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[VI]sonary Newsletter - November

Dropping in to Say BOO!

Halloween and October Recap

We have had a lot of fun this month at VI. Our Day of Service and Fun got weathered out by rain and cold temperatures, but that did not stop us from serving those in our extended community. We met at the church and filled gift bags to be delivered to the Twin Lakes community. It was a great afternoon filled with service from the heart and fellowship.

Our Halloween party was a great hit, many thanks to Abbie and Ginny and our Student Leaders team for pulling it all together and having fun! We played fall inspired games, had fun decorating pumpkins and coming up with life stories about our creations, some unfortunate souls battled their taste-buds to identify baby foods, and Tony was our great pumpkin pie eater winner!

October has been a great month to have fun and get to know the youth of ACUMC and its surrounding community! I am looking forward to continuing to get to know the youth and join in life with the VI family!

Be A Blessing


Night of Worship

“All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name. For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God” Psalm 86:9-10

We had our first Night of Worship this past month at VI. The Night of Worship is an intentional night at VI where we dedicate our gathering time to worshiping God and being in worship together as a community. These nights are always open to anyone (youth and adults) who want to simply come and worship together. Each month we will have a Wednesday night set apart for these Nights of Worship, and information and posts about these night can always be found on Facebook and Instagram. These nights are also potluck nights so everyone brings something to share with everyone as a meal beforehand. The next Night of Worship will be November 28th. Hope to see you there!


Get Signed Up Today!@

Retreats, Conferences, and Trips Oh My!

Over the past month we have been blasting you with information and sign-ups for many VI activities. As a reminder of a few events:

1/19-1/21 The EDGE Conference is our Sr. High Winter Retreat where we will be heading to Gatlinburg, TN. Deposit and registration is due 11/18.
REGISTER

7/14-7/19 Summer Missions Trip to Niagara Falls, NY. While this event is a ways out, the first deposit is due on 11/26 to claim your spot on the team as spots are limited. There is an informational meeting on Nov 14th @ 6PM.

REGISTER

Posted by Rebecca Swanson Groves with
in Youth

Ch....Ch...Ch....Changes

What to Expect This Year


There are 3 big changes occurring this year in the VI Ministry. I want to share, elaborate, and involve you in these changes.


1) The Winter Retreat is going to look a little different. The two aspects of the Winter Retreat are still going to happen just separately. There is a ski trip in the planning stages to occur in January. Then in February the Jr. High Students will be going on a retreat and the Sr. High Students will be going on a retreat (details on these retreats to follow).

2) Confirmation has a new time. Confirmation is one aspect of working with Youth that I love. It is an amazing time for me to get to know the students and really dig deep and lay a foundation. Confirmation will begin in January and run till June, with confirmation Sunday being on Pentecost Sunday June 9th. We will meet on Sunday after church for about an hour each week. More information will be sent out to Parents of 8th graders in November. If your youth is interested in Confirmation and you want to make sure you are sent additional information contact Wendy or Rebecca.

3) Summer Missions and Outreach are going to look a little different too. I have heard some amazing feedback about the events that have happened over the past couple years during the summer months. It would be a shame to lose any of those programs and what each one offers. To help keep a balance of what each program has to offer we are going to operate on a 3-year system.

  • Year 1: A Mission Trip
  • Year 2: UNTD
  • Year 3: Elevation The year that UNTD is happening will also offer a unique opportunity for Juniors and Seniors to attend an international mission trip to Colombia. This year’s Mission Trip is TBA at the end of October after the voting results are in!
Posted by Rebecca Swanson Groves with
in Youth

Introducing Our NEW Student Ministries Director

Greetings Armstrong Chapel Family and Friends!

My name is Rebecca Swanson Groves and I am your new Student Ministries Director here at Armstrong Chapel. I have grown up in the United Methodist Church and am currently seeking UM ordination as a Deacon within the Illinois Great Rivers Conference. I have always had a calling to work with youth and watch them take ownership and walk confidently in their relationship with God. For years, I worked in the camping ministries as a counselor then as a Program Director in Illinois. While at Asbury Theological Seminary, where I obtained my Master of Divinity specializing in Spiritual Formation, I was active in our downtown church campus in Lexington, KY working with college and high school aged students. For the past 3-years, I have been a youth director at a local church here in Cincinnati.

I was able to take ownership of my own relationship in Christ while participating in youth groups and summer camps, so I know first-hand the importance of student ministries. My hope is to begin connecting the students involved in VI to their church, to their communities, and to the world. As students begin to step into leadership, as they are identifying who they are in Christ, and engaging with the world around them; together, we will make sure that Armstrong is a part of that narrative as well.

I will have normal office hours here at the church. Between the office at Jefferson Center and the V.I. space I will be here at the church pretty regularly, stop on in and say hello! I am hitting the ground running and I am looking forward to joining with all of you as we do ministry together here at Armstrong Chapel United Methodist Church!

Blessings!

Rebecca Swanson Groves

Posted by Wendy Ransom with

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