Hi everybody! It’s great to be back at church, and back in the swing of things, as all of our regularly scheduled activities are back up and running. We’re always busier than we think we’ll be in September, with a lot of things starting and a lot of special events.
This particular September included something special literally every weekend! Besides Sunday school (we had a great Rally Day), and Family Night, the youth worked alongside the Service Committee to help with Sundae Sunday and host a coffee tasting, too. (Now that we’ve tasted the new coffees, we’ll be getting an order in and selling it sometime in October. Don’t miss the sale, you never know when your favorite will go quickly!) Then, we invited our official Mission Trip Sponsors to a special dinner and presentation to thank them and share all about the trip. We’d like to share with the whole congregation at some point this fall.
Speaking of mission trips… we’ve already signed up for our next one! The 2011 mission trip will be in Charleston, WV the week of July 10. It’s particularly exciting because the other churches serving with us will all be from the Southern Ohio Synod. Youth are already signing up – everyone currently in 6th-12th grade is eligible – and we’re recruiting adult leaders. Remember when I said I wished everyone could come on a mission trip? This is your chance to join us – talk to me right away if you’re interested.
We’ll be busy in October, too. First, there is a youth poster contest for the Lutheran Malaria Initiative in the Southern Ohio Synod. LMI is a brand new collaboration among Lutherans to raise awareness and funds to combat malaria; as part of a pilot synod, we get to participate early. The contest deadline is October 15. Then, the entire church family is invited to be part of Midnight Madness to End Malaria, a basketball-oriented competition to raise money for LMI/SOS. It will be October 23 from 6:00-9:00, at Wittenberg’s HPER Center. You can sign up for the free throw contest, or play a little three-on-three basketball, or, for the less athletic, simply pledge to support someone who is participating. It’s not a youth event, it’s a whole church event, with no age limits at all.
I haven’t forgotten than October means Halloween. Our annual Halloween Pumpkin Painting Party will be Saturday, October 30 at 10:30 a.m.. There will be games, and snacks, and paints, and things to learn and do – it’s always a lot of fun! Appropriate costumes are welcome, if you’d like to wear yours.
You may notice some changes this fall, as I am working fewer hours, and therefore delegating as much as possible so that we can keep the programs we love and have time for new things, too. The Youth Committee has been amazing, but we can always use more help to do more and make sure no one is overburdened. If you have ever wanted to be more involved with the younger crowd at church, or if you have a great idea, or if you simply have time to share and the will to serve, now would be a great time to step up. Don’t wait to be asked – talk to me, talk to Pastor Christian, talk to anyone already involved in youth ministry, and we will find a place for you.
It’s going to be a great fall!
Yours in Christ,
Erin