I know it's fall and winter is just around the corner. I know tomorrow is Thanksgiving. But, I also know time goes very quickly and I need to get going on some events for next spring! So, for some reason, today was the day. They had been in my mind for awhile. But, I hadn't put anything down and hadn't really voiced my ideas to make sure they made sense to someone other than me.
I now have them on the church calendar and have the excel file created- which means I'm well on my way. As I was thinking about a schedule, I realized I needed to have a focus in order to figure out the best way to schedule. So, I started searching online for lock- in themes and retreat themes. Nothing real came up. Then, it came to me! But, to explain it I have to go back a few days to last Sunday.
During the sermon, the pastor talked about a conversation he had recently had with someone about church. The pastor said he possibly had a chance to say 3 or 4 sentences to someone when they asked about going to church. That thought had stuck with me afterwards. Fast forward to yesterday. I was having a conversation with my boss at the Teen Center and he asked me about being Methodist. I thought about it and told him a few random things that may or may not have made sense. Then, I brought out a chart I happened to have with me that showed the differences between different denominations. Afterwards, I thought I could have responded so much better. I could have told him about the 3 general rules of Methodism- 1) Do no harm 2) Do all the good that you can 3) Stay in love with God.
So, today as I was thinking of a theme, it suddenly came to me. What a perfect theme- being Methodist! We'll be doing mission projects, which would have a focus on rule 1 and 2. And, we'll be focusing on spiritual development a couple days, which would be rule 3. Now, to make it exciting to my teens. Last year we went to New Orleans so that's pretty tough to beat- especially staying in town. So, I needed something a little more exciting to call it besides "The 3 general rules". And, then it came to me- Methodist Swag! In case some of you are wondering...urban dictionary- Swag- "the way someone presents themselves"- so we'll be focusing on presenting ourselves as Methodists- 1) Do no harm 2) Do all the good that you can 3) Stay in love with God.
So, there it is. Spring Break week long event- Methodist Swag!
Blessings,
Jennifer
I now have them on the church calendar and have the excel file created- which means I'm well on my way. As I was thinking about a schedule, I realized I needed to have a focus in order to figure out the best way to schedule. So, I started searching online for lock- in themes and retreat themes. Nothing real came up. Then, it came to me! But, to explain it I have to go back a few days to last Sunday.
During the sermon, the pastor talked about a conversation he had recently had with someone about church. The pastor said he possibly had a chance to say 3 or 4 sentences to someone when they asked about going to church. That thought had stuck with me afterwards. Fast forward to yesterday. I was having a conversation with my boss at the Teen Center and he asked me about being Methodist. I thought about it and told him a few random things that may or may not have made sense. Then, I brought out a chart I happened to have with me that showed the differences between different denominations. Afterwards, I thought I could have responded so much better. I could have told him about the 3 general rules of Methodism- 1) Do no harm 2) Do all the good that you can 3) Stay in love with God.
So, today as I was thinking of a theme, it suddenly came to me. What a perfect theme- being Methodist! We'll be doing mission projects, which would have a focus on rule 1 and 2. And, we'll be focusing on spiritual development a couple days, which would be rule 3. Now, to make it exciting to my teens. Last year we went to New Orleans so that's pretty tough to beat- especially staying in town. So, I needed something a little more exciting to call it besides "The 3 general rules". And, then it came to me- Methodist Swag! In case some of you are wondering...urban dictionary- Swag- "the way someone presents themselves"- so we'll be focusing on presenting ourselves as Methodists- 1) Do no harm 2) Do all the good that you can 3) Stay in love with God.
So, there it is. Spring Break week long event- Methodist Swag!
Blessings,
Jennifer
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