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(Not so much right now, but...) Head's Up: If school is cancelled on a Wednesday, then so are Youth Group meetings. If school is merely running late, then we will meet at the regular times.

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Here's an interesting web site just for you! www.waytolive.org

Mission Trip 2008

June 22-27, 2008 in Portland, OR

July 8, 2008

Hello all!

We're back from the Mission Trip, and I'm back from a week's worth of
camping right after that, so now I'm in a position to tell you all how much I appreciated the Mission Trip this year.

First, I am very, very proud of the work-hard ethic and cheerful attitude of all of the teen participants all week long. Very impressive! Second, I am very, very thankful to our two other chaperones: Dave Beemer and Eileen Nicol--they were absolutely wonderful in helping me "herd cats," in leading the way in driving, and, most importantly, in so easily and naturally getting in there with the teens in both our work and play sites. We had amost excellent time as a group!

Below is a message from Eileen, and a link to some of the photos she took during the trip. It may appear that we played more than we worked, but that's not really the case. We were fortunate to be staying at a UCC church very close to a nice park with a great swimming pool, which we did take full advantage of on several occasions, but every day we also worked and/or learned about urban poverty and what kinds of different things folks are doing to address that sad state of affairs.

Depending on who you might ask, I imagine the highlights of the trip will differ; I do encourage you, therefore, to talk with our teens and chaperones about what the trip was like for them.

In a nutshell, for me, the trip was a wonderful and inspiring time with each teen and with Eileen and Dave; I love you all! And it was a reminder that our faith's plea to feed the poor is not only a plea for charity, but is also one that encourages true community despite class distinctions; we all had fun working with, and getting to know, some people with whom we would not ordinarily have meaningful contact except for the fact that we reached out to be a small part of their community for our week in Portland. As I've said before, many of my most profound spiritual experiences are when people come together for the common good, and I certainly had such an experience on this mission trip. I am truly thankful to all of the participants and to all of you who supported our trip.

--Jennifer Merrill

Now, on to what Eileen has to say (and the link below that to her photos):

I truly enjoyed my time with your kids. As I said in church, you can be very proud of them. They worked hard and played hard. They are bright andpersonable, every one of them!

~Eileen

http://gallery.mac.com/ezn1#gallery

EHCC Youth Groups get together for a regular weekly meeting and periodically for special events. When we’re together we:

On Wednesdays during the school year, our doors are wide open (figuratively speaking) as soon as school is out so youth can gather with friends, do homework, or play games and do crafts. (On half days, EHCC is open to youth at 3:00pm; youth need be home or involved with other activities until then.)

After that, our Junior Youth Group meets from 5-5:30pm; dinner is from 5:30 to 6:15pm (youth help clean up); and our Senior Youth Group meets from 6:15 to 7:15pm. Junior youth groupers can hang out at church—doing quiet activities—until 7:30pm.

Both Youth Group meetings are structured to provide a safe and stimulating environment to explore ideas about faith and how we believe and act accordingly. We are an open-minded group and welcome a variety of viewpoints. You are always encouraged to bring friends to our Wednesday meetings; you don’t have to attend EHCC (though we bet you’d like it if you did!) to be an occasional or regular participant in Youth Group. Join us!

Here at EHCC, we are of the philosophy that it takes an entire village to raise a child; and what a wonderful village we have! We gratefully encourage and accept the volunteer assistance of Wednesday evening cooks, guest meeting facilitators, field trip and mission trip chaperones, etc. Please talk to us about how you can be a part of our program!

EHCC underwrites much of the cost of the youth group program in its annual budget. However, families are asked to contribute to the cost of Wednesday evening dinners on a per week or per quarter basis And some activities may have an additional fee, such as ferry or event tickets and special meals. The annual mission trip is covered through a combination of Youth Group fund-raising and family contributions. Scholarship assistance is usually available upon request for any of the above mentioned situations.

Loving, energetic Christian Director of Youth Ministry for Eagle Harbor Congregational Church (UCC). Part-time (average 15 hours/week); salary DOE. Send resumes to the church at 105 Winslow Way West, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 or to office@eagleharborchurch.org

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