The Magi still have a looooong way to go

Christmas Advent Time Is Here

There's something really holy about waiting. How we sit in the middle can teach us much, and also tell us much about how we're doing. This helpful tension is one of the many reasons I believe it's important to mark Advent before launching fully into the joy of Christmas. This Advent we have the chance to remember the longing of Creation for Christ, observe our own waiting for joy in our lives, and feel the continued longing for Christ and hope and the remaking of all things. Jesus doesn't show up with point-and-click convenience, and Matthew's gospel tells us we aren't the first to travel a great distance to be where we long to be.

We all have a lot we're waiting on, individually and as a group. Corporately, we have a load of exciting events just around the corner, and we're in the final days before the first ever induction of a Bridge cohort into the youth ministry. Advent couldn't come at a better time. Find some chances to reflect and be present in the waiting. Every moment between here and there is worth it.

-Geoff

Upcoming Events

Weekly Schedule
Sunday
9:30am*: Sunday School
10:30am*: Church-wide fellowship time in the Worship Center
10:45am*: Church-wide worship
5:30-7:30: Engage (includes dinner)

*NOTE: No Sunday School December 25 and January 1, with worship moved to 10am on these holidays.

Dates to Know
(Adults, sign up to help here! As the season goes on, we'll be adding more dates to this signup for all non-ENGAGE Winter Season events)

December 4: Youth Christmas Party, 5:30-7:30pm. Bring a snack to share as we celebrate the season! By request, we're adding Dirty Santa this year, so grab a gift (limit $10) and join in on the fun!

December 11: Cookie Delivery & Dinner out. Following the churchwide Carols & Cocoa event, we'll be delivering cheer and cookies before dinner out, dutch treat.

December 18: Youth leading and Geoff preaching, 10:45am. Join us for worship with some of our youth leading and Geoff in the pulpit.

December 31-January 1: New Year's Eve Lock-In, 8pm-11am. This year's lock-in gets a Watch Night twist as we celebrate the New Year, have breakfast, and participate in the first PHUMC worship service of the year before heading home. Adults, grab that evening latte and join us to help!

January 8: New Youth Welcome Dinner, 5:30-7:30pm. Our returning youth have decided that a potluck sounds like a wonderful way to welcome all the new faces aging up into our ministry!

January 14-16: Winter Retreat @ Camp Wesley Pines. Registration is $165, including a $50 minimum deposit due by December 21; click here or use the Vanco app to get your student signed up. Adults, we'll need plenty of help transporting and chaperoning this trip with the higher expected enrollment.

Needing more chairs is one of those good problems

Welcome Feast!

We've (deservedly) talked a lot about the Winter Retreat and similar major events coming up, but we need to make sure a very special night is set on your calendar as well: on January 8th, our first ever Bridge class become youth!

Our current students have been in conversation about how to create traditions for the first ever celebration of this kind in our ministry. They have a lot of wonderful ideas in store, including making the night a potluck they help host for their new peers! Make sure to save this date now so we can have a great crowd for this special evening in the life of our church.

Since this is first time we've ever done this, it's worth noting that this event is the official welcome to the youth ministry, rather than the first of the year or the later-than-usual 2023 Confirmation Sunday. Current Bridge students are welcome at any and all youth events beginning January 8th, so let's make this a night to remember!

Winter (Retreat) is Coming

Those first cool gray days we've had lately are to remind you that registration for the Winter Retreat is now open! We'll be returning to Camp Wesley Pines from January 14-16; the cost is $165 including a $50 deposit due by December 21 (click here to register your student). As always, please reach out if there's an issue; we as a church community are not okay with money being the reason someone misses out on time together.

Ask anyone who went on last year's retreat and they'll tell you the same thing: our youth ministry as we know it today wouldn't be the same without the 2022 Winter Retreat. God moved and moved powerfully in that venerable tabernacle by Lake Copiah, and our students responded in ways that are still showing and growing.

It is then perfectly fitting that the 2023 edition is the first major event for our newly welcomed youth ministry members after completing confirmation! Our hope is for them to join together with plenty of our older students for a transformative weekend at the start of the spring semester. With the number of students we're expecting, that also means we'll need plenty of adult help driving and chaperoning this trip. Contact Geoff if you have any questions.

Run It Back to the Beach!

Start making your plans now to join us for a return trip to Panama City, Florida!

Some elements of the trip will be familiar to returning students, while others will be new for everyone! We'll have the opportunity for returning students and leaders to welcome new youth (both those aging into the youth group and those invited by friends) to this place that meant so much to them. New this year, though, will be a dual track approach. In addition to times of learning and fun for everyone together, there will also be times for our (by then) rising high schoolers and up to step further into service and faith formation than last year while rising 7th and 8th graders engage in deeper spiritual formation geared specifically to meet their needs as they settle into their status as youth after graduating from the Bridge Ministry. Our youth group will be nearly doubling overnight with the addition of the upcoming Bridge class, and the older youth and youth leaders are so excited to welcome these younger students with open arms so they feel right at home on their first youth summer trip!

More information on trip logistics will be coming soon, but we are thankful for the opportunity to get summer plans on your calendars early for the first time in many years (thanks, COVID). The trip will remain the week of July 4 to honor your students' busy summer schedules, and we will again be staying at Cottages Christian Retreat in PCB Monday, July 3 - Friday, July 7. We are considering adding an additional night en route for a little more time together and to spread out travel time, and we'll share info on that as it is available [note: likely departure is July 2 with a July 7 return]. We are working to keep costs comparable to last year, and we're thankful for the opportunities advanced scheduling allows for potential fundraising in the spring and for families to plan your summer budget. With that said, please don't ever let money be the reason your student doesn't attend a youth event! Reach out to Geoff and we will figure it out together.

And last but not least, this wonderful event can't happen without the amazing adult chaperones and leaders who support our youth! Grown ups, please prayerfully consider whether you'd like to join us again or jump on board for the first time!

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PO Box 1721
Madison, MS | 39130 US

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