Arrive at the church at 6:30pm. EAT BEFORE YOU COME.

We’ll go straight to HHS for the first session and land at host homes after. To pack:

Everything you might want if you were sleeping on the floor (because you are). Twin air mattresses, bedroll, etc. Clothing for Fri night-Sun morning you may want to bring an extra set of clothes for the afternoon dodgeball tournament on the off chance that we’re in it long enough this year to get sweaty. $$ for fast food lunch on Saturday.

If you’re trying to locate your child this weekend during the day, start with my mobile (423.227.5466). At night, the high school youth will be at the Clouds for small groups while the middle school is at the Pugsleys, then at bedtime the girls will be at the Clouds while the boys are at the Pugsleys. Saturday night the high school will eat at the Siggers house and the middle school will eat at the Parkers. So like I said, start with my mobile.

I could still use an overnight mom at the Clouds if someone is available Fri & Sat nights. You’d be welcome to come to the whole event, or you could arrive around 10pm each night just prior to bedtime. We’ll return Sunday morning in time for the 9:45 service.

Ash Wednesday is this Wednesday! We’ll start in the MPR at 6:30pm like normal, but briefly as we’ll move to the sanctuary at 6:45 for our Ash Wednesday service. There will be acoustic worship and during a portion of the service I’ll be talking about the unusual journey I’ll be taking during Lent this year with the church’s blessing.

We’ve added a couple of items to our calendar for March that you might have missed; one is a video scavenger hunt on March 13 to create a video for the song “Our God Is” written by our youth. Don’t miss that! The other is a MS/HS confirmation retreat on Palm Sunday weekend; we’ll leave on Saturday, March 31 and return Monday morning, April 2 (this is the first weekend of spring break).

Just a quick calendar note for summer missions this year: Middle school, your mission experience at Camp Lookout (which is awesome) remains the first full week of June, the 4-8. High school, your trip (cost/destination TBA) is targeting “dead week” (AKA your only week of summer), July 2-6. Middle school families, write in pen; High school families, write in pencil.

That’s it for this week! See ya Wednesday.

Peace,
K

Middle school: don’t forget to come on Sunday nights, too. Now through Easter you’re dividing by grade and going through 6 weeks of your group’s confirmation series. When we split by grade, your absence is definitely noticeable. Don’t be an empty seat. Come join us. All of that happens Sundays from 6-7:45pm, beginning in the MPR.

Sooooo, dodgeball. In preparation for our upcoming D-Now event, this Wednesday we’re practicing dodgeball. Super important that you come Wednesday for a number of reasons: 1)It’s the deadline for D-Now payment ($35). 2)We stink at dodgeball, and that’s a big part of D-Now. 3)This is a super-easy invite night, so bring a friend and then throw stuff at them. We’ll meet in the GYM at 6:30pm immediately following supper and get picked up FROM THE GYM at 7:45pm. Mennonite update (I don’t think I’ve ever said that): the group that is in this week has beeninvited to play with us, but we’re not sure if they’ll join in. Or even watch. The early read is that this isn’t the youngest group we’ve had in, and dodgeball may not be their thing. It’s cool.

Disciple Now is right around the corner (next weekend)! That’s February 24-26, total cost is $35. Final payment is due this Wednesday (that’s the day after tomorrow) and I have to turn in my final t-shirt count Thursday morning. DO NOT FORGET. Simple pack list out next week.

Ash Wednesday service is next Wednesday; we’ll begin in the MPR at 6:30pm like normal, then shift over to the sanctuary at 7pm to join the rest of the church for that service. As it happens, I will be speaking that evening; my chosen practice for Lent this year needed to be approved by John & SPR and consensus was that it might be best if I address the church at the beginning so that you don’t think I’ve lost my mind by the end. I know, it does sound exciting. Plan to come out next week even if you’re not a regular Wednesday night family to hear more about that.

Our youth leadership met this Sunday and added a couple of events to our March calendar! One is a photo scavenger hunt ending in a meal on March 10th; the other is a 2 night camping trip the first weekend of spring break (weird; I just felt a third of you draw back from your computer) taking place March 31-April 2. The camping trip is a new trip for us, and I’m taking its content hostage and making it a confirmation retreat for middle school & high school. We’ve talked for a while about adding a HS option for confirmation (it is a repeatable rite) and a week ahead of Easter is a great place to do that. We need adult support for both events–drivers & cooks for the scavenger hunt & drivers, cooks, and small group leaders for the camping trip. Details still pending for both.

Pencil in on your calendars: the middle school Camp Lookout Service Week is June 4-8 (you can write that in pen, actually), and our HS group wants to look at missions options with KHO and/or SLAM again this year for the week of July 2-6. On the horizon already, believe it or not!

That’s plenty for this week. See you all Wednesday!

Peace,

K

Confirmation begins this Sunday night! We are still one leader short of perfection for that program. Beginning Sunday and running for six weeks our middle school youth will participate in Credo, the official confirmation material of the United Methodist Church (I just learned this week that it was “official”). We’ll be dividing them by grade, which creates a real bonding opportunity for the youth & leaders in a small group setting (last year we had 3 per group; I think this year our largest group has about 6). We’ll meet during our regular Sunday night time slot from 6-7:45pm, beginning in the MPR with snack along with the high school group.

Just a reminder that our youth leadership lunch is this Sunday, immediately following the 11 o’clock worship/small groups. We’ll eat (duh) and explore some options for upcoming programming, including what our high school summer missions effort will look like. See ya there!

Disciple Now is upon us! The deadline to sign up (if you want a t-shirt in your size) is February 15. That same night we’ll be focusing on putting together some ability in the game of dodgeball. We may even throw in some Appropriate Responsive Language training for Michael Moore! We don’t need to win this year, but we don’t want to be out again in the first 15 minutes. If you’re unfamiliar with D-Now, it’s a countywide discipleship event that is hosted over at HHS. Three large group worship settings bring together several hundred youth for singing and teaching. Host homes provide space for small group debriefing of those sessions. This year the total event cost is only $35 per person! D-Now takes place on February 24-26. We still can use adults to help drive, lead small groups, provide meals, etc.–if you’re interested in one of those roles, please let me know.

That’s it for this week! See ya Wednesday at The Wire.

Peace,

K

Wednesday night we weren’t able to split for small groups due to lack of leaders. We did pick up two leaders for our current series immediately following Wednesday night activities, but we’re still one leader short of having two adults with each group of 15-20 kids (those aren’t particularly “small” small groups, if you’re scoring at home). I’ve restructured the series to still conclude on time; if you’re available the next 3 Wednesdays, we can surely use you. The remaining dates for our Perplexity series are January 25, February 1 & 8.

Our parent meeting this month was a little more lightly attended than usual, leaving some significant holes on our signup sheets for involvement in our ministry. Immediate needs are that we have no leaders signed up to lead confirmation classes and no host homes for our Superbowl parties (yes, those do sound funny together in the same sentence). Down the road we also need help with homes/meals/drivers for Disciple Now, coming up at the end of February. If you can help in any of these areas, please let me know quickly.

Warmth In Winter is this weekend! We will depart from the church at 5pm on Friday and return Sunday afternoon at about 2:30pm. That’s a ballpark; we’ll call when we’re on the road headed home. Here’s your pack list:

Trip form if you haven’t filled one out. Courtney. & Trey. (And Eric. And, well… me.)

$$ for 4 fast food meals (dinner on the way there Friday, lunch & dinner Saturday, lunch on the way home Sunday)

Bedroll (we’re sleeping on the floor at Fellowship UMC in Murfreesboro, so start with a twin air mattress)

Clothes (seems obvious, but you always ask for a list; this weekend in Murfreesboro should be sunny in the upper 40s)

Bible, pen, something to write on

There are showers available at the church, but it was kind of a circus last year trying to get one. We are having breakfast provided at the church both Saturday & Sunday mornings.

That’s it for this week! If you’ve got any questions feel free to call.

Peace,

K

The big immediate need looming out of our parent meeting yesterday is that we’re shorthanded on leaders for our Perplexity series the next four weeks. At least 3, to be specific. Our current adult ratio is 1 adult per every 18 kids or so; that won’t work. If you’re available for the series and weren’t available for the meeting, please let me know quickly. Other needs remain as well, but Wednesday night is the most pressing. Our new Wednesday series does kick off this week! Please plan to come out as we continue our spirituality series with Perplexity.

Warmth In Winter is upon us! Our current plan is to leave at 5pm next Friday and return on Sunday at about 3pm. The drop date has passed, but we still have space if you’re interested in going. The current cost is $90, plus 3 fast food meals. I’ll be sending out a pack list in next week’s email.

That’s it for this week!

Peace,

K

As you can see, the sanctuary at Richardson FUMC is slightly more involved than ours. Starting with the pipe organ. And the extra 1,000 seats. If you’re unaware, I’m in Dallas continuing my UM certification process for youth ministry. This year’s class is Teaching Biblical Faith and it’s pretty terrific. And a ton of information–7 days of class from 8:30am-6pm. My brain has a nosebleed.

Wednesday night is a youth-led activity night! Our youth leadership met Sunday to work out their plan for the evening–come on out and support their efforts! We’ve got adults scheduled to be there, but we’d love to have some extra grown-ups in the room. If you can be here Wednesday from 6:30-7:45, please give me a shout.

This Sunday, January 15 is our first parent meeting of the year; please plan to attend! We’ve got big stuff on the horizon with a retreat and confirmation just around the corner. We’ll meet as usual in the MPR at noon, immediately following the 11 o’clock service and small groups.

Sunday night is the night before a school holiday. Traditionally we’re off on those nights, but we thought we’d offer a field trip to anyone looking for something to do. We’re going to head up to Chattanooga to visit a church called Camphouse, an Anglican Mission in America church that’s open as a coffeehouse during the week. We’ll leave at 5pm and return at 8pm (there is a free dinner involved following their service). It’s a pretty unique blend of a traditional Anglican service & mostly original contemporary music. We do need adults for this, and Paul has every right to kill me for forgetting to tell him about our early departure time.

Warmth in Winter is just a couple of weeks away now! This Sunday is the drop deadline, but you can still sign up (I believe right up until the event). We do still need a female adult for this trip, so if you’ve been thinking about it this would be a great time to jump in. : ) Most of you haven’t completed paperwork for the event yet; here’s the 2012 Registration form that you need.

Alright, it’s back to the learning hole for me.

Peace,

K

Big week this week!

Wednesday night is going to be really, really exciting for our youth ministry (along with the rest of the church, kingdom of God, etc). Wednesday night we’ll be celebrating with 2 youth baptisms and one additional profession of faith. My understanding as of this morning is that all adult small groups have been encouraged to pause Wednesday night at about 7:15 to join us in the MPR at 7:20pm where we will covenant with Tripp Church, Emma Jackson, and Dylan Perry as they mark an important day on their spiritual journeys. It’s also our last night together before the break; encourage your youth to be there and consider coming out yourselves!

Sunday night this week is our Regressive Dinner. If you haven’t signed up yet, be SURE to respond to the seat-check text later in the week. We’ll be transporting a lot of people this weekend and we don’t want to leave anybody out.

Sunday is a big day this week for another reason: it’s the last day before the next price hike for the Warmth In Winter trip. Don’t miss out on this price! You can bring checks as late as to the dinner Sunday night. Here’s the trip form if you don’t have it already: 2012 Registration

That’s it for this week! See ya Wednesday night at The Wire!

Peace,

K

This week at The Wire we’re continuing our Advent festivities, making Christmas cards for our senior members. Seniors in life, not high school. Next week we’re taking part in an exciting first for our youth ministry; we’re going to celebrate a baptism & a profession of faith for two of our youth during our Wednesday night time together! We’ve been holding that up all semester, but with a date on the calendar now, we’d like for all of our families to engage in some conversation this week about baptism & public statements of faith. We’ve had youth come into our group at all ages–it’s possible that we’ve got youth that have made a decision of faith after confirmation or were never baptized. Talk with your kids this week about both of those! And be sure to emphasize the importance of being here next Wednesday to support Emma & Tripp at this exciting mile-marker on their journey. It’s our last Wednesday before the break, too!

Saturday is the annual Children’s Celebration of Christmas. Our youth leadership are facilitating our program this year, which promises to be a little more interactive (and therefore a little more terrifying) than previous years. There are dozens of ways to help out; find a place to jump in! Youth leadership needs to be in the MPR Wednesday at 6pm to go over details for Saturday.

This Sunday night is our trip up to New City Fellowship in Chattanooga. We’ll be enjoying the Christmas presentation from this wonderfully diverse worshiping body. We’ll leave Sunday night at 6:15pm and return around 8:30pm. This will be a good one–don’t forget to reply to the seat-check text later this week.

Just as a reminder, our Regressive Dinner is a little less than 2 weeks away on Sunday the 18th. We’re doing signups in advance this year to help with food preparation & to make sure we’ve got enough vehicles. Make sure to sign up on one of our remaining meeting times, either Sunday AM or PM or Wednesday night.

The Warmth In Winter trip will remain $80 until December 18th; a $45 deposit & a trip form are due before that date. If your deposit is already in but you haven’t sent in a form, we need that ASAP to complete your paperwork. After the 18th the cost goes up again. You can get your trip cost refunded as late as Jan 15th, so there’s no reason to wait! Here’s the Warmth In Winter 2012 Registration form.

That’s it for this week!

Peace,

K

If you didn’t get the text, schools dismiss at normal time today and will open on a two-hour delay in the morning.

This Sunday night we’re back with another Love Feast! 6-8pm in the MPR. If you’ve never come, you’re missing out: great food, great fellowship, singing, conversation, and food. And food. This is a whole-family event and is really one of my favorite times of unscripted worship & sharing. Come on out!

The following Sunday night we’re headed to New City Fellowship in Chattanooga to enjoy their Christmas presentation. The intentional diversity in their music is a can’t miss. We’ll leave here at 6:15pm and should be back by 8:30pm.

Our Regressive Dinner is set for Sunday, December 18th, from 5:30-8pm. Be sure to sign up on a Wednesday so we can make sure we’ve got enough seats!

Our Warmth In Winter trip is off to a good start! Our late-bird deadline is December 18 (same as our Christmas dinner). The trip cost is now $80 and it goes up again after the 18th. One goof on registration so far: they now require a new event form every year (this is a change from last year). So if you’ve already made a deposit you need to fill out an event form ASAP! Here’s the form: 2012 Registration. Deposit is now $55.

That’s it for this week! See ya Wednesday night as we kick off Advent.

Peace,

K

Our next trips are already bearing down on us! Our ski trip deposits and early-bird Warmth In Winter deposits are due in the office by the end of the day tomorrow. The ski trip is Jan 6-8 and costs $150 ($75 deposit due) and our spiritual life retreat Warmth In Winter is January 27-29 and currently costs $70 ($45 deposit due). Warmth In Winter goes up $10 after tomorrow.

This week we’re pretty light! The office will be closed at noon on Wednesday, with church-wide activities pausing that evening for the holiday weekend. We’ll be back Sunday night for our Hanging of the Greens service in the sanctuary; don’t miss it!

Short and sweet this week!

Peace,
K