Posts by Guest User
AP Youth Week Of October 5th - October 11th

Hello 7th-12th Grade Families,

I hope you all are doing well and staying safe.

Here’s a look at what is happening this week:

Today, Tuesday, October 6th, 4 - PM we have Small Groups meeting in the parking lot for 9th & 10th graders. This is a chance to get together in small groups not only for games and fun, but also for intentional conversation. This week’s theme is scripture and what it means to us.

On Friday, October 9th 7 - 8:15 PM is Friday Night Lights! This Friday we will be rolling out the TV carts, the Wii, the old school NES, and having an outdoor arcade night. We will have marked spaces to stand in and play games that are 6ft apart. Sanitizing wipes will be used on the controllers between each person and masks will be worn at all times to ensure we are being as safe as possible. Please sign up ahead of time here abidingpresence.net/youth. We need lots of parent support to make our Friday Night Lights events possible, so parents, please sign up to help, too.

Our Abiding Fellows (11th & 12th grade) met yesterday in-person in the parking lot or Wednesday, October 7th from 7:30-8:30 PM over Zoom. Our Abiding Fellows are exploring what it means to be gifted and called by God while also designing projects to be completed this semester.

Finally, I would like to bring to your attention the new Music & Arts Small Group Ministry that is launching this Sunday and next Sunday afternoon. These small group ensembles and classes are going to be outdoors and will follow all of our usual safety protocols. David Chavez, our Music and Worship Minister, is leading this new ministry along with a fantastic team of musicians and artists.

We will continue to follow our safety protocol and ask everyone to wear a mask at all in-person events.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or ideas as we head into fall, please do not hesitate to be in touch.

Blessings,
Mr. Jon

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Guest User
AP Youth Week Of September 28 - October 4th

Hello 7th-12th Grade Families,

I hope you all are doing well and staying safe.

Abiding Presence Youth Ministry is off and running with our fall calendar! We had a terrific time last night at our first “Friday Night Lights” (rescheduled from Friday to Sunday due to rain).

Here’s a look at what is happening this week:

On Monday, September 28th, 12 - 2 PM we will be meeting outdoor homeroom! Come to the church parking lot and bring a snack, homework, laptops, and/or whatever you need for asynchronous learning. We will have Wi-Fi in the parking lot so you can spread out and get some space or sit near your friends (8 ft apart of course).

On Tuesday, September 29th, 4 - PM we have Small Groups meeting for 9th & 10th Graders this is a chance to get together in small groups not only games and fun but also for intentional conversation. This week we will be talking about scripture and what it means to us.

Our Abiding Fellows (11th & 12th grade) will meet this week on Monday, September 28 from 1:30-2:30 PM in-person in the parking lot or Wednesday, October 1 from 7:30-8:30 PM over Zoom.

We will continue to follow our safety protocol and ask everyone to wear a mask at all in-person events.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or ideas as we head into fall, please do not hesitate to be in touch.

Blessings,
Mr. Jon

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Guest User
News for Abiding Youth

Hello, 7th-12th Grade Families,

I hope you all are doing well and staying safe.

This week Abiding Presence Youth Ministry will be kicking off our fall calendar. This week’s event schedule and the September calendar are below. Here’s a look at what is coming.

On Monday, September 21st 12 - 2 PM we will have our first-ever outdoor homeroom! Come to the church parking lot and bring your homework, laptops and/or whatever you need for asynchronous learning. We will have Wi-Fi in the parking lot so you can spread out and get some space or sit near your friends (8 ft apart of course).

On Friday, September 25th from 7 - 8:15 PM is Friday Night Lights! This is an event for students to come, have fun, play games, and be together as a youth group. This Friday we will be hanging out, playing games together, and talking about plans for the future. These will be happening ever 2nd and 4th Friday of the month.

Small Groups for 9th & 10th Graders and Abiding Fellows for 11th & 12th graders are opportunities for students to gather in small groups to connect at various times during the week.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or ideas as we head into fall, please do not hesitate to be in touch.

Blessings,
Mr. Jon

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News for the Week of August 17th-23rd

Hello 7th-12th Grade Families,

I hope you all are doing well and staying safe.

This week for Abiding Presence Youth Ministry we will be continuing our summer calendar. The full schedule is below, but I wanted to highlight the Wednesday and Sunday event specifically.

On Wednesday, August 19 we will be having a craft day. I will have paint, canvases, and clay for our students to relax in their parking space and be creative.

On Sunday, August 23 we will be having a drive-in movie. Bring snacks and, if you would like, the whole family! This event will be for all 7-12th grader and families. We will be using the whole parking lot and continuing to keep distance by having students/families stay one parking space away from one another.

Also, I hope you will take a second look at two of the special opportunities for students we are launching this fall - Music & Arts Ministry and Abiding Fellows. We already have nearly 35 students signed up for the Music & Arts Ministry and seven 11th & 12th graders signed up for Abiding Fellows. If you haven’t already done so, please sign your student up to participate.

If you have any questions, suggestions or ideas as we head into fall, please do not hesitate to be in touch.

Blessings,
Mr. Jon

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Guest User
The Storm Before the Calm

The phrase, “The storm before the calm,” usually goes the other way and is known as, "The calm before the storm.” I think for most of my life, however, it has been the latter. But, working at a church, the phrase being flipped feels very fitting in this period before Lent. With the start of the year now under our belts, that means falling into your normal routines and rhythms of life. However, I (and I have a hunch I am not alone) am spending a lot of time playing catch up. There is almost no time to spend enjoying the new year and trying to follow my new years resolution. The hustle and bustle of life gets to us so quickly. We become consumed so fast by work and life, that we push our resolutions to the side and fall back into our old habits. There is a hope on the horizon—yes, it is Jesus—and we can experience that hope simply by slowing down.

During Lent, we are called to take a look at what we can take off our plate and put onto our Lord’s plate, a plate that is never too full. I constantly look forward to this time when we are encouraged to slow down with one another and with the Lord, especially because we're all in it together. Doing this together with the whole church gives me strength and courage. When I see everyone slowing down and handing things over to God I am reminded that I am not supposed to be doing everything on my own.

I love this job and I love all the students and parents, but I am not the only one at work. If I am not leaving room for God to be at work, and asking God to take over things, then I am failing at my job.

That is where I find myself during the new year, trying to do everything and leaving God out of my work. Lent reminds me to do the opposite. The season of Lent reminds me to intentionally invite God into my work and my life. Not only does it slow me down and leave me more relaxed, but I also get to see how much better my work is when I invite God into it. When I take the time to invite God and listen to what God is saying, my work becomes filled with the Holy Spirit and the results are better than I could ever do on my own.

Let's get ahead of the storm, and begin practicing some aspects of Lent now. We don't have to take on the storm by ourselves.

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YMCoverGuest UserYouth
Registration Due Now for the 8th-12th Grade Work Trip this Summer

Early Bird Registration Due by December 4

This summer’s youth work trip will take us to Philadelphia, PA to serve with City Service Missions (CSM). The early bird registration was originally due December 1, but we are extending the deadline to Wednesday, December 4 in order to allow as many families as possible to take advantage of this discounted rate. Registration for the trip is now open and can be found here by scrolling down the page and clicking on the box "register for a trip." The $80 deposit can then be paid online here. If you need finanical assistance to make the trip possible for your student, please contact Pastor Keseley. We never want cost to keep a student from participating. If you have any questions, please contact Jon.

Who: current 8th-12th grade students

When: June 21-26, 2019

Where: Philadelphia, PA with City Service Missions (CSM)

Cost: $275 (if registered before Dec. 4), $350 (if registered before Feb. 1) or $400 any time after (Financial assistance is always available, so just talk with Pastor Keseley if that would be helpful)

Here are further details:

We will attend worship together at the 8:45 a.m. service on Sunday morning, June 21, and then leave immediately following the service. We will come Friday night, June 26.

While in Philadelphia we will be staying in CSM's housing. There will be shared sleeping (multiple rooms with bunk beds, and leaders will be separate from  students) and bathroom facilities in accordance with our child protection policy.

We will be working for a group called City Service Missions (CSM), which is a short term mission organization that partners with local ministries, food pantries, summer camp and other great organizations. CSM works to give churches an opportunity to help partner with organizations in ways that allows the ministry to keep going after we are gone. It will be an amazing trip where we get to do some hard work, meet amazing people, experience life in the city, and eat delicious ethnic food. 

During the week we are serving we will visit two community partner sites every day. We will go to one in the morning, take a lunch break and then visit the second site. At the end of the day we will have dinner at a local ethnic restaurant (Indian, Mexican, Vietnamese, Cuban, Middle Eastern, etc.). The night ends with a team debriefing. One day we will have free to explore Old Town Philadelphia where the famous Liberty Bell is located!

An $80 deposit is due at the time of registration, which will be credited toward the total cost of the trip. Please fill out the registration online and then pay the deposit either electronically through the church website here or bring a check to church. The trip cost is inclusive of all costs except meals during travel and incidental expenses. The total per student cost of the trip, including travel, is much more than we are asking families to pay. We will have several fundraising events leading up to the trip in which we will ask the students and families to participate.

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YMENewsGuest UserYouth