S.P.Y. PARENTS
November, 2009
November: Making A Difference
November is a busy month – well, what month isn’t these days? But in November we begin to prepare for the
upcoming holidays – shopping, parties, fundraisers, charity events, football games, etc. And suddenly life
gets hectic! We often loose sight of the purpose for the coming season – the amazing gift of Christ’s birth.
This November at SPY we will focus on remembering that even in our hectic everyday lives, we can still
make a difference. It doesn’t take much time to extend the love of God to our neighbors by saying “Hi,”
holding open a door for someone, or just smiling at those around us. It is often the little things we do that
matter the most and have the greatest impact. My hope with this short series is that the Youth will be
reminded to look up from their activities and shine God’s light into this world with simple and random acts of
kindness.
S.P.Y. Calendar of Events
S.P.Y. Snack Supper Schedule
10/25 SPY – Halloween Party & Haunted House
11/1
SPY – Making a Difference
Se’Lah Concert (7:00 PM in Sanctuary)
11/7-8 B1 Youth Fast
11/8
SPY – Making a Difference
10/25 Halloween Party & Haunted House
11/1
Pennock & Pobjecky
11/8
Campbell-Evans & Prescott
11/15 Pizza & Youth Musical
11/15 Youth Musical: The Ride & Dessert Fellowship
11/22 Sheldon & TBD
11/22 SPY – Making a Difference
11/29 Hadden & TBD
11/29 SPY - The Christmas Story: A Seussian Tale
Hanging of the Greens (7:00 PM in Sanctuary)
12/6
12/6
SPY - Afterglow at the Reeses’
12/13 SPY – The Christmas Story: Sand Art
12/20 SPY – The Christmas Story: The Inn Keeper’s
Dilemna & White Elephant Christmas Party
Afterglow at the Reeses
12/13 Robinette & Waller
12/20 Christmas Party
On Novermber 7-8 we will be participating in the new United Methodist youth movement, B1. B1 is a
fasting event which raises money to empower the poor and disempower unjust systems sustaining
poverty in our world. Our fast will be for 30 hours, during which we will learn about the injustices of
poverty and hunger, bring awareness about these issues to our local community, raise money for a
hunger mission through The Advance, spend time in reflection and worship, and have tons of fun
while were accomplishing our goals! Our fast is a juice/water fast, meaning that water, juice, and
sports drinks will be available throughout our 30 hour fast. If your youth is interested in participating
here’s what you need to know:
 Please sign up with me ASAP to receive a participant’s packet, and be sure to give me their Tshirt size.
 For those who are participating, this is an overnight event, so they need to pack the following
items: sleeping bag & pillow, pajamas, clothes for Sunday (including clothes for church
service), toiletries.
 We may be going off-site for a portion of the event to perform a service project – I am still
working out the details on our destination, and will inform all of the participants in advance.
 We will meet at 12:00 PM on Saturday, November 7th in Sanders Hall. We will share our final
meal together at this time before beginning our fast.
One of the benefits of the B1 Youth Fast is that our participants will get to choose which Advance
Mission to support through our donations, and 100% of our donations go directly to that mission! I
expect this to be a fun and transformational experience for everyone who participates!
Poinsettia Sales
November is a month of reflection and Thanksgiving take time this year to give thanks for the special people
in your life by purchasing a poinsettia in honor or in
memory of a loved one. We will decorate the Sanctuary
with the poinsettias during the Advent season. The cost
is $12 per poinsettia, and all proceeds go to help the
summer mission trips of Saint Paul’s Youth. You can
place an order in Sanders Hall on Sundays through
November 8th, or with the special pew envelopes during
the offering on these Sundays.
Senior High Ski Retreat
This year our Senior High Retreat will be at
Lake Junaluska for their Youth THAW event.
THAW retreats include “relevant contemporary
spiritual messages and an awesome Christian
music concert” as well a weekend of skiing!
The cost will be $250 per person for 3 nights,
January 15-18 (MLK Weekend). Please reserve
a spot for your youth ASAP. A $50.00 deposit
will be due by December 1, and the remainder
will be due by January 1, 2010. What a great
Christmas gift!
Selah Concert – November 1st
Selah will be holding a concert on Sunday, November 1st at 7:00 PM in the Sanctuary during our
evening Vespers service. The offering collected at this concert will be donated to the Youth Missions
Fund! Please help me and the youth show our gratitude and support by attending this concert.
Penny Wars
Our Penny Wars competition ends on
Sunday, November 1st, so hurry and make
those last minute deposits to your team’s
jar! The winning team (Senior Highs or
Middle Highs) will reap their rewards at a
pizza and movie night in the Foundation
on Saturday, November 21st…and they’ll
be the first to use our NEW T.V.! Parents,
you can help our competition too – the
bigger our pot, the better! Checks count as
“paper money,” so be sure to put those in
the opposing team’s jar!
Youth Musical
“The Ride”
November 15
Come join the Youth on Sunday, November
15 at 6:30 PM in Sanders Hall for our musical
performance, The Ride. Learn about the
thrilling ride of Christian life as our talented
youth praise God through song. Come early
at 6:00 PM and enjoy coffee and dessert as
well as fellowship with the youth – donations
for desserts will be accepted. So fasten your
seatbelts – it’s going to be a bumpy (and fun)
night!
Give the Gift of Relief: Project 6-4-1
Saint Paul’s Youth and the Missions Committee are teaming up this holiday season to become a part of the Florida
Conference’s Project 6-4-1. Project 6-4-1 challenges Florida churches to be “committed to making a difference
when disaster strikes” by preparing and storing 6 cleaning buckets for (4) 1 year (6-4-1). We have the buckets, and
now we need your help to fill them! A list of needed items and sign-up sheets will be available in Sanders Hall
each Sunday, November 15-December 20. Our goal is be a Project 6-4-1 Church for 2010. Also, check out the
conference e-review at http://www.flumc.info/cgi-script/csArticles/articles/000060/006008.htm. SPY’s
involvement in this project is highlighted in this article!
Saint Paul’s United Methodist Church
Director of Youth Ministries
1700 North Meridian Road
Tallahassee, FL 32303
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