Youth group has been meeting regularly since September, and what a great bunch! They are kind and respectful to each other, to me and to our church space. They have wonderful insights, lots of ideas, and are always willing to help. Some of the youth have invited friends and we have had a new face a time or two. Amanda Skaudis volunteered to drive this enthusiastic group over from the Middle School each Wednesday, and this has been going very well. Thanks Amanda!!!
When I asked Pastor Kim about her vision for youth group, she tasked me with three goals: fun, faith education, and mission. I decided to use the core values of the congregation, Respect, Spirituality, Participation, Relationship and Celebration, to guide us in these goals. This group of kids had LOTS of ideas last spring to help me with planning. So, what have we been doing? Well, so far, we’ve engaged in fun by completing a neighborhood scavenger hunt, rating a variety of foods-generic vs. name brand and playing the beloved Sardines game! The youth voted to meet on Halloween and we’ll be sharing a light meal together and playing some games. Mission activities began with pie crust making. Bill and Dave Marshall are joining us next week to finish putting the pies together. This week, we will be helping Helen Zeumer get the church ready for All Saints Day. Faith Education activities have included a discussion about Civil Discourse and how it relates to religion—a worthy topic to consider in light of the many negative examples we are seeing in our world today. Last week, Peggy Marshall introduced us to yoga as another way to express our faith. She did a lovely job and comments heard from the youth were “I loved it,” “relaxing” and “Can we do this again?”
A couple of last notes...
You may notice that we have a new office. Bridges has moved out of their space. Thank you Jaci, the Bridges Board Members, and U of MN Extension staff for cleaning out the office. The youth, and their families kindly helped move furniture around and the office Vangie and I will share is starting to take shape. Please feel free to stop by or leave us a note in our mailboxes outside the office.
When I asked Pastor Kim about her vision for youth group, she tasked me with three goals: fun, faith education, and mission. I decided to use the core values of the congregation, Respect, Spirituality, Participation, Relationship and Celebration, to guide us in these goals. This group of kids had LOTS of ideas last spring to help me with planning. So, what have we been doing? Well, so far, we’ve engaged in fun by completing a neighborhood scavenger hunt, rating a variety of foods-generic vs. name brand and playing the beloved Sardines game! The youth voted to meet on Halloween and we’ll be sharing a light meal together and playing some games. Mission activities began with pie crust making. Bill and Dave Marshall are joining us next week to finish putting the pies together. This week, we will be helping Helen Zeumer get the church ready for All Saints Day. Faith Education activities have included a discussion about Civil Discourse and how it relates to religion—a worthy topic to consider in light of the many negative examples we are seeing in our world today. Last week, Peggy Marshall introduced us to yoga as another way to express our faith. She did a lovely job and comments heard from the youth were “I loved it,” “relaxing” and “Can we do this again?”
A couple of last notes...
You may notice that we have a new office. Bridges has moved out of their space. Thank you Jaci, the Bridges Board Members, and U of MN Extension staff for cleaning out the office. The youth, and their families kindly helped move furniture around and the office Vangie and I will share is starting to take shape. Please feel free to stop by or leave us a note in our mailboxes outside the office.
Swimming and tubing at the Skaudis home!
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Middle School Youth visit Star of the North Humane Society |