~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Small UCC youth logo
     Weekly E-News

               March 28, 2014

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

in this issue
Get ready for summer camps at Disciples Crossing in Athens!
Registration now open for Chi Rho and CYF mission trips
Youth (and parents): Volunteer to help with VBS this summer
Volunteers needed for Sunday bagel/donut pickup & delivery

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~

Dear youth and parents,

Jessica Vacketta and I are currently on a flight from Los Angeles en route to Corpus Christi. We spent the last couple of days at the Sticky Faith Next Steps conference at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena (along with Kera Watts and Jennifer Lanter) and we will soon rendezvous with Alison Nicoll and Michael Yandell at the Disciples Youth Ministry Network annual conference on Mustang Island. It's already been an inspiring and challenging couple of days as our team reflected on the ways we have changed our church programs and culture to foster a faith that sticks after graduation, and dreamed of ways to create an even more vibrant, relevant, and faithful church. I'm looking forward to another great experience with a different community and different speaker, and I will look forward to sharing more about what we have learned after I return on Saturday.

Read on for more information on registration materials for summer camps and mission trips, volunteering for VBS this summer, and more.


Grace and Peace,
Russ 
     


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Click on Find us on Facebook next to any headline to vist the related Facebook event.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 


Get ready for summer camps at Disciples Crossing in Athens!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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 12 different camps spread across the summer, each with a different focus.  Use the links below to access:

Camp descriptions, dates, and prices (2 pages)
 
 
Remember that UCC is covering half of the registration cost for those who register early (already reflected in the documents above), and additional scholarships are available to cover the early-bird price if needed.

The easiest way to register will be our Camp Registration Day on Sunday, April 6.  You can stop by Fellowship Hall from 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. and again from 6-7 p.m. and we will have plenty of blank registration forms and tally sheets. Registering that day ensures that you make the early bird deadline, which means big savings on your registration cost. You can also take this opportunity to sign up for youth mission trips and to volunteer for Vacation Bible School (June 24-27). Mark your calendar and we'll see you on April 6! 
 

 


Registration now open for Chi Rho and CYF mission trips
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
Registration flyers for our summer youth mission trips are now available! Here are the details on both trips:

The Chi Rho Mission Trip to Austin for grades 6-8 will take place June 15-18. The group will be working at several different organizations and cooling off at Schlitterbahn Water Park in New Braunfels at the end of the trip. Cost is $175 per person and full or half scholarships are available upon request. Full details are available on the registration flyer.

The CYF Mission Trip to White Swan, Washington for grades 9-12 will take place June 29 - July 6. The group will be working at Yakama Christian Mission, then taking in the beauty of Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens, Cannon Beach, and Portland, Oregon. Cost is $375 per person and full or half scholarships are available upon request. Full details are available on the registration flyer.

Camp Registration Day is Sunday, April 6, so be sure to turn in the completed registration flyer and $50 deposit along with summer camp forms that Sunday to save your spot on one of our mission trips.
 

 


Youth (and parents): Volunteer to help with VBS this summer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From Kera Watts, Director of Children's Ministry:  

 

Feeling sad that you are too old to participate in Vacation Bible School? Don't be - we NEED YOU! Take time during VBS week (June 24-27 from 9 a.m. - noon) to step back to your preschool or elementary days and share some of your energy, enthusiasm, and spirit with kids. More importantly, young children are looking up to you, think you are great, and want to be like you. Create relationships that will last years by spending time with kids during VBS teaching, learning, and having fun together.

You can sign
up as a volunteer online by clicking here. We need to know you are coming so we can match you with the best job available, so please take the time to clear your calendar for June 24-27 and sign up today!  Additional VBS information is available at www.ucckids.org.

 

 


Volunteers needed for Sunday bagel/donut pickup & delivery
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Bagel graphic~~~
From Courtney Perry, Sunday Morning Snackage Coordinator:

Hello all! We are in need of volunteers (adults or youth who can drive) for
Sunday morning snack pickups for our middle and high school youth. Thank you to those that have graciously volunteered already this year. This easy job, not requiring large amounts of time, entails picking up pre-ordered snacks from either Circle Donuts or Einstein's Bagels and dropping them off in the youth gathering room by 9:30 a.m. on Sunday mornings for one month. We currently need volunteers for each month from March through August.

To sign up, visit our SignupGenius page here. If you have questions, please e-mail me at sundaysnackvolunteers@yahoo.com. Thank you! 
 
   


Youth events and key dates on the horizon...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
March 30 - UCC Decorative Arts Exhibit - Room 207
April 2 - Weekly Lenten supper and prayer service - 6 p.m.
April 6 - Camp / mission trip registration Sunday
May 4 - Youth Sunday in morning worship services
May 6 - Senior Banquet honoring high school graduates 


More ways to keep up...


Find us on Facebook 

        

 

Follow us on Twitter  

 

Instagram



 
 
Text alerts  
 
 
 
 
 
Staff Links
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Russ Boyd, Associate Minister for Youth - E-mail Russ
Alison Nicoll, Assistant Minister for Middle School - E-mail Alison
Michael Yandell, Assistant Minister for High School -  E-mail Michael
Sharyn Peterson, Ministry Assistant - E-mail Sharyn
Join Our Mailing List