Youth at Bethesda Lutheran Church Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota

ValleyScare on Saturday, October 16th!

2010-10-13T17:07:00.004-05:00

Join us for ValleyScare!

With a group of 15 or more, we can qualify for a group discount! Starlight Admission is $20.95 for the group rate, or $28.95 without this rate.

We will meet at Bethesda at 4:30 pm and return to Bethesda by 1 am. (Starlight hours are 6 pm- midnight). This event is for all ages, although the hours may be a little late for some. Any youth younger than 6th grade must have a parent or older sibling present.

Please be sure to bring this permission slip, and also your payment in cash (for direct payment to Valley Fair). If you did not attend the ski trip in March, or other events since, please bring a copy of your insurance card.

Workcamp 2010

2010-09-12T21:51:00.009-05:00

Thank YOU!
2010 Mission Trip Workcampers Update

Our 4 Workcampers and 2 adult leaders packed up the 14 passenger van on Saturday, June 26th . Not entirely sure what to expect, they headed across Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa (nearly 630 miles!), giving up cell phones, Ipods, home cooked meals, a comfortable bed, and solo, barefoot showers, all to act as God’s hands and feet in Mission Work. We arrived in Mt. Vernon, Illinois at the Casey Middle School, amped up after a good nights’ rest in Milwaukee (having left at 6 am!) and began to prepare ourselves for the week ahead.

During this week, our youth collaborated with 350 youth from across the country in service, worship, and daily devotions. The many projects our youth and chaperones encountered included painting, siding, scraping, building wheelchair ramps, and more! Each of the youth and chaperones was put into a separate “Work Crew”, designed to develop and utilize each members’ skills in the project.

The theme for the 2010 Workcamp was “UndeSERVEd”, based on Luke 15:1-32, the story of the Prodigal Son. "For this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found. So the party began." Each day, work crews and our Bethesda group spent time sharing in devotions based on a snippet of this verse. Think of it as intense, weeklong Bible Study!

This week was an INCREDIBLE experience, and we couldn’t have done any of it without the amazing support of Bethesda! Thank you all for your prayers, notes, support, and of course, funds to help get us there! We’re already looking forward to planning next year’s trip! A very VERY special thank you to Danny Doyscher for giving of his time and talent as a chaperone for this year’s Workcamp!

2011 Location: Busby, Montana - June 26th-July 2nd! More details coming soon.

Upcoming Youth Events

2010-09-12T21:37:00.004-05:00

• Saturday, September 25th - Viewing of “To Save a Life” (PG-13) at Living Christ Lutheran Church, 820 Lake Drive in Chanhassen. Be at Bethesda by 4:30 pm, and we will return by 10 pm. This event is free and dinner is included. Please sign up on the youth board and turn in permission slip by September 22nd. All ages welcome, but any youth 5th grade or younger must be accompanied by a parent.

• Sunday, September 26th – Apple Orchard in Stillwater! We will go from 1-5 pm, but this time may change due to the Congregational Meeting that day. Please sign up on the youth board and turn in permission slip by September 22nd. All ages welcome, but youth younger than 4th grade must be accompanied by a parent or older sibling. This event is free, but a few dollars for spending money is suggested.

• Friday, October 8th - Meteor shower lock-in event. $6 per youth for high school students only. Arrive at Bethesda at 7 pm Friday (eat dinner before) and be picked up by 10 am on Saturday. Permission slip coming soon. Please sign up on the youth board by October 6th.

• Saturday, October 16th – Valley Scare (high school only). Details coming soon!

• Upcoming Youth Group Meetings:
Sept. 26th - homework focused
October 10th - social
October 24th – homework focused

• Wednesday, October 27th – Trick or Treat for the Hungry during Confirmation - all ages welcome! Join us at Bethesda 6-8 pm for this neighborhood-wide gathering to help stock Neighbor's Food Shelf.

Youth Lock-In on June 5th!

2010-05-16T20:24:00.001-05:00

Youth Lock-In
Saturday, June 5th
7:30 pm –10:30 am Sunday (we will be attending church together)

Eat dinner before you come! Cost is $6 per person or $10 per family.
This lock in is for students entering 5th grade through 12th grade.

Permission slips are mandatory and can be turned in the night of the lock-in. If you did not attend the ski trip in March, please bring a copy of your insurance card. The permission slip is located here. They are also available on the youth board. Sign up on the youth board by Wednesday, June 2nd.

Camp Sunday 2010

2010-01-25T10:09:00.003-06:00

We're so excited to be planning another wonderful summer event for our youth and families at Luther Dell in 2010! This past Sunday, Jan. 24th, we held "Camp Sunday", an annual tradition where our students perform skits, songs, and share memories of Luther Dell while getting geared up for registration.

Pick up registration forms from Kim Burress, or on the Luther Dell bulletin board outside the church office. Join the youth campers from July 25th-30th at Luther Dell this year! Family Camp is slated for July 23-25.
Watch our compilation photo video (used during the skit) to share in the "Camp Memories"!

Confirmation canceled tonight! (Dec. 9th)

2009-12-09T07:32:00.002-06:00

Happy snow day, all! As the schools are closed in the area, we will also cancel Confirmation tonight.

Just a reminder, if the local schools (SSP, IGH, Eagan, Mendota Heights) schools are canceled, we will also cancel Confirmation.

Christmas Movie Night!

2009-11-24T09:08:00.000-06:00

Join us Saturday, Dec. 5th for the Christmas Double-Feature Movie Night!

Join us for an intergenerational event, hosted by the youth team on Saturday, December 5^th. $5 per person or $10 per family for pizza party between movies.

The show starts at 4:30 with How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the original 30 minute version). Pizza party at 5 pm. A Christmas Story at 6 pm.

BYOB (Bring Your Own Bottled Beverage!)

2010 Mission Trip

2009-11-04T16:53:00.004-06:00

Join us for the 2010 WorkCamp in Mt. Vernon, Illinois!

June 27th-July 3rd

Please see this form and turn in to Brea ASAP (but no later than December 31st).

Join us!

2009-09-21T23:03:00.007-05:00

Upcoming Youth Events

-Saturday, October 17th – Intergenerational Mystery Night! 2-8 pm at Bethesda. Cost: FREE! Sign up on the youth board by October 14^th.

-Wednesday, October 28^th – Confirmation Feed My Starving Children event @ Eagan location. Be at church by 5:15 pm.

- November 4^th – Celebration of Confirmation @ Roy Wilkins Auditorium. “Thirst(+y?)” Drivers needed!

-Saturday, November 21^st – Vertical Endeavors Rock Climbing- $20. Waiver required. (Click HERE for waiver) Sign up and turn in waiver by November 18^th.

-December – Northern Heights Theater show and Christmas campfire, Date TBD

-January – Waterpark of America, Date TBD

2009 WorkCamp video

2009-08-30T12:55:00.006-05:00

The 2009 Bethesda WorkCamp video
Tecumseh, Michigan

Up next: 2010 WorkCamp in Mt. Vernon, Illinois!
June 27th-July 3rd

Back-to-School Lock In September 19th!

2009-08-17T10:58:00.003-05:00

Back-to-School Lock In Information

Who: Youth entering 5^th-12^th grades- Friends always welcome to join!

What: An all-night party! Movies, snacks, games, and fun!

Cost: $5 per youth

Time: Arrive at 7 pm (have dinner before). We will go to the 11 am service together on Sunday morning, and youth can be picked up after the service.

All youth are required to turn in a permission slip for this event no later than September 17^th at 6 pm. Copies of insurance cards are also mandatory for all youth not having one on file.

Permission slips can be obtained from the office, from the youth board, or at http://www.bethesdalutheranchurch.org/clientimages/32480/09backtoschoollock-in.pdf.

Transition to include 6th grade

2009-08-14T23:39:00.002-05:00

This coming year, we'll be using "Here We Stand" Confirmation curriculum (www.herewestandconfirmation.org) and, after careful consideration, are planning to transition the Confirmation program at Bethesda to eventually be 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. This coming September, we'll start the year with these grades, in addition to our 9th graders who will be Confirmed in April. The hope in this transition is to provide curriculum and classes that will work for a broad range of the youth, but not be too "young" for our High School youth. In making this transition, I also hope to fully implement an official Youth Group, to be lead and organized by our high school youth, with Confirmation being the step into this leadership role. For this year and next year, I really hope our 8th and 9th graders can act as these incoming leaders, in addition to taking on leadership roles in Confirmation and youth group. If you have any questions about this transition, please reach out to me. Keep in mind, this process is going to be fluid, so I'm open to suggestions on how we might best make this transition possible!

Welcome to our update blog!

2009-08-01T00:13:00.000-05:00

Hi all!

We're working on making information more accessible to the community, as well as to our congregation, and ESPECIALLY to the youth of Bethesda Lutheran Church. In this light, we've started a blog to share updates, stories, pictures, and ideas for upcoming events!

We're just starting, but we appreciate any ideas you have! Let us know at our brand-new e-mail address, youth.at.bethesda@gmail.com.

Thanks!
Brea and the youth team

Sew... buttons?

2009-07-08T00:30:00.001-05:00

A button is a curious thing. Buttons become loose, and buttons become worn. Buttons can be re-sewn and buttons can be tightened.
Each of our Workcampers wears a button to symbolize the week of service they devoted to Jesus. Buttons can be easily lost or replaced, just as we can easily forget and move beyond this week of devotion. But it is our duty to keep this button close, to repair it, along with our faith, when it becomes loose or worn. If we lose the button, it is important to remember where it came from, even if we can’t actually see it. We wear the button to remind us to continue to serve Jesus in our daily lives, remembering to tighten it, polish it, and resew it when needed, just as our relationship with Him often needs to be resewn.

Tecumseh, MI - 2009 Workcamp Mission Trip

2009-07-02T00:25:00.001-05:00

Thank YOU!
2009 Mission Trip Workcampers Update

Our 6 Workcampers and 2 adult leaders packed up the 14 passenger van on Saturday, June 13th. Not entirely sure what to expect, they headed across 5 states (nearly 650 miles!), giving up cell phones, Ipods, home cooked meals, a comfortable bed, and solo, barefoot showers, all to act as God’s hands and feet in Mission Work. We arrived in Tecumseh, Michigan at the Middle School, amped up after a good nights’ rest in Milwaukee (having left at 6 am!) and began to prepare ourselves for the week ahead.

During this week, our youth collaborated with 350 youth from across the country in service, worship, and daily devotions. The many projects our youth and chaperones encountered included painting, siding, scraping, building wheelchair ramps, and more! Each of the youth and chaperones was put into a separate “Work Crew”, designed to develop and utilize each members’ skills in the project.

The theme for the 2009 Workcamp was “Reveal”, based on Luke 4:14-21. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring hope to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release for the captives and sight to the blind, to bring freedom to the oppressed, and to proclaim the day of the Lord's favor." Each day, work crews and our Bethesda group spent time sharing in devotions based on a snippet of this verse. Think of it as intense, weeklong Bible Study!

This week was an INCREDIBLE experience, and we couldn’t have done any of it without the amazing support of Bethesda! Thank you all for your prayers, notes, support, and of course, funds to help get us there! We’re already looking forward to planning next year’s trip! A very VERY special thank you to Gary Hoven (or as we came to know him, Gare-Bear) for giving of his time and talent as a chaperone for this year’s Workcamp!

Please join us for the 2009 Mission Trip (Workcamp) Shareholders Dessert on Sunday, August 30th at 7 pm in the Sanctuary. We will share our stories, pictures, and experiences, and announce our 2010 location!