~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Weekly E-News August 21, 2015
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Dear youth and parents,
It was great to see so many of you at the Youth Family Roundup last Sunday! Lots of people signed up for snack volunteer opportunities, this year's Disciples Class, helping with Prom Dreams, parking cars for TCU games, and ringing in handbell choirs. We also got a LOT of directory info updated, and over 50 people are set up on our new text alert service. It was an excellent start to the year, and I appreciate all the help from Jennifer Lanter, Steve and Joy Milton, our Youth Ministry Committee members, and our staff to make it happen.
This weekend we have more exciting kickoff events, with Promotion Sunday in the morning, food trucks and fun kid activities in the afternoon, and youth handbell choirs in the evening. I hope you can join us for a great day at UCC! Read on for more info on Sunday's events, signing up for youth handbell choirs, text alerts, and more.
Grace and peace,
Russ
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Promotion Sunday is here! Youth move up to new classes
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This Sunday, August 23 is UCC's annual Promotion Sunday, and all youth and children will move into their new classes for this school year. Youth begin gathering in Room 303 at 9:45 for snacks and fellowship, then split into age-based classes after announcements at 10:00 and wrap up for the morning at 10:50.
Classes and rooms for this year are:
6th/7th Grade Boys - 308
6th/7th Grade Girls - 304
8th Grade - 307
9th-10th Grade - 312
11th-12th Grade - 301
As youth are gathering we will also have everyone update their directory information and we will snap an updated photo for our database, plus we'll have a drawing for several fun prizes. We're looking forward to seeing you on Promotion Sunday!
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Food trucks and fun kids activities after church this Sunday
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Join your church family for lunch and fun following the 11:00 worship service this Sunday as we celebrate the beginning of fall programming for all ages. Several food trucks will be serving lunch outside the church beginning at noon, and there will be fun kids activities inside including inflatables in Fellowship Hall and a photo booth by the north entrance. Hope to see you for lunch after church!
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Youth handbell choirs begin Sunday - sign up online today!
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University Christian Church is blessed to have an amazing youth handbell ministry, and this Sunday is a great opportunity to get involved. Our handbell choirs play regularly throughout the year in Sunday morning worship services, at special services like Hanging of the Greens, and in the Boars Head and Yule Log Festival. Our high school bells even tour England every four years, and had the honor of playing at Canterbury Cathedral this summer. If you'd like to be a part of this ministry that enriches our worship experience, we hope to see you Sunday! Here's the schedule for this week:
5:00-6:00 p.m. - UCC Ringers - Room 229
Open to 9th-12th graders, previous experience or ability to read music required.
Mimi Rogers is the interim director (contact below).
6:00-6:30 - Parent meeting - Shirey Rehearsal Hall (choir room)
For parents of all current, new, and prospective handbell ringers.
Make-up parent meeting will be August 30, same time and location.
6:30-7:30 p.m. - Whitechapel Bells - Room 229
Open to all 6th-8th grade youth, beginners are welcome.
Directed by Mimi Rogers (mrogers71@sbcglobal.net).
If you have not yet registered, you can sign up for handbell choirs online here.
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Sign up for our NEW text alert service and stay in the loop
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  UCC has a new text alert service to provide reminders and updates on special events, registration deadlines, and more! It only takes a minute to sign up, and you'll start receiving short, helpful, timely updates from the youth ministry that ensure you'll never miss out.
Click here to sign up for UCC youth text alerts (you can register up to four family members at a time).
Note: If you were signed up for our previous text messaging service from YapTap that went out of business in December, you will need to sign up again with the new service from EZ Texting.
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Summer 2016 event calendar coming next week
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  We are on the verge of sending out dates for summer camps and mission trips next year, but after a couple of tweaks to the Disciples Crossing schedule they won't all be ready until next week. In the meantime, here are a few confirmed dates to put on your calendar:
CYF Ski Retreat (grades 9-12)
December 19-22, Monarch Mountain, Colorado
Chi Rho Mission Trip (grades 6-8)
June 5-8, Houston, Texas
CYF Mission Trip (grades 9-12)
July 16-23, Los Angeles area, California
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ICYMI: Meet our new Assistant Minister, Tyler Heston!
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Tyler Heston has accepted an invitation to serve as Assistant Minister for Middle School at UCC. Tyler is beginning his first year at Brite Divinity School, where he will be pursuing a Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree. A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Tyler graduated in May from the University of Memphis with a degree focused on Religion in Society, and he received certification as a Nonprofit Professional from the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance. He has extensive experience working with middle school youth as a Sunday school teacher and mission trip sponsor at the large congregation where he grew up, and has spent summers interning with Mosaic Church in Chicago and the Friends of Jesus Fellowship & Ruth Ellis Center in Detroit. During college he connected with a Disciples congregation for the first time when he joined Kingsway Christian Church, where he served as a deacon.
Alison Nicoll has transitioned into the Assistant Minister for High School position, providing leadership for our 9th-12th grade youth. Tyler and Alison now share an office on the 3rd floor in Room 316, where Tyler can be reached by phone at extension 268 and via e-mail at tyler.heston@uccftw.com. If you missed Tyler at the Youth Family Roundup, be sure to say hi to him this Sunday at Sunday school or the Fall Kickoff after church!
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New weekly schedule for youth groups and handbell choirs
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After coordinating with several other ministry areas and soliciting feedback from families, we have put together a new weekly schedule for youth groups and youth handbell choirs for this program year. The new Sunday evening schedule is as follows:
5:00-6:00
Middle school youth group, high school handbell choir
6:00-6:30
Snack supper (all youth, children, college, and volunteers)
6:30-7:30
High school youth group, middle school handbell choir
Also, note that our children's Sunday night program (CCF/JYF, grades 1-5) will start at 5 p.m. and join with youth for dinner. Afterward, Kera plans to offer some optional programming for kids waiting on an older sibling who will be here until 7:30.
Handbell choirs will meet on August 23 and 30, with a parent meeting in between the rehearsals at 6 p.m. on each of those Sundays. After a break for labor day weekend, handbell rehearsals will resume on September 13 and youth groups will have their first meetings that night.
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Youth events and key dates on the horizon...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ August 23: Promotion Sunday - youth & children move into new grades
August 23: First youth handbell choir rehearsals and parent meeting
September 13: Sunday evening youth groups begin
September 16: High school Bible study begins
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More ways to keep up...
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| Staff Links
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Russ Boyd, Associate Minister for Youth - E-mail Russ
Tyler Heston, Assistant Minister for Middle School - E-mail Tyler
Alison Nicoll, Assistant Minister for High School - E-mail Alison
Susan Henry, Ministry Assistant - E-mail Susan
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