Sunday, October 26, 2008

corn maze-lots of fun!

Thanks to all of you who came out and had tons of fun at the Corn Maze on Friday night! We lucked out and the weather wasn't too cold, and the rain stayed away.

Thanks to Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Fairport for hosting us for the gathering and food before the maze.

We ended up with about 54 people! That was a great turn-out for an event that was planned with about a month's notice.

We'll keep you posted on future GFL events and also let you know what's happening with LYO planning.

Monday, October 20, 2008

2009 ELCA Youth Gathering

2009 ELCA Youth Gathering E-News
October 2008 ► Issue 6


Watch Bishop Mark Hanson's invitation to service and deepening faith during the Gathering in New Orleans. During the 3 days of the Gathering you'll be guided through:

* A day assigned to explore God's Word
* A day assigned to contemplate God's Word, and
* A day assigned to live God's Word.

We will be guided as a community and in small groups in worship, learning experiences, service, Bible study, prayer, building relationships... all centered in the gospel and living Jesus Justice Jazz.

Registration for the Gathering is still open


Over 32,000 youth and adults have registered so far!

Online registration for the Gathering is open through January 15, 2009, or until it is full. Go to registration information on the Gathering Web site. Registration is also open for the Multicultural Youth Leadership Event (MYLE) and the Definitely-Abled Youth Leadership Event (DAYLE).

Some things you should know about registering for the Gathering...

1. Registration may close before January 15, 2009. When it closes, congregations will only be able to make substitutions; they won't be able to add to their group.
2. If registration closes and we have to turn people away, we will look at our adult- to-youth ratios. There are some congregations with a very high number of adults. We want to support them in their work with young people, but if we have congregations on a waiting list we want to be fair to them as well.
3. Housing assignments will be made at an earlier date if registration closes early.
4. When registration closes and hotel assignments are made, the registration Web site will no longer be live; online changes or substitutions will no longer be possible. The Gathering office will give sufficient notice so that you have the opportunity to make sure your group's information is complete and up-to-date.

Join the ELCA Youth Gathering Facebook group
1,100 people have joined the ELCA Youth Gathering Facebook group. You'll find discussions and ideas for fundraising, service opportunities before and after the Gathering, volunteer opportunities for young adults, and more. http://www.facebook.com/group.php? gid=12679517425

Jesus Justice Jazz... wear boldly!

Gathering shirts and gear are available from Old Lutheran.

Use the Gathering logo files for your own creative ventures.

Talk about the Gathering logo and what it means.
Did you know?

* "God's work. Our Hands." is the new ELCA tag line.

* New Orleans was named best city for dining and live music
in the United States in Headline News and Travel + Leisure Magazine's annual "America's Favorite Cities" survey.

* Learn more about the ELCA Youth Gathering: http://archive.elca.org/ gathering
* Learn more about Youth Ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America: http://archive.elca.org/youth
* Learn more about the Lutheran Youth Organization: http://archive.elca.org/lyo/
* Archived Gathering E-News

LYO WInter Weekend

Mark the date on your calendars

March 6-8, 2009 for the LYO Winter Weekend.


Pastor Justin Johnson from St. Timothy's in Geneseo is working with a group on the planning - any questions, contact him at sttimpastor@yahoo.com

The theme this year called “Living Life in a Pressure Cooker.” The weekend will be focused on stresses of the world, in school, and at home. The message that will be lifted up is that we are not alone in our struggles, but have Christ with us always.

This from PJ:
More than likely the cost of Winter Weekend will be going up by $10 from $65 to $75. I know many of you are planning your budgets right now and I wanted to be up front about this, so congregations can plan accordingly. The reason for this increase is that Rush Sunshine camp raised the price per person per night by $3. This means an increase of $6 per person for the weekend. The extra $4 is to cover the rising cost of food. With that written, think about this increase and what you still get with it. Namely, a two night stay at camp, a dance, fellowship, all meals, and a tee shirt to take home. A one-night stay at a hotel is $120 without any of the rest. So, it is an increase, but not a huge increase.

There is also good news though. It looks as if we have found a new musician to replace Jason Tucker, who also chose to not return as he is looking forward to ordained ministry. We continue to have a strong team who has been working hard on the Winter Weekend program with many of the people on the team who are Winter Weekend planning team veterans. We also continue to have a strong relationship with the Rush Sunshine Camp; the DJ used in the past, and many of the staff members in the kitchen.

Amerks - 2 opportunities for outings

Faith Night at the Amerks
Saturday, November 8th against the Houston Aeros. Game Time is 7:35 PM. Contact jcochol@Amerks.com for discounted tickets - $10.00 for the 200 end tickets and $12.00 for the 100 end tickets.


Thrivent AMERKS Night

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is inviting all Lutherans and their friends to an AMERKS game on December 7 at 6:05 PM. The donation is $8.00 to go to help pay for the 2008 Thrivent Builds House

See your congregational contact or contact Frank Dutt at 671-2250 or fd516md@rochester.rr.com for reservations. Please sign up by November 23. This would be a great fellowship event for GFL Youth and a great bargain!

LYO Corn Maze

It's That Time Again!
Date:
Friday, October 24, 2008
Time:
7:00pm - 10:15pm
Location:
Bethlehem Lutheran Church and Long Acre Farms
Fairport, NY
Contact:
4421018
Email:
office@atonementrochester.org


Join youth from around the GFL conference for another fun LYO event.
We'll meet at Bethlehem in Fairport at 7 PM for food, fellowship and faith, and leave at 8:15 for the Corn Maze in Macedon. The last moonlight maze tour starts at 9 PM and take about 75 minutes. Cost is $9 per person + a non-perishable food item.

Youth groups need to provide their own chaperones and drivers. Please sign up by October 21