Mondaymail 4/21 April 21, 2008

Dear Parents,

Good morning one and all! I hope you are all enjoying this wonderful transition into spring, a few tornadoes thrown in for good, north Texas measure. The wildflowers have been fabulous, in my opinion, so I suppose I can take the good with the bad. Without further ado, here’s the lowdown:

1) Fun youthy moment during the week: the interns redecorated my office with strategically placed pieces of old pizza. I have commemorated this occasion by tracing the outline of the pizza that was duct-taped to my bulletin board. Here lay pizza indeed. Also, we went out on the town Friday night with Chi Rho, which involved an IHOP stop. Coincidentally, one of our youth (Brian Tschiemer) was discovered there by his sister, fellow youth Allison, who was swinging through in post-prom fun. Allison couldn’t help but rib her brother a bit to the delight of her friends and the youth group. I think Brian was secretly pleased as well.

2) In Sunday school, EYC discussed 1 Peter 2:1-10, talking about putting other things before God. This dovetailed with our evening talk. As you might recall, last week Nick talked about the idolatry of the stuff, and this week I talked about the idolatry of the self, taking from the text on Simon the Sorcerer in Acts and the fall of Adam and Eve. We spoke of redemption and redirection through Christ with his temptation on the mount as well as Paul’s proper witness to Christ (as opposed to Simon’s self-aggrandizing attempt) in Col 1:24-28. Things to discuss would be how our love of ourselves gets in the way of loving others properly. I harped a bit on how God’s love is infinite, and here is an excerpt from my talk: “When we give the love of God to others, it continues on and enlarges without being diminished in us. In fact, it grows as we share it and as we grow in it. If we encourage love of us in an idolatrous way, it is finite. It also doesn’t fulfill us. It doesn’t get rid of the inadequacy and the pride. It compounds it, but it leaves us feeling worse than before, and it wraps us up. God can set you free. I want you to think of mission trips, of Summer splash, of Habitat work projects. I want you to think of moments you were helping friends out with tough things, when you were working on a team (truly team working). Those are times when the us decreases so that God can be greater. Those are the times when our idolatry cracks, when God breaks through. May we strive for those times.”

3) Chi rho had it’s lockout, which spent a fairly minimal amount of time on spiritual things, and our Sunday school focused on looking at the major events in our spiritual journeys and how they’ve influenced us and correlated our spiritual and physical journeys to Acts 17:1-15. We spent some time talking about what Paul’s physical life looked like and how his spiritual life sustained him even in dire straits. We talked about how it can encourage us that he went through such severe persecution and uncertainty and yet did so much good for the kingdom, even if it meant coming to an unpleasant end himself. I encouraged them to look at their lives in their entireties, not divorcing the spiritual from the so-called mundane, as in fact our spiritual and physical lives are not truly separate. Asking them about how big events have influenced their spiritual lives and when they felt closest to God and what got them through these events might be a good place to start. Incidentally, they routinely said family and friends are what got them through, and we talked about being relational creatures.

4) Upcoming this Sunday is Missions Sunday, when the parish gathers to celebrate our ministries and commit anew for the year. As the outreach department has been extremely supportive of our youth, including putting in some money to help us out with mission work, I really feel strongly that we should all gather and support them in return. Paula Harrison has been working devilishly hard on the event, and what she’d like is for us to gather outside in island apparel and play volleyball, limbo, watch the tiki torches and create a general atmosphere of mirth for the arrivals. How many other service opportunities will we have when all we’re asked is to come have a good time? Additionally, we’ll be on the outreach opps for people to volunteer, so…. Have I twisted your arm yet?

5) May 4 is Senior Sunday. I still need names of youth interested in serving in the service as acolytes, lectors, intercessors and homily giver. You may conscript them. The Christian Ed department has been very accommodating to us for this event, so we really do need to step-to and make it worthwhile. Also, if I don’t have your senior’s baby picture, I’d love to get that in as soon as possible. The ones I have so far are simply adorable!

6) I’m still working on the chi rho retreat regarding a couple of scheduling issues. The idea would be to leave Friday night and return Saturday night so as to keep Mother’s Day set apart. Does this bother you? Would you prefer a rescheduling?

7) There are still spots open on the mission trips, and the Brownsville trip especially. Please get your forms and money to me as soon as possible, remembering that money is what holds your spot!

Whew! (I think I’ll finish all of my mails with whew!) I hope you are all doing well, and let me know if I can be of any assistance in any way! Remember, www.cotiparents.com holds the latest info.

In His Grip,

Bev

 

Mondaymail 4/13/08 April 14, 2008

Hola parents!

Welcome back to Beverly’s Mondaymails! We’ll start with the previous week and look into the future in chronological order. The most updated calendar link is at the bottom of this page.

1) Chi rho evening program this week was part one of 2 focusing on outward appearances versus inward being. We talked about how the outside world sees Christians, how we see Christians (including ourselves) and how we can be more proactive about giving an image of Christ that is welcoming and loving. Next week we’ll go out of the topic on the image of God reflected in man and the texts that discuss looking for Christ in each other. Possible discussion topics: friendships and what to do when you discover you have false friends, how your attitudes and appearances communicate what you believe—clothing, makeup, piercing, foul language, etc. Next week will include gossip, so you could prime them for that as well.

2) EYC evening program focused on idolatry and God’s commandment to worship no other gods. Nick’s message focused on material goods and how we replace Jesus, our true savior, with functional saviors. He used an excellent illustration on a woman from India who, when interviewed about the US and why she would never come back said the following (paraphrased): “It is so idolatrous. You build these huge stadiums and worship sports teams. Your houses have all of the furniture centered around the altar of the television….” Which is the crazier idolatry, he who worships another being or he who worships stuff? Talking to kids about what things our families focus on that might be in danger of taking an idolatrous place in our lives would be a great way to follow up. Ask them where they spend their time and money, for where our treasures are, so too are our hearts.

3) THIS FRIDAY: Chi Rho lockout! Meet at the church at 8 pm for fun frolicking in Dallas. We’ll go to Adventure Landing, a movie (Horton Hears a Who or Nim’s Island), IHOP and return home for games in the dark and movies. Cost is $40.

4) PEANUT BUTTER DRIVE continues through this Saturday! Please bring 18-oz plastic jars of peanut butter to church with you that morning.

5) Missions Sunday is April 27. The youth have been asked to, instead of cleaning, provide the entertainment! The theme is Jamaica, but any old island seems to be the feel. We’ll be outside playing volleyball and limboing and making sure the tiki torches behave themselves. I’ll have fun decorations and accoutrements. Paula Harrison has been working very hard on this event, and the Outreach department has been very generous to us this year, so this would be a great chance for us to help them back! Plus we’ll be on their sheet of stuff for people to volunteer for, so all signs point to supporting them as they support us.

6) Senior Sunday is May 4. We’ll have a reception in the Great Hall during Sunday school hour, the youth (all who desire, not just seniors) may participate in the service as lectors, intercessors and ushers while a senior or two will give the sermon, and Susan Beecherl has very, very generously volunteered to host the dinner for seniors and their families. If you are a senior parent and have received no information as of yet, please contact Liz Dunn.

7) May 9-10 will be the Chi rho retreat. We’re firming up details currently, but it will likely be at the Beecherl ranch close to Glen Rose. If you would like to help me out and chaperone/cook/be crazy with the kids, please let me know!

I think that’s enough for now! I hope you are all having a wonderful day, and thank you so much for who you are and the ways you support us at Incarnation and in the youth group. Please give me a call any time you’d like to discuss something! And, as always, please keep an eye on www.cotiparents.com for the latest and greatest in the department! Also, here is the latest calendar eyc_xp_2008_calendar

Fascilities Request Form April 9, 2008

To get something listed on the Incarnation Parish calendar, a Facilities Request Form needs to be submitted (for regular, ongoing events, a separate form is not needed for each of them). I have attached a copy of the Form that must be filled out.  Feel free to type the information into the form (handwritten forms are not required).  Then, email the form to lneill@incarnation.org and copy bsteele@incarnation.org and molver@incarnation.org on that email.

Incarnation Fascilities Request Form

Mondaymail April 7, 2008 April 7, 2008

Dear Parents,

This is a test of the youth ministry information dispensing system. Let me know how it goes!

For those of you who were not at the mission trip info meeting, this email is the first of many Monday emails that you will receive from me henceforth. I’ll have the new communications process as well as the updated calendar on the new website immediately following this message. As part of this new process, I will email you every Monday with an update on what we did at Sunday school and the evening events as well as include a few questions to engage your youth. Along with that will come an update on other activities coming down the pike. At this moment, they are coming down the pike at an amazing rate!

This week is slightly different since our chi rho/EYC time was spent presenting the mission trip opportunities, changes to Summer Splash, an update on the youth director and this communications policy. The deal:
1) EYC mission trip is to Costa Rica July 5-12, 2008, at the cost of $750. The purpose of the trip is to help build an orphanage associated with the Methodist mission down there at which a co-seminarian of Fr Matthew’s is currently serving. Will (aforementioned co-seminarian) and Ella Faircloth are our hosts and are a great set of folks with a terrific spirit and sense of call to this ministry. The orphanage is expected to be well underway when we arrive. There is the option of doing a VBS as well if the kids feel particularly called to work that out. This VBS would be a youth-led, youth-planned initiative. If interested in the VBS portion, the youth should contact Will Beecherl. Those interested in the trip at large should contact me. There are only 40 spots which are filling up quickly.

2) Chi Rho mission trip is to Brownsville to St Paul’s Mission from June 22-28, 2008, at a cost of $450. The purpose of the trip is to give the chi rho and EYC students a chance to carry out a VBS in a neighborhood with which we have an established relationship. In the weeks preceding our arrival, a number of other churches will be running various camps, so the neighborhood kids will be a bit plugged in to the church. EYC students come as junior sponsors and Chi Rho students as VBS counselors. Parents are also very welcome on this trip. We’ll stay at the La Quinta Inn on the beach and enjoy some fun in the sun in the mornings and run the VBS in the afternoons. Our fun day will be at Schlitterbahn Padre Island before we pile, tired but hopefully not too sunburned, back into the vans to come home. Those interested should contact me.

3) A new youth director is hopefully in sight. Our diligent search committee has met with 4 final candidates in the past few weeks and has 2 front runners. The committee will be meeting this week to discuss the next steps. As both candidates have active ministries and families, it would likely be July before they could get here. A HUGE thanks to all of our search committee people for the amazing amount of time and effort they have put into this search.

4) Summer splash will be the last two weeks of July, starting the 21st. While we realize that it is a much beloved part of many youth’s summers, for many reasons, mainly financial, facilitative and attendance-based, we are limiting Splash to two weeks this year. Fr Matthew and I are working on setting something up with Bishop’s Camp at the Cathedral for those youth who are interested in further work with children during the summer.

5) The new communications process is now afoot! Please refer to the link at the bottom of this paragraph for a full version. If you need something clarified, please don’t hesitate to ask! I am available via email at this address and via cell at 214-519-4844 as well as at the church, 214-521-5101. Additionally, there is a NEW parents’ website!!! http://www.cotiparents.com which will have my weekly emails and all mailed missives available there. Communications Process

If you are getting this in error, please let me know. Additionally, if you happen to talk to other parents and discover that they are not on our mailing list, please have them mail me their email address so that I might add them with a marginal rate of error.

Whew! I hope you all have blessed weeks, and thank you for the honor of working with you and your children!

Brownsville April 4, 2008

Yay Brownsville! We have forms for it too. That’s how we roll.

Release form

Covenant

Health Form

To Bring

Itinerary

Costa Rica Trip April 4, 2008

For those of you who are not able to make the meeting or who have misplaced the necessary forms, here they are! They, plus a $250 deposit, secure your place at either of the two mission trips!

Release form

Packing list

Health Form

Covenant

Going forth to love and serve the Lord April 4, 2008

Hello dear friends,

Here begins our new little blog, designed with you in mind to help keep you updated on all the goings on at the church and in our lives as youth and as the youth group. I (Bev) am new to this system and will be figuring out things as I go, so if you discover flaws on the website or the blog, please let me know at bsteele@incarnation.org or at 214-519-4844, my cell. In the meanwhile, know that I am continually encouraged and enthused by all of your ideas and our interactions. Thank you so much for being who you are and doing what you do!

In His Grip, Bev