~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Weekly E-News September 25, 2015
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Dear youth and parents,
Tyler, Alison, and I had a great experience at the "Adult Swim" retreat at Disciples Crossing, our church camp in Athens. We were part of a group of 20 Disciples youth and children's ministry staff from around the region, and we made lots of new connections with people we hadn't met before. We also enjoyed some much-needed sabbath time during a free afternoon at the camp, and learned a lot from the keynote speaker, my friend Lesleigh Carmichel from Youth Ministry Architects. Though it was just an overnight retreat, it was great to come back from camp renewed and energized for our calling to work with youth here at UCC.
Read on for info on fall retreat registration, the next football parking funraiser, the CYF Ski Retreat, and more.
Grace and peace,
Russ
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Registration open for fall retreats at Disciples Crossing
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Our youth have the opportunity to join others from Disciple churches around the area for two upcoming fall retreats at Disciples Crossing, our church camp in Athens. The Chi Rho Fall Retreat for grades 6-8 will be November 6-8, and the CYF Fall Retreat for grades 9-12 is November 13-15. These annual retreats offer youth the opportunity to grow closer to God and one another through worship, recreation, prayer, small groups, and interest groups that include options like sports, dance, art, service, photography, and more.
Participants will meet at UCC at 5:30 p.m. on the Friday of each retreat to share a charter bus to camp, and will return around 12:15 p.m. the following Sunday. UCC covers half of the registration fee, bringing the cost down to $50 per person. You can use your football parking fundraiser income to cover the cost, or request a scholarship if needed.
Registration is a two step process: Sign up and pay online with UCC at uccyouth.org/retreats first, then complete the Disciples Crossing registration and health form at disciplescrossing.org. Online registration must be completed by October 23 for both retreats.
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Sign up now for the CYF Ski Retreat to Colorado
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High school youth have the opportunity to explore the beauty of God's creation together on the CYF Ski Retreat to Monarch Mountain, Colorado. The trip will take place December 19-22, and includes transportation by charter bus, hotel lodging in nearby Salida, and two days of skiing, snowboarding, or sipping hot cocoa and enjoying the view. Cost is $500 for skiers/snowboarders and $350 for non-skiers. Click here to download a flyer that covers most of the trip details, and secure your spot on the trip by completing the short registration here: uccyouth.org/skiretreat. There will be a brief informational meeting about the trip on October 4 at 12:15 in Room 303, so be sure to mark your calendar if you're interested in the ski retreat.
Note: We need a minimum of 20 participants to register for this trip, so if you're planning to go don't delay in signing up!
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Next youth football parking fundraiser October 3
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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 next TCU home game is Saturday, October 3 against Texas. Kickoff is at 11:00 a.m., and we will need volunteers in shifts from 6:30-11:30 a.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 russ@uccftw.com and I will schedule your shift for you.
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Wednesday evening Bible study looks at Revelation
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Our new high school Bible study is off and running, and youth are welcome to drop in any Wednesday even if they have missed the previous meetings. This week we will be looking at Revelation, and exploring the following questions: Who wrote it? Where does it fit in the Bible? What are the major stories and key verses found in the book? What did the book mean to the first people who heard it / read it? What does it mean for us today?
The group meets in the 3rd floor kitchen, with dinner provided from 6-6:30 followed by the Bible study from 6:30-7:30. If you'd like to learn more about the Bible with your youth ministers and your peers each week, we hope to see you on Wednesday evenings! For more information, contact me at russ@uccftw.com or 817-372-7307.
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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
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Youth events and key dates on the horizon...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ October 3: TCU vs. Texas football parking fundraiser - 11 a.m. kickoff
October 4: CYF Ski Retreat info meeting - 12:15 p.m.
October 23: Registration deadline for fall retreats at Disciples Crossing
October 25: Trunk-or-Treat community event - youth volunteers needed
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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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