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     Weekly E-News

                  September 4, 2015

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in this issue



Dear youth and parents,

Our ministerial staff returned yesterday from a two day retreat in Glen Rose, and it was great to get away and do some focused planning and community building together. I'm especially glad Tyler was able to join us - it provided a real jump start to getting to know the ministers (and allowed him to show us he's a formidable bowler). One of the major things we worked on together as a staff was Advent and Christmas at UCC this year, and I'm excited about what we have in store in just a couple of months.

I also wanted to let you know that our Roots program got off to a great start last Sunday as our new 6th graders connected with their high school mentors at a pool party. There are 22 6th graders signed up for the program this year, and they are matched up with 19 high school mentors who will help them transition into the youth ministry over the course of this school year. Alison, who worked with several high schoolers to create the program, will be working with Tyler to lead the program over the course of this semester so that she can hand it off to him in January.

Tyler and I are away this weekend (I'm an instructor for an Army Reserve couples retreat in San Diego, and Tyler is in New Jersey attending a Quaker retreat he committed to before he joined our staff) and we'll look forward to seeing you after we return. Read on for info on our first football parking fundraiser of the year, major event dates for 2015-16, and more.  

Grace and peace, 
Russ   

 
 

Volunteer at Children's Closet Bag-It Night on Wednesday    
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bag-it night graphic
UCC's Children's Closet will be distributing over 2,400 school uniforms this year, and your help is needed! Youth will gather in Fellowship Hall at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, September 9 to move and unpack boxes of clothing and set up for the annual "Bag-it Night." The youth will be joined by volunteers of all ages at 6 p.m. to get the school uniforms bagged, and the event will wrap up by 8. Your work will make a huge difference in the lives of Fort Worth schoolchildren, and you'll earn service hours as well! If you have questions, please contact Heidi Reeder at 817.913.3304 or [email protected].  
 
 
First youth football parking fundraiser is September 12               
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Football season is here again, and youth and parents have the opportunity to raise money by parking cars in the church lots for TCU football games. Part of the money raised goes into youth and youth handbell choir reserve funds, and part goes into the individual accounts of those who work each game to use for camps, retreats, trips, and other church events. Each hour is worth $50 per family member who works.

The first TCU home game is Saturday, September 12 against Stephen F. Austin. Kickoff is at 2:30 p.m., and we will need volunteers in shifts from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. to control access to our season parking lots and direct cars/take money for the daily parking lots.
To see which slots are available and reserve your shift (up to 3 hours), click the button below:

 
  
All volunteers are required to sign up online in advance of the fundraiser. If you are having trouble with the SignUpGenius page, please contact me at [email protected] and I will schedule your shift for you.


 

Major event calendar for 2015-16 now available   
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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 
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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  
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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.

After meeting on August 23 and 30, handbell rehearsals will resume on September 13 when youth groups begin after a break for Labor Day weekend. 



Youth events and key dates on the horizon...
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September 9: Children's Closet Bag-It Night - youth needed at 5 p.m.
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




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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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