Ashton UMC Youth Ministry: November 2007

Friday, November 30, 2007

For Parents: Upcoming Events and Adventy Things

Fellow Parents-

Hope you and your family had a good and not-too-exhausting Thanksgiving. And now it's Advent! So, as we get our homes and hearts ready to receive afresh the gift of Jesus, here are a few event reminders and resources:

- Parent Christmas Breakfast Sunday December 9th from 9AM-10:30AM in the AUMC Social Hall. The Oasis Parent's Community of AUMC invites all parents to be our guest at a Christmas breakfast. Our special guest will be Roger Sandberg, MA, MS, LCPC, (Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor). Roger is in private practice in Olney, working with adolescents, families and couples. Roger is also an ordained pastor. Roger will be presenting and doing Q&A. There will also be opportunity for you to talk with other parents about the joys and challenges of parenting. Please RSVP to the Ashton UMC office at 301-774-7100.

- Ashton Youth Christmas Party Sunday, December 16. Start time: 6:30PM. At the Conrads, 16910 Oak Hill Road, Silver Spring. Guys bring snacks, girls bring soda. Everyone bring a gift for the White Elephant Exchange, and your voice for karaoke. Yes, Timmy will sing “She Thinks My Tractor’s….” again.

- ROCK Balance Payment Deadline is: before the end of the Christmas Party Sunday December 16. Each student attending the ROCK 2008 Conference in Ocean City January 11-13 owes a final payment of $62. Please make checks payable to AUMC and put "Youth-ROCK 2008" on the memo line. As of today, two spots are available, for $112 each ($50 deposit + $62 final payment). These spots will be canceled Friday December 14 if no one claims them, so if your student would like to invite a friend, the time is NOW!

- "Home For Christmas" Christmas Eve Worship at AUMC. Please have your family join ours for worship on Christmas Eve. 4:30PM Children's Service. 8PM and 11PM Candlelight Service with Communion (Childcare provided at 8PM and 11PM).

- Join the Advent Conspiracy. If you're having a hard time finding Jesus among the holiday parties and gift lists, and would like to unplug the Christmas Machine, check out www.adventconspiracy.org. Advent Conspiracy is an international movement restoring the scandal of Christmas by worshiping Jesus through compassion, not consumption. It's about worshiping more, spending less, giving more and loving all. Is the new flatscreen or Wii REALLY the best way to celebrate Jesus' coming? I'm just askin'

- Confirmation 2008. Students in 7th grade and above who have not yet been confirmed in their faith in Christ and membership in AUMC are eligible to participate in confirmation class this spring. Confirmation is an essential step on your students' journey from a faith inherited to a growing faith they own as theirs. Class will begin Sunday January 6th and meet weekly from 9:30-10:30AM until the confirmation service at 11AM on Trinity Sunday, May 18th, followed by a picnic for confirmands, their families and guests. Students are also expected to attend the 11AM worship service. We'll be doing "field trips" and possibly a retreat for confirmands with neighboring UM churches. To enroll in the confirmation class of 2008, please contact Pastor Michael.

- Dates for 2008. 30 Hour Famine Retreat April 25-26. Local Mission Trip with Rebuilding Together and "Away" Mission Trip to Inner-City DC or Baltimore mid-July.

- CPYU December Parent Page. If you didn't get an email with it attached and would like this resource from the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding, please email me at youth AT ashtonchurch DOT org and I'll send it to you.

Peace,
Pastor Michael

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Question Night This Sunday...

In the Bible, the Devil asks the first question: "Did God really say THAT?" And God asks the second: "Where are you?" Ever since then, people have been asking questions, trying to be certain about what God has said, and through knowing that, locate themselves in the world.

This Sunday night at youth group, it's Question Night. Bring all your questions about God, Jesus, the Bible, life, whatever. Especially bring the ones you think are goofy. Oh yeah, also the ones you think are funny/embarrassing. We'll dive into the Bible, looking for how God's Story connects with ours. We'll probably wind up with as many questions as we start with. Because answers are overrated, especially when it comes to God.

Everyone who contributes a question will get to pick a prize from the box of overstock I got from Archie McPhee www.mcphee.com this week. Because if they weren't churning out plastic toys for jaded American teenagers like you, they'd be making tainted dog food or kids' toys with lead paint. And because the only thing better than a Devil Duck is a FREE Devil Duck.

See you Sunday!

Peace,
Pastor Michael

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Strange Stories From The Bible

Tonight at youth group we talked some more about music and its God-given power to do an end run around our minds and hit us straight in the heart. We learned from Homer Simpson that DOH like nuclear energy, music can be a powerful force for good or for bad in our lives. And we watched this video, which illuminates a Scripture passage that talks about the supernatural power of music.

Next week: God's iPod Week Three: Why there's no such thing as Christian music, featuring a clip from South Park. See you there.

Peace,
Pastor Michael

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