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Jr. High Lock-Out January 27th

Available to all 7th-8th graders.
$40 per person.

Meet at St. James UMC at 5pm. Pick-Up will be at 9am the following morning.

Join us for a night of great food, laser tag, late night games, and more!

Click here to download the sign-up sheet. If you have any questions, email thockman@stjamesatlanta.org.

What is The Movement?

Friday, February 24th – Saturday the 25th
$40 per youth. (Includes T-Shirt!)
Event begins Friday at 5pm and ends Saturday at 5pm. Drop off and pick-up will be at St. James UMC

Join St. James Youth as we team up with youth groups from all over the state for the first ever Movement Conference. The goal of the conference is to provide a spiritually deep weekend for students to grow deeper in their relationship with Christ. The conference will be planned around three main sessions with small group discussion either before of after the session. Small group times will be within our own church group in a way that fits our group specifically. We will be spending a majority of the day and a half at Mt. Pisgah United Methodist Church in Johns Creek. We will be spending Friday night, however, back at St. James.

The theme for this year’s conference is “Going Beyond” and we will focus on scripture from 1st & 2nd Timothy, books of the Bible written specifically for young people in the church. Our goal is encourage and challenge to go beyond our current spiritual level to create the movement that will shape the next generation of the church.

Sign-Up sheets will be available in the youth room. If you have any questions, email thockman@stjamesatlanta.org

News for the New Year!

Here’s everything reported in this week’s edition of our newsletter, The Circuit. For more information about how to receive the newsletter, shoot an email over to Trey Hockman, Director of Youth Ministries, at thockman@stjamesatlanta.org

Food providers for 2012 Needed!

We’ve updated our food provider volunteer page for 2012. Click here to view the page and volunteer to help us this semester!

Time Capsule Night This Sunday!

Sunday Night Youth is back! And what better way to kick off 2012 than with creating a St. James Youth time capsule! We’ll provide everything you need for the event so don’t stress about having to sacrificing your favorite copy of Twilight. Join us from 6pm-8pm and don’t forget to bring $5 for dinner (First time visitors eat free so bring a friend!)

Earn Some $$$ Off Your Next Youth Event!

The Activities Ministry here at St. James will be hosting a Kids Night Out once a month and we need your help to staff it! The first event will be Saturday, Jauary 21st. Click here to read more details and sign up!

Trinity Soup Kitchen Day

Sunday, January 15th. Join us as we spend Sunday morning making bag lunches for the team at Trinity UMC in Atlanta. Meet in the fellowship hall. Then, join we’re loading up in the bus and heading down to Trinity to serve a hot lunch. We will return to St. James between 3:30-4. If you plan on joining us at Trinity, you’ll need to send me an email ASAP so we can have enough spaces. If you just plan on helping during the Sunday School hour, no sign-up is needed. NOTE: There WILL BE youth ensemble and choir that afternoon. Our Sunday Night Youth program will be a hang-out night.

3rd Thursday Planning Meeting

January 19th. 5:30-7pm in the parlor. Free dinner! Mark your calendar!

Jr. High Lock-Out

January 27th-28th. Available to all 7th-8th graders. $40 per person. An awesome dinner out and amazing late night shenanigans will be had by all! Details for this event will be posted on the blog soon so stay tuned!

Ski Trip Payments

While registration for the trip is closed, don’t forget that we’re also now payments for the Sr. High ski trip. Make your check for $220 out to St. James UMC. Health release and liability forms will be available for download soon.

Feedback Time: Blog Reconstruction In Progress

We’re redesigning the St. James Youth Blog to be able to better communicate clearly with our youth, parents, volunteers, and other supporters. If you’re having trouble accessing various sections of the site, please be patient with us as this is a giant undertaking and it’s very easy to let a few details slip through the cracks.

The main reason for the updated blog is the addition of a youth calendar page. We will be using Google Calendar to create a comprehensive and updated church calendar here at St. James UMC in the coming months. Visit stjamesyouthblog.com/calendar to see an early version of what the calendar will look like and stay connected.

We’d also love your feedback on how to make this site better for you. Send an email to Trey Hockman, Director of Youth Ministries, at thockman@stjamesatlanta.org with your suggestions.

Thanks!

 

Sign Up Now and Hit the Slopes with Us!

Click Here to Reserve Your Spot!Friday, January 27th – Sunday, January 29th
Available to all 9th-12th graders.
Cost: 220 Per Person* (Includes lodging, food, lift ticket, and equipment rental)

By registering, you are only reserving a placeholder for the trip. Full cost of the trip must be made by January 8th, 2012. Make all checks out to “St. James UMC.” A basic health and safety form will also be required for this trip. You can fill out this form on Friday, the 27th before departure or pick up a form in the youth room of the church.

Click on the link above and follow the instructions to reserve your spot. If you are reserving multiple youth or are a parent reserving your child, please make a note in the comment section of your reservation with the name(s) of the youth participating in the event.

*All St. James Youth trips and special events have financial assistance available if needed. For more information, contact Trey Hockman, Director of Youth Ministries at thockman@stjamesatlanta.org

Confirmation Retreat 2011!

(Available to all current confirmation students. Contact church office for details about confirmation at St. James.)

The time has finally come to get ready for our Confirmation retreat to Lake Junaluska! This is always an incredible trip and I’m looking forward to spending the weekend with this year’s class. Here’s the details:

-Meet at the church on Friday at 5pm. Dinner Friday will be at Chick-fil-A and is included in your retreat payment.

-The Retreat is $185 per person.* You can turn your check into the church office or simply drop it off on Friday before we leave for the trip.

-You’ll also need to fill out a brief medical release form. These forms will be handed out this Sunday morning at class and can also be filled out on when before departure. (NOTE: Despite what the form states You will NOT need to notarize the form.)

Here’s a quick packing list:
-Clothing (indoor & outdoor) for Friday-Sunday
-Toiletries
-Bible, Notebook, Pen
-Optional money for Christian Book store on site

We are staying in hotel room accommodation so bedding won’t be needing. However, if you’d like to bring an extra pillow for the bus or your room, that would be fine.

We will be returning back to the church on Sunday morning at 12:00. We will not be stopping for lunch on the way back Sunday.

If you have any questions, please email Trey Hockman at thockman@stjamesatlanta.org.

*All St. James Youth trips and special events have financial assistance available if needed. For more information, contact the church office.

Sr. High Fall Retreat

November 4th-6th
$35 Per Person*
Available to all 9th-12th graders.

We’re getting outta town for a weekend and want you to come with us! For this year’s fall retreat, our Sr. High students will be heading to the Watkins’ cabin for a great weekend of hanging out, enjoying great food, and learning more about a deeper understanding of what it means to truly call ourselves followers of Jesus Christ.

To register, click here!

*All St. James Youth events have scholarships available. Contact Trey Hockman at the church office for details.

Lock-In October 21st

Friday, October 21st
$10 Per Person*
Meet at the church @ 7pm
Pick-Up the next morning @ 8am

Grab your best zombie-slaying gear and join us for a night of games, food, entertainment, and other bits of random spookiness. Visitors are STRONGLY encouraged to join us for this event so bring your friends!

There is no sign up for this event, so if you plan on coming make sure you are on time. Otherwise, you might get accidentally locked out. If you are unable to stay for the entire event and would still like to participate, you will need to make special arrangements in advance. Shoot an email to thockman@stjamesatlanta.org to discuss options.

*All St. James Youth events have scholarships available. Contact Trey Hockman at the church office for details.

NEW Monthly Planning Meetings

With the new school year comes the opportunity to improve how we do things around The St. James Youth HQ. That’s why we will now be hosting a monthly planning session. Parents, youth, volunteers, Sunday school teachers, and anyone interested in getting plugged into our ministry will be strongly encouraged to join us.

Our goal is to start out planning as much as two months out for the weekly events (Sunday and Wednesday programs) and 6 months out for our special events (retreats, lock-ins, service projects, etc.). Hopefully, by this time next year, we will be able to plan the big events as far out as a year in advance. This will greatly help parents, volunteers, and other church ministries coordinate our calendars.

Our first meeting is September 22nd @ 6pm and will include a dinner. Future meetings will be the third Thursday of every month. So even if you can’t make the meeting this month, mark your calendar for the following dates: 10/20, 11/17, 12,15, 1/19, 2/16, 3/15, 4/19, 5/17

Frequently Asked Questions:

“How long will the meeting last?” Our goal is to keep the meetings under an hour and a half so that we don’t conflict with other church events.

“How much will dinner cost?” For our first couple of meetings, we’re going to keep the meal free. After that, we may ask for a small donation per family to offset the cost. We will determine that as a group at one of the meetings.

“I’m a parent and I want to make sure my youth isn’t uncomfortable with my role assisting the youth. What are my options?” There are dozens of opportunities for service in this ministry that wouldn’t necessarily put you in direct contact with your youth. For example, if your child is a jr. high, you can assist in a sr. high trip. Or you could assist in some behind the scenes coordination for a specific event. We need you on this team and there are several ways to make that happen.

“What about the youth involvement. Can teenagers assist in leadership roles?” Absolutely! We will be planning our calendar on an event-by-event basis. That means that if you’d like to be a leader on a Sunday night program, you would volunteer to be a part of that specific night. This allows youth to focus on a specific task or event rather than just be “on call” as a youth leader. (NOTE: There will be a time once a quarter for “youth only” feedback, planning, and leadership opportunities.)

“Is this new structure a permanent change?” That depends on us. This youth group is growing and it’s our challenge to step up and adapt to this growing ministry. Part of that growth process will be learning not what works best for youth ministry in general, but for St. James specifically.

This is such an exciting time in the life of this (over 50 year old) ministry and I can’t wait to see where God will take us all in the coming months!

-Trey | Youth Ministries – St. James UMC Atlanta

Rive Romp Posters Now Available!

If you attended our last retreat, be sure and swing by The Youth Room soon and grab your poster. Be sure and scratch off your name so we can keep track of who’s already got theirs.

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