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 Weekly E-news
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Dear youth and parents,
Whether you traveled or stayed in the area, I hope you had a great Spring Break! Sarah and I are currently "rooming in" at the hospital with our newborn twins, who were released from the NICU on Wednesday. If all goes well we will finally be home by the time you are reading this, 10 days after they were born. Can't wait to bring Graham and Nellie to UCC in a few weeks so that they can meet their church family!
Read on for more information on youth programming returning to normal, info on the upcoming Garage Sale, a meeting for everyone interested in volunteering with Prom Dreams, and more!
Grace and Peace,
Russ
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Click on  next to any headline to vist the related Facebook event. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Youth programming returns to normal schedule
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After changing things up while many people were away on Spring Break, we're back to a normal schedule:
Sunday school: Refreshments starting at 9:45 in Room 303, then classes from 10:00-10:50.
Youth groups: Snack supper at 6 p.m. in the 3rd floor kitchen and youth group meetings from 6:30-7:45.
Youth handbell choirs: The Whitechapel Bells (grades 6-8) meet 6:30-7:30 on Wednesday evening, followed by the UCC Ringers (grades 9-12) from 7:30-8:30.
High School Bible Study: Returns this Wednesday, 6:15-7:30 p.m. in the 3rd floor kitchen.
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This week's Lenten idea for families: Simplify
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From Alison Nicoll, Assistant Minister for Middle School:
 This week in our study on Sticky Faith Every Day: Noticing God More, the Chi Rho youth group will be focusing on the different things that clutter our lives and how to SIMPLIFY. We will be talking about how sometimes the best things in life aren't physical things! (Since there was no youth group last week, we will also be talking a little bit about last week's theme - how to YIELD to God in our everyday lives.)
This week the family guide for our Sticky Faith curriculum talks about how to "simplify" things in our lives. The guide gives more specifics on how to do this and examples of what you might do to simplify, as well as scriptures and prayers to focus on throughout the week. Simply download a copy here to "simplify" your week! |
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Prom Dreams volunteer meeting - Thursday at 5 p.m.
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 Prom Dreams, a ministry of University Christian Church that provides free prom dresses to local girls who need them, will open for its third season on March 23. Last year this ministry distributed dresses, shoes, and jewelry to over 100 girls!
Prom Dreams is only possible due to donations and volunteers who help the young women select their "perfect" dress. Donations of dresses, shoes, jewelry, purses, and other accessories can be dropped off at the reception desk at any time. If you are interested in volunteering, mark your calendar for a volunteer meeting this Thursday, March 21 at 5 p.m. in the Prom Dreams space (upper level of the house next door to the church). Questions about Prom Dreams? E-mail Jessica Vacketta at jessica@uccftw.com.
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Donate or volunteer for the upcoming Garage Sale
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  ~ Spring cleaning time is fast approaching, so let UCC help you clean out your house for a good cause! Donate your items to the UCC Garage Sale benefitting our youth program. Preview sale is Friday, April 12 and sale day is Saturday, April 13. Donations will be accepted beginning this Sunday, March 3. Large item pick-up will be available again this year (though we cannot accept large appliances). Please consider donating your tax-deductible items and/or your time. This event requires many volunteers to make it happen! Questions? Contact co-chairs Cyrena Allen (817.692.2099 or cyrena@lawrence-allen.com) or Kellie Morton (817.296.9818 or krmorton@sbcglobal.net). Want to volunteer? Contact Robin Nelson at robin.nelson69@yahoo.com. |
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Who to contact while Russ is on paternity leave
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 As I mentioned last week, I will be on paternity leave for the next few weeks. In my absence, please contact the following youth ministry staff:
For high school youth questions:
Jessica Vacketta, Assistant Minister for High School
jessica@uccftw.com or 817.926.6631 ext. 145
For middle school youth questions:
Alison Nicoll, Assistant Minister for Middle School
alison.nicoll@uccftw.com or 817.926.6631 ext. 145
(until her office phone is fixed)
For general and administrative questions:
Sharyn Peterson, Ministry Assistant
sharyn@uccftw.com or 817.926.6631 ext. 136
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Mark your calendar for summer camps and mission trips
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Registration forms for summer camps at Disciples Crossing and mission trips to Memphis and Houston will be released soon, but it's not too early to save those dates on your calendar. Click here for a full list of summer camps and mission trips with dates and corresponding ages (including the new Equine Camp for youth interested in riding horses) and be sure to pass them along to others who are interested.
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Youth events and key dates on the horizon...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ March 21 - Prom Dreams ministry volunteer meeting - 5 p.m.
March 23 - Disciples Class day retreat - 1-5 p.m. at UCC
April 7 - Camp Registration Sunday - Fellowship Hall
April 7 & 14: Disciples Class baptisms & confirmations in worship services
April 12-13 - Garage Sale benefitting youth camp scholarships
April 19-20 - "Just Say Know" sexuality curriculum teacher trainingMay 1 - Senior Banquet - 6:30 p.m. in Fellowship Hall
May 5 - Youth Sunday in morning worship services
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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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