The Very First JYF Retreat

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come:  I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.  Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.” -Genesis 9:12-17

Jason and I were so excited to take four of our young people and be a part of the very first JYF retreat at Camp Caroline.  This retreat was specifically designed for children in grades 3 – 5.  We had a great time working with the kids and adults from our region and watching our children grow and explore God’s word.

This weekend, along with lots of fun, the children dug into two important Bible stories.  They learned songs, had worship, and experienced a series of rotations including Bible story, crafts, games, and other activities based on The Ten Commandments and Noah’s Ark.  It was impressive to see our children really thinking about how God was at work in these stories.

We wanted to share with you some of the moments we captured from the weekend:

The weekend ended on Sunday morning.  When we woke up Sunday morning, we had morning devotions at the Point (outdoor chapel by the creek).  As Pastor Courtney was leading our time together and beginning to read scripture, dolphins began to swim and jump in the lake behind her.  She finally stopped, stepped aside and said, let’s let God, through creation lead this devotion!!  It was amazing watching those dolphins swim around in front of us.  What a beautiful way to some up our weekend and God’s love for us…Amazing!!

---

This Week:

Wednesday, September 25th, 1:30 pm – Prayer & Inspiration
Wednesday, September 25th, 2:30 pm – 130th Anniversary planning team meeting (all are invited to participate)
Wednesday, September 25th, 6:30 pm – Choir Practice
Thursday, September 26th, 3:00 pm – Ladles of Love Meal Preparation & Delivery
Friday, September 27th, 7:30 pm – Movie Night: Aladdin (in the Church Parking Lot)
Sunday, September 29th , 9:45 am – Sunday School Series; Children’s Welcome to Worship Class
Sunday, September 29th, 11:00 am – Worship, Presenting Bibles

Sunday, September 29th, 12 noon – Fellowship Fundraiser Lunch: Casseroles

Upcoming Events:

**Save the date cards are being sent out for Homecoming/130th Anniversary Celebration on October 20th.  We have more postcards available in the church office.  We would love your help making sure we get the word out.  Please send postcards to former church members, family members, friends, and others who we want to welcome back for this special time of worship together.

**We are looking for folks to help us with Sanctuary Flowers each week. It is a great way to honor or remember someone special in your life.  Flowers can be a homemade arrangement, artificial or real, or provided from a local florist.  There is a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board outside of the children’s classroom.