~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Weekly E-News October 16, 2015
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Dear youth and parents,
This Sunday our Children's Ministry is sponsoring something very cool - a "cardboard arcade" in Walker Hall. The kids have been building different arcade-style games out of cardboard over the last few weeks, and they're excited for the congregation to come check them out and help raise money to support children in our community as we observe Children's Sabbath (games are $0.25 each, and you can buy passes for multiple games). Our middle and high school youth will be heading down to participate with their Sunday school classes, and I encourage parents to do the same this Sunday between 10:00 and 11:00.
Read on for details on Trunk-or-Treat preparation, the approaching registration deadline for fall retreat at Disciples Crossing, Disciples Class sign ups, the next football parking fundraiser, and more.
Grace and peace,
Russ
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Youth groups build Trunk-or-Treat games this Sunday
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UCC's annual Trunk-or-Treat event welcomes hundreds of local children to our church for a night of fun activities, kid-friendly food, and creatively decorated trunks. Our youth play a big part in the event, setting up and running games and activities for the younger kids around our parking lot. This Sunday evening, the Chi Rho and CYF youth groups will be building those games and activities so they are prepared for set up on the following Sunday.
Chi Rho (grades 6-8) meets from 5-6 p.m., CYF (grades 9-12) meets from 6:30-7:30 p.m., and there's a $3 snack supper in the 3rd floor kitchen in between from 6:00-6:30. Come join the fun, and mark your calendar to volunteer at Trunk-or-Treat on October 25 at 5 p.m!
If you would like to be part of Trunk-or-Treat by decorating your trunk and handing out candy (or assisting in other ways), click the link below to sign up:
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Register by Friday 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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Disciples Class prepares youth for baptism or confirmation
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Youth in grades 6-12 interested in learning more about baptism/confirmation and church membership are encouraged to participate in this year's Disciples Class. The 12-week course provides a helpful introduction to what it means to confess your faith, join the church, be baptized or confirmed, take communion, share your gifts, and more! This year's class will take place on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. beginning on December 6, and there is an orientation for all parents and participants on November 16. Click here for more information and online registration. The deadline to sign up for this year's class is November 10.
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Next youth football parking fundraiser is October 29
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Football season is here, 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 Thursday, October 29 against West Virginia. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m., and we will need volunteers in shifts from 2:30-7:00 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 russ@uccftw.com and I will schedule your shift for you.
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Make your 2016 stewardship pledge online & support UCC!
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UCC's stewardship campaign for 2016 is underway, and this year's theme is "With A Little Faith, We Can Move Mountains." Please prayerfully consider your pledge commitment for the coming year and respond by turning in your pledge card or pledge online here by October 31.
Youth: Do you have an allowance? A part-time job? Income from babysitting or mowing lawns? Consider making a pledge to support your church! Just click here and take a minute to make your own stewardship pledge.
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Youth events and key dates on the horizon...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ October 23: Registration deadline for fall retreats at Disciples Crossing
October 25: Trunk-or-Treat community event - youth volunteers needed
October 29: Football parking fundraiser - TCU vs. WVU - 6:30 p.m. kickoff
November 6-8: Chi Rho Fall Retreat (grades 6-8) at Disciples Crossing
November 9: Disciples Class registration deadline
November 13-15: CYF Fall Retreat (grades 9-12) at Disciples Crossing
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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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