Fall Events

Posted on September 20, 2012 by ggbolt16

Dear Parents, Youth & Partners,

This fall youth in Bend we will continue the radical journey of faith. Members of Nativity Lutheran, First Presbyterian and Trinity Episcopal are following the call from God to combine our gifts and skills to be Christ’s hands and feet in the world. We seek to serve our community with energy, passion, thought and a whole lot of fun – together.

* 3 churches > 1 community

* 3 traditions > 1 faith

* 3 histories > 1 future

The team leading this effort consists of Ron Werner, Director of Youth Ministries at Nativity Lutheran; Caitlin Jarvis, Associate Director of Youth Ministries at Nativity Lutheran; Rev. Greg Bolt, Pastor of Youth and Their Families at First Presbyterian Church; Donna Jacobsen, Youth and Family Ministries Leader at Trinity Episcopal Church; and many, many volunteers. We have some big opportunities for growth in community, in faith and in love this fall. We hope you will join us for any or all of them.

Youth (6th-12th Grade) Ministry Fall Sunday Morning Opportunities – Beginning October 7

7th-8th Grade – Using the re:form Traditions curriculum. Traditions gives your youth the tools they need to deeply explore their particular faith tradition with witty videos, engaging individual and group activities and an online forum for sharing what they’ve learned along the way. We will also be testing out a previously unpublished curriculum called “Echo the Story.” “Echo the Story” is an innovative line of resources and events, inspiring churches to discover the art of Bible storying. Storying provides an imaginative experience of the Bible’s overarching narrative that prompts creative and meaningful responses.

9th-10th Grade – Leadership Development – Young people in these ages will have the opportunity to learn and grow through teaching Godly Play.

High School Students (9th-12th Grade) – Fellowship – On the first Sunday of the month we will go out for coffee or breakfast. We could be at a shop, a restaurant or someone’s house. This will be a time to sit and be with one another after worshiping together at First Presbyterian.

Bend Youth Collective – Mid Week Offerings: Middle School (6th-8th Grade)—Wednesdays 5:30-7:30 PM Nativity Lutheran will be the weekly meeting place for the middle school BYC starting our first meeting of the year on Wednesday, September 19; and we will continue to meet there through the end of November. December through February we will meet at First Presbyterian, and in March we will start meeting at Trinity Episcopal, where we will finish out the school year. During this time we will work on service projects, play games, watch some videos, have conversations in small groups and gather together to eat dinner.

In order to cover food costs for this upcoming year, we are asking for $50 per student per semester or $100 for the year. If you are unable to pay this amount, scholarships are available. This year we are giving parents the opportunity to host a meal for one of our weekly meetings. We ask that the meal feed approximately 30 youth, and in return we will reimburse you up to $75 in food costs. If providing a meal is something you are interested in or if you have any questions, please email Sally Brogan at sbrogan56@yahoo.com or give her a call (541-771-8467).

High School (9th-12th Grade)—Mondays 6:00-8:00 PM Looney Bean Coffee will be our new weekly meeting place! This awesome coffee shop with a big back yard located at 961 Northwest Brooks Street in Bend will provide a great place for us to meet, play, eat and learn together. It also affords us an opportunity to be downtown and take advantage of all that downtown has to offer.

In order to cover food costs for this upcoming year, we are asking for $50 per student per semester or $100 for the year. If you are unable to pay this amount, scholarships are available. This year we are giving parents the opportunity to host a meal for one of our weekly meetings. We ask that the meal feed approximately 30 youth, and in return we will reimburse you up to $75 in food costs. If providing a meal is something you are interested in or if you have any questions, please email Greg at gbolt@bendfp.org or call him (541-350-8074)

Other Fall Events;

Middle School Mania – Oct. 26-28, Camp B’NAI B’RITH Lincoln City, OR Using Jeremiah 29:10-14, we will explore the promises of God. We will talk about the realities of Middle School life, including bullies, school, relationships with parents and friends, and peer pressure. We will consider the ways that we hide from God and what it means for us to seek God. Through worship and music, in small group conversations and activities, we will explore these concepts and hear again and again God’s promise: “When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me” (Jeremiah 29:13–14a, NRSV). Look for a registration brochure in the Commons’ Area Kiosk or contact Greg for more details at gbolt@bendfp.org.

CPYA – Nov. 16-18, Aldersgate Camp and Retreat Turner, OR The working theme is “Don’t Tempt Me.” Amazing speakers, Greg and Heidi Bolt, will lead students through discussion of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness and the temptations that we face every day in school, from our peers, and from our families. You know it will be awesome! Look for registration brochures in the Commons Area Kiosk or contact Greg for more details at gbolt@bendfp.org.

Blessings, Rev. Greg Bolt

Summer Closeout Events

Posted on August 21, 2012 by ggbolt16

God, Myself, and Leadership: 3 New Truths by: Josh Erskine

Posted on July 27, 2012 by ggbolt16

This is a reflection from one of our students. Josh will be a freshman at Cascades Academy starting in the fall. He loves Star Wars and is quick to volunteer to pray. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

During our recent trip to Washington DC I learned much. I learned about our world in the natural history museum, I learned about aeronautics in the air and space museum, and I learned what horrors faced the Jews who lived during the Nazi tyranny. Still some learnings go past basic knowledge and are some of the most worthwhile truths you can know and that is what this trip has given me.

There are three main subjects where I have discovered new truths during our journey: God, myself, and leadership. With God my new truth went beyond knowing something and became a way to look at the world and every person in it in a different way. When we met in our small groups we were told every single being in this world is God’s beloved. When our leaders told us this after the holocaust museum it was very controversial. I was challenged to examine its basic meaning. I understood that people can make all sorts of horrible choices and decisions but that God loves you no matter what. It was amazing to think “God loves Hitler, too” and I began looking around the street saying that man/woman/animal/plant or whatever, is God’s beloved! This brought all new meaning to when people in church would say “God loves everyone” and it helped me understand it way better!

In terms of myself, when walking and talking with my friends I learned the hard way that it’s best to stop and listen instead of always talking. This became clear when my friends started putting limits on topics I could talk about. When we sat down in our small groups and talked about better ways to be leaders I learned that leadership isn’t all about telling other people what to do. It’s mainly about leading by example and doing work along with other people to achieve a goal that you all have agreed to and are working for. This surprised me a lot due to the fact that I have always had leaders telling me what I should do in a group. Then I looked back and realized that a lot of the time they had been doing a lot of the work alongside us. When coupled with words of encouragement this allowed us to work better as a group then we would have as an unorganized mob.

This was my first Bend Youth Collective trip so I am looking forward to seeing what other trips will come, what adventures we will take, what new things I will see, and what new truths we, as a collective, will learn together.