As I think about the new year, I'm filled with the wonder of what the future holds, with all the endless possibilities and hope of the many wonderful things and many blessings that are just waiting to happen!
My number 1 goal as I enter into 2017 is to become better organized. And to solidify the Youth Council, and have its first meeting. If anyone is interested in participating in this very important part of the Youth Group, please let me know. I'm looking to have the first Council Meeting by the end of January. Some things to keep in mind, if you're interested, is that council members will be responsible for being in a leadership position, taking on certain duties and responsibilities such as helping to plan and organize special events, helping to garner volunteers, and be available to help supervise meetings and events. I would like to meet once each quarter, to discuss/plan upcoming calendar events. Again, if you're interested, contact me! With that said, we have a couple of things already planned for January & February, such as the January 4 meeting at First UMC when we will take down the Christmas decorations. Also in January, the members of the Youth Group will be serving as Ushers during the 11 o'clock service at First UMC. Students at Faith are invited to participate in this as well. (Ushers need to dress nicely!) And who can forget the churchwide Winter Jam event on Jan 15! Tickets are $10 (cash or check), paid at the door. More detailed info is up on the Activities Page. And as always, you can email, call or text me with any questions. Wishing you all a Very Happy New Year, and I'll see you Wed!
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This Wednesday, Dec 14, we will meet at Faith at 6:00pm for a brief Bible Study and "Supper Snack." Then at 7:00 pm, we will move into the Gym for Faith's Wednesday Night Cantata. We're inviting the parents to the Cantata as well, so if you're available, join us!
Then, next Wednesday, Dec 21, we are having a field trip to Barrington Terrace (1425 S Congress Ave, Boynton Beach, FL 33426), so that we can visit with and sing carols to the residents. Please wear something festive! We will meet at 5:50pm, so that we can start singing at 6:00 pm. At 6:30 pm, we'll pass out leftover ornaments. Then we will head over to First UMC, to the Fellowship Hall where we'll have our Christmas Party!! Please bring an appetizer or dessert to share, as well as a gender-neutral gift under $15 for our gift exchange. We'll play some Christmas Games, too! There will be no meeting on Dec 28, but we will meet on Jan 4 at First UMC, from 6-8pm. Then normal meetings will resume on Jan 11. If you have any questions, shoot me an email or text. I just realized I hadn't posted in a while!! My apologies!!
We've begun out Ornament Fundraiser, and it's going really well! We have two more weeks after services, plus I'll be "manning the table" after the Hand Bell Choir Concert at First UMC on Dec 11, and then again at Faith, after their Wed, Dec 14 Christmas Cantata. Then on Dec 21, we will be meeting at a local senior citizen home to sing Christmas Carols and hand out ornaments. We'll meet up (exact location coming soon!!) at 6pm, and then head back to First UMC for desserts and the gift exchange from 7-8pm. It's going to be a bunch of fun! And we'll be able to make a positive impact in the lives of those we'll visit, just by being there and letting them experience the love we have to share! And something to keep in mind for next month...as previously mentioned, I'd like to host either a lunch after one of the Sunday services at First UMC, or perhaps a Sat breakfast. I'm honestly leaning more towards the Saturday Breakfast, as we can potentially reach members from both churches, as well as the families with children attending at both preschools, if we have the Sat breakfast. We will also be planning to attend Winter Jam on January 15. More details on that will be coming soon, but feel free to check their website out HERE. I can't wait for Wednesday's meeting tomorrow! See you all there! I want to start off by THANKING EVERYONE for coming out Wed night to participate in the Parent Meeting!!! It was great! The food was terrific, so thanks for all your help with that! And a shout out to Pastor Parker for cooking the DELICIOUS turkey!!!
I know there was a lot of information given, so I wanted to reiterate some of the main points here. 1) For those who can, we will be meeting tomorrow Nov 19 at 9am to help welcome and direct church conference guests. 9-9:30am Donuts and getting ready 9:30-10:15am Directing Traffic and Welcoming Guests 10:15- about 12 Meeting, which you're welcome to attend 2) Sunday 11/20 at Faith will be our first fundraiser: Serving Lunch in the Cafe 9-12:30 Helping in the kitchen We were going to make Spaghetti & Meatballs, but Faith's Preschool had leftovers from their lunch & graciously donated them to us! So we will be heating up Thanksgiving type food and serving that! PLEASE NOTE: COMMUNITY SERVICE HOURS WILL BE PROVIDED 3) Dec 3 at 1pm: meeting at Taco Bell at 6862 Okeechobee Boulevard, West Palm Beach, FL 33411 2:20pm: head to Community of Hope Church at 14055 Okeechobee Boulevard, Loxahatchee, FL 33470 for COMPASSION EXPERIENCE 4) ORNAMENT FUNDRAISER Nov 30th at the regular meeting: Making the Ornaments Dec 4, 11, & 18 at BOTH churches, after BOTH services: SELLING the Ornaments for $5 each. We need parents who can assist with this! (I'll send out an online sign-up sheet in the next week or two.) 5) Money Raised will help fund future events and redecorating the Youth House at First UMC. 6) Parental Involvement We need help providing Supper Snacks (an online sign up sheet went out today). We also will need chaperone's for upcoming events, as well as parents who can assist with fundraisers, and volunteers who can help out at the weekly meetings. 7) I will most likely have one meeting over Christmas Break, probably Jan 4. I will keep you posted on that! 8) Forms of communication: I've been using Mail Chimp to send out emails, and will continue doing that. We also have this website that I will continue to update, and we have a facebook page. Last night's during the Bible lesson, we talked about "Fake Following," and how people change sometimes, and become influenced by who they're hanging out with.
We learned about child-king Joash from 2 Chronicles chapter 24, and how under the influence and guidance of his priest Jehoiada, Joash led a faithful life serving God. But after Jehoiada's death, Joash allowed himself to become influenced by others who didn't serve God, and his life took a serious downhill turn where he crashed and burned. How easy it is to change like that if we're not careful. Throughout our lives, friendships and acquaintances will change and fluctuate...sometimes for the better, but sometimes for the worse. The same is true of our behaviors that may also change and fluctuate...sometimes for the better, and sometimes for the worse. And only the individual (and God) knows if he or she is being a Fake Follower. We reminded the students that building a relationship with God can be done through prayer, attending church, reading the bible and daily devotionals... We encourage you to talk with your child about creating a game plan for handling those tough situations when they'll find themselves in the midst of those interested in building a wall between their relationship with God. And we pray for each and every one to stay focused on God and know that He is a friend. A person's faith shouldn’t be about someone else. Faith should be about having a real relationship with God for yourself. November 16th will be our Parent Meeting!
We'll be discussing upcoming events (fundraisers) and some ways parents can become involved. (No major commitments required!) We'll also be having dinner, but we're asking parents to bring a side dish to share. Picking up something from Publix is perfectly fine. Whatever is easy for you. So shoot me an email if you have any questions! |
Brenda WoodOriginally from New Jersey, she moved to Florida in 1993. She is a wife, and mother to three beautiful daughters and grew up going to church every Sunday. She's been at Faith UMC since 1998, and over the years there, spent many hours volunteering within the children’s and youth programs, ArchivesCategories |