What We Did 2001
March
Mashing Success, Youth "Survivor"
The WHUMC youth held their annual Potato Bar, March 4th. The event was fantastic! A special "Thank You" goes to Janie Jacobs for the effort and efficiency that produced one of best attended dinners for the Youth.
Our up coming lock-in for March 30, will carry a "Survivor" theme, complete with tribes, trials & tasty morsels. If you are interested in being a sponsor for this event please contact Kris M. at the church office.
April
Looking at our Youth
With so many activities going on with our youth program, I thought you it would be a good idea to go over what we've accomplished. It's an exciting time for our youth program here at West Heights. The young people seem always eager for the next challenge.
You're aware of the activities that have involved your family, but I wanted to give you a summary of events and accomplishments from the last few months. Incidentally, thanks for making so many of these things possible.
For the month of February, we began Confirmation with a dinner and parents meeting. Then we had a Caravan Valentine supper. The Middle School youth went on a mission trip to Urban Ministries. The weekly UMYF group began a series of lessons titled Caught in the Middle.
We kicked off March with a very smooth and successful Potato Bar. The Caravan Route and proposed stops were selected. The newly formed Youth Drama Team presented their first production at the 9:15 service. Many youth took part in the Dinner Theater. We moved on to a new theme for UMYF covering Fair and Equal. The Sr. High UMYF group put together a complete lesson and presented their ideas of how to handle peer pressure as young Christians to the 6th and Middle School groups. We wrapped up the month with a "Survivor" style lock-in.
It's amazing to look back and see how much ground we've covered. This has been a positive and rewarding time so far for our young people, and I'm proud of all of them for their cooperation and participation. We're looking forward to even bigger and better things.
Of special and immediate interest to all would be the Confirmation Rally at East Heights Friday evening the 20th and Saturday 21st. Then Confirmation Sunday the 22nd a special service for the entire congregation.
Caravan Dinner Sunday, April 29th, come and support our youth Caravan ministry right after church! We will be having Yankee Pot Roast, Cherry Blossom Salad, Hershey Hot Fudge Cake and all the trimmings. I passed out an updated schedule of upcoming youth activities on the 8th of this month. If for some reason you don't have yours a copy is posted on the youth bulletin board just outside fellowship hall. Thank you for your support. Most of all, thank you for your family.
Caravan Theme Dinner, Worlds of Fun
Youth Caravan 2001 represent a significant extensions of our youth ministry outreach. Caravan is self funding, we do not receive any budgeted funds for the trip. The funds raised from the dinners are the only means of support from the church to help off set the cost of Caravan to the youth and their families.
The sales pitch is short and simple: We can't do it without your H-E-L-P! Your investment-in the form of your support and participation-will reap returns many times over. Our young people need to experience Christianity in the context of life's many challenges and adventures. Whether it's for a mission trip, summer camp, or a drama production, the funds that make these enrichment opportunities possible must come from a supportive church family.
Please come to the Caravan Theme Dinner on April 29 and support this part of our youth ministry at East Heights. We will be serving Yankee Pot-Roast, Cherry Blossom Salad, Hershey Hot Fudge Cake and all the fix'ins.
The Worlds of Fun Retreat, Friday, May 4 is our next special youth event. We will leave West Heights, at 5:00 p.m. and return Sunday around 2:00 p.m. We will be staying at a Church in Kansas City Friday and Saturday night then go to their Sunday morning worship.
May
Senior Sunday
Senior Sunday is May 20. The high school graduating seniors will be honored at the 10:30 a.m. service. There will also be a breakfast for the seniors at 9:00 a.m. in the Family Life Center.
The church would like to know of any other graduations or degree completions. Please call the church office with any graduation information.
Caravan Retreat
The Caravan Worship trip is coming up quickly, a retreat schedule follows. You've always been very supportive of the Caravan tradition. I want you to know how much the young people appreciate that. They will be ready and eager to share a worship experience because they feel wanted and needed. But, if we allow our support to slacken, thinking one activity runs the whole program, If fewer of us volunteer to help with youth projects or if fewer of us see the value of each of our different activities, then our young people may begin to feel less important. The youth program operates as a whole, offering a diverse and unique mix of faith building activities. Opportunities for teenagers to continue their faith journeys should not be aimed at pleasing everyone. Rather, they should provide an opportunity for individuals to grow and to feel fully supported by all of us.
I urge you to continue to support for all of the youth activities at West Heights with your prayers, gifts, and time.
June
Caravan
June 3 - Retreat (2pm-8pm)
June 4 - Retreat (1pm-8pm)
June 5 - Retreat (9am-4pm)
June 6 - Retreat (9am-4pm), worship @ 7pm
June 7 TR - Effingham, IL. 1st service, Brookstone Estates, stay 1st Ch of God
June 8 FR - Toledo, OH. 2nd service, Maumee UMC
June 9 SA - Buffalo, NY. Niagara Falls, 3rd service, First UMC
June 10 SU - Williamsport, PA. 4th service, St. John's UMC
June 11 MO - Hershey, PA. Eat & Tour chocolate
June 11 MO - Wildwood Crest, NJ. Beach/Shop Boardwalk
June 11 MO - Ocean City, NJ. 5th service, The Shores at Wesley Manor
June 12 TU - Cape May Ferry
June 12 TU - Washington, D.C. Smithsonian, By Train/Subway
June 12 TU - Baltimore, MD. Orioles vs. Mets
June 12 TU - Sleep Glen Mar UMC Ellicott City, MD
June 13 WE - West Virginia, Cheat River, White Water Rafting
June 13 WE - Buckhannon, WV. 6th service, First UMC
June 14 TR - Olive Hill, KY. X cave, !/4 Mile Tour
June 14 TR - Middleton, KY. 7th service, First Baptist Church
June 14 TR - Stay, Middleton UMC
June 15 FR - Republic, MO. 8th service, Hood UMC
June 16 SA - Wichita, KS.
June 17 SU - West Heights, 9th & 10th services
Right after Caravan the Youth helped out with vacation bible school.
July
Note: XYZ is a Summer term for the Youth group.
eXtreme Youth Zealots!
Sunday 1 7:00p XYZ, Fellowship event, video night at the church
Sunday 8 7:00p XYZ, Fellowship event, work on youth center
Wednesday 11 7:00p XYZ, Youth directed study group-How to excel as a "zealot" for Christ
Sunday 15 7:00p XYZ, Fellowship event
Road Rally
Wednesday 18 7:00p XYZ, YDSG
Love, Peace, Patience
Sunday 22 7:00p XYZ, Fellowship event
"The Palace" Movies
Tuesday 24 9:00a 6-8 Mini Mission, prepare, serve a "Drop-in Center Meal" for the homeless
Tuesday 24-27 9:30a Eberly Farms 2:30p Youth serve as counselors and teachers' assistants
Wednesday 25 7:00p XYZ, YDSG
Joy, Self-control, Faithfulness
Sunday 29 1:00p XYZ, Fellowship event "Laser Quest"
August
Wednesday 1 7:00p XYZ, YDSG
Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness
Sunday 5 8:00p XYZ, Fellowship event Drive-in movie
Wednesday 8 7:00p XYZ, YDSG last Wed. for the summer
Sunday 12 6:00p XYZ, Fellowship event BBQ-Picnic
Sunday 19 7:00p Bridge Event 5th grade
All Youth host the new 6th grade class -Ice Cream social
September
Our Journey
We had our first fling after school with the Families in Faith adult Sunday school group & Youth. We learned to wind surf!
The youth Journey Groups are off to a good start. We meet Sunday night at 6:00 but, come to youth choir at 4:45. Then Common Meal at 5:30 and stick around for volleyball after UMYF at 7:30. Journey Teams meet for now on Wednesday during the Wednesday night supper from 5:30-7:00. The teams may decide to hold their activities on different days than Wednesday, but for now this is the time to come and get involved in the direction of your youth group.
So far we have studied such interesting topics as the "Balloon Tribe" and a hands on creation theme. Coming soon will be an old-time radio broadcast of Elijah on Mount Horeb in 1 Kings 19:1-18. Then a walk about type Journey from Luke 24:13-35. Come and see if you get it!
October
New format
This years youth can be summed up in about one word,
NEW. We have a new format, new events, and most of all a new youth director with big new plans. Kris Meckenstock, our Youth Director, has kicked off a brand new youth event called Journey Teams. These are several different teams made up completely of youth and are given different jobs to help out the youth, as well as the church.
One way these teams are working in the church is by running the snack bar at the Arts & Crafts Fair on October 13. They will be there from 9:00 to 5:00 serving refreshments such as popcorn, candy, nachos, and sodas.
When Kris was asked about the Journey Teams he replied, They are a great way to get the youth involved with the entire church.
Along with introducing these Journey Teams, Kris has also started a new format for the Sunday evening youth group. He is very excited about the change and for getting to work with the youth. This year we have many individuals that will make the youth program very strong, commented Kris.
If you would like to know more about what's in store for this years youth, you can read about it on the youth page, Journey Groups, at the church
website www.westheightsumc.org.
by Michael Steele
Service, Service, Service
The youth will be having their homemade Chicken Noodle Dinner November 11, starting at 11:00 a.m. Youth hand make the noodles and carefully create this culinary masterpiece once a year, so don't make any dinner plans. Preparation and cleanup is on us. The dinners' free will offering proceeds go to fund youth events and service projects.
One of our most recent all church service projects was the annual Arts & Crafts Fair. This year the youth provided a snack bar. Sarah Stolz and Karen Bauer, co-chairs of the event, sent us a thank you note and concluded by saying, "(We are) also very proud of the mature businesslike manner in which it was run."
This week we will be having a lock-in to do some work around the church. One of the many things we hope to accomplish is to move the library and shelves to their new location. We will also fix some marred walls as well as starting to remodel our Youth Center. Hey youth, don't be fooled into thinking this lock-in will be all work!
To find out what else the youth have been up to, check out our web site at; www.westheightsumc.org. Click on the youth pages and have fun surfing through pictures, past lessons, cool links, and an online calendar complete with links to your schools activities calendars.
November
YOUTH TAKES THE HALLOWEEN PLUNGE
This years Halloween was an active one for West Heights youth. The first event took place on Friday October 26. On these dates the youth participated in a lock-in from Friday night to Saturday morning. But this lock-in was not all fun and games; the youth used a large portion of it to pitch in and help fix up the Youth Center. Though they might not have been at their physical peak at 2:30 A.M., everyone still did what they could and succeeded in making a great first step in building up the Youth Center. Jobs that were taken care of or started include: moving the books and table out of the library, painting ceiling tiles in the Youth Center, fixing up and building games for the new game room, putting up light fixtures, building a makeshift wall for the game room out of old Living Nativity walls, working on the new suspended ceiling, and other minor jobs. It may seem to some that it would take all night to accomplish what was done. But we still had time for some exciting games of -Underground Church.- Others would argue that that was enough but there was more to come. On Sunday October 28, after youth group they loaded up some vans and headed out to -The Haunting- at Old Town. There was a cover charge of seven dollars but most agreed that it was well worth it. -The scariest part was at the end when I thought it was all over and a guy ran at me with a chainsaw and I ran really, really, really, really fast,- commented Cassie Peters. But Derek Hardin said it best when he summed up all the activities by saying, -It was even better than eating all the candy!-
by Michael Steele
December
Serving The Community
The Cookie Pick-up was an amazing success. We began with about 3600 cookies, after the youth grades 7-12 baked 10 dozen each. The morning of Sunday the 2nd Gallery West became a confectioners dream. The overwhelming smell of sweets was plentiful. When all the sprinkles and powdered sugar had settled there was only a mere six dozen cookies left. We were so successful that we will be able to host three families from Operation Holiday. Thank you for supporting the youth in this community service project.
Living Nativity is coming up. December 14 and 15 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. The youth will host this third annual event. The live animals will be back, the town walls will still tower above all and the manger will hold the Holley family. Tell your friend and neighbors to make plans to come and share in this meaningful reenactment. If you have any ideas of how to further promote the Living Nativity, please contact Kris Meckenstock 722-3805 or stop by the office and pick up some flyers.
New Years Eve Eve Party
December 30th, Sunday Night, Come Dance, Play and EAT!
The game room will be open, the gym will be open, food will be served in the Beverage Center. Bring your favorite CDs! Party starts at 6:00 p.m. and continues all the way till 10:00 p.m. Questions or to volunteer to bring something, call Kris @ home 721-6118
