Dear Fourth Church Youth Volunteers,

It dawned on me around the middle of July that summertime is not downtime for youth ministry. At least not here. Our weekly youth get-togethers shut down in May, but June and July is trip season--three in 2017, four in 2018! That third trip actually ran into August, which is also teacher workshop season: our Sunday Confirmation, Senior High, and Junior High leaders all met on a Sunday in August to get ready for the September 10 Kickoff Sunday.

Whew!

And now a new year is practically upon us. All the weekly youth groups start on Sunday, September 10. Come to the Bumpus Room on the second floor of the Gratz Center at 10:30 a.m., where all youth will gather with bagels for some (mostly) unstructured community time before heading to their respective groups at 11:00 a.m. Then join us for a picnic in the courtyard! We'll have a dunk tank (simply reply to this email to sign up for your shift in that), food, and--a new addition this year--a station for assembling snack packs that the Social Service Center will distribute to guests. It's going to be a fun way to welcome students to a new year, as well as to connect with parents and fellow youth leaders.

Contribute items for the snack packs by clicking here.    

The calendar of annual events is all set too. You can see it here . You'll see that we are planning a full year of ministry with teenagers both here on the Mag Mile and out there--on retreats and mission trips in Michigan, Wisconsin, Cuba, and who knows where else? I am deeply gratified to have this community of leaders along for the ride. Thank you (and please note the dates on the calendar that are for you--leader lunches, a Christmas potluck, and the like).

Here's to a great year of youth ministry!

Yours,

Rocky