We are a church of rich heritage and warm hospitality which follows Christ into worship shares with Christ in fellowship and serves Christ both within and beyond our doors
Our Core Values are faith in God and Jesus Christ love for neighbors both near and far and a burning desire to bring hope, wholeness and joy to all peoples in all stations of life
From the Associate Pastor . . .Fourth Door on the Left
WPCYA (YOUNG ADULTS). I cannot express enough how excited we were to see so many young adults at our planning meeting on January 15. We learned a lot about each other, and we shared our own ideas for young adult ministry. The result: An actual calendar of events for 2012! This calendar, like our crazy lives, will be flexible at best; but, having experienced our time together, I’m confident it touches on the three major types of gatherings we talked about. You’ll notice events that help us explore the faith, events that allow us space for Christian fellowship, and events that help us get our hands a little dirty in Christ’s work in the world as the months unfold. Let’s take a look at February. Family Nights, Wednesdays, 5:30 pm – This is a great opportunity for you! First, a wonderful supper is provided each week. Also, there’s a class for children that begins at 6:30pm and lasts until 7:30pm. What will you do with yourselves during this time? EXPLORE your faith! Along with other great classes offered, here’s a great option just for you: A Faith and Film Experience (AFAFE), 2nd & 4th Wednesdays, 6:30pm-7:30pm – During this Family Night semester (Feb-May), we will explore three major themes of our faith, allowing Hollywood to spark our thinking. During February, we’ll explore “the quest for God,” using the movie Contact, based on a book by Carl Sagan, and the movie Hannah and Her Sisters, diving headlong into the wacky world of Woody Allen. March will bring discussions of a “suffering servant.” We’ll explore this theme through the lenses of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a great movie starring the young Jack Nicholas, and Dead Poets Society, Robin Williams at his best! We’ll finish AFAFE with The Shawshank Redemption as we explore the theme of “resurrection.” The structure is simple. You’ll be asked to try to view these movies sometime before we discuss them. Due to time constraints, I’ll be forced to facilitate discussions with clips only. So, if you don’t get to see the whole movie before we meet, we’ll carry out discussion in such a way that everyone will be included and on the same page.
Mellow Out at the Mellow Mushroom, Friday, February 17, 6:30pm – Let’s do dinner! Sunday Mornings, 9:30 am – Drop the kids off at their classes, grab some coffee, and meet in Pioneer Hall after Connections for some conversation about this week’s lectionary passage. WPCYF (YOUTH FELLOWSHIP). We’re definitely back in the saddle again with our youth ministry. February will be all the more a wild ride for you guys. Our program is up and running, focusing on heads, hearts, hands, and just simply having a good time! We’re so happy to see a revival of music in the youth program. Along with teaching, getting involved in Christ’s mission in our community, and experiencing growth of a group, a major focus of WPCYF is the practice of our faith through worship, which seems to happen most naturally in music. God has gifted our church abundantly in this arena, as evident in our Connections and traditional worship services, and has done so specifically for our youth through the gifts and talents of Bert Sigmon. Now, youth, let’s look at your calendar for February. Sunday Evenings, 5:30 p-7:30p – Did you just lose the game? We’ll continue our journey to an escape of the inescapable. How ever, this month allows us to meet just once for a regularly scheduled Sunday evening, which takes place on February 19. Kitchen duty will be covered by the Griffins then. But, parents, help is definitely needed for February 12 in meal preparation, distribution, and clean-up. Souper Bowl/Super Bowl Sunday, February 5 – First, we’ll collect monetary and canned-good donations in Pioneer Hall at Connections and in the narthex after worship. All proceeds will benefit the WPC Assistance Ministry. That evening, we’ll gather at the Tron House at 6pm for the Super Bowl! We may just catch the first half and all the halftime hoopla before dismissing. Parents should pick up youth around 8pm. HS Midweek, Tuesdays, 6pm-8pm – Leaders: Feb. 7, Jill Fletcher; Feb. 14, Mary Murray; Feb. 28, Kristie Johnson. MS Midweek, 1st & 3rd Wednesdays, 6pm-7:30pm – All of life requires compromise, and this program is no different. Since there is great need for a consistent gathering of the young adults, as is custom for both HS and MS youth, we’ve decided to share Wednesday evenings. Young adults will meet at the Tron House on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays. Middle School youth will meet at the Tron House on 1st and 3rd Wednesdays. However, in order to prevent robbing you of quality time together, we’ll add an extra thirty minutes to our meetings. That way, you’re really just sacrificing one meeting per month. Please note the change in days and time. Leaders: Feb. 1, Karen Caruso; Feb. 15, Kathy Parse. Valentines Day Dinner Fundraiser, Sunday, February 12, 5:30pm – Dress in your whites and blacks, let’s decorate, and be ready to serve and share our ministry with the congregation. We’ll talk details soon. This should be a fun night of food, great service, encouraging reports from WPCYF about what we’ve been up to in the past year, and the grand finale of The Married Couples Game!!! MS Outing, Friday, February 10, 5pm – Another cool night on the town, guys! Details TBA. Fat Tuesday Pancakes! Tuesday, February 21, 6 pm-7:30 pm (Both MS & HS) – Come to the Tron House to celebrate the day before Ash Wednesday—Lent’s beginning—the traditional way: by throwing back on some yummy pancakes! HS Outing, Sunday, February 26 – Let’s break from WPCYF for an evening and just you HS’ers go out for some fun. Details TBA. |
