Outdoor movies and reading ideas

*An idea if the weather is nice is to find a laptop, lcd projector, and speakers and show a movie outside (if you don’t have the equipment ask around in your church/community, someone might be willing to loan it or run it for you for the evening). You could use a white sheet as a screen or if you are lucky enough you might have a light-coloured side of the church building to use. Remember to check on copyright restrictions before showing a “commercial” film. AVEL [Audio Visual Educational Library] films come with public performance rights already. To see what AVEL has to offer follow this link AVEL link. Don’t forget to provide drinks and movie watching snacks (popcorn being the traditional one!). And ask folks to bring either lawn chairs or a blanket to sit on. If you want to turn it into a study opportunity you can try some of the movie studies posted at Youth Specialties movie resources link *please keep in mind that these studies comes from a site that does not necessarily reflect the theology of the United Church of Canada. You may have to adapt them and other articles as needed should you choose to use them.


* Just for You ~ As we enter into the summer and hopefully a slower pace perhaps you have a little time to catch up on reading. Here you’ll find a link to Top 10 Youth Ministry Books links . I’ve either read or heard good things about most on the list. Others I can suggest are "Sustainable Youth Ministry" by Mark DeVries, "Go Deep" by Doris E. Kizinna (a United Church resource!), "Inside the Mind of Youth Pastors" by Mark Riddle *(I'm pretty sure he's not related to Tom for all you Harry Potter fans!), and "The Unofficial United Church Handbook" edited by Scott Douglas and Nanette McKay (and I'm not shamelessly promoting it just because they are friends of mine.  It is both hilarious and thought-provoking!)  If you have others you can suggest please add them to this post or let me know (dcoss@confmnwo.mb.ca)

As you plan for the fall perhaps you’d like to explore a different way of offering youth ministry in your particular context. Here’s a great article to spark some thinking A-Program-less Youth Ministry article .


Have a wonderful summer and see you back here the second week in September when we hopefully resume our web-links posts again. Blessings for a renewing and rejuvenating summer enjoying God’s glorious creation!

Postcards and summer rest

*Give your youth some pre-stamped and addressed postcards and ask them to drop you a line from wherever they are this summer. You could even get the youth to design and make the postcards for you during a session together (and then put in your address and attach the stamps to them before they leave with them).



* Just for You ~ As if you needed a reason by now!…
Enjoy seven-benefits-of-shutting-down-youth-ministry-programs-for-the-summer article link *please keep in mind that this article comes from a site that does not necessarily reflect the theology of the United Church of Canada. You may have to adapt other articles as needed should you choose to use them.

Summer Ideas

*Buy a big tray/flat of canned drinks. Then fill up a big cooler with ice and put the cans in there. Go with your youth group to a park, or fair, or just stand on a street corner and hand them out to people on a hot day. If they ask you why you can tell them it is just a practical way to share God's love. You will get tons of different reactions. (“Random Act of Kindness idea” under the heading from http://www.youthworker.org.uk/). *please keep in mind that this article comes from a site that does not necessarily reflect the theology of the United Church of Canada. You may have to adapt other articles as needed should you choose to use them.

~Talk with your youth about what it means to be called to do good for others without expecting thanks in return.  Our Jewish sisters and brothers have a word that encompasses that "mitzvah".  See what you can learn about that concept.  You can start here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitzvah


* Just for You ~ Read Lines article link . You may also want to read/sing the More Voices Hymn “My Love Colours Outside the Lines” by Bruce Harding found at MV #138. If your congregation doesn’t have a copy of More Voices encourage them to order a few from Wood Lake Books at More Voices link. More Voices has excellent music resources than can enhance your congregation’s music ministry.

Multifaith Youth Dinner at University of Winnipeg - June 22nd, 2010

Plurality and Play

• *The United Church of Canada is one of the members of the World Council of Churches. More information on youth who are part of member churches see World Council of Churches youth page link. Ask the youth if they know what it means to be “ecumenical” [defined as concerning Church unity: relating to, involving, or promoting the unity of different Christian churches and groups; and involving friendship between religions: involving or promoting friendly relations between different religions].
Is there another area youth group that is not United Church that you could invite to join you for an evening of fun?
Consider using this time together to plan such an event for the fall.
Who would the youth like to invite?
How could you do so?
What activities would you like to plan for?
Would you provide food and drinks - if so are there any special dietary needs that need to be taken into account?
Would there be worship/prayer to which both groups could be invite to plan and lead?


~Play “Jenga: names of God” idea found at Jenga: Names of God link - you can play this with just one or two. You could also adapt it to images of Jesus/Christ (“Comforter”, “Prince of Peace”, etc.), various denominational names involved in the World Council of Churches, etc.



* Just for You ~ Hear Carol Howard Merritt, author of The Tribal Church on plurality link.

~Read “Theology of Play” at Theology of Play link.

85th Anniversary of the United Church of Canada

*The United Church of Canada was formed on June 10th, 1925 (which makes us 85 years old in 2010). You may want to celebrate the history of your particular church congregation by playing the Church History Scavenger Hunt link . You will have to adapt the items to find to suit your church context but it gives you a basic idea.*please keep in mind that this article comes from a site that does not necessarily reflect the theology of the United Church of Canada. You may have to adapt other articles as need should you choose to use them.

~It could also be fun to compare the history of your congregation to the historical timeline of the United Church that can be found here United Church timeline link . If you don’t know significant dates within your own congregation get your youth to interview some of the spiritual elders in your congregation to see what collective wisdom they might have.

~The United Church also has it’s own You Tube channel. You can link to it here at United Church You Tube channel link . If your youth haven’t seen it yet you might want to play the video “E-Z Answer Squirrel” that is found under the Wonder Café link on the right side of the screen.



* Just for You ~ Historical information on the formation of the United Church of Canada can be found here at Church Formation overview link.

Gardening and Nurturing the Earth

*It’s hopefully safe to say that we are likely in the midst of gardening season now. An idea would be to literally have your youth group get dirty. See Kore Creative link – click on the “Get Dirty” link towards the bottom for a theological rationalle. Perhaps you might consider approaching your congregation about providing some seeds and bedding plants and having the youth group landscape the church grounds (you might want to invite some green-thumbed adult volunteers to join you who could mentor your youth in their gardening skills and it would be awesome to invited the Sunday School to join you so your youth can mentor the children as well ~ make it a true intergenerational event!). You could conclude your time together by offering a blessing for the plants and God’ people who will enjoy them all summer long (for ideas see Garden prayer link which has a garden blessing prayer by Edward Hays.*please keep in mind that this article comes from a site that does not necessarily reflect the theology of the United Church of Canada. You may have to adapt other articles as need should you choose to use them.


~Also see Community Garden link for practical suggestions on how to get a community garden going.

~If gardening isn’t your youths thing other ways to “get dirty” while providing service might be to organize an area for picking up trash (make sure to provide the youth with gloves and good, sturdy garbage bags), or helping with a “Habitat for Humanity” build in your area (while the youth might not be able to actually work on the site they can help make a meal for the construction crew).



* Just for You ~ For background on the benefits of a spirituality of gardening see Gardening as a Spiritual Practice and Youth Gardening video link.

Graduation and Youth Group Wind-Up

*For some youth ministers “official” youth group activities wrap-up in May as they take a break over the summer. To not lose the momentum of your group consider choosing some photos of your youth activities from over the past year. Create a photo album for each of your youth and include in each of the albums the photos you have chosen. Make sure that for each person that there is at least one photo with them specifically in the picture for their own album. Leave empty spaces at the end of each album to indicate this is for the memories to come when you join together again the fall. It is also important for your youth to know that even though there won’t be “official” youth group events during the summer that the ministry is always available to them (if you are taking holidays – and I certainly hope you are taking some time for rest and renewal over the summer – make sure to let them know who will be available to take their calls/e-mails/etc. It feels good to know that the church is always there to care for them.).

~If you haven’t done so already now might be a really great time to do a review and evaluation of how the past year has gone. It doesn’t have to be all talk. You can do things like a continuum - having one side of the room being great, the other side being it sucked and the middle being neutral ground. You can ask for their opinion on things like different activities you did, how connected they feel to the group and the church as a whole, what they’d like to see happen in the next year, the next three years, etc.

~It is also the season of graduation. If you have any youth group members that are graduating from Grade 12 here’s an idea that you can use with them. Go to this link Graduation idea #5 link and scroll way down on the page to idea #5 Quilt Sunday by Lisa McArdle. *please keep in mind that this idea comes from a site that does not necessarily reflect the theology of the United Church of Canada. You may have to adapt other articles as needed should you choose to use them.



* Just for You ~ How are you going to stay in touch with those who may be graduating from both school and youth group? If they are off to university or moving out on their own a care package waiting for them at their new address would be one way to let them know that the people “at their church home” are still thinking about them. Make sure to include in it a special invitation for coffee or lunch together the next time they are home for a visit. Another thing that you could do to help them adjust to their new location is to connect them with a church congregation in their new area. If you don’t know of any church congregations in their particular area contact Debbie Coss, Conference Youth Minister at dcoss@confmnwo.mb.ca  for recommendations.

~If your graduates are remaining in your congregation find ways to connect them both into some of the youth activities in more adult mentoring ways and also help them “transition” into some of the other ministries of the church by connecting them with an adult mentor of their own in their area(s) of interest e.g. Christian Education/Faith Formation committee, Outreach/Social Action/Mission group, etc.

~See what you agree with after reading an interesting article by Tim Schmoyer at My Toughest Challenges in Youth Ministry article link. *please keep in mind that this article comes from a site that does not necessarily reflect the theology of the United Church of Canada. You may have to adapt other articles as need should you choose to use them.\

Youth miniStarZ

Pentecost (May 23rd, 2010)

* As the weather begins to warm a little you might want to consider sending your youth outdoors on a photo challenge over the next while. Show them the “Life” or “Jubilee” photo at Flickr photo link or another inspiring photo(s) of your choice. Send them out in groups of 3 over the next hour or so with a digital camera (invite the youth to bring them with them or gather them ahead of time from congregational members and mark them well) to take photos of where they see God to be speaking to us in the world. Pentecost is also coming up on May 23rd. You might decide to use that as a theme of where the Spirit is moving us. You may want to provide each group/camera with a memory card if you hope to use the photos beyond the youth group. Once everyone has had an opportunity to take photos gather together and then you can either choose to do the photo show then and there from all the photos taken or gather the memory sticks and arrange them into a show for the next youth group gathering.


* Just for You ~ "Spirit of Life" Pentecost Prayer link

Away on Continuing Education

Hi everyone,
I will be away on Continuing Education at the Princeton Forum on Youth Ministry (you can see a link here).  I will be away until after Mother's Day so am posting the next couple of weeks worth of ideas. 
Hope you enjoy them and I hope to return from the Forum on "Hope" with more good ideas and news to share!

God in Music

*With your youth:
"How will you find God in music?” is an idea for exploring how God speak to us through the music we listen to. See Tim’s idea at Playlist idea link. *If you use this idea you may want to be sensitive to and even have a discussion around artist copyrights instead of just burning the songs for everyone. Instead you could instead invite folks to view music videos on You Tube (be sure to preview first for content) or you could invite each youth to bring a favourite song (which you preview) and then compile a playlist from them which you could share with the group the next week. There are also some on-line playlist sites. Ask your youth for their suggestions on playlist sites.
Make sure that you include a selection of your own choice as well (appropriate for youth consumption) and be prepared to explain how God speaks to you through that selection.

* Just for You ~ An on-line Copyright Guide for Congregations produced by the United Church of Canada can be found at Copyright info link. It is most helpful anytime you use copyrighted materials whether they be visual (movies, videos, photos, art), audio (music, printed music), or written (books, articles, comics, etc.).

Christian Family Sunday/Mother's Day

*With your Youth:
Some discussion questions on the topic of family adapted from The Source For Youth Ministry (http://www.thesource4ym.com/) *please keep in mind that this idea comes from a site that does not necessarily reflect the theology of the United Church of Canada. You may have to adapt other articles as needed should you choose to use them.

1. Would you rather hang out with your family or your friends, AND WHY?

2. What is the weirdest thing that has ever happened on a family vacation?

3. What is the goofiest rule your parents have for you and/or your siblings?

4. Who thinks your parents punish them too much when you break the rules? What would you do differently if the roles were reversed and you were the parent?

~There is also an idea for a youth and mom (or grandma or aunt or other significant female) event called “Mother’s Day Mom-O-Rama”. I’ve put the link here Mom-O-Rama link. *please keep in mind that this idea comes from a site that does not necessarily reflect the theology of the United Church of Canada. You may have to adapt other articles as needed should you choose to use them. Under “I Love you Belly Much” it talks about having the males do this exercise with their moms but I don’t know why the females in your youth group couldn’t participate in the balloon bellies as well. I’d do the opposite of popping the balloons at the end of the activity and instead give a prize to the person(s) who still have there’s inflated [and maybe even in place!] at the end of the evening as a reward for taking such good care of their “little one”. One other activity I’d do is get the youth to tell you who they will be bringing along with them ahead of time. Contact their adult and get them to give you a baby or toddler photo of the youth. You could post them at the event or scan and put on power point and have everyone try and guess who each person is. A small group worship giving thanks for the family of God would be a great way to end off the event together.


* Just for You ~ Check out the article on Family Ministry as it pertains to youth and their leaders at Family Ministry link *please keep in mind that this idea comes from a site that does not necessarily reflect the theology of the United Church of Canada. You may have to adapt other articles as needed should you choose to use them.
There is also a Family Ministries page on the United Church of Canada website.  You can access it here at Family Ministries Page link.

Camping Sunday

* The final Sunday in April every year is designated “Camping Sunday” in the United Church. Do you have youth that attend or lead at camps? Come of your youth might volunteer to lead or take part in a Camping Sunday worship. For ideas see What is Camping Sunday About? worship link or Camping Services link.  You can also find helpful resources at the We Are Camp awareness campaign.

~Alternately you might consider taking your youth group on a weekend camping retreat together (see the Exploring Faith through Camping link) or help link them with a United Church summer camp in your area. You can find a directory of them here at United Church camps links . Camps are usually a youth program that is easier to garner adult volunteers to help as many adults have fond memories of their own camping experiences. Remember before incorporating any adult volunteers in your program to have them complete some form of screening. Information on this is available at Faithful Footsteps link and Duty of Care link.


* Just for You ~ If you’re really keen on camps read the United Church Camping Standards Handbook which can be found at this link Camping Standards Handbook link . The theological rationale found on page 7 is especially well put.

40th Earth Day (April 22nd)

* This year marks the 40th Anniversary celebration of Earth Day. For more info please go to their official website at Earth Day link

~ For more ideas on marking Earth Day from a faith perspective you can also visit the Green Church Project (a United Church of Canada initiative) Green Church Project link or “God is Green” at God is Green link which has 40 greening actions to help your church community get started.



* Just for You ~ Consider getting and reading a copy of the May 2009 Edition of Mandate magazine (there may happen to be one lying around the church or in the minister’s office). If not you can read a couple of articles on-line here Mandate May 2009 magazine link. Mandate is the United Church’s mission magazine and is published four times a year. There is a subscription link there if you are interested in receiving copies. Back editions are available through the Conference Resource Centre Library. You can reach them at Resource Centre Library link.

Holy Humour

Holy Humour – Sunday following Easter


*Often the Sunday directly after Easter is termed “Holy Humour Sunday”. It plays off the idea that the best practical joke ever was for God to have the world think Jesus was truly dead and gone and then came the joyful surprise of the resurrection. A number of years ago the United Church of Canada commissioned an artist named Willis Wheatley to draw a series of four images of Jesus. One was called “Christ, the Liberator” [check your church – if it’s not on the wall many have a copy stored away somewhere]. If you can’t find a copy see the link here at Laughing Jesus pic link. View it with your youth and ask what do you think Jesus would have laughed at? What makes something funny? What do you think is good to laugh at and what isn’t? Can religion be funny? Can we laugh in church?

* Just for You ~ How many youth workers does it take to change a light bulb? Youth workers don’t last long enough for a light bulb to burn out. [often sad but true - don't let yourself "burn out"!!]

~If you find yourself just in need of a good youth leader laugh check out Joyful Noise Newsletter link or see the Holy Fool Reflection link on the gift fools can be in the community of Christ.

~If you don’t have it already pick yourself up a copy of The UnOfficial United Church Handbook edited by Scott Douglas and Nanette McKay - two wonderfully talented folks from our Conference that have a plethora of youth ministry experience. You can purchase it from the United Church Resource Distribution (UCRD) ordering info link or borrow it from the Resource Centre Library at Resource Centre Library link. It is described as “A fun and modern overview of The United Church of Canada. 'A combination of reliable historical and theological information alongside some fun (and funny) facts and some very practical tips on being a churchgoing follower of Jesus Christ.'” Where else could you find such helpful articles such as “How to Respond When Someone Sits in Your Pew” and “How to Get Off a Church Committee”?

Holy Humour

*If you find yourself in need of a lift this week take a peek at the irreverant Facebook page of Jesus during Holy Week.  You can find it here.

Easter

*A fun Easter activity to try with your youth can be found at Easter Egg questions link. *please keep in mind that this article comes from a site that does not necessarily reflect the theology of the United Church of Canada. You may have to adapt other articles as need should you choose to use them.



~For a more meaningful Easter Egg Hunt try adapting the idea found at Easter Egg Hunt link *please keep in mind that this article comes from a site that does not necessarily reflect the theology of the United Church of Canada. You may have to adapt other articles as need should you choose to use them.



* Just for You ~ For an Easter reflection view the slide show of Easter paintings by the Chinese artist He Qi. You can see them here He Qui Easter Paintings link.

~Come celebrate being in youth ministry at our Ecumenical Youth Ministry Supper and Fellowship evening from 6-9pm on Wed. April 7th at Charleswood United Church in Winnipeg, MB. There is no cost but please pre-register for this event by contacting Debbie Coss, Conference Youth Minister at dcoss@confmnwo.mb.ca

Maundy Thursday – April 1st and/or Good Friday – April 2nd

*Maundy Thursday marks the day before Jesus’ death that Jesus gathered with his disciples to celebrate the Passover. You may want to think about gathering your youth on the Thursday evening (as Friday they won’t have school) and celebrating the Passover seder together. There are all kinds of resources out there (both Christian and Jewish). Check your local library or you might want to consult some resource material on-line that may include:

Passover Seder overview link

Making the Seder Memorable link

Haggadah for Christians link *please keep in mind that the author of this Haggadah comes from a more conservative theology than usually found in many United Church congregations. You may need to adapt it for your own use.

If you are fortunate enough to know a Jewish family/youth or live near a synagogue consider asking them to help lead your group in the Seder meal. Perhaps they might even have some of their youth join with yours for the evening.

~There is a great video to watch with your youth which you can find at Lost Generation You Tube link . With Good Friday on the horizon we are reminded that God takes the awfulness of death and despair on Good Friday and transforms it into something beautiful and life-affirming as through the Resurrection promise. After you watch “The Lost Generation” talk about what negative stereotypes do the youth think people have of them in society? Where do they think these ideas come from? Can any of these be transformed into something beautiful and life-affirming? Can any of them be transformed into gifts that can be offered for the benefit of the world? What would need for that to happen? How might God/our faith help us to do so?



* Just for You ~ See the photo at You Still Can't Hold Back the Light link. It makes an excellent image of faith for Good Friday/Easter Sunday.

This quote from Marianne Williamson makes a good accompaniment to the photo. You can read it here at Marianne Williamson quote link.

Palm Sunday and Earth Hour

~Host a discussion on what an "Eco" Palm Sunday would look like in your congregation.  You can find out more here Eco article.

~If your youth group is going to be meeting over Earth Hour (8:30-9:30pm local time) on March 27th consider incorporating it into your plans. More info on earth hour can be found at Earth Hour 2010 link.



* Just for You ~ Do you have a smaller number in your youth group? Here’s a great article what-to-do-when-less-than-5-kids-show-up-at-youth-group article . *please keep in mind that this article comes from a site that does not necessarily reflect the theology of the United Church of Canada. You may have to adapt other articles as needed should you choose to use them.

~There’s a great Palm Sunday image here at Palm Sunday photo link. You may want to read a Palm Sunday reflection to go along with the image. Try "The Entry" link.

Earth Hour - March 27th - 8:30-9:30pm local time

KAIROS (an ecumenical church-based social justice organization) has posted on their website various ways to mark and celebrate Earth Hour.  Please see the link here.  There are some great ideas for churches and youth groups to use.  Also see the Official Earth Hour video below.

Gay Straight Alliance for Youth

The Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) for youth in grades 7 - 12 is having an Affirming Art event. We'll meet on Saturday, March 20, 5 - 10 PM at Augustine United Church (444 River) in Winnipeg, MB. As we'll be doing some painting, it'd be best to wear clothing that is not brand new.
Attached is the poster for the group.


Find us on Facebook! Search for "Rainbow Ministry GSA" and click on the fan page that comes up (not the group). You'll get all the latest info and updates!
Help the GSA succeed by spreading the word -- talk it up with your youth, hang the poster in your church, include a blurb in your announcements, forward this email to those you think would appreciate the info. This group is open to all youth, regardless of their religious affiliation -- so this can certainly be forwarded to those not part of the United Church.
For more info, please contact Craig at (unitedchurchgsa@hotmail.com).

For poster for up-coming GSA activities please see:
http://www.scribd.com/full/28224265?access_key=key-2kgl72i1b9ey8e7favhy

St. Patrick's Day (March 17th) and Celtic Christianity

*In the Celtic tradition there is a belief in an “anam-cara” or soul friend. For a fuller explanation see anam-cara-the-friend-of-your-soul link or Anam Cara - Soul Friend link . You could ask the youth if they feel it is important to have an anam cara or soul friend in their life. What sorts of things would they find an anam cara helpful to talk with? What qualities would they look for in an anam cara?

~Two of the most beloved Christian figures in Ireland are St. Brigid and St. Patrick. One activity you can do is to weave a St. Brigid’s cross. You can find easy instructions here at St. Brigid cross instructions link . You can also find information on the legend of how St. Patrick used a shamrock to teach about the Trinity here at Shamrock legend link

* Just for You ~ If you’re interested in doing further reading about soul friends pick up a copy of the late John O’Donohue’ book Anam Cara. It is widely available in bookstores, libraries and on-line. Or pick up another resource book on Celtic Christianity or being a soul friend. Soul Tending by Jennifer Youngman is another good resource book especially for those working with older youth and young adults. It is available to borrow here: Resource Centre Library link . The Godbearing Life: The Art of Soul Tending for Youth Ministry by Kenda Creasy Dean and Ron Foster also comes highly and personally recommended. You can also borrow it at Resource Centre Library link.

~For a truly in-depth look at what Celtic Christianity believes see Celtic Christianity background link.

World Water Day on March 22nd

* March 22 of each year is designated as World Water Day by the UN General Assembly. For more information see here at World Water Day link . To explore the issue of water from a faith perspective with your youth you may want to visit Gratefulness for Water reflection link. This link contains a Water Quiz link that can be used separate from the reflection if you like. The United Church also has developed a campaign Water in Focus link (please especially note the Including Children and Youth ideas further down on the page).



* Just for You ~ The United Church of Canada is one of the member churches of the World Council of Churches and through that organization the Ecumenical Water Network (EWN). You can read their Lenten reflection Seven Weeks of Water resources link . One of the participants in the 2008 EWN Summer School on Water was Sheryl Johnson, a young adult from the Conference of Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario who currently studies in Toronto and was part of a group of young adults from our Conference who travelled to visit church partners in Zambia a couple of years ago. You can see the work of Sheryl and other participants at EWN Summer School link . They also posted a blog with personal reflections at EWN blog link.

More Lent

*Prayer as Community – how do we live out our faith? You can view a clip about a new monastic community here at Prayer as Community link . It could lead into a discussion about how we experience and offer prayer in our daily life. An interesting quote from one of the members of the monastic community is “Our neighbours just call us 'The Christians' because we're the only ones they've ever known," says Markus Laegel. "It's scary because the way we live will define Jesus to them."


Lent can be a time to explore our beliefs. What do we believe about Jesus? How would people in our community understand Jesus by the way we live and worship? How do we live out of our beliefs?

~Check out this video posted at Guerilla Worship Flash Mob at Shopping Mall link. Compare and contrast it to the monastic community video as a way of living out beliefs.

~A Jamaican proverb says “Prayer only from the mouth is no prayer”. What do your youth think about that? What other ways to pray besides spoken can they think of? Here’s a site that has all kinds of creative contemplative prayer ideas Creative Prayer links *please keep in mind that this article comes from a site that does not necessarily reflect the theology of the United Church of Canada. You may have to adapt other articles as needed should you choose to use them.


* Just for You ~ 40 images:40 videos:40x40 words:40 days- follow the reflections of Ben Edson here.  Keep clicking on the link at the top right to scroll through the 40 days of Lent.

or Christine Lawrie counts down using 40 words to begin with.  You can access her link here.

Lent

*Holy Week is re-invisioned at Easter photos article  (don't be put off by the title.   "Shooting Jesus" refers to photography).  Consider inviting your youth to consider how they would portray the events of Holy Week either in photos or “theatrical tableaus”. How might you share this in your congregation’s Lenten/Easter worship?

* Just for You ~ Beach Tweets – different words/phrases selected to be written into the sand each day and washed away with the tide. You can access them here and also follow on twitter.

Moderator blogs about ZEEBU Youth Retreat

A link to the Moderator's blog where she talks about her experiences at Zeebu youth retreat over the Louis Riel Weekend.  Enjoy! 

Some photos from the ZEEBU retreat

Hi everyone,

Just a few photos from the Zeebu Youth Retreat "Fair Play" from last weekend in Portage la Prairie.  The event was great with close to 81 people staying together in McKenzie United Church all weekend.  We were very priviledged to have the Moderator of the United Church, Mardi Tindal, join us for the weekend.  Below are a few select photos that give you a taste of the event.

Enjoy!

Moderator Mardi Tindal in one of our Young Adults and Youth (YAAY) shirts

The theme team and co-ordinators of Zeebu gather around the flame for the final time!

Jumping for Joy as we sing together

Our music team helping with the singing at Sunday morning worship

Rendez-Vous: A National Event for Youth, Young Adults and Leaders

Just received info about this national United Church event.  They are expecting close to 1,000 people!  So start saving and fundraising now to attend!!!

Rendez-vous 2011



When: August 11–14, 2011

Where: University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario

Theme: Go big and go home

A Meeting Place for Youth, Young Adults, and Their Leaders



“Present yourself” at Rendez-vous 2011 to connect with United Church youth and young adults from across the country. Discover exhilarating worship, exciting opportunities for learning, growth, and service, and many examples of excellent youth and young adult ministries. You will be challenged, inspired, and encouraged to “go big” when you go home.



For more information, please contact Rendez-vous.

Planning for Lent

Ash Wednesday  is February 17, 2010  and begins the 6 week Lenten season in the church.


*Traditionally during Lent people would make a sacrifice by giving up or “fasting” from something (usually some type of food or drink). Many people give up sugary things like chocolate, caffeine items like pop or coffee, or processed foods like potato chips or other snack items . Some folks are getting creative by giving up electronic connections over the 40 days of Lent such as Facebook (see "How to Give Up Facebbook for Lent and Keep Your Friends" article link )

Other ideas for what you could “give up” over Lent are:

~ a “carbon-fast” – trying to reduce greenhouse emissions: using environmentally friendly transportation (bus, car-pool, walking, cycling), cutting down on electricity use, etc.

~texting – or paying a 25 cent “fine” for every text message you send/receive during Lent. The money could be given to the church congregation or the Mission & Service Fund of the United Church.

~television viewing

~web-surfing

~Maggi Dawn’s book Giving it Up (you can order a copy from Amazon here) begins by looking at why we give things up for Lent, but then poses the idea that what we really need to give up, in order to draw closer to God, is our preconceived ideas about God and religion. She proposes that all the great characters in the Bible had to give up their too-small notions of God and have their vision enlarged.

Giving something up during Lent allows us to enter into reflection with God about what we truly need without the clutter of “stuff” to distract us.

~Some people also practice the concept of adding something to your life over Lent such as time to be with God, space to reflect, patience (with both yourself and others), doing acts of kindness, study/meditation/prayer or ??? Discuss with your youth if there is some Lenten practice you each feel called to try this season. Is there something you’d like to try giving up/adding/changing? How might you support one another in what you decide to do? Would you like to formally covenant together?

* Just for You ~ See also the United Church Resource Exploring Stewardship as a Lenten Discipline article link

As youth across the Conference gather in Portage la Prairie for the ZEEBU Youth Retreat we ask your prayers for their safe journeys and those of their leaders and that we may truly live out the theme of "Fair Play".

Believe It! - social justice resource for youth

The United Church Mission and Service Fund with World Development and Relief just published a youth workshop called "Believe It!  God's Riches Are Here".  You can download a FREE copy at booklet link.  It has stories of some of our global partners and discussion questions to follow.  You may want to use it along with resources from WebSight (a United Church resources for Connecting Youth with Global Justice.  They have some great simulation games available for FREE download as well.  You can reach their site here WebSight link.

Valentine's Day ideas

*Some ideas to use with your youth: 1 Corinthians 13 paraphrase link *please keep in mind that this article comes from a site that does not necessarily reflect the theology of the United Church of Canada. You may have to adapt other articles as needed should you choose to use them.

~Valentine's Day Trivia link *please keep in mind that this article comes from a site that does not necessarily reflect the theology of the United Church of Canada. You may have to adapt other articles as needed should you choose to use them.

~ Circle of Love game link *please keep in mind that this article comes from a site that does not necessarily reflect the theology of the United Church of Canada. You may have to adapt other articles as needed should you choose to use them.



* Just for You ~ And some thought-provoking words for those who spiritually care for youth: Article Link the 7 Spiritual Yearnings of Youth

Playing For Change | Peace Through Music

*Came across a great resource to share with youth (and others)  Playing for Change brings together musicians from all over the world to record songs that are mixed together.  They have just released a dvd and cd (that is available on their site [see the link below] or can be borrowed from AVEL (Audio-Visual Educational Library)
Playing for Change has added some info on how to host a "Playing for Change" party.  A great social justice discussion you can have in the form of music!


Playing For Change | Peace Through Music

Posted using ShareThis

The Winter Olympics

*In anticipation of the Winter Olympics in February and Winter Paralympics in March in Vancouver, BC you might want to dedicate an up-coming youth gathering to an Olympics theme. Here’s some ideas to get you started: “Olympic Pantomine Icebreaker” activity found at Olympic Pantomine link and/or “Spiritual Sports Similes” at Spiritual Sport Similes link - *please keep in mind that this article comes from a site that does not necessarily reflect the theology of the United Church of Canada. You may have to adapt other articles as needed should you choose to use them.

~We are also currently accepting registrations for our Conference Youth Event ZEEBU.  Youth in Grades 7-12 are welcome to attend.  Our theme this year is "Fair Play" considering that it will be occuring at the same time as the Winter Olympics (Feb. 13-15).  For registrations forms please see  Zeebu Registration Info.


* Just for You ~ ”Watching the Olympics as a Spiritual Practice” Olympics as Spiritual Practice article link

~ Don’t forget to feed your Spirit at an Ecumenical Youth Ministry Leaders Event. EYML includes youth ministers from Roman Catholic, Ukrainian Catholic, Anglican, Evangelical Lutheran, Mennonite, and United Church backgrounds. Our next event is scheduled for Wed. Feb. 3 from 7-9pm at Faith Lutheran Church 1311 Dakota Street in South Winnipeg. Events are held the first Wednesday every second month (Feb., and April). All those in youth ministry are warmly welcome. The topic for the evening is “Ministry Beyond Pizza and Bowling – the Serving Church”. For more info contact Debbie Coss, Conference Youth Minister at dcoss@confmnwo.mb.ca or phone (204) 782-8113.

The United Church's Reponse to Events in Haiti

For those who are interested there is information on how the United Church of Canada is reponding to the devastating earthqake and aftermath in Haiti.  You can access more information at Haiti link.

Images of Jesus and Praying with a Lava Lamp

*What image of Jesus do your youth have? A good starting point for discussion might be to do a power point presentation or slide show of Faces of Jesus link and/or Images of Jesus link. There’s also an excellent Jesus Morph Quicktime movie here. Give it a second to download. Ask your youth which images they like *(and why), which ones they don’t *(and why), and which ones are new and intriguing to them. What different qualities of Jesus does each image speak to (i.e. love, suffering servant, healer, holy, etc.)  As them to draw/describe/act out what they think Jesus might be like if they met him on the street today.

* Just for You ~ Praying with an on-line lava lamp? Yes it’s true. You can access it here Lava lamp prayer link . Don’t forget to offer prayers for the youth that you serve. And no need to worry. No one but you and God are able to see your prayers here.  Try it.  It's cool!!

~ A challenging part of youth ministry is retention of volunteers. For some tips see Keeping Adult Volunteers article link *please keep in mind that this article comes from a site that does not necessarily reflect the theology of the United Church of Canada. You may have to adapt other articles as needed should you choose to use them.

First Posting of 2010

Here we go into 2010....


*“You are the Message” a youth/young adult worship idea from Jonny Baker found at "You Are the Message" link


* Just for You ~ Listen to a podcast of youth ministry. The link can be found at Podcast link