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 Weekly E-news
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Dear youth and parents,
Our church is preparing to host CYF Day, an annual TCU admissions event that brings churches from several states to campus for campus tours, worship, a basketball game, and an after party. As part of the event, we will be hosting over 200 youth and chaperones for worship in Fellowship Hall tomorrow morning, and sponsoring the after party at TCU's Rec Center that includes a charity dodgeball tournament benefitting Week of Compassion. I share this because, as a church that's not the "target audience" for the event, a lot of folks at UCC have no idea that it takes place. If any of our youth are interested in participating in the dodgeball tournament on Saturday, check the article below for more information and come play!
Read on for details about Sunday night's Chi Rho Lock-In, upcoming youth midwinter retreats, a workday in UCC's community garden, a work weekend at Disciples Crossing, and more!
Grace and Peace,
Russ
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Help transform UCC's community garden this Saturday
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 From Claire Graham, Director of UCC Weekday School:
People of all ages and abilites are invited to be a part of a volunteer work day tomorrow in the UCC Community Garden as we continue to transform the space into a place that encourages education, spiritual growth, renewal, and community. The "to-do" list for Saturday includes: - planting 25 one gallon cabbage, assorted
- planting 120 root starts
- building spirals with sand and glass bottles
- planting seasonal color We'll be working from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. (lunch provided). If you have small hand tools for gardening, please bring them along. It should be gorgeous weather and some great fun! |
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Charity dodgeball tournament this Saturday at TCU
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 Interested in playing dodgeball against other Disciple churches? Come to the charity dodgeball tournament at TCU tomorrow and support Week of Compassion in the process! As part of the CYF Day event sponsored by the TCU Office of Admissions, Disciple churches from around the region will gather at the University Recreation Center following the TCU basketball game for an after-party with food, drinks, table tennis, pool, foosball, shuffleboard, board/card games, and a charity dodgeball tournament benefiting Week of Compassion.
The cost is $10 per person, and the event runs from 2:45 - 4:30 p.m. I need to know in advance if you'd like to play so that I can put together a team from UCC, so contact me at russ@uccftw.com and I'll add you to the list for the tournament!
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Chi Rho Lock-In this Sunday night! Packing list now available
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  What has games, food, worship, friends and fun but requires no keys? The Chi Rho lock-in! This Sunday, January 20, youth in grades 6-8 are invited to bring their PJ's and pillow for a great night at UCC. The lock-in will begin at 8 p.m., conclude at 8 a.m., and each youth should bring $5 to help cover food and other costs. Sunday night youth groups will meet as usual at 6:30 p.m.
Answers to some frequently asked questions:
1. No, you do not need to RSVP. We have found it to be a futile process for lock-ins.
2. Yes, you are welcome to bring a friend to the lock-in! It would be helpful if you would e-mail Alison their name and grade to help with planning - alison.nicoll@uccftw.com.
3. Yes, we would love to have parents at the lock-in to supplement our staff and adult sponsors! If you'd like to volunteer for a 1 or 2 hour shift, e-mail Alison at alison.nicoll@uccftw.com. There are plenty of behind-the-scenes jobs you could help with if you'd like to be invisible to your child.
4. Yes, we have a short list of things to bring with you:
- Wear comfortable clothes and shoes for running around
- Bring sleepwear, a pillow, and a sleeping bag
- Bring $5 to help cover food and supply costs
- Optional: An air mattress (we have air pumps for them)
Questions? Contact Alison, our new Assistant Minister for Middle School, at 515.537.5636 or alison.nicoll@uccftw.com. |
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Last call for Chi Rho Midwinter Retreat registrations
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  ~ Our youth have the opportunity to join others from Disciple churches around the area for two upcoming winter retreats at Disciples Crossing, our church camp in Athens. The Chi Rho Midwinter Retreat for grades 6-8 will be February 1-3, and the CYF Midwinter Retreat for grades 9-12 is February 22-24. These annual retreats offer youth the opportunity to grow closer to God and one another through worship, recreation, prayer, small groups, and interest groups that include options like sports, dance, art, service, photography, and more.
Participants will meet at UCC at 5:30 p.m. on the Friday each retreat begins to share a charter bus to camp, and will return around 12:30 p.m. the following Sunday. The cost for each retreat is $90 and full or half scholarships are available upon request. Registration forms were due to the Youth Office on January 13 for Chi Rho, but there is still room if you missed the deadline. We need your form this Sunday! The registration deadline for CYF is February 3. You can download a form by clicking here.
Parents: We will need adult chaperones to attend these retreats as well. If you're interested in serving as an adult sponsor, contact Alison Nicoll at alison.nicoll@uccftw.com for the Chi Rho Retreat and Jessica Vacketta at jessica@uccftw.com for the CYF Retreat . |
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Want a one-time volunteer gig? Sign up for Snack Supper!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From Pam Miller, Youth Snack Supper Coordinator:
Youth parents! See the youth up close, personal and appreciative by serving Snack Supper on Sunday night. Snack supper is a great way to to see and get to know the youth, and it's fun!
The commitment is for one Sunday evening, from about 5-7 p.m., plus cooking or shopping time - you decide how much time you want to spend on preparation. Dinner is served at 6 p.m. in the third floor kitchen for 30-40 youth and college students. All the paper goods, cutlery and drink supplies are there for you. You provide the food, fix lemonade (provided), serve everything and clean up. You can choose to donate the meal, or you can be reimbursed up to $100 if you provide receipts. If you need suggestions on meal planning, you can contact me at 817-946-6322 or uccsundaysupper@yahoo.com. When you pick your Sunday, I will be in touch with other useful tips. The third floor kitchen can be used anytime between morning services and the time to serve the meal. (Sandwiches are just as popular as anything else, so cooking isn't required if that's not your thing.) If you prefer to purchase all or part of the food already prepared, that's great too. There's also a fridge and freezer you can stash things in.
You will receive a reminder the Sunday before your Snack Supper. Each month there will be an optional 15-minute meeting to show you the kitchen and how things in it work. (Usually just before Sunday School at 9:45 and it's just to familiarize you - there's nothing difficult about it, as those who have served will tell you!)
Ready to volunteer? Pick one of the 11 available dates listed below and e-mail me at uccsundaysupper@yahoo.com:
February 3, 24
March 3, 17April 14, 21, 28
May 5
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Improve our camp at the Disciples Crossing work weekend
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Want to share your time, energy, and talent to improve Disciples Crossing, our church camp in Athens? Come to the first annual Disciples Crossing work weekend! You can choose to attend as an individual, family, Sunday School class, or other group to help the camp prepare for one of the busiest summers of camps and conferences. Work day projects will include (but are not limited to) painting, staining, replacing flooring, pouring concrete slabs, replacing rotten siding, installing new tin on ceilings, building a boat shed, installing lighting on a basketball court, and clearing walking trails. Regardless of your age or skill level, there's a project for you!
The work weekend will take place February 15-16 (Friday-Saturday) and the $75 registration cost covers meals, overnight lodging, and work supplies. You may also register to attend Friday or Saturday only for $35 per person. Once registrations are in, we will organize a carpool of UCC participants to make it easier for everyone to get to and from camp. Ready to register? Click here to download a registration form. Questions about the work weekend? Contact Beth Morris, TBA Youth Minister, at 817-831-4442 or moonriver27@att.net. |
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Youth events and key dates on the horizon...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January 19 - Charity dodgeball tournament at TCU - 2:45 p.m.
January 20 - Chi Rho Lock-In (grades 6-8) - 8 p.m. - 8 a.m.
January 25-26 - Reel Religion Film Festival
February 1-3 - Chi Rho Midwinter Retreat (grades 6-8) at Disciples Crossing
February 15-16 - Disciples Crossing Work Weekend (all ages)
February 22-24 - CYF Midwinter Retreat (grades 9-12) at Disciples Crossing |
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More ways to keep up...
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 | UCC Youth
Text Alerts |
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| Staff Links
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Russ Boyd, Associate Minister for Youth - E-mail Russ
Alison Nicoll, Assistant Minister for Middle School - E-mail Alison
Jessica Vacketta, Assistant Minister for High School - E-mail Jessica
Sharyn Peterson, Ministry Assistant - E-mail Sharyn
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