Youth Group
St. John’s Facebook: facebook.com/stjohnhillchurch
St. John’s Children and Youth Ministry: facebook.com/childrenandyouthministry
ELCA Gathering Website: www.elca.org/youthgathering
Happy Fall, Youth Group!!
October 31st
Our next youth group meeting is Sunday, October 31st - think Fall Fun! Weather permitting, we will head out to Schwartz Farm in Hegins for the corn maze and hayride. If it is rainy or too muddy at the farm, we will have games, snacks, and a movie at the church. No matter what we end up doing, the meeting will start right after worship at approximately 11:30 a.m. Pizza is on the menu for lunch. Masks are required.
November 14th
How many of you missed having chicken and waffles last year? We sure did! Good news is it's back!! The famous chicken and waffle dinner is set for Sunday, November 14th immediately following worship. This year it will be a "TO GO" event only. Please watch your email for a sign-up sheet for youth group members and their parents to help that day.
With the rising number of COVID cases in our area, all youth group events are subject to change. Please watch your email for any updates.
Faith Formation on Sunday Mornings
Due to the issues with COVID, the Youth Group Faith Formation class (5th & 6th grade and high school - plus 7th & 8th grade when not having confirmation class) will meet outside in the pavilion at 9:00 a.m. as long as the weather permits. We will let you know when class moves inside to the youth room on the 3rd floor. By being outside, we can distance ourselves and not have to wear masks (unless told otherwise). So, bring your own camp chair, blanket, long underwear, etc. Whatever you need to be comfortable. We will have cocoa for the chilly mornings. Don't forget your bible!! If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to talk to Matt or Olivia. Thanks!
Gathering News
On September 15th, the ELCA released the following statement: "After much prayer and conversation, Gathering leadership have decided to require full COVID-19 vaccination or proof of a negative test result (likely 72 hours before arrival) to attend the 2022 Gathering, MYLE and the tAble. As of now, leadership have not decided on any additional safety measures. We commit to continued transparency in the decision-making process and will release information as it becomes available regarding additional safety measures or adjustments to key dates. Any updates will be communicated via Gathering social media, gNews and our website."
The Gathering leadership continue to listen to advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the host city local government, etc. For more information and many frequently asked questions, please visit the Gathering website at http://www.elca.org/youthgathering.
This does not change St. John's plans to attend the Gathering next year. Please know that we are watching this ever-changing situation. The health and safety of our youth are our top priority. If anything changes in the future, you will be the first to know.
So we forge ahead!! There will be an informational meeting in December about the Gathering. Our registration opens January 1st. There will be several fundraising opportunities in the near future. Please stay tuned!
2022 ELCA Youth Gathering Theme (July 24-28, 2022)
The ELCA Youth Gathering team announces the theme of the 2022 Gathering, “boundless: God beyond measure,” based on Ephesians 3:19 CEV.
“I want you to know all about Christ’s love, although it is too wonderful to be measured. Then your lives will be filled with all that God is.”
St. John’s Children and Youth Ministry: facebook.com/childrenandyouthministry
ELCA Gathering Website: www.elca.org/youthgathering
Happy Fall, Youth Group!!
October 31st
Our next youth group meeting is Sunday, October 31st - think Fall Fun! Weather permitting, we will head out to Schwartz Farm in Hegins for the corn maze and hayride. If it is rainy or too muddy at the farm, we will have games, snacks, and a movie at the church. No matter what we end up doing, the meeting will start right after worship at approximately 11:30 a.m. Pizza is on the menu for lunch. Masks are required.
November 14th
How many of you missed having chicken and waffles last year? We sure did! Good news is it's back!! The famous chicken and waffle dinner is set for Sunday, November 14th immediately following worship. This year it will be a "TO GO" event only. Please watch your email for a sign-up sheet for youth group members and their parents to help that day.
With the rising number of COVID cases in our area, all youth group events are subject to change. Please watch your email for any updates.
Faith Formation on Sunday Mornings
Due to the issues with COVID, the Youth Group Faith Formation class (5th & 6th grade and high school - plus 7th & 8th grade when not having confirmation class) will meet outside in the pavilion at 9:00 a.m. as long as the weather permits. We will let you know when class moves inside to the youth room on the 3rd floor. By being outside, we can distance ourselves and not have to wear masks (unless told otherwise). So, bring your own camp chair, blanket, long underwear, etc. Whatever you need to be comfortable. We will have cocoa for the chilly mornings. Don't forget your bible!! If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to talk to Matt or Olivia. Thanks!
Gathering News
On September 15th, the ELCA released the following statement: "After much prayer and conversation, Gathering leadership have decided to require full COVID-19 vaccination or proof of a negative test result (likely 72 hours before arrival) to attend the 2022 Gathering, MYLE and the tAble. As of now, leadership have not decided on any additional safety measures. We commit to continued transparency in the decision-making process and will release information as it becomes available regarding additional safety measures or adjustments to key dates. Any updates will be communicated via Gathering social media, gNews and our website."
The Gathering leadership continue to listen to advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the host city local government, etc. For more information and many frequently asked questions, please visit the Gathering website at http://www.elca.org/youthgathering.
This does not change St. John's plans to attend the Gathering next year. Please know that we are watching this ever-changing situation. The health and safety of our youth are our top priority. If anything changes in the future, you will be the first to know.
So we forge ahead!! There will be an informational meeting in December about the Gathering. Our registration opens January 1st. There will be several fundraising opportunities in the near future. Please stay tuned!
2022 ELCA Youth Gathering Theme (July 24-28, 2022)
The ELCA Youth Gathering team announces the theme of the 2022 Gathering, “boundless: God beyond measure,” based on Ephesians 3:19 CEV.
“I want you to know all about Christ’s love, although it is too wonderful to be measured. Then your lives will be filled with all that God is.”
Ephesians 3:14-21 CEV 14 I kneel in prayer to the Father. 15 All beings in heaven and on earth receive their life from [God]. 16 God is wonderful and glorious. I pray that [God’s] Spirit will make you become strong followers 17 and that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. Stand firm and be deeply rooted in [God’s] love. 18 I pray that you and all of God’s people will understand what is called wide or long or high or deep. 19 I want you to know all about Christ’s love, although it is too wonderful to be measured. Then your lives will be filled with all that God is.
20-21 I pray that Christ Jesus and the church will forever bring praise to God. [God’s] power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine. Amen.
We are bound. Bound by our sin, by the expectations of others, by poverty, by -isms that try to divide us, and by so much more. In a life that often feels as if it has young people in a suffocating grip, we want them to imagine the boundlessness of God: boundless love, boundless mercy, boundless freedom, boundless creation, boundless strength. All offered from a gracious and loving God who knows and adores them. All so abundant and endless it cannot be measured.
What are the stories of God’s people, both in Scripture and modern-day, that share the awe and wonder of just how vast our God is? What does it mean, what does it look and feel like to live a life “filled with all that God is”? How can young people find themselves within the boundlessness of Christ’s love?
MYLE, the tAble and the Gathering are unique opportunities to invite young people into a deeper relationship with a God whose possibilities are boundless. Through one-of-a-kind experiences, this ministry stretches and affirms young people’s gifts and calls. They experience the power of the Spirit within them, that frees them to live in the grace of God’s boundless love in Jesus Christ.
Finally, we are excited by the connections this theme offers to our host city of Minneapolis and the surrounding area. Known as the "City by Nature," Minneapolis is an earth-minded city in many ways. The Minneapolis Area Synod also names advocacy around care for creation as a top priority, which would allow us to learn from and support the local expression of the church.
20-21 I pray that Christ Jesus and the church will forever bring praise to God. [God’s] power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine. Amen.
We are bound. Bound by our sin, by the expectations of others, by poverty, by -isms that try to divide us, and by so much more. In a life that often feels as if it has young people in a suffocating grip, we want them to imagine the boundlessness of God: boundless love, boundless mercy, boundless freedom, boundless creation, boundless strength. All offered from a gracious and loving God who knows and adores them. All so abundant and endless it cannot be measured.
What are the stories of God’s people, both in Scripture and modern-day, that share the awe and wonder of just how vast our God is? What does it mean, what does it look and feel like to live a life “filled with all that God is”? How can young people find themselves within the boundlessness of Christ’s love?
MYLE, the tAble and the Gathering are unique opportunities to invite young people into a deeper relationship with a God whose possibilities are boundless. Through one-of-a-kind experiences, this ministry stretches and affirms young people’s gifts and calls. They experience the power of the Spirit within them, that frees them to live in the grace of God’s boundless love in Jesus Christ.
Finally, we are excited by the connections this theme offers to our host city of Minneapolis and the surrounding area. Known as the "City by Nature," Minneapolis is an earth-minded city in many ways. The Minneapolis Area Synod also names advocacy around care for creation as a top priority, which would allow us to learn from and support the local expression of the church.
