Youth and Family News

News and updates about the Youth Ministry at First Presbyterian Church in Bend, OR. Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.     Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Forward to a Friend Click this Picture for Heartfelt Newsletter Heartfelt is designed for busy families who want to grow body, mind and spirit, and who want support and encouragement. CLICK THIS PICTURE FOR SUMMER TRIP PERMISSION FORM TRIP DATES ARE JULY 5-13, 2012 Fill out this form and return it to Greg’s office by February 6th with a deposit of $150 if you want to go on the trip to Washington, DC this summer.   Sign up and share our newsletter! This year, as you can see, our emails look a little different! We are trying out a new service called MailChimp. Our hope is to be able to communicate more broadly to more people over more platforms in the simplest way possible! Greg is going on Paternity Leave! Greg will be on paternity leave during the months of February and March, but don’t you worry! Sandy and Scott Hill and Pam Ziegler have agreed to take up his duty for the middle school students on Wednesday night and Bob Brydges has agreed to help out with high school students on Mondays. If you are interested in helping out contact Ron Werner (ron@nativitybend.com) or Donna Jacobsen (dj@trinitybend.org) to jump in. If you have an emergency, please contact Steven at the church office. Middle School Middle School will continue to meet at First Presbyterian Church on Wednesday nights from 5:30-7:30 PM through the end of February. Starting in March our meetings will move to Trinity Episcopal Church at 469 NW Wall Street Bend, OR. High School- Parent’s sign up to provide food for Monday nights! Email Denise Wright at Denise Wright sigley10@gmail.com High School will continue to meet at Common Table Monday nights from 6:00-8:00 PM. Click on the picture of the Lincoln Memorial to the left to get a Medical and Permission form for the Washington, DC trip coming up July 5-13. Forms and a deposit of $150 are due to Greg no later than February 6! Scholarships are available but you must talk to Greg before February! You can also click here for the form! Speaking of Platforms… There is a new way to “follow” what’s going on with the BendFP Youth. Here’s how it works: You text the phrase “follow bendfpyouth” to 40404, and that’s it! Every time a tweet comes from the bendfpyouth twitter account (which I promise will be less than 5 a week) you will receive a text and have the most up to date info. If receiving texts isn’t your thing, don’t worry! We have roughly 12 different ways to communicate information about our youth ministry. If you have a facebook account, I would encourage you to “like” BendFPYouth and the Bend Youth Collective pages. If you have a Twitter account I would encourage you to follow BendFPYouth. If those don’t work for you here are some other way that we give out information: Faith Notes, Bulletin (see you Sunday), E-News (sign-up here), Blog, Website, Calendar, Email list (if you’re getting this you’re on it), Text, Phone Call (make sure I have your current information), and Personal Contact (see you at church). I hope that covers it. If not, we’ll send a carrier pigeon or something. Blessings, Greg      follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend  unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences

BendFPYouth News

Summer is coming to a close and we are getting ready for another great year at First Presbyterian. I wanted to make sure everyone was aware of some stuff coming up in the life of the youth.

Sundays this fall we will offer several educational and fellowship opportunities for youth. Keep your eyes peeled for updates coming soon! If you’re interested in teaching or subbing for any of these contact Greg!

There will be a Teacher Training, Sunday, August 28 9:20-10:45 AM. If you’d like to attend contact Greg.

Condega Connect! Check out the displays in the Commons Area to learn more about the trip to Nicaragua and the life changing experiences of the participants.

Kits for Kids: Friday, August 26 10:00 AM meet at First Presbyterian to pack the last 10 Kits for Kids and move them all into the Sanctuary for Sunday Worship. We’ll have fun and go out to lunch afterwards. Contact Greg for more details!.

Youth Over-Night Hike: August 30 – September 1 – Obsidian Falls and Middle Sister

Youth Day Hike: September 24 – Soda Creek Loop

Youth Day Hike: October 14 – River Rim

Also check out this month’s Heartfelt Newsletter this month’s edition “Nurturing Spiritual Growth in Our Children”. (http://www.thelogosministry.org/heartfelt.html)

Blessings,
Greg Bolt
Pastor for Youth and Their Families
First Presbyterian Church- Bend, OR
twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ggbolt16
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ggbolt16
email: ggbolt16@gmail.com

Flock and Fold News

Hey Youth, Parents and Partners,

The year is coming to a close and so are our weekly meetings. The last Senior High Monday night meeting will be Monday, May 30th, the last Middle School Wednesday night meeting will be Wednesday, May 25th.

Check out this link, the youth blog (bendfpyouth.wordpress.com) or the posters in the Commons area for Summer dates.

Middle School Mid-Week Gathering- Wednesday 5:30-7:30 at Trinity Episcopal Church (downtown) Come for dinner, games, small group and work projects. $3 for dinner.

Senior High Youth Gathering- Monday 6:00-8:00 at Common Table (downtown) Come for dinner, conversation, games and projects this week. $5 for dinner

More information on all gatherings: Pastor Greg Bolt, gbolt@bendfp.org

This Sunday is an opportunity to involve your family in a service project.  Members of the congregation will be picking up trash in our neighborhood.  We will head over to Bend High School after the 9 o’clock service and head down 9th street toward the circle after the 10:45 service.  Doing service together as a family and then talking about why you do it is a great way to do faith formation @ home.

Here is a link to the May edition of Heartfelt http://www.thelogosministry.org/heartfelt.html

This on-line newsletter for parents focuses on teaching honor, courage and bravery this month.

Thought this was a good reminder: http://youtu.be/x4VgObInXHA

Also here is a word from www.fosterORadopt.com on the need for foster parents. Heidi and I are currently starting the process to become certified a foster parents, this is the beginning of our journey. Find out about why here

“As a community who cares for the wellbeing of our children, it is timely that we recognize that May Is National Foster Care Month. This month, and every day, we have an opportunity to support the children and youth who live in our homes, neighborhoods and our great city. There are foster parents in our community who take children in temporarily until they can be reunited with their families. These foster parents do it because they care, because they want to make a difference, and because they know every child deserves a safe and nurturing place to call home.

Many people aren’t aware that one of the State’s greatest needs is to find safe, loving and skilled homes who can care for children and youth with disabilities. Children and youth with disabilities who are also in the foster care system are one of the most vulnerable populations in the United States. Even so, little attention is paid to the unique challenges they face as they negotiate their way through multiple systems to adulthood. One of the best things we can do to serve these children and youth while they are in care is to connect them with families who are adequately prepared to care for them.

The ideal foster parent for a child with special needs has parented before and has experience in the medical, mental health and/or education fields. The traits most important for a foster parent of a child with special needs, however, are patience, understanding of diagnosed disabilities and the willingness and time to learn, make accommodations and access necessary resources.  Could you be this foster parent?

Last year over 14,000 children in Oregon spent at least one day in foster care. You can make a difference for one. Learn more about becoming a foster parent today. Call 1-800- 331-0503 or visit www.fosterORadopt.com.”

Blessings,

Greg Bolt

Pastor for Youth and Their Families

First Presbyterian Church- Bend, OR

twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ggbolt16

facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/ggbolt16

email: ggbolt16@gmail.com

Flock and Fold News

Hey folks,

This week begins our journey of Lent. Our journey towards Easter morning, to mark this occasion First Presbyterian Church will have an Ash Wednesday Service (Wednesday, March 9 at 6:00 PM) this will be our Middle School Youth meeting this week! I look forward to seeing all of you there for this wonderful service and beginning of the walk towards Jerusalem.

Parents

Here is this month’s Heartfelt Newsletter (http://www.thelogosministry.org/heartfelt.html). This month’s focus “Praying with Children”

People interested in Confirmation

Students in 8th grade and up are invited to join us in this journey. Our hope is to assemble a diverse group of individuals to provide many perspectives on faith and life. This group may include 8th graders, older youth, new members, or those who want to learn and explore their faith. I am sure that God will bless our time together and will walk with us as we journey.

Jill Anderson and Scott Nelson have agreed to shepherd our students along the path towards their own faith. There will be an informational meeting Sunday, April 17 at 10:15 in the Youth Center. Our regular meetings will be on Sundays starting May 1 and finishing on Confirmation Sunday, June 6. We will be using the re:form curriculum as our guide. Feel free to check it out here. http://www.wearesparkhouse.org/reform/

Senior High

Los Angeles Summer Trip June 13-21! DON’T MISS OUT bring in your permission slip and deposit ($100) to the office immediately! Scholarships available. Check out this video

Don’t forget about our meetings Monday Nights at Common Table from 6-8 PM!

Middle School

CITY CAMP in Salem, the Middle School mission opportunity is SOLD OUT! We have 9 students and 2 adults signed up joining 48 students and 12 adults for a week of service, fun and worship. If you’d still like to be a part of this sweet action contact Greg THERE IS A WAITING LIST!

Don’t forget about our meetings Wednesday Nights at Trinity Episcopal from 5:30-7:30 PM!

As always if you would like to help out or have questions feel free to contact me.

Blessings,
Greg Bolt
Associate Pastor of Youth and Family Ministry
First Presbyterian Church- Bend, OR
twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ggbolt16
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ggbolt16
email: ggbolt16@gmail.com