sunday and you'll save a bundle this summer. More information on that below, and remember that we have additional scholarships available (up to the full early bird price) to ensure that everyone can go to camp! This is also a special Sunday as our youth in grades 8-12 gather with Jewish and Muslim youth for our second annual Interfaith Trialogue - more on that below as well.
I am scheduled to be out of the office next week for the first half of my Army Reserve unit's Annual Training (no exotic destination, just a daily commute to and from the reserve center in Seagoville). However, it appears that if the goverment shuts down our week of training will have to be rescheduled. Either way, I'll be keeping up with e-mail next week if you need to reach me.
Grace and Peace,
Russ
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Deadline for summer camp discount registration this Sunday!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Youth and children from Pre-K through 12th grade have the opportunity to grow closer to God and one another this summer at Disciples Crossing, our church camp in Athens. There are nine different camps spread across the summer, each with a different focus. To see a full list of camp descriptions, dates, and prices, click here. (NOTE: Several camps were a day off on the original camp description sheet that mailed.) For a registration form, click here. And for a tally sheet, click here. UCC is covering $100 of the registration cost for those who register early, and additional scholarships are available up to the full early-bird price if needed.
This Sunday is the deadline for early bird registrations, which provide a $130 discount on regular camp prices for all UCC youth in grades 6-12. Be sure to turn your form in to the youth office or drop it in Sharyn Peterson's box in the UCC mailroom by this Sunday evening! |
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Interfaith Youth Trialogue for grades 8-12 this Sunday
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Our friends at the Texas School of Islamic Studies have invited us and Beth-El Congregation to join them for our second annual Youth Trialogue this Sunday, April 10. This event brings together Christians, Muslims, and Jews to get to know one another and learn about each other's faith.
This year's program will include presentations from the youth of each faith community, a luncheon, and a friendly game of "interfaith Jeopardy" to test everyone's knowledge. All UCC youth in grades 8-12 will meet outside Fellowship Hall at 9:30 a.m. this Sunday to carpool to the mosque and the event will conclude at 1:30 p.m. There will be no Sunday school for grades 8-12 this Sunday.
Parents: If you are willing and able to drive youth to or from the event (or spend the whole day with us), let me know at russ@uccftw.com.
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Serve others on the Chi Rho or CYF Mission Trip this summer!
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UCC's middle and high school youth will be hitting the road to learn and serve on two mission trips this summer:
The Chi Rho Mission Trip will take our youth in grades 6-8 to Austin from June 12-15. While there, they'll be serving others at several different agencies, including the Salvation Army, Elderhaven Adult Day Care, and Manos de Cristo before spending a day cooling off at Schlitterbahn Water Park in New Braunfels. Click here to download the registration flyer for more information.
Our 9th-12th grade youth will travel to Los Fresnos, Texas for the CYF Mission Trip, scheduled for June 25 - July 2. They will spend the week working at Southwest Good Samaritan Ministries, a Disciple mission agency committed to serving the "least of these" in the Rio Grande Valley. For details, click here for the registration flyer. |
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Sexuality study for parents of youth starts this Sunday evening
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 UCC is in the midst of a multi-week sexuality series for different audiences on Sunday nights, and two weeks for parents of youth are up next. On April 10 and 17, Rev. Paul Thompson, LPC, will lead sessions specifically for parents of 6th-12th graders entitled "Teen Sexuality: From Conversations to Decisions." The series will take place in Room 205 from 6:30 - 7:45 p.m. (parallel to youth groups). Spread the word to other parents and be sure not to miss this important study! |
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Special focus on relationships in youth groups this Sunday night
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  To parallel the sexuality series for parents of youth that begins this Sunday night, our Chi Rho and CYF youth groups will be focusing on relationships this week. Chi Rho (grades 6-8) will be looking at different relationships: with parents, with siblings, with friends, and with the opposite sex. CYF (grades 9-12) will split into a boys group and a girls group for discussions with ministers and sponsors about dating, friendship, and the challenges that dating can create for friendships (and vice versa).
Youth groups will follow our normal Sunday night schedule with snack supper ($3) in the 3rd Floor Kitchen at 6 p.m. and Chi Rho and CYF group meetings from 6:30 - 7:45. |
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Prom Dreams open Thursdays & Saturdays - volunteers needed!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Prom Dreams had its grand opening on March 19 and volunteers are needed on Thursdays and Saturdays through April 16 to help during hours of operation. Volunteers will act as "sales associates" for the Prom Dreams "store" and will help girls "shop" for their dresses. Volunteers will also help manage the inventory as we "rent" (for free) dresses, shoes, jewelry, purses, etc. to these ladies. It takes less than one minute to sign up - just click here to provide your info and select the volunteer slot(s) you'd like. Dates volunteers are needed: Thursday, April 14 from 5-7 p.m. Saturdays, April 9 & 16 from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. |
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Prayer in the chapel each Wednesday evening during Lent
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During this Lenten season we're offering Wednesday Night Prayer in UCC's Chapel of the Good Shepherd for youth in grades 6-12, their friends, and parents/guardians. This will be an open, informal prayer time from 7-8 p.m. every Wednesday through April 20. There will be different prayers stations and various guided prayers, or people can simply come to reflect, meditate, or pray on their own. Though the prayer time is one hour, we encourage you to come and go as you please. |
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Prayer shawl ministry moves to Sunday evenings - 6:30-7:30 p.m.
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 On March 13 the Sunday Prayer Shawl ministry group began meeting at 6:30 p.m. and will continue to do so throughout the season of Lent. This new meeting time is parallel to UCC's Sunday night youth and children's groups, creating a great opportunity to participate in the Prayer Shawl ministry while members of your family are already at church. This ministry welcomes all who wish to participate and experienced knitters are happy to help anyone learn.
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Youth events on the horizon...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
April 10 - Early bird discount deadline for summer camps at Disciples Crossing April 10 - Youth Trialogue event at the Islamic Association - meet at 9:30 a.m.
April 13 - Chapel open for prayer and reflection each Wednesday - 7-8 p.m. May 8 - Youth Sunday in morning worship services
May 11 - Senior Banquet - 6 p.m. in Fellowship Hall
June 12-15 - Chi Rho Mission Trip to Austin for grades 6-8
June 25 - July 2 - CYF Mission Trip to Los Fresnos for grades 9-12
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More ways to keep up...
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Staff Links~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Russ Boyd, Associate Minister for Youth - E-mail Russ
Herbert Murray, Assistant Minister for Chi Rho (grades 6-8) - E-mail Herb
Jessica Vacketta, Assistant Minister for CYF (grades 9-12) - E-mail Jessica
Sharyn Peterson, Ministry Assistant for Congregational Life - E-mail Sharyn
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