Save These Dates!

September 16 - Altar Choir begins @ 6:30pm 

September 16 - UMCOR School Kit assembly in Carlson Hall

September 23 - Confirmation Sunday

October 7 - Blessing of the Animals @ 6pm in the Sanctuary

October 14 - UMW & Bible Sunday

October 28 - Trunk-or-Treat @ 4pm in the East parking lot


Sunday 
Snap Shot
Whirl - Team, Blue, Purple & Green
 Last Week (9/9)
Rally Sunday!

This Wee k (9/16) 
Creation and School Kits

Next Week (9/23)   Noah
                           
Connect - Team Orange 
Last Week (9/9)  Rally Sunday!

This Week (9/16)  Creation

Next Week (9/23)  Fall

Re:form - Club 67 
Last Week (9/9)  Rally Sunday!

This Week (9/16)  Who wrote the bible?

Next Week (9/23)  Why does the bible contradict itself sometimes?


                
Confirmation Retreat this Friday-Sunday!
There is still time to register for the Confirmation Retreat at Koinonia this weekend.  Students will leave from Hennepin at 7pm this Friday evening and return to Hennepin around 10:45am on Sunday to help assemble school kits for UMCOR.  For additional details and registration information, please visit haumc.org/events!
If you are not receiving youth emails from Pastor Nate, please let me know!  We will make sure that you are included on that mailing list!


The fall season brings the beginning of our Hennepin children's and youth choir programs.  Altar Choir welcomes all children in 4th - 7th grades, and meets at 6:30 pm on Sunday evenings.

We are excited to announce that Darin Riedel will be directing Altar Choir, again, this year!  Darin has been involved in our children's music program for many years, including directing Altar Choir, Carol and Cherub Choirs, and co-directing Joyful Uproar for the past 2 years.  This year, Darin plans to add some hand bell ringing opportunities to the Altar Choir experience!  We'll see you next week!
Hennepin Kids T-Shirts
Who grew over the summer?  I bet all of your kids!
On Rally Sunday, I will have our remaining stock of Hennepin Kids t-shirts out on a table in the Education Wing.  If there is one that fits, please take one.  If you would like to order a new one, and we don't have your size, please fill out your information on the clip board that will be provided.  Adults and Teachers are included!  There is no charge for our shirts - it is just a fun way support our ministry.  
 
Blessing of the Animals
Mark your calendars for this special service of blessing for our fuzzy friends and fur covered children.  We will celebrate all of God's creatures in the Sanctuary on Sunday, October 7th at 6pm.
As our Hennepin community explores what it means to strengthen our Spiritual CORE (Centered, Open, Receptive, Engaged), we will post weekly thoughts on what it means to have a strong CORE as a family.

Radical Hospitality:
"The personal practice of Radical Hospitality begins with accepting God's love...and deciding to let that gracious love make a difference in our lives..."(p.36)

It is one thing to open our hearts to God and allow the life giving love that comes only from God to begin to shape our souls.  It is a different thing, entirely, to hold up our children - those that we love the most- to hold them up to God with the recognition that they are held and loved more perfectly by God than we are capable of loving them.  They are ours for a while, God's forever.  Remember this in those times of missed naps, crumpled homework, or late school buses.  Consider the Radical Hospitality that can happen in our homes when we treat our spouses, partners, and children as the beloved children of God that they are - even in those life moments when those dearest to us seem loveable, but perhaps not all that likeable!


U M COR SCHOOL KITS
Our super successful school supply dri ve was just the begin ning!  Over the past few weeks, our Hennepin Kids have been busy un wrapping pencils, rulers, pencil sharpeners, and notebo oks so that these items can make the ir way into UMCOR school kits.  These school kits make their way around the country and the world to locations affected by war and natural disasters so that students have the supplies they n ee d to  attend school.  Join the entire Hennepin comm unity in our gigantic assembly line on Sunday, September 16th as we assemble ov er 4 00 kits !

The  Values Project  is a year-long initiative designed to equip families to raise children who thrive emotionally, socially, and spiritually. Get inspiration, practical ideas, family activities, and parenting tips from our network of seasoned parents and faith leaders, because it takes a village to raise a good human. Each month we'll explore a different value-like honesty, loyalty, creativity, kindness, compassion, and patience.
3 Steps to a Balanced Soul

A balanced soul means having our very core, our very essence in alignment with the rest of our life, mind, and body. I know when my soul is "off" I begin to snap at people in traffic or start planning escape routes out of town to avoid life. After a difficult season in my life where I was burned out, I found that there were 3 common denominators in bringing my soul back to balance.

Reflect
Reflection is a process of taking a step out of our ordinary routine to meditate on God's movement in our life and listen for how God might be speaking in that moment.  In reflection mode, we are reminded that we are not alone on this journey and that God actually has a plan for us. I have found time of reflection to be life giving especially when I feel like nothing is going right or will ever go right. I am reminded of times when God showed me a better way.
*Take a Time Out: Practice a meditative spiritual discipline such as silence or stillness. Use a  journal to document your thoughts.

Pause
Taking pause is important because we can get caught up in the cycle of "busy". We can go, go, and go without taking a moment to just be still. Jesus was all about being still. Going up to a mountain, traveling "to the other side". I also believe Jesus was all about naps!
*Push the Pause Button: Take a personal retreat to reconnect with God, even if only for the 10 minutes we have in the shower. Taking a nap can do wonders for your brain productivity, attitude, and heart.

Listen
God has something to say, but you must be in a place to listen. This goes hand in hand with pause. If there is so much noise that you can't think straight they will not be able to follow through. There needs to be space for you to get out of your own head. I understand most people will find this difficult, but I promise, it is necessary. Too much chatter can cloud your mind and heart. If you are clear of chatter then you are clear to make wise decisions.
*Clear the Chatterbox: Take a day or certain time of day to turn off the tv or your ringer for a moment of peace. A social media fast can help to calm the chatter in your head, heart, and soul.

Matthew 11:28
"Come to me all you who are wearied and burdened, and I will give you rest."

There must be time and space for us to pause, reflect, and listen to what God is doing in and around us.  There must be time to replenish what has been drained. And time to restore what has been emptied. If this process of replenishing and restoration doesn't happen, burn out is inevitable. When burn out happens it is not pretty. It is not easy to recover from. So take time now to get your soul back on track.


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And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.
- Micah 6:8