~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Weekly E-News August 28, 2015
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
Dear youth and parents,  I really enjoyed seeing so many new and familiar faces at Promotion Sunday last week, and I'm looking forward to a great year in our Sunday school classes. Tom and Anna Riehm were a huge help, taking individual photos of all the youth and moving everyone swiftly through the directory proofing station and the text alerts sign ups along the way. Those Promotion Sunday photos are extremely useful for the staff, helping Tyler memorize names for all the new youth he's meeting and ensuring Alison and I can learn the names and faces of our new 6th graders quickly.
It was also fun to enjoy food and fun at the Fall Kickoff after church. Between the food trucks, the bounce houses, the photo booth, and those gourmet popsicles there was a lot to love on Sunday afternoon. (The youth ministry staff's turn in the photo booth is documented on the right.)
This weekend we have several more start-of-the-year events, with a volunteer meeting for TCU football parking, a make-up parent meeting for youth handbell choirs, and our first Roots event of the year for new 6th graders and high school mentors (info in a separate e-mail to Roots participants). Read on for more info on those events, major event dates for this year, text alerts, and more.
Grace and peace,
Russ
|
|
TCU football parking volunteer meeting this Sunday
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
Are you interested in earning credit to pay for camps, retreats, and trips by parking cars for TCU football games? If so, come to a short meeting after church this Sunday for all current and interested football parking volunteers. Your family can earn $50 per person per hour, up to 3 hours per game. If 3 family members worked 3 hours per game for all 6 games, they would earn $2,700 to use for things like summer camp, high school ski trip, midwinter retreats and more!
Sunday's meeting will take place in Room 303 (the gathering room for youth Sunday school) at 12:15 p.m. and should take about 20 minutes. Note: If you attend one of the youth handbell choir parent meetings, you do not need to attend this meeting. Everything covered after church on Sunday is also covered in the handbell parent meetings.
|
|
Youth handbell choirs & parent meeting this Sunday
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
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.
Includes information about our TCU football parking fundraiser.
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.
|
|
Major event calendar for 2015-16 now available
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Below is a list of major off-site events for this program year to help you plan your family calendars. Current grade for participants is in parentheses:
Chi Rho Fall Retreat (6-8)
November 6-8, Disciples Crossing
CYF Fall Retreat (9-12)
November 13-15, Disciples Crossing
CYF Ski Retreat (9-12)
December 19-22, Monarch Mountain, Colorado
JYF Midwinter Retreat (3-5)
January 22-24, Disciples Crossing
Chi Rho Midwinter Retreat (6-8)
February 5-7, Disciples Crossing
CYF Midwinter Retreat (9-12)
February 19-21, Disciples Crossing
Chi Rho Mission Trip (6-8)
June 5-8, Houston, Texas
CYF Mission Trip (9-12)
July 16-23, Los Angeles area, California
Summer Camps at Disciples Crossing
Click here to download a PDF of camp dates
|
|
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.
|
|
New Sunday night schedule starts on September 13
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
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 30 with a parent meeting in between the rehearsals at 6 p.m. After a break for labor day weekend, handbell rehearsals will resume on September 13 and youth groups will have their first meetings that night.
|
|
Youth events and key dates on the horizon...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ August 30: Football parking fundraiser volunteer meeting - 12:15 p.m.
August 30: Roots swim party for 6th graders and mentors - 12:30 p.m.
August 30: Youth handbell choir rehearsals and parent meeting
September 12 - TCU vs. SFA football parking fundraiser - 2:30 p.m. kickoff
September 13: Sunday evening youth groups begin
September 16: High school Bible study begins
|
|
|
|
More ways to keep up...
|
| Staff Links
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
|
|
|
|
|
