Middle School Meet Ups These events are co-hosted with Hennepin Youth for students entering 6th grade through high school. October 31 Trunk or Treat Noon-2pm Wear your costume to church, bring your trunk decorations, stay for lunch and activities after worship! November 6 Serve MSP @Good Samaritan UMC Pack Shoebox Christmas Gifts for Native American children and youth. Outdoor Sunday School Please remember that our goal is to be outside for Sunday school as long as possible. We have been unbelievably fortunate so far, but it is beginning to get a little cooler. Please remember to send your children ready for outdoor fun! Greater Than What??? Our new sermon series is called Greater Than. Over the next couple of weeks, our Children's Time message will focus on different things that are "greater than" other things. Here's a preview of what will be shared in worship on Sunday.

A New Worship Series in October! Saturday Contemplative Worship Series October 9, 16, 23 and 30 4pm in Koinonia Hall (formerly called Social Hall) 3:30pm: Pre-service fellowship in Carlson Hall (optional) Through days of exhausting schedules, multiple responsibilities, and critical decisions, many persons are looking for a place of quiet rest, a setting for worship that will refill and revitalize. We may find such spiritual refreshment in worship, which is still, reflective and meditative. Contemplative Worship is a setting in which we quiet ourselves in order to open our souls to the ministry of God within. It is one way to hear the voice of God with our hearts. What to expect: Mark Squire, Director of Worship & Fine Arts describes, "For this October iteration of Contemplative Worship at Hennepin Avenue UMC, in the setting of quiet and silence, we engage with several short readings, sing in the Taize tradition, and offer prayer with the lighting of candles. A guiding emphasis will be more on 'being' than 'doing'.” Please invite your friends on Facebook. Click here.

Trunk or Treat: Be a Volunteer October 31 • Noon to 2pm Hennepin Avenue UMC is hosting a community-wide event and we need your help to host it! Trunk or Treat returns to Hennepin Avenue UMC on Sunday, October 31st from noon to 2pm! Children are invited to wear their costumes to church, and the Hennepin community plus volunteers are invited to stay after service for lunch, a pumpkin decorating contest, and other fun activities before Trunk or Treat kicks off at noon. Invite your friends! Hennepin members are also invited to bring pumpkins from home to participate in "The Best Jack O' Lantern" contest, which will be voted on by the families who attend Trunk or Treat. The best jack o' lantern and the best-decorated trunk will win a prize, as will some of our guests from the event. Kids will also enjoy face painting and a fun inflatable to play on! To sign up to host a decorated trunk or be an event volunteer, click here.

You’re Invited: Dreaming Our Future Saturday and Sunday, October 16 & 17 The Worship & Fine Arts Leadership Team will host three 75-minute conversations around 5 focusing topics, which will help us imagine into the ministry ahead. Participants will have the opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas, as well as interact with the dreams of other fellow participants! Conversation Topics: What does a multi-racial beloved community look/sound/feel like artistically in the future? What role do the arts play in your life, and how can the church nurture that? What resident artists could we consider hosting in our future? What impact do concerts, exhibits, performances have on our ministry, our church and our community? What worship styles, languages, experiences would you like to explore? To be involved in one of these groups, please reserve your space by Friday, October 8 by clicking the links below or by calling the church. Group size is limited to 30 persons. Saturday, October 16: 1:00-2:15pm In-Person Koinonia Hall. Click here to register. Saturday, October 16: 2:30-3:45pm On-line Zoom. Click here to register. Sunday, October 17: 11:30am-12:45pm In-person Koinonia Hall. Click here to register.

Shoebox Christmas Gifts Help Us Hit Our Goal of 200 Gifts! September 12-October 24 We will be collecting donations to create Shoebox Christmas Gifts for Native American children and youth. This ministry is in partnership with the United Methodist Mission in Spirit Lake, ND where youth and adults from Hennepin have served in years past. Hennepin is joining several United Methodist churches to collect gifts for over 6,000 young people living on reservations in the Dakotas and Minnesota. Click here to hear about the impact of this outreach ministry. Each shoebox will include an assortment of toys, winter gear, art supplies, and hygiene essentials. The cost to build each shoebox is $25. To sponsor Christmas Shoeboxes please click here. On November 6, Hennepin youth will join youth from all over the Twin Cities to pack the shoeboxes as a part of the Serve MSP Fall Day of Service. If you would like to donate toys, we will be collecting for infants through teenagers. These gifts can be dropped off in the donation bin in the East Entry or shipped directly to 511 Groveland Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55403.

Follow Us! Hennepin Kids for LYFE is on Facebook! Please "like" us @hennepinkidsforlyfe for updates on programming, pictures of our kids, and upcoming activities that will be shared weekly. To find out more about Hennepin Kids for LYFE, go to HAUMC's website at haumc.org/children.

For any questions regarding Children & Family Ministries, please contact Lynne Carroll at lynne@haumc.org