Ashton UMC Youth Ministry: August 2007

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Hang Time This Wednesday....

Hey guys-

Celebrate the middle of the first week of school by unwinding with us at Hang Time. We'll have some special guests and play a fun, never-before-played-at-Ashton game. Hint: we ran out of time to do it last Monday...and also the photo... 6-8PM in the youth room at the church. For more info or if you need a ride, call 301-774-7100, extension 205. See you tomorrow night!

Peace,
Pastor Michael

Friday, August 24, 2007

Back to BOB Fall Kickoff Dinner

Date: Sunday, September 9th
Place: AUMC Social Hall
Time: 6:30PM
Who should come: All students entering grades 6-12 and their parents.
What you should bring:
A-G bring a main entrée,
H-N salad or other side dish,
O-S dessert or sweet dish,
T-Z surprise us
enough for your family and some to share.
Don’t forget the Jell-O with strange things suspended in it. Mmmm!
What you’ll go home with: a shiny laminated copy of the BOB Fall Schedule,
perfect for your fridge, info about fall events and ROCK 2008.

New Group for Parents

Beginning Sunday September 9th, we'll have a group for parents of students in grades 6-12. The group will meet in the social hall at the church from 9:30-10;30 AM. The purpose of the group is to support each other in the rewarding-but-oh-so-challenging adventure of parenting. We'll examine trends in youth culture and Biblical resources for parenting. We'll interact with guest speakers. And we'll pray with and for one another and our children. My hope is that the group will be a place where you can find a sense of community and encouragement. If you have any questions, please call me at the church at
301.774.7100, ext. 205 or email me at bob AT ashtonchurch DOT org. I look forward to seeing you on the 9th.

Friday, August 17, 2007

BIG WEEK 2007 IS HERE!!!!!

You've been waiting for it all summer - now it's finally here - BIG WEEK 2007 at Ashton UMC.

The schedule is at the bottom of this entry

*NEW THIS YEAR*
To help us manage transportation, we need you to register for BIG WEEK 2007 events. Here's how easy it is: Follow the weblink below, and fill in the form, indicating how many people will be coming to each event. Please include how many friends you think you'll be bringing. To reward you for helping us, each person who fills out the signup will receive a delicious and valuable prize.

Peace,
Pastor Michael

Click Here to take survey

BIG WEEK 2007 SCHEDULE
Monday August 20
Photo Scavenger Hunt & Messy Olympic Games
Meet at the church at 6PM
Pick up 9PM
Wear clothes that can get dirty, bring a water gun and swim goggles

Tuesday August 21
Work at SHARE Warehouse in Hyattsville
Meet at the church at 10AM
Bring a sack lunch
Pick up 3PM

Wednesday August 22
Miniature Golf at Rocky Gorge
Cost $6 per round, batting cages 18 pitches/$1
Meet at the church at 6PM
Pick up 9PM

Thursday August 23
Cookie Delivery
Meet at the church at 6PM
Pick up 9PM

Friday August 24
Pool party at Don Lloyd's
17105 Carwell Drive
Silver Spring, MD 20905
6PM on...
If you need a ride, call Pastor Michael at the church
301-774-7100 ext 205

Saturday August 25-Sunday August 26
Lock-in at the church featuring:
dinner at Cheeburger Cheeburger in Olney
duck pin cosmic bowling at White Oak Lanes
movies at the church
breakfast served by parents Sunday morning
cost $22
Meet at the church at 6PM
Pick up after church Sunday

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Fall Schedule Survey

Hey all-

Instead of just guessing what would work best for you and your family's busy schedule this fall, we want YOU to tell US when you'd like to have youth group meetings. To get your feedback, we've created a REALLY short survey for you to take. It should take less than five minutes to take the survey.

Click Here to take survey

You've got lots of other stuff going on, so to make it worth your time, every person who completes the survey will receive a valuable and delicious prize. So what are you waiting for?

Cool Music by People I Know Who Are Christians - Click on album name to listen.

Please Don't Make Us Sing This Song: Songs From The Voice Volume 1 You've never heard a worship CD like this. Why is it that the Bible has lines like: "Blessed are they who splatter your babies' brains against a rock." (Psalm 137:8 and 9 - check it out) but almost all worship music is "Happy happy joy joy," written in a major key? Part of a larger, really cool project by Chris Seay, a friend from Texas, this CD samples the whole emotional range of the Psalms, from mourning and cursing to tears-of-joy praise. And it doesn't SOUND like every other Nashville worship CD - a little reggae, a little the-pots-and-pans-in-my kitchen.
Fuel and I Cannot Ignore by Dropknee My friend Jordan Fowler's band. The link is to his blog, because I can't find the CDs online. Jordan's the worship pastor at NorthWood Church in Keller, northeast of Fort Worth, where I spent a year training to be a church planter. Dropknee is my second favorite worship band, and Leonard Sweet likes them better than U2 and says Jordan works a room better than Bono. Their sound is alt-rock, kind of Vertical Horizon.
Songs For A Revolution Of Hope, Vol. I Some songs by my former pastor, Brian McLaren, and some others including my friend Nuc Vega, his wife April and his brother Posido, who make music together as Harp 46. By clicking the link, you can download them for 89 cents each. My favorites are "Let's Confess," a great rap about the sin spiral, and "With Kindness" which we used to sing (in a much plainer arrangement) as a benediction at Cedar Ridge.

Books For Parents - Click on title to browse

Parent To Parent: Raising Kids In Washington A phenomenal resource from the Parents Council Of Washington, a consortium of DC-area private schools. In addition to excellent, readable chapters on all aspects of adolescent development by experts at NIH, it has great chapters on DC-specific parenting challenges like Beach Week.
A Tribe Apart: A Journey Into The Heart Of American Adolescence A year with high school students in Fairfax County. Both this book and "Not Much Just Chillin'" are recommended for parents interested in the emotional terrain of adolescence in the DC suburbs now.
Not Much, Just Chillin': The Hidden Lives Of Middle Schoolers A look at the lives of students over the course of a year at Wilde Lake Middle School in Howard County.

God In The Movies - Warning: Not made by Billy Graham or Disney, these films all say true things.

The Last American Virgin Comedy. Poorly acted by people who are not still in the biz 25 years later, but with a great 80s soundtrack. This film and Cameron Crowe's classic Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Both came out in 1982 and both are based on the writer/director's real experiences.) are powerful depictions of the awful and lasting emotional cost of teenage sexual acting-out. Parents who want their teens to defer sexual activity until after marriage should watch and discuss this movie with their students.
The Big Kahuna Comedy. Danny Devito, Kevin Spacey. This is possibly the best movie ever about how people who wouldn't say they're Christians have deep thoughts about God and why sadly they don't often share those thoughts with the self-identified Christians they know.
Say Anything Comedy. John Cusack, Ione Skye, Joan Cusack, John Mahoney (Frazier Crane's dad). Written and directed by Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire). A classic film about older adolescents launching into adulthood and their families. John Cusack's response to the question: "What career are you interested in?" is beautiful.
Little Miss Sunshine REALLY dark comedy. Steve Carrell, Toni Collette, Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin. A movie about children and adolescents that is not FOR either. Past the grandpa who shoots heroin and the fact that the nicest person in the movie is a gay literature professor recovering from a suicide attempt, this movie says some profound stuff about families. This film's great truth: when words fail, touch connects us with those we love.
Dogma Comedy. Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jason Lee (My Name Is Earl), Alan Rickman (Snape in Harry Potter), Chris Rock. Writer/director/actor (Silent Bob) Kevin Smith is a devout but very unconventional Catholic. Unconventional means George Carlin as a Cardinal trying to get people to come back to church by inventing Buddy Christ, and Allanis Morisette as God. Definitely offensive but not blasphemous, the film is a great, faith-filled examination of the limitations of literalist religion and the way church people try to remake God in order to please prospective church members.

Ashton UMC Youth Ministry