Pictures of the Christmas Pageant (taken, again, from my grainy little camera phone - until I get a chance to upload some taken by others).
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| 2007-12-16 Christmas Pageant |
Just a heads up to you guys, especially Juan and Haley, who wanted to know what happened to Jesus between age 12 and age 30, those years the Bible leaves out.
National Geographic channel (TimeWarnerCable #65) is showing Jesus:The Missing Years tomorrow night (Monday, December 17th) at 9PM.
Let's all watch! I know I'm curious.
Oh, and thanks to Harry, Eddie, Brooklyn, Liz, Connor and Haley who helped with worship service and the pageant today. If any of you can usher again, let us know.
That's the title of this year's original Christmas Pageant. I hope you guys will come see it on December 16th at 11AM during church. The Sunday School is working hard and it means a lot to them if they see older youth supporting them in church.
I'd also invite you guys to help out with acting coaching and stage managing. Patti is directing and Jill is stage managing this year.
We could use you guys this Sunday for our rehearsal at 10AM. And especially for our dress rehearsal on Saturday, Dec 15th, from 10-12. Oh yeah and at the cookie decorating event afterwards. Remember this from last year?
Let me know if you can help out!
Hey guys, I've made it onto the blog! Now where are you? Mark finally invited me to post on this site. I've been racking my brain for something profound to say, but all I can think about is you guys and how I'd rather hear from you than wax philosophic. I thought getting confirmed meant you'd be connected to the church... I know life is busy but can you check in with us by posting a comment below. I bet you'd like to hear what everyone else is up to. I hear rumors like Jessica took the PSAT's, Juan's got loads of homework, Harry has parties to go to on Friday night (or at least the night of the lock-in), Eddie has soccer, Emma is in a new play, Brooklyn's into knitting, Haley, well, I've seen her, she's been good at watching my son, James. Is any of this true? What's up with the rest of you guys? Let us know.
Thanksgiving is a great time to reflect on the blessings we have been given, but can also be a time to talk to friends and relatives about the causes and activities that we are concerned about.
If the crisis in Darfur has touched you, please click below for Social Action that you can take this holiday to involve those around you in some far-reaching causes.
For a fully formatted version of a message from SaveDarfur.org, click over to http://fpcbrooklynyouth.googlepages.com/Thanksgiving2007-SaveDarfur.html
I just received a YouTube video link from Rev. Beth and her friend Tara. The video highlights the AIDS and general healthcare crisis in Lesotho where Touching Tiny Lives is located. Touching Tiny Lives is a charity that we have raised funds for, and communicated with, as part of the Sunday School and Youth Group activities. (You've probably heard about it from Linda, at Church, during the Children's Message or other times.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99syNgbFZL8 (see it right here on the blog by clicking the You Tube video on the right column of the blog)
Tara is now working with the two men interviewed here (Paul Farmer and the pilot of Partners in Health) on a project to treat adults with multi-drug resistant TB.
In case you weren't in worship on Sunday, you missed the preview of the really cool new look of the Church's web site!
A link is also available on the "Related (or not) Links" section on the right side of this blog."First Church is pleased to announce the launch of our new web-site! We encourage you to take a look around to see what has changed."
Website: http://www.fpcbrooklyn.org/
Rev. Beth has entered the blogosphere and setup a snappy new blog on http://fpcbrooklynfamilies.blogspot.com/. Check it out if you are in a family, have a family, or are in any way interested in families at First Church.
Also, on Sunday morning the 18th, the Kids Choir sang with the Adult Choir to help inspire us all for the Stewardship Commitment Kick-Off Sunday. Here is an album of grainy little pictures taken with my camera phone:
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| 2007-11-18 Kids Choir |
James Love as the Jack-o-lantern and Rev. Beth as "the stoop"
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mulle, David
Date: Oct 30, 2007 1:25 PM
Subject: Aye, Ghosts
All this week, Slate is running articles about ghosts in Scotland. I
thought some of you would find it a wee bit interesting.
http://www.slate.com/id/2176642/entry/2176643/
It started with an idea after the Confirmation Retreat last spring, we wanted to do some sort of a Youth Lock-in at the Church. Jill was thinking about it and with Halloween approaching, why not do something with a "Spirits" theme? From that came this past weekend's awesome "Spirits Within" lock-in.
Seven youth and what turned out to be A LOT of adults spent as much as 12 hours in the Church.
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| 2007-10-19 FPCB Youth Lock-In |
Christina is collecting blankets as part of a Brooklyn effort to help homeless individuals and families during the Thanksgiving-Christmas season. New and old (good condition) blankets will be accepted. Donations are also welcome.
To help meet the needs of more homeless individuals this year, bring blankets and donations to Church now through Sunday, November 11.
In case you haven't seen the news, I've attached a short article at the end of this posting.
The quick story is that there have been hate acts of anti-Semitic graffiti in Brooklyn Heights, in the area around First Church. As a response, the Interfaith Clergy Association of Brooklyn Heights has invited all houses of worship to hang banners on their building that speak out against religious hatred and speak in solidarity with our Jewish sisters and brothers.
A proposal has been made to take some of the funds that YOU have raised (from the Christmas cookie baking and Shrove Tuesday dinner) and put it toward this banner. The money was raised by you, so it is up to your responses how it will be spent.
To voice your stance, vote at a new poll here on the on the blog (right side panel), or send a message to Mark or Beth.
If you choose to spend Youth money as a witness in this way, PLEASE BE AT CHURCH on Sunday and we will take a group picture under the banner (approximately 12:30PM). If you feel strongly enough to write a response, feel free to post it as a comment to this blog entry.
Swastikas Painted On Brooklyn Synagogues, Cars, Homes
NEW YORK -- Vandals painted swastikas and other anti-Semitic messages on the streets of Brooklyn Heights on Monday, defacing two synagogues and shaking up many residents of the typically quiet neighborhood.
New York City Police said the anti-Semitic graffiti was found shortly before 10 p.m. Monday. The Nazi symbols were painted on the top of staircases of the two synagogues. Three homes on Columbia Place were also defaced.
Other anti-Semitic markings were spray painted on two cars in the area.
The NYPD is treating the vandalism as a bias crime.
On Saturday we had the privilege of hosting the Presbytery of New York City Youth Fair. Many of the participants (15-20 youth from across the 5 boroughs, including 3 of our own) attended this summer's Youth Triennium, and those that didn't got treated to some Energizers, small group work, and a closing worship service with music and dance.
Check out the attached photos, or chat with Christina, Eddie, or Liz if you'd like to know more about what happened.
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| 2007-09-15 Youth Fair |
With great thanks to Mario, a group went "out to the ball game" and saw the Brooklyn Cyclones play the Auburn Doubledays on Saturday evening. It was superhero night, which meant that fans were encouraged to dress as a superhero. Most of the workers at the ball park were dressed up too, as you can see in the photo album.
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| 2007-08-11 Brooklyn Cyclones |
The plan was for a contingent to go see "Ratatouille". 
For the second season in a row, Stephanie has been able to score some WNBA tickets for the group (yeah Stephanie!). This year the game was Sunday afternoon with the New York Liberty hosting the Seattle Storm.
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| 2007-07-22 WNBA |
The blogger had to be out of town on business (actually, just stepping off a plane in London at the time of the tip-off), but the report was that the game was good, the food was plentiful, birthday(s) were celebrated, and balloons were balanced. It sounds like it was a great time, and I'm sorry I couldn't make it.
WOW! I just checked the box score for the game and it was only a 2-point loss by the Liberty. Heartbreaking, but so close!
Click the picture above to see more photos in the online album.
A few of us were in town and took a trip to the Bronx Zoo on Saturday. Mark and Stephanie were talking about doing this as long ago as last summer - sort of our childhood dream, I guess?!?
We got up to the zoo about Noon, and stayed until closing time (5:30PM). The weather was great, and here are some fun, goofy, and perhaps enlightening pictures.
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| 2007-07-14 Bronx Zoo |
We got some short-notice tickets to the NBA Draft (one more time, Thank You Stephanie!). Breisen joined Christian and some of his family to take in all the exciting action.
The First Church gang got pooped out by about 10PM, but the first round continued on, and on, and on ... late into the night.
I wasn't able to be there, but all reports were that the Summer Kickoff (and Ice Cream eating) was a big hit! Jill led some games, the group took a "field trip" to the garret(*) of the manse, everyone ate some ice cream, Ellie was adorable, and Liz and her friend Abby put on a gymnastics exhibition...
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| Youth Summer Kickoff |
Thank you to all who participated in Youth Sunday this week. The service was very meaningful and moving. The prayers, music, preaching, readings, and kids artwork were all put together so well - I know that you challenged and made the "old folks" think. Some Church's talk about Youth being "the future of the Church". This past Sunday you showed that you are the Church, NOW!
I (again) forgot to bring my "good" camera, so the pictures this time came from the camera on my phone - as you can tell, it doesn't do well in low light. I'll check with others (Jill?, Ed?) to get additional pictures and post here them as soon as I do.
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| Youth Sunday |
We tell you ... let us know when you are in a sporting event, play, musical, dance recital, concert, or anything else that is open to the public. You never know when one (or more) of the Leader's will show up! (You might even get your picture on the blog, if one of us remembers to bring a camera.)
Abby in (or really just after) "Little Shop of Horrors"
Brooklyn after "Much Ado About Nothing"
These were really bad photos taken with my little 1.3 Megapixel camera phone.
Emma (with Beth and Jill) after "Rumors"
Check back soon for more (hopefully clearer) pictures that include Christopher in "Revenge of the Space Pandas".
Early on Saturday morning, a few of our hearty souls met to travel to Alphabet City and work at the Father's Heart Ministries soup kitchen where we helped serve breakfast to 478 guests.
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| 2007-05-19 Soup Kitchen |
Confirmation Sunday was May 6th and a fantastic experience on so many levels
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| 2007-05-06 Confirmati |
It has been a year since all this fun started, so it seemed like a good time to get the Youth Leaders back together with our Parents and "Supportive Web" (now called a more formal Youth and Family Outreach Committee).
We intended to cover:
Thank you to Marc and Melissa for sponsoring a fun afternoon of bowling.
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| 2007-03-24 Bowling |
Many Thanks to Stephanie for getting tickets for 16 of us to attend a New York Knicks game on March 18th. Game time was Noon, so we went to the start of worship and scooted out a bit early...
Here are the photos taken with Mark's camera:
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| 2007-03-18 FPCB Youth Knicks Game |
The Confirmation Class attended "The Jesus Retreat: Encountering God through the Arts" at the Holmes Presbyterian Camp & Conference Center on March 2-3, 2007. 11 Youth and 6 Adults attended from First Church, joining a total of over 50 Youth and 70 total participants.
Click this picture to see the full album...
I should have been doing other things, but I decided to add more content to this Blog. On the right column, you'll see Related Links, links to The "old" Blog, and a monthly summary of This Blog's History. Beyond this pretty standard stuff, I've added some more dynamic content of the Daily Lectionary Reading, a Calendar of the youth group events, some quick info about who I am, and then wrap up the page with a daily Motivational Quote. I even subscribed to feedburner.com for syndication of the Blog, or to send e-mail updates.
It may not be much, but it was fun for me to figure out how to add the parts!
I will be trying to keep the calendar up to date, so I encourage you to check it out from time to time. As the events pile up, I may make the calendar bigger and put it on the bottom of the page ... I'm still playing with the layout. Note that the calendar has a Month mode and an Agenda mode - if you just want to see the events spelled out without the calendar numbers.
Click around, check it out and leave comments if you wish!
With the special dinner for the Police Officers from the 84th Precinct, Firefighters from Ladder Co. 118, and Engine Co.s 205 and 224 (if the firefighters were able to join us later), we didn't formally plan "a meeting". We did have a good discussion about upcoming activities, and poll for future ideas.
The topics brought up for future meetings were:
We mixed it up with a Tuesday night meeting, themed for Mardi Gras (or Shrove Tuesday). We had a great intergenerational mix of Youth and Supportive Web folks preparing the room and cooking the pancakes!
In addition to the pancakes (plain, chocolate chip, and blueberry) and strawberrys, juice, whipcream and M&M toppings, there were also games! A couple rounds of musical chairs, an inflatable jumping thing (just the right size for "little ones"), and other bead-earning activies. We had a rub-on tatoo station, a mask-decoration station, hats, party horns and balloons all adding to the festive pre-Lenten fun.
We did a re-scheduled game day. It happened to be during the Church-wide Annual Meeting, so it was really a drop-in, drop-out kind of a gathering.
Highlights of the day were from the Owens' game collection, Ker Plunk and the Flying Pixies Game!
I started my Youth Group Blog on Yahoo!'s 360 blogger, but the name was too hard for (some) people to remember [23-July-2009: Even worse, Yahoo shutdown their 360 service so the old blog, though still available, is REALLY impossible to remember], so I'll try going forward here on fpcbrooklynyouth.blogspot.com. We'll call it a new Blog for the new year...
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