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Small UCC youth logo
  Weekly E-news
             March 8, 2012

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in this issue
Lenten idea for parents: Yield
Sunday night programs take a break this Sunday
Spring Break activities for high school youth next week
Prom Dreams opens on March 17 - sign up online to volunteer
Sign up now for the Soul Brothers Retreat for guys
Registration open for summer camps at Disciples Crossing
Save the date for 2012 Chi Rho and CYF mission trips!

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Dear youth and parents,

Continuing the process I started a few weeks ago, I have a tidbit from the Sticky Faith Summit that Steve Midgley, Larry Thomas, Kera Watts, and I attended recently:

During one of the sessions the 28 church teams gathered at Fuller Seminary were asked to think about where we would like our current youth to be spiritually when they are 5 years out of high school (i.e. recent college grads, for a typical UCC kid).  Our group came up with these five things we hope would be true.

Five years after they graduate high school, we hope our current youth are:

1. Involved in a theologically progressive congregation.
2. Serving others/volunteering regularly.
3. In conversation about their faith and how it relates to their current context.
4. Engaged in a daily spiritual practice that feeds them.
5. Using a spiritual framework (and related values) to understand and process the world around them.

On the staff side, we're looking at how we organize our ministries to shepherd our youth to be in this place when they are emerging adults.  Anne Darr pointed out when I shared these at our Youth Ministry Committee last night that these are challenging things for parents in our congregation to consider, and can be used as goals in their own lives to ensure they're modeling this kind of active Christian faith for their kids.  Hopefully it's a helpful challenge for you!

Read on for another family-oriented reflection from the Sticky Faith Lenten resource we're using at youth groups, Prom Dream sign-ups, registration for Soul Brothers Retreat and summer camps, Spring Break activities, and more!

Grace and Peace,
Russ 



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Lenten idea for parents:  Yield
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From Herb Murray and Jessica Vacketta:
Sticky Faith - tape logo

This week our Lenten focus for parents is yielding. To yield something is to give it up for some other reason or purpose. By learning to yield our will to God's will, we open ourselves to trust God more, and know God more as well. To help your family understand this, think of some ways you yield already. Where do you personally yield your time or resources? Where does your family do this already? Do you have any stories where yielding to God's purposes produced a memorable result? Once you've done this reflection, start to dream of where God might be leading you to other yielding (either just for Lent, or perhaps on a long-term basis). If your family were to yield a few hours sometime, or even half a day, what could you do together? Dream of ways you can team up and bless others and each other. This might be helping out for a morning at the local food bank, or visiting some older folks in a home, or just spending unstructured down time with one another if it's been a while. If the thought of yielding that time seems nonsensical since everyone is so busy and has important commitments (and believe me, I'm there with you) - even better! Talk about why you feel that way as a family, and what it might look like to yield less of your time to certain commitments in order to yield more time to serving or playing together.


For more ideas for this week, click here.



Sunday night programs take a break this Sunday
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Since most of our local schools begin their Spring Break this weekend, our Sunday night programs following The Search will be on break this Sunday as well.  Disciples Class, Chi Rho, CYF, and our programs for children (CCF and JYF) will all resume on March 18.  Sunday school classes will still meet as usual this Sunday morning.

 

 



Spring Break activities for high school youth next week
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In high school?  In town for Spring Break?  Come join us for these upcoming service and fellowship activities:
Hiking graphic
Wednesday, Marth 14 -
Meet at UCC at 10:30 a.m. to make sandwiches to take to "The Lot," a parking lot close to downtown where will serve lunch to our homeless neighbors. Please bring a loaf of bread, a jar of jelly, a 6-pack of jello-pudding packs, or individual (small) bags of chips. We should be back to UCC at 1 p.m.

 

Saturday, March 18Take some time to unplug and enjoy God's creation as we go to the Fort Worth Nature Center for a 6 mile hike. Meet at UCC at 9:30 a.m. and bring a sack lunch and $5 for park admittance. We should return around 2 p.m.

 

Contact Jessica Vacketta at [email protected] with questions and/or RSVP's.

 


Prom Dreams opens on March 17 - sign up now to volunteer
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Prom dressesProm Dreams will open on Saturday, March 17 and volunteers are needed on Thursdays and Saturdays through April 21 to help during hours of operation. Volunteers will act as sales associates for the Prom Dreams "store" and will help girls select their dresses and accessories.  It takes less than one minute to sign up - just click here to provide your information and select the dates you would like to work.

 

Dates volunteers are needed:

 

Thursdays, March 22 - April 19  from 5-7 p.m.

Saturdays, March 17 -April 21  from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

 

As always, we are also in need of dresses (particularly sizes 12 & up), shoes, jewelry, and purses to restock our inventory. Donations can be dropped off at the UCC reception desk. Unsure if a dress will work? Bring it by anyway! Dresses that are not selected after two seasons will be donated to Berry Good Buys. If you have questions, please contact Jessica Vacketta at [email protected]
  

 



Registration open for the Soul Brothers Retreat for guys  Like us on Facebook
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We're excited that UCC's youth ministry will again be partnering with our men's ministry to sponsor the Soul Brothers Retreat for guys 6th grade through adult, coming up April 20-22.  This year's event will be held at Glen Lake Retreat Center in Glen Rose and will feature Rev. Rob Morris of Ridglea Christian Church as the keynote speaker.  Cost is $80 for youth and $110 for men.  A $50 deposit is required with registration, and scholarships are available upon request (as always).  This is a great opportunity for our youth and adults to spend time together praying, playing, eating, and sharing life together - download a registration form to sign up, and pay online to secure your spot! 

 



Registration open for summer camps at Disciples Crossing
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Campfire graphic 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. For a registration form, 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.

The easiest way to register for camps and mission trips will be our Camp Registration Sunday on April 1. Sharyn Peterson will be set up in Fellowship Hall from 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. and again from 6-7 p.m. with plenty of blank registration forms and tally sheets. Registering that day ensures that you make the early bird deadline, saving $130 off the regular registration price. Mark your calendar and we'll see you there!


Save the date for 2012 Chi Rho and CYF mission trips!
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SWGSM workgroup photo

Registration forms for summer camps at Disciples Crossing are up, and registration flyers for mission trips to Los Angeles and Oklahoma City will be released soon.  Be sure to save these dates on your calendar:

Chi Rho Mission Trip to Oklahoma City
Grades 6-8  *  June 3-6  *  $150

CYF Mission Trip to Los Angeles
Grades 9-12  *  July 21-28  *  $375



Youth events and key dates on the horizon...
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March 11-17 - Intergenerational Mission Pilgrimage to El Paso
March 14 - CYF prepare lunches to serve at The Lot - 10:30 a.m.
March 18 - CYF hiking day at Fort Worth Nature Center - 9:30 a.m.
April 1 - Camp/Mission Trip Registration Sunday
April 20-21 - Soul Brothers retreat for guys 6th grade - adult
May 6 - Youth Sunday in morning worship services
May 9 - Senior Banquet in Fellowship Hall - 6:15 p.m.
Summer 2012 - Camps and mission trips - Click here for the schedule

More ways to keep up...
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Youth Calendar  

 

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UCC Youth

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Staff Links
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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 - E-mail Sharyn
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