The Art of the Mask

About 16 years ago, a movie came out that was, well, quite ridiculous. It starred a rising hot actor Jim Carrey and an unknown at the time rising actress Cameron Diaz.

From zero to hero, is a tag line from the movie's trailer.

The synopsis of the movie is this: ordinary man, who can't say no, who works hard, to never catches a break, finds a mas, in a river, and when he puts it on, this ordinary man, suddenly becomes and entirely different person, a superhero type person.

Honestly, this movie is quite obnoxious for is predictable and there isn't much depth to the humor. However, it was one of the movies which launched Jim Carrey's comical career. Oh where would we be with out the Mask?

Stanley Ipkiss is the man Carrey plays who has become discontented with is life and how nothing seems to work out for him. Perhaps he is a little reserved and not as assertive as he should be, but he tries to be nice to everyone he meets. He lives alone and his closest companion is a dog. The fact of the matter is, Stanley Ipkiss isn't much of a social person and no one would consider him to a social butterfly....

Until he finds the mask.

This wooden, green colored mask, Ipkiss finds in the river has these miraculous powers which transforms him into somebody...something else. This once quiet, respectful, reserved banker, soon becomes an arrogant, out of control, thing who is inconsiderate and disrespectful to all of those around him. Not only does his face change from normal to bright green, but his entire persona changes--his personality and everything. This mask, this thing Ipkiss puts his face in to hide his anxiety and fear, turns him into someone, more like something, who is nothing like who he really is. This mask deceives those who know him and it even begins to mislead Ipkiss himself.

All because Ipkiss didn't want to wrestle with the realities of his life.

Ipkiss didn't know how to wrestle with these realities.

Ipkiss compared himself to those around him and wasn't pleased with who he was.

So he got this mask.

Became an entirely different person.

Began to hurt those around him.

Finally, someone had the courage to tell him, you don't need the mask in order to be loved...

In the end, all we really want is to be ourselves.

Free from masks.

Free from expectations.

Free from stereotypes.

Free from prejudices.

Free from the labels people put on us.

Free to be ourselves.

This Sunday we will complete our masks by reflecting and doing the difficult task of self-exploration and listening to what Thomas Merton calls the inner voice within. Too often we only see ourselves by the way others see us. Literally speaking here: who we are is defined by which sport we play, which car we drive, which group of people we hang out with, which brand of clothes we wear, which movies we like, and this list is endless. We put too much emphasis on the exterior of our lives and give too many people too much power over us.

It is our hope then as we begin to listen to the still small voice and become aware of our own poverty within, we will begin to rediscover those things which make us who we are and become rich in hope and peace. Instead of searching for ourselves in the 'doings' of our lives, we want to be found in the 'beings' of our days.

Thomas Merton says, "We are warmed by fire, not by the smoke of the fire. We are carried over the sea by a ship, not by the wake of the ship. So too, what we are is to be sought in the invisible depths of our own being, not in our outward reflection in our own acts. We must find our real selves not in the froth stirred up by the impact of our being upon the beings around us, but in our own soul which is the principle of our acts."

Come then Sunday night as we continue to walk with Christ, holding ourselves up to his mirror and seeing how we have conformed ourselves to the likeness of Christ. Come ready to wrestle, to explore, to pray, to contemplate, and to the difficult task of being ourselves and not being anyone else. Come ready to contemplate why we wear our masks and who tells us to wear them. Come with the good expectations that in the end, we will see who we really are, a child of God, who is in God, who is in us.

Peace to you all.

Super Bowl of Presence

On a Sunday morning in church, the actual church building, I am there.

On a Thursday night, huddled around the little table with the dancing flames of the candle that is lit, with you, I am there.

During the most chaotic time of your life, I am there.

In those moments when you get goose bumps because you have heard something profound, I am there.

When you smile because of good news you have received, I am there.

As you sort through all those tough questions about where I may be and even when you know for sure I am not there, I am there.

At a packed football stadium in Miami, I am there.

In the middle of the devastation of an earthquake, I am there.

In the house jammed packed with 25 students and some older folks, I am there.

Jesus once said to those who were following him that, “Wherever two or three are gathered, there I am in the midst of you.”

Sometimes we may need to look a little harder than other times, but no matter what we are doing or where we are, God is in the midst of it. In our laughter and in our tears, in our chatter and in our singing, in our groaning and in our smiling, God is present with us. This was evident this past Sunday night as we gathered.

Many people gathered with their closest of friends the other night to watch a football game. It was the ‘game’ of the year some say. In fact it in so influential in our society and culture, there is a move to get the Monday after Super Bowl Sunday off and make it a “National Holiday”. I even saw one person’s Facebook status say, “If Martin Luther King Jr. was still alive, he’d have a dream to have the Monday after the Super Bowl off.” This sporting event shapes our culture if not because of the event itself, than for sure the commercials and entertainment they provide for us. Either way, whatever your reason may be as to the reason you watch, you gather with others to do so and in that gathering, with the TV up loud, the dip falling off the chip and on to your white t-shirt, and the drink that was just spilled, God is there.

Imagine watching the game alone this past Sunday? Would you have had the same experience? Would you have been as involved in the game if you were alone? Sad you not come, Katie Duncan would not have one the quiz with her 11 out of 14 correct answers and Graham Duncan wouldn’t have anyone to tell how he almost guessed to the exact what the combined score would be. He guessed 47 and the actual score was 48. Or what about the dance party which happened after the start of the second half? Would your moves have seemed as cool, and perhaps as lame, if you did it alone? You wouldn’t have had the laughter you had without the others doing the sprinkler, the running-man, and lip singing to Miley, would you? Then there is the football game which broke out during the game in the house! Two of our KFC’ers started their own game after their interest in the one on TV dwindled but what was fascinating about their game, and more entertaining mind you, is their field wasn’t 100 yards long, played on soft grass. No instead it was played on staircase: one end zone at the base of the stairs and the other one, one top of the stairs. The miracle, no one got hurt!

Then there is the table and how it hosted a great meal provided by our host, Kim. The spread was great: chicken wings, chips and dip, vegetables and fruit, cold beverages, and candy. How good it was to see us with plates in hand and empty cups, come to the table to be filled not only with food and drink, but with good conversation with our good friends. In that moment, in those moments where we sat eating together, talking, giving thanks, and enjoy the game, a holy moment happened. Even if it was just a second long, we sat, worried free except for who would score next and what the next commercial would be, and we were gathered together, in a home, breaking bread. Sounds familiar doesn’t it as we approach this Lenten season.

Peacefully you gathered too. It is said you can’t have a party with people too different from each other. You guys the other night proved you can. Despite being junior high and senior high, despite being from different schools, despite many things, you guys came together and lets be honest, partied! To see you interact and to see you converse with each other brought much delight to me. For the most part, your inclusion of everyone was inspiring and your ability to adapt is always remarkable. Yet what gets me every time is your creativeness and making sure you keep things interesting. Your care free spirits, along with your good willed attitudes facilitates a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

Sometimes it is hard to see God’s love in the world, let alone in our own lives. But that night, I had no problem seeing Christ’s face in the 25+ of you who attended our party. Your laughter, your conversations, your presence is and was proof alone God is with us. The fact of the matter is, there was lots of fun happening and a fair amount of jocularity, which provided a great sense of peace that night and which carried into the start of the week. Incredible you are.

Friends the next time we gather, look closely, listen intently, and simply pay attention to the faces of one another. And when you do, you too will see proof of Jesus’ promise to us that he is there with us, when a few have gathered or when an entire stadium of people are together, Christ is in our midst.

Peace to you until we gather again.

February 2010 Youth PresbyNotes

February 2010
Youth PresbyNotes
01/28/10

Tell me what you have seen?

There I sat in my eighth grade Social Studies class with a task to complete. You probably think this task was an assignment of some sort, like read a chapter or two, finish the test, or something else dealing with academics, and all of these guesses are great…

But that is not what I had to do.

Instead, without any hesitation, I agreed to do a favor for a friend who wanted to know if a particular girl liked him. Believe it or not, I was quite shy in grade school and talking to a girl was the last thing I wanted to do. After all, they had coodies!

As I made my way to this girl I asked my self, “Why couldn’t this guy do it? Why couldn’t my friend find the nerve to go and ask this girl if she liked him?” I didn’t like her and I didn’t want to give the wrong impression, right.

Anxious, nervous, scared, and uncertain; these are the words I would use to best describe what I was feeling that day. Indeed it was a terrifying situation for me all because I had to ask a question and it wasn’t for me.

There is this scene in the Bible, Matthew 11, where John the Baptist’s sends one of his disciples to ask Jesus a question: “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” It is one thing to do the dirty work for a friend and ask a girl whether she thinks he is cool or whatever, but it is another thing to ask the Messiah if he really is the, well the Messiah.

Are you really the one?

How would you answer this question knowing what you know?

Jesus then turns to the poor fellow, whose knees are knocking as loud as the bass drummer in the grade school band, and says, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

In wake of what has happened recently, people may wonder if God is here with us. People observe bad things happening all across the world and wonder where is God. No matter what precautions we may take, bad things are inevitable. Nonetheless, how we can answer the question is exactly how Jesus responded; tell of the things which you have seen.

What are some of the good things you have experienced?

What are some of the ways you have experienced God’s love?

Where have you seen God’s love happen?

These won’t answer all the questions but it can provide hope for some. Your lives are a testament to God’s love for the world. Jesus mentions in his response that the poor receive good news. This called to my attention the good work we are a part of as a youth ministry as First Presbyterian Church. We have offered a helping hand to many people and organizations and because of this we have brought good news to whomever it is we have helped. How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!

Our feet will be busy for the upcoming month too with a variety of opportunities to engage in God’s love for the world. February 7th we will be having our Souper Bowl of Caring where we will raise awareness of poverty in our world and in our city, while standing with soup buckets hoping for donations. Then on the 14th Kids for Christ, Junior High, and Senior High will be making a trip to the Hermitage Nursing Home where we will be handing out Valentine’s Day Cards to the residents there. Then to help one of our very own members, on Saturday, February 27th, we the youth have been asked to be servers for a steak dinner to help raise money for the Gilliland’s. More information will come about this.

Tell them what you have seen. Tell the world of God’s love by showing them God’s love. Change the world by loving! Change the community by loving! Change yourself by loving! Many opportunities await us in February to bring GOOD NEWS to people and you, the youngest among us, will be leading us in the march towards hope!

At times it can be difficult to bring good news, just like it was for me to help out a friend. Our words may get in the way, we may be nervous, but God’s love isn’t limited to the words we offer but by the lives we lived. God loves you; there is no getting around that. Let your life speak of this love, let the Light shine, and even with butterflies the size of pterodactyls in your stomach, proclaim the good news of Christ’s love for the world!

Thanks be to God for your life, ministry, and work together. Peace be upon you and make sure you LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, during this month dedicated to LOVE!

Shalom friends.


February 2010 Calendar

4th—6:30-8pm Sanctus Bible Study All Youth Encouraged to attend

7th—Souper Bowl of Caring @ 9am 7 10 am

Super Bowl XLIV party at Lashbrook’s from 5-9 pm. You can meet at the church. This is a Junior and Senior High Party!

11th—6:30-8pm Sanctus Bible Study All Youth Encouraged to attend

12th-13th—All students grade 8-12 are encouraged to attend the Youth Council meeting in Henderson. We will leave at 5pm on Friday and return around 12pm on Saturday. Bring $5

14th—Youth Group at the Church from 5-7pm—All youth, Kids for Christ, Junior High, Senior High—We will begin at 5 pm and we will be taking Valentines day cards to the residents of the Hermitage Place on Parish Avenue. Please bring an appropriate box of Valentine’s Day cards you can pick up at the local grocery store.

18th—6:30-8pm Sanctus Bible Study All Youth Encouraged to attend

20th—Confirmation Orientation beginning at 10 am

21st—Youth Group 5-8pm DESTINATION UNKNOWN

25th—6:30-8pm Sanctus Bible Study All Youth Encouraged to attend

27th—Gilliland Steak Dinner—All Youth Needed to Help Serve! 5pm

28th—Youth Group-5-8pm/Kids For Christ 5-6:30 pm

Something to Chew On

One of the highlights of being together is having the opportunity to sit around a table with our youth and listen to their stories, get a peek inside their lives, and to experience Christ’s love in them. Meals have always been important to the people of God and this is definitely the case for us here at church too. Something mysterious happens at the table when we gather together, we become more ourselves, and usually great memories are had. Eating together is special, it definitely shows unity.

Recently our youth ministry team met to discuss how we can better facilitate our meals and eating habits on Sunday evenings. Also, we wrestled with the issue of over abundance and hunger in the world, which made us aware of our own eating habits. This conversation led us then to making subtle changes in our eating of meals, which will allow us to cut back on food consumption, wastefulness, and give space for the youth to be attentive to what they are eating. In doing so, we hope a new conversation will arise about hunger in the city of Owensboro and what we as a youth group and minister can do.

Aiding us then in our attempt to do our part in bring awareness of hunger to our church, we have derived a new calendar of meals. Our meal planner, Carla Clancy, has been hard at work preparing this calendar, pairing up families to provide the meals, and making sure our youth will have snacks of some sort available to them every Sunday. The calendar is as follows:

The families of our youth have been paired together to provide meals for Jr and Sr High Youth during 2010. We ask you plan a meal for 25 people, this will allow for the Youth, Chaperones, and individuals providing the meal to eat and enjoy fellowship together. Some specific needs include two youth who are vegetarians and one youth who is allergic to peanuts, peas, beans and carrots. Keep in mind, with a receipt and the correct form completed (which can be found outside Adam’s study), FPC will reimburse up to $60 per meal. Contact Adam for additional reimbursement details.

Some general requests we have:

• If you are unable to participate on your scheduled day, please make arrangements to trade with someone.

• A few days prior to your scheduled meal, Adam should be contacted to verify serving time and any special instructions. You can contact Adam by calling the church or his cell phone, 313-9375 or you can email him at: youthdirector@firstpresbyterianowensboro.com

February

7 Super Bowl Party @ Lashbrook’s

14 snacks

21 Shelton-Zengel

28 Adam’s choice

March

7 Kirk night

14 Coomes-Davis

21 snacks

28 Adam’s choice

April

4 Kirk night

11 Barber-Smith

18 Snacks

25 Adam’s choice

May

2 Kirk night

9 Mother’s Day

16 Triplett-Tinsley

23 Snacks

30 Adam’s choice

June Bowley-Clancy

July Lashbrook – Hayden

August Duncan – Norris

September Shelton – Zengel

October Coomes - Davis

November Barber – Smith

December Thomas – Armstrong

Again, this decision to cut back on our food intake is not only a health-conscious one, but it is an attempt for us to also bring awareness of hunger in our community, nation, and world. After presenting this to one of our students this question was asked, “Do you think the money we save from not eating as much we could give to an organization?” Friends, the conversation has already begun and it started with our youth!

If you have any questions, please contact Adam at any time! Thank you for your commitment and participation with the youth ministry of First Presbyterian Church.


Happy Birthday!

2nd—Harper Lashbrook

5th—Catherine Tripplett

15th—Martha Hughes

18th—Wil Smith

You all are a gift to us! Happy birthday!!

Youth in the NEWS!

Wade Zengel for making the All A Honor Roll at DCMS.

Meredith Zengel for making the All A Honor Roll at East View.

Katie and Graham Duncan for their accomplishments on their swim teams and for the breaking of a few school records!

Gabby Barber and Meredith Coomes for their Dance Competition placements!

Congratulations to everyone! Parents and youth, please remember to send me the highlights of your student’s achievements so we can recognize them in our newsletter!

Events to Take Note Of

Mission Trip Information--Attention Youth Mission Trip 2010 Participants: There is a MANDATORY meeting March 21st, 2010 in Madisonville @ 2pm. All you who are going on the mission trip MUST be there and their parents are ENCOURAGED to attend. More information is soon to come!

February 7th, 2010—Souper Bowl of Caring will be held on this day after the 8:15 service and before the 10:30 service. Come help raise awareness of poverty in our community and do something about it!

Super Bowl Party
February 7th @ 5pm
Wear your favorite teams apparel and come root the Saints to victory! Jr. & Sr. High

February 27th--All youth are needed to be servers for the benefit dinner for the Gilliland's. An orientation will be held on the 21st of February and we will need you to be at the church at 5pm on the 27th. More information is to come.

Our Kids for Christ will be meeting twice in the month of February: the 14th and 28th. More information will come in the PresbyNotes and Post-Cards in the Mail. For sure we will meet at 5pm on the 14th at the church! Come with your Valentine Day cards for the residents of the Hermitage Place!

BOOT SALE 2010--On May 15th we will be having our 2nd annual Boot Sale. All youth who are going on the mission trip will need to participate. It will be from 7am-12pm but we will need you there @ 6:30am. Any questions please see Adam!

Dinner to Honor our Seniors: Jillian Thomas and Katie Duncan—On May 15th, 2010, around the supper hour, we will have a dinner to honor and celebrate our two seniors in high school. All youth not graduating will be needed to help serve and splendid dinner to Jillian and Katie’s family. Please see Adam for more details.

***For a HARDCOPY of this newsletter please pick one up from the bulletin board at the base of the stairs leading up to the youth room. Also look for a link for this newsletter in the next PresbyNotes. Please look for this newsletter under the youth section of youth group on the website. Or you can check out our blog http://fpcowensboroyouth.blogspot.com/ or you can contact me with any questions you may have!***

December 2009 Youth PresbyNotes

December 2009 Youth PresbyNotes

Many Things A’Coming

Mark 13.32-37

The Necessity for Watchfulness

32 ‘But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33Beware, keep alert;* for you do not know when the time will come. 34It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. 35Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, 36or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. 37And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.’

If you take a minute to stop and think, there are many things coming. Many exciting days to spend with family, many days to spend with friends while there is no school, many days to eat good food, and many days to be at church.

Yet there aren’t many days left for some things. For instance, there aren’t many days left for nice, warm weather. Or, there aren’t many days left your first semester of the school year and we’re running out of time to get our grades up if need be. Better yet, we’re running out of days before we lose the single digit to the end of our years and 2009 will soon become 2010. Which to be honest, will be weird to write and get used to.

We’re running out of time, it seems like. This time of year means things pick up, right? More homework comes, more chores come as we prepare, as our parents, prepare for family members and friends to come over for the Holidays, more stress, it seems like. Lots of people everywhere, running around franticly, and even at times it seems like they don’t care about others. People act as if they are running out of time and so they live irresponsibly, carelessly, and maybe even inconsiderately. To me this is funny because people can become quite rude and self-absorbed when they are out “doing” things for “others”, like shopping and what not.

Many thins are coming, like a time for us to stop and think about the things we are thankful for. If you remember right, we have a practice in our group we often do before we eat and give thanks for things we are grateful for:

Family…
Friends…
Food…
Sports…
Pets…
Life…
Laughter…
Water…

When we actually do stop and no longer go about living like we have to constantly be doing something, we can realize there are lot of things in our lives we are grateful for. A hug from a friend when we are in need of one, comforting words from our family when we need them, a stranger accidentally making us laugh when we least expected it, or other little blessings which come to us when we least expect them.

Many things are coming. One thing especially: the coming of Christ our Lord. Yea, that is right, Christ is coming…again. A great celebration is coming, soon. Before we can celebrate though, we must do a little waiting, remembering, hoping, and expecting.

Waiting—It is calm. It is dark. It is quiet. We wait for the movement of a pregnant mother and father to break the calmness of the night. We wait for the Light of the World to begin shining. We wait for the cry of a baby to drown out the quietness of the night.

Remembering—Where have you been? What are those things which shape you? Remember those who have loved you? Remember those promises which make you hopeful? We remember our story to help us see where this Christ child has already come to us!

Hoping—We hope for laughter. We hope for happiness. We hope for the day when there will be no more pain or sadness. We hope for enough to be made available for everyone. Hoping for a better year.

Expecting—We go into a new year expecting a fresh start. We go into a new year expecting new things. Expecting the best. After all, a newness comes to us when a new year comes, right?

For a nation, a chosen people, they too found themselves waiting some time ago. Now, we join in the waiting, remembering, hoping and expecting. God reached into our lives and began to put into action God’s redemption of the world. Through a small child. He was to be, is, and will be the Messiah. We, as followers of this King, this time of the year prepare for his coming, preparing ourselves by examining our lives. As we wait to greet this Son of God, we clean up our lives, interior and exterior, and we make ourselves ready to meet this hero, the one who has, is and will save us. In our expectation of what is to come, we become joyful for the good news we will soon receive.

Many things are coming. Like the hero, a baby. Not like what we think, like King Ali Ababwa in Aladdin, with horses, elephants, fancy dressing, and trumpet players. Actually it’s quite the opposite, really. Christ came as, you ready for this, Christ came exactly like we did: weak and needy as an infant, totally dependent on his parents. People saw the time was running out and then in the story entered the Hope, Peace, Joy and Love of God for the world, in a completely human birth.

Many things are coming and because of this, we are hopeful, expectant, mindful and excited! It is because of that event which happened, is happening, and is going to happen, we rejoice!

Friends, take time and give thanks for what is soon to happen. Be patient. Be mindful. Be optimistic. Be anticipative.

For he is coming.

Keep awake.

With hope, peace, joy, and love, He is coming again and again and again and again….

Peace
Adam

December 2009 Calendar

Sunday the 29th (Nov.)—Pitino Shelter with Debbie Bowley, all youth are encouraged to go and make crafts with the folks there. 11am
Thursday the 3rd—6:30-8pm Sanctus Bible Study
Sunday the 6th—5-7pm Christmas Program and Kirk Night: ALL YOUTH EVENT
Thursday the 10th—6:30-8pm Sanctus Bible Study
Sunday the 13th—5-7:30 pm: A Night of Love: Waiting in the City
Thursday the 17th—6:30-8pm Sanctus Bible Study
Saturday the 19th—Senior High Christmas Party: A trip to Evansville where we will eat out, visit Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights and hang out in Evansville
Sunday the 20th—Christmas Concert and Reading Night 6pm—Church Wide Event
Monday the 21st—All Youth Christmas Party and Caroling 5-8pm
Thursday the 24th—Christmas Eve Service 6pm
Friday the 25th—Christmas Day! Celebration of the Nativity of Christ
Sunday the 27th—No Youth Group
Thursday the 31st—New Years Eve Lock-in 6pm-8am
Sunday the 3rd (January)—Youth Kirk Night and 2010 Summer Mission Trip Fundraiser 5-7:30 pm

Happy Birthday
1st—Anthony Free
7th—Maggie Triplett
18th—Ben Duncan
19th—Weston Hayden
Happy birthday to you all!

Calendar Break Down

Sanctus Bible Study—We continue to meet in our upper youth room to share our stories, to laugh, to sing on the occasion, to pray, and to worship as we share life together. Gathering time begins around 6:30 pm and the evening usually concludes around 8 pm. Friends are invited, too.

“On Christmas Day” Christmas Program and Kirk Night—Lore North is gearing up for what will be an exciting evening of our youth demonstrating their unique gifts through readings, songs, and music with a variety of instruments. This night will also be our church Kirk Night so come hungry and enjoy a great program put on by our youth! Please note that we’ll be practicing during the hanging of the greens (Sunday, December 6th @ 1pm!). All children and youth are invited even if they have not attended a rehearsal to date. They need to bring their music and instruments. We’ll put the whole show together for the first time that day. If there is anyone who does not want to sing or play an instrument, tell them to come on! We need people to help with lights, sound, etc.

A Night of Love: Waiting and Seeing IT in the City—We are coming closer to an end of our schedule on love and this night we will engage in looking for love in our city. We will break up in teams and like a scavenger hunt, we will go out into the city and find God’s love at work in our city. This will be on Sunday, December 13th from 4-7:30 pm!

Sr. High Trip to Evansville—For our Senior High Christmas party we, along with your friends, will load up in the bus and head to Evansville where we will dine out together (bring money for this), maybe do a little shopping in the mall, and then conclude the evening together by visiting the Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights. Come dressed warm, with some money for food and hot chocolate, and be ready to have a good time with each other!

Annual Christmas Concert—Sunday the 20th the church will have its yearly Christmas Carol and lesson song night. The evening begins at 6pm.

FPC Youth Christmas Party and Caroling Night—On Monday the 21st we will have our annual Christmas party and caroling night, along with some good food as well. We will make trips to different places where we will sing our hearts out and spread the Christmas joy for all to hear! Kids for Christ you too have a party this night with more information to come!

Christmas Eve Service—6pm First Presbyterian Church Christmas Eve Service

3rd Annual New Year’s Eve Lock-in—This night is for all youth as we celebrate bringing in the new year, 2010! Registration is required and more details are soon to come. Doors open at 6pm. Friends are more than welcome to come!

A Few Minutes for Mission—January 3rd, 2010 we the youth group will host the January Kirk Night. This will act as a fundraiser for our 2010 mission trip and all youth are required to be there. Our night will begin at 4pm as we set up the Fellowship Hall for the evening festivities and also, learn our roles for the night’s events. We will be showing pictures and videos from our trip to South Dakota, so all students who are a part of that trip must attend. Again, all youth are asked to come and help serve and volunteer this evening. Those of you who do come will have money go into your ‘account’ for 2010 trips. Parents, we will need your help with the prep work for that night.

Websites to Visit when you get a Chance:
http://www.adventconspiracy.org/
http://www.d365.org/todaysdevotion/
http://fpcowensboroyouth.blogspot.com/

Reminder!
Remember parents and students to frequently check our church’s website and the blog site for updated calendar events and news!

Attention All Students in Grades 8-12
Sandy beaches, quaint shops, historical landmarks are the things that we associate with the Outer Banks of North Carolina. In Hyde County, though, hurricanes and unemployment have led to poverty. Here is an opportunity to serve and restore hurting areas of that community!

Who: High School Students (including rising freshmen)

What: Travel to the Outer Banks; 4 days serving on work projects and with a Kid’s Club; nightly activities in the outer banks; worship and devotional time; Whitewater Rafting in the New River Gorge after our mission week is complete,

Cost: $400 per person Deposit Required by January 4: $60
Please note the following balance deadlines:
$170 due by March 1 2010; $170 due by May 1, 2010.

Congratulations!
A reminder to all parents and students to please let us know of your accomplishments so we can celebrate them with you! Congrats to all of you.

Operation Christmas Child 2009

Operation Christmas Child Night 2009
Youth Director Adam R. Quine
November 15th, 2009
Upper Youth Room of FPC Owensboro
“Love Waiting in a Box”

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

It is that time of year again, isn’t it?
All the stores are playing holiday music.
Starbucks is using the red holiday cups to serve their warm beverages.
Frosty, reindeer, the elves, and Santa Claus are starting to make their ways into the stores, too.
It seems to be here again, the Holiday season.

With the return of these holiday seasons, comes the opportunity for us to begin to spread good news, the same good news that came to us 2000 years ago. What good news am I talking about?
(Jesus. Yea, Jesus.)

We have the opportunity again guys and gals to put together a box of hope and love for some children all across the world. This year we are doing the shoebox ministry again, and this is why we have gathered here tonight with you all. We have gathered together up here in our upper youth room to sing, worship, pray, and then put the good news we know of and put it into action.

This morning in worship you guys heard some pretty amazing stories from some of the older kids, didn’t you, about their experiences with mission work. They talked about their experiences with poverty, they mentioned how they could not believe some of the things they saw, and then they talked about what they did about it. Tonight friends, we have the same opportunity as they, to take a stand against poverty and send God’s love to the world in a shoebox!

Activity:
450,000,000,000Have 2 kids make the numbers 4 & 5.

Every year we find ourselves this time of year getting excited for many different things. If you are your parent’s age, they perhaps, get excited about spending time with you guys, making dinners and what not. If you are your grandparent’s age, they are excited they get to spend time with you guys, their grandchildren, great grandchildren, and that they have another year with their children. If you were my age, you get excited because it means a time of year when I get to go home to Peoria to spend time with all my family and friends. We are all excited about our families, friends, food, and the spirit of being together.

Now if we are you guys, we are excited for a few different things as well, huh? What are some things we are excited about?
Late nights and sleepovers!
No school!
Food!
Cold weather!
Christmas trees and decorations!
Presents!

Presents are fun, huh? I always got excited seeing the presents build up and trying to guess what was wrapped up and what not. I also, now that I am older, enjoy giving presents to Teresa, my family, and to my new nieces and nephews. Christmas can be lots and lots of fun and is, but sometimes we miss the point about it, huh?

All around us if we look we see lots and lots and lots and lots of Christmas stuff, huh? We hear Christmas stuff? We smell Christmas stuff? Christmas stuff has come and Christmas is still a whole month away. How many of you before school starts, start pretending as if you are in school? You know, getting up early, sitting at a desk, reading, writing, doing your homework, and studying? Not too many of you do or would do it.

We spend money, lots and lots of money on Christmas. Guess how much?
(This then is when we line the kids up to explain we spend $450 billion on Christmas.)

How incredible is that? We spend $450,000,000,000 on Christmas in America alone!

Now how would you guys like to do something about that? How would you all like to get back to what Christmas was all about?

(Show Advent Conspiracy Video)

Give more presence.
Love like Jesus.
How would Jesus spend Christmas?
Worship fully. Spend Less. Give More. Love All.

Tonight we enter the story. We enter the advent story by worshiping fully, spending less on us, giving more to others and loving all of God’s children. Tonight we have gathered here to send God’s love, our love, and Christ’s love to Children all across the globe in the form of a shoebox. Usually though, we have our worship time. We sing. We pray. We laugh a bit. We have a good time. Then we make our way down to the shoe box stations and we fill our boxes and we do it again and this all take about 5 minutes. Then we are done, until next year. When we gather and do the same thing over and over and over!

What can we do then to make this more personal, a little more incarnational, and a little more real for us and for the children who may receive our boxes? We are going to take some time, sit down, pray, and write cards to put in these boxes. We are going to write them messages of love, hope, peace, and joy. After all, this is what Jesus came for. We will send them the message of love by saying, we give you this gift because we love you. We will send the message of peace by sending them a box which will give them time to play, to worry less for only a moment, and to give them an opportunity to be a kid, like you all. We are sending a box of hope by letting them know somewhere all around the world there are people who care for them and wanted to let them know so. Our messages in a box will bring a smile and laughter to their faces, and let’s be honest; there is nothing as joyful as those things!

We may not have many toys this year to stuff in the boxes. In fact, many of these toys may not have cost nearly as much as the stuff we will get. Our boxes may be filled with things we don’t appreciate such as toothbrushes, pencils, and toys in general. Yet what this box means to these children goes beyond our understanding. Imagine if what you put in these boxes is all you got for the whole year. All of 2010 and all you got was a box full of these toys. This is what they get, this is what they hope for, this is what they wait for.

You see, these children wait for this little box of toys to come to them, they wait for a long time. Much like the people in the bible did. These children wait for the good news which comes in the form of some small toys and miscellaneous items in a small, cardboard box. Much like the people did when they were waiting for someone to come, rescue them, and in doing so, bring them good news of a new way of life! God’s love comes to these children through a box full of joys. Much like how God’s love came in a feeding trough in the form of a small child some 2000 years ago.

This year, it isn’t going to be like the other years is it? We’re going to slow down this year. We are going to be pray more and prepare more. Together, we’ll intentionally put our boxes together, thinking carefully about what we are doing, and being thoughtful of those who will receive our gifts. Together, we will take a stand against poverty by using our resources to provide for others. Together we will show people that there is still good in the world.

Together, in a shoebox, we will proclaim good news that will impact a child’s life. We will be sending over God’s love to a place where love is needed.

Together we will bring heaven to earth for a bunch of children like you! You will make a difference; much like that infant did so many years ago, in the life of the world.

You ready?

Let us pray.
God of life and the giver of the best gift, our lives, we give you thanks a praise for your love and the way this love comes to us. Tonight as we continue in our worship, we pray you will give us eyes to see you, ears to hear you, and a readiness to receive you, so that we may continue in the spreading of the good news of Jesus Christ to everyone we meet, especially to those who may receive our shoe boxes full of toys.

We pray for them now, wherever they may be and whoever they are. Hold them in your parental love and guidance, pouring your compassion and mercy out upon them the way you do for us here. Provide peace for them where peace is not present. Provide hope for them where hope no longer seems to reside. We pray for the children who may have no families or homes and we pray you will give them courage to endure their days. Come to them and shine light onto their paths and let them not walk aimlessly but with a confidence and courage which can only come from you.

We are grateful for your love O God and how you have met us where we are. Be with us wherever we go and remind us to look for you in all we meet and see. Help us to love one another and to care for one another the way you call us to, God of community, Holy in One. Let us never neglect any of your children or turn our eyes from those being hurt or close our ears off to the cries of those who need our help. Never let us older people be so set in our ways that we refuse to hear the voices of our young brothers and sisters or prevent them from contributing. For all your children O God, keep them dreaming dreams you approve and living in the spirit of the young man Jesus, for it is through Jesus we pray and pray the prayer he taught us to pray saying together:

November 2009 NewsLetter

First Presbyterian Church
Youth Group PresbyNotes
November 1st, 2009

God’s Attention in a Shoe Box Form

We’ve all seen the videos.
Nothing has changed really.
We know there is a problem in the world.
We know the statistics.
We see the pictures.
We see the old guy on the movie asking us to do something about it, to help out those who are less fortunate than us.

We come. We ‘listen’ to the homily before. We get excited. We run to the fellowship hall. We gather with our friends and stuff boxes. Picking up toys we like and putting them in boxes to some boy or girl we’ll never meet. Once one is done, we run get another one and do it all over again until, until there is nothing left.

Until there is nothing left…

Perhaps this is how God must have felt when God tried and tried to get the people’s attention about what it means to be a Holy Nation, or to live as the people of God. God created something beautiful, God created things good. Along the way though, we missed it, dropped the ball if you will and have forgotten just how good we are. Prophets would come along and boldly ask and tell and hope for people to turn from their ways and to really think about whom they are and if they are living into their identity as God’s people.

Isaiah and other prophets came along, all hoping for the day when their pains of being an oppressed people, being a people in exile would be over and someone would step up and take them, lead them out of their exile. Someone who would demonstrate and fulfill God’s love and remind them of just how good they are. Great leaders would rise up and help lead them, get along the journey just a little bit farther and then, they too would have nothing left to give. They tried but it all was to daunting and the people, they complained. They were satisfied with having what they have, living under an oppressive ruler and not really raising a concern about how things were going, being slaves and not taking on the responsibility to be God’s chosen people. These people, God’s people, had forgotten what good news was like and the way good news never left you feeling empty…or as if there was nothing left.

Then it happened. God entered into the world, becoming for the Israelites and for us, good news in the form of an infant, a child, Jesus. Finally a fulfillment to the hope the prophets spoke of and a sign of God’s faithfulness comes in a child, one who would lead them out of another exile, who would lead US out of an exile. Now this, this is good news! Jesus came, is here and is coming with God’s love for all people, especially those who find themselves to be poor, homeless, ill and alone. Jesus came and showed there is another way of doing things; another way of caring for each other, Jesus came to show God’s love in its purest form. This Jesus guy, the one who heals the sick, gives sight to the blind and helps the lame walk, is the person Isaiah talked about when he wrote about someone coming who will use power in its purest way, leading a people out of the slavery they found themselves to be in and into a new kingdom, a kingdom which is here, there, near and now. No longer are they empty feeling, no longer are they hopeless, no longer are they in exile. They are filled with hope, they are filled with joy and full of God’s love as this new kingdom has arrived.

This year we have the opportunity again to bring good news to people all across the world with the shoe box ministry. Our time together will be gathered around tables, kind of like communion, putting together a package for someone we may never meet, but we will send them one anyway because we want them to experience God’s love the way we have. Advent is here almost and we will again celebrate the good news of Christ coming as Savior and redeemer of the world and there is no better way to prepare ourselves for this than to send a package of love to children in all lands and places proclaiming good news to them in the form of a shoebox.

May we see our shoebox ministry night not as just another year of watching the same video, packing the same shoe boxes with the same toys and doing it all the same way again. Let us do it intentionally, prayerfully and hopeful, as we think about what we are sending and how it’ll be received. Perhaps all year these kids wait for their packages. Perhaps to these kids, this is all they have to look forward to. Perhaps to these kids, they are in need of good news…good news in a box…a box that isn’t full of nothing…but a box full of something…a box full of good news.

Above all, may we see this ministry opportunity as God’s way of getting our attention and reminding us to take care of each other, all of God’s children and to do it with grateful and loving hearts. This November, we will worship with each other, we will give thanks with our families, we will proclaim Christ the king and together we will hope for God’s love to transform us again and again and again.

Peace to you this month.


November 2009 Schedule of Events
1st—Youth Sunday Preparation 4:30-7:30 pm
5th—Sanctus Bible Study 6:30-8pm
6th, 7th & 8th—Camp Loucon, 4:30 pm Friday-3pm Sunday
12th— Sanctus Bible Study 6:30-8pm
15th—Youth Sunday 7:30 am for the 8:15 & 10:30 services
**Operation Christmas Child 5-7:30 pm**
All youth: KFC-Sr. High
19th— Sanctus Bible Study 6:30-8pm
22nd—Youth Group 5-7:30pm
Jr. High 5-6:30 pm
Sr. High 6:00-7:30pm
29th—Destination Unknown 5-8pm

Events and Going On’s

October 31st—AIDS Walk
All youth interested walking in the AIDS walk need to be at the church at 1:30 pm on Saturday, October 31st. We will then go to KWC where starting at 2 pm we will walk down Frederica Street to Brescia in support of AIDS research. All those who participate will receive a $10 discount on their mission trip deposit.

1st—Youth Sunday Preparation
Yes, it is time for our youth Sunday guys and gals! It may be a few months late but we are nonetheless planned to lead worship for our church November 15th, 2009 for both the 8:15 and 10:30 services. We are in charge of all of the components of the worship for this particular Sunday and we need to begin to shape our time together.

This Sunday from 4:30-7:30 pm we will gather in the Sanctuary and assign roles for Youth Sunday. Also those of you, who are in the youth choir, plan on rehearsing with Patti at some point during this time. I encourage you to come and participate both on Nov. 1st but more importantly on Nov. 15th. If you desire a particular piece of the service, make sure you are there Sunday night!

Preachers for this Sunday are as follows:
-Wade Zengel
-Katie Duncan
-Sarah Bowley
-Reid Thomas (?)

6th, 7th & 8th—Camp Loucon
Our annual Western Kentucky Presbytery Fall Retreat will be at Camp Loucon in Leitchfield, Kentucky. We will leave at 4:30 pm on Friday the 6th (if you need a ride to the bus, please contact me the week of and we can/will arrange for something) and be back @ 3:30pm on the 8th. If you have not turned in your release forms, please bring them with you. Remember to pack warmly. Each student must bring 1 snack to share with their cabin mates.

15th—Youth Sunday at First Presbyterian Church
We the youth group of First Presbyterian Church will be leading the worship services for both the 8:15 and 10:30 am services on this particular Sunday. I ask you get here no earlier than 7:30 and no later than 7:45 so we can double check our assigned roles. Our worship will be shaped around our experience this past summer with City Sights/City Lights and the trip to South Dakota, along with our discussion on LOVE! Make sure you invite your family and friends to come and worship with us on this youthful Sunday!

15th—Operation Christmas Child & Shoebox Night
An all youth event, we will gather again this November to bring toys, pack toys and celebrate the goodness of God’s love which comes to us and we then give it to others via the Shoebox Ministry. We are still in need of toys and other supplies for our boxes so please bring what you are able to. The evening will be for Kids for Christ, Junior high and Senior high and we will participate in this great ministry opportunity to serving those who find themselves in difficult situations all across the world! Please come and we can begin to bring Christ’s love by simply stuffing some shoe boxes with toys!

Thursday Evenings Together
We continue to meet on Thursday evenings in the upper youth room where we share stories, break bread on the occasion, worship and pray together. Please come and enjoy an hours worth of contemplative life sharing! 6:30-8:00 pm every Thursday night.

Attention All Students in Grades 8-12
Sandy beaches, quaint shops, historical landmarks are the things that we associate with the Outer Banks of North Carolina. In Hyde County, though, hurricanes and unemployment have led to poverty. Here is an opportunity to serve and restore hurting areas of that community!

Who: High School Students (including rising freshmen)

What: Travel to the Outer Banks; 4 days serving on work projects and with a Kid’s Club; nightly activities in the outer banks; worship and devotional time; Whitewater Rafting in the New River Gorge after our mission week is complete,

Cost: $400 per person Deposit Required by January 4: $60
Please note the following balance deadlines:
$170 due by March 1 2010; $170 due by May 1, 2010.

!!!Congratulations!!!
Caroline Lashbrook placed first place in the elementary run of the Marshall County Invitational Cross Country meet on October 10. Caroline runs for the Owensboro Middle School Red Devil team.

A reminder to all parents and students to please let us know of your accomplishments so we can celebrate them with you! Congrats to all of you.

Attention Parents
Operation Christmas Child is just around the corner, November 15th, 2009. We are in need of a volunteer or two to prepare for the evening by laying out the toys on the tables, purchasing (with donated money) any other supplies we may need and to finally drop them off to the Shoebox Ministry drop off location (OCC) during the week to follow. Please let Adam know ASAP. Remember this is for all youth in the church!

~New T-Shirts will be available by youth Sunday. I ask that you either wear the 2009 mission trip shirt, the old red one or/but the new one if it is ready for youth Sunday.~

Posture of Celebration

Over the past three weeks, some very kind, playful and (shall we say) mysterious visitors have dropped into my office on Sunday evenings - leaving behind remnants of their stay: post-it notes and such. They go by the name Evil Presby Trio ... actually that is their email address ... but I have some serious doubts that they are actually "evil."

In fact, every indication I've seen points to the contrary. These mysterious guests invariably leave behind joyful doodles and comments. But, most of all, I enjoy what they do with Art-dude.

Art-dude is an eight-inch miniken used by artists to help them create drawings, paintings, etc. Art-dude looks something like this:

As you can well imagine, Art-dude takes on almost any expression, but the Evil Presby Trio has decidely shaped him into postures of play and celebration - tell-tale evidence of their actual nature. I am thankful Art-dude has received such warm attention recently - more than I've given him in three years. Through Evil Presby Trio's care and time, Art-dude almost appears like this:
... except Art-dude is still made of wood, and is not multi-hued. That would be cool, though!

One of the great blessings that comes from being around young people is their tremendous desire to celebrate, play and be glad. It is a great reminder to all of us. And, I continue to be thankful for the way our youth bring out life's joy in every circumstance, situation and Art-dude.

Wes

p.s. - the name "Art-dude" was selected after deciding that "Woody" would violate some serious copyright laws and likely land me on the unfortunate end of a lawsuit between myself and Disney's Pixar.