~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Weekly E-News April 29, 2016
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Dear youth and parents,
It's a big week in UCC's youth ministry as our youth lead the worship services on Sunday morning for Youth Sunday, youth groups and handbell choirs gather for end-of-the-year parties on Sunday night, and our congregation celebrates our high school graduates at the Senior Banquet on Wednesday evening. Read on for info on how to be a part of all these events, as well as VBS this summer, Alison's ordination road trip to Iowa, and more!
Grace and peace, Russ
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Youth Sunday is here - and we want YOU in the service!
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Youth in grades 6-12 will be leading the 9 and 11 a.m. worship services as part of UCC's annual Youth Sunday this weekend. We need LOTS of youth to come for rehearsal and the services to serve as readers, greeters, ushers, sanctuary decorators, and more. Here's the schedule for the weekend:
Saturday
- Rehearsal, decorating, and usher training in the Sanctuary from 1-3 p.m.
- T-shirts distributed at rehearsal - everybody wears one, only $5 to keep it
Sunday
- Walk-through, decorating, and final assignments in Sanctuary - 8:00-8:45 a.m.
- 9 a.m. service in the Sanctuary
- Sunday school from 10 - 10:45 a.m. on the 3rd floor
- 11 a.m. service in the Sanctuary
PARENTS: Your assistance in making sure your youth is present for rehearsal, walk-through, and/or services is appreciated!
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Youth group/handbell end-of-the-year parties this Sunday
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Our Sunday night youth groups and handbell choirs will celebrate the end of a great year this Sunday with two end-of-the-year parties. Here are the details on both:
The Chi Rho youth group / Whitechapel Bells party for grades 6-8 will take place from 5-7 p.m. on the lawn north of the church (by the garden). Water games, a paint war, and dinner from Chicken Express are all on the menu for the evening. Wear clothes and shoes you don't mind getting wet during water games, and a white shirt for paint games. (We will be using a type of "paint powder" that washes out.) Contact Tyler at tyler.heston@uccftw.com with questions.
The CYF youth group / UCC Ringers party for grades 9-12 will be from 5-7 p.m. at the Darr's house (2542 Stadium Drive). We will be swimming in the pool, playing ping pong, eating a delicious BBQ dinner (direct from Russ' smoker), and reflecting on the year. Bring/wear a swimsuit, a towel, and anything else you'd like to have for a pool party. Contact Alison at alison.nicoll@uccftw.com with questions.
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Celebrate our graduates at the Senior Banquet Wednesday
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University Christian Church invites you to come celebrate our 2016 high school graduates at the Senior Banquet this Wednesday, May 4 at 6 p.m in Walker Hall. During the evening we'll share a dinner catered by Pulido's, take time to meet each of the graduates, see photos and memorabilia from their journeys, and send them off with a gift and the blessing of their church family. The cost for dinner is $10 per person at the door.
Click here to RSVP by Monday, and we'll look forward to seeing you at the banquet!
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Road trip to Alison's ordination Memorial Day weekend
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Alison Nicoll is going to be ordained on Saturday, May 28 at West Des Moines Christian Church (her home congregation in Iowa) and we're organizing a group from UCC to be there for the big day! We will be departing via rental vans right after school on Friday afternoon, May 27 and returning around dinner time on Monday, May 30. In addition to attending Alison's ordination service and reception, over the course of the trip we will be staying overnight at a Disciple camp and two Disciple churches, enjoying good food and fun in Des Moines and Kansas City, seeing the World Series champion Kansas City Royals take on the Chicago White Sox at Kauffman Stadium, and taking time each day for prayer and reflection. Click here to download a copy of the trip schedule. The total trip cost is $150 per person (covers transportation, lodging, and most meals), and scholarships are available upon request. Click here to sign up and submit a $25 deposit to reserve your spot, and we will collect final payments a week before the trip. If you have questions, contact Russ Boyd at russ@uccftw.com.
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Sign up to be a youth volunteer at Vacation Bible School
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Last week to volunteer at the Prom Dreams Boutique!
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Prom Dreams Boutique, a ministry of University Christian Church that provides free prom dresses to local girls who need them, opened for its sixth season on March 31. Over the last five years this ministry distributed dresses, shoes, and jewelry to over 500 girls - all of which is made possible by volunteers who sort donations, organize the boutique, and help each young woman select just the right dress.Volunteers are needed to help staff the boutique Thursdays from 5-7 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. through May 7. For more information or to volunteer for an upcoming date, contact promdreams@uccftw.com. The boutique is located on the upper level of the duplex next door to the church (2618 University Drive).
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Registration continues for mission trips to LA & Houston
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We have two great mission trips planned for this summer, one for grades 6-8 and one for grades 9-12. Here are the details on both trips:
The Chi Rho Mission Trip to Houston for grades 6-8 will take place June 5-8. The group will be working at the Houston Food Bank before cooling off at Schlitterbahn Galveston Island Waterpark. Cost is $200 per person and full or half scholarships are available upon request. Full details are available on the registration flyer. Registration deadline is May 22.
The CYF Mission Trip to Los Angeles for grades 9-12 will take place July 16-23. The group will be working at Loch Leven (a Disciple church camp in the San Bernardino Mountains) and All Peoples Community Center (a Disciple mission center in south LA). Outside of work time the group will also take a tour of Chapman University and spend a day at Disneyland. Cost is $475 per person and full or half scholarships are available upon request. Full details are available on the registration flyer. Registration deadline is June 19.
You can register for the mission trips three different ways:
1. Sign up and pay the deposit online at uccyouth.org/missiontrips, or
2. Add mission trip registrations to your order when you sign up for summer camps, or
3. Submit a registration flyer (linked above) to the youth office with a deposit check
If you have questions about either trip, contact Russ at russ@uccftw.com.
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Register for summer camps at Disciples Crossing by May 15
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Our church camp, Disciples Crossing in Athens, has a full slate of camps for children, youth, and families available this summer. UCC automatically covers half of the cost of the early bird registration price for every participant from our church. That means that a week-long camp with a regular price of $370 is only $200 with the UCC supplement. For a promo flyer with dates and descriptions for all the camps, click here.
The UCC discount and any parking funds or scholarship monies can be selected on UCC's registration and payment page before proceeding to the camp website. Please be sure to complete the sign up process with UCC and Disciples Crossing by May 15 to ensure you are fully registered for camp by the registration deadline.
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Youth events and key dates on the horizon...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ May 1: Youth Sunday worship services - 9 and 11 a.m.
May 1: Youth group / handbell end-of-year parties - 5-7 p.m.
May 4: Senior Banquet - 6 p.m. May 28: Alison's ordination service in West Des Moines, Iowa
June 5-8: Chi Rho Mission Trip to Houston for grades 6-8
June 21-24: Vacation Bible School (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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