Pumpkin Carving Party!

This Sunday we joined together with family and friends for a pumpkin carving party!  We had over a dozen pumpkins to carve and decorate that will be delivered to church members in nursing homes or that are home bound.  We also had cards to decorate, pumpkin lanterns to make and coloring pages...along with lots of delicious treats to eat!  What a fun night of creativity!

Don't forget to get in your registration forms and money for our middle and high school youth conference retreats in November and December!!!

Actions vs. Words

St. Francis of Assisi said, "Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words."

This past Sunday night we explored this quotation and how our actions often speak louder than our words.  Do people know you are a Christian just by the way you act?  How can you communicate your love for Christ to others through your actions?  Why is it important for our actions to match what we say?  What type of impact could you have (negative or positive) on someone who doesn't know the love of God with the way you act?

These are all important questions to think about as we realize that it is not just what we say that matters to God and has an impact on others around us, it's how we act as well!  God calls us to live in ways that care for and share God's love with all of God's creation...this should be evident in both what we say and what we do!  I challenge you to think of someone in your life who you can better share God's love with this week through your actions!

Got Fruit?

This past Sunday at FUSION Gathering at Connections we explored the fruits of the Spirit!  Take a look at Galatians 5:13-26.  The Apostle Paul discusses 9 fruits of the Spirit which are characteristics we should embody when we align ourselves with God's will.

LOVE

JOY

PEACE

PATIENCE

KINDNESS

GOODNESS

FAITHFULNESS

GENTLENESS

SELF-CONTROL

Healthy trees bear good fruit!  So what does it mean to be a "healthy Christian"?  Are we seeking to grow in our faith?  Are we loving God and our neighbors in every way we can?  Are we asking for God's guidance in our lives?  When we practice spiritual disciplines like praying, reading Scripture, serving others, etc. we bear good fruit!  And this "fruit" looks like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control!  How will you live your life in order to be a healthy and fruitful "tree"?

Do Justly

On Sunday at Connections, we talked about how God calls us to help our neighbors.  We started by watching a video of three teenage friends who learned about how the lack of access to clean water for children in Africa has resulted in some children being unable to cry from being so dehydrated.  It seemed like an overwhelmingly impossible issue for them to deal with, but they wanted to do something!  So they created bracelets that said "No More Dry Tears" and sold them at their school and church to raise money to build wells in Africa that would provide access to clean water for some of the villages.  What started as raising a few dollars, ended up leading to their own non-profit organization that has now built many wells and an irrigation system in parts of Africa!

Are there injustices that you see in the world that seem too big for you to do anything about?  God calls us to respond!  We may not be able to solve the world's problems on our own, but we can make a difference...no matter how small!!  What are injustices you see in your own community?  What's a small first step you can take to help?  Grab a friend and talk about something you might be able to do to make a difference.

One of the mission projects our church is involved in is Operation Christmas Child.  OCC provides a shoebox full of Christmas gifts to children all around the world.  These shoeboxes not only contain small toys, but essential hygiene items like soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, etc.  They also contain a Bible study written in the language of the children they will go to introducing God's love and the Gospel story to children who in many cases haven't heard it before.  You can learn more about OCC's work here: Operation Christmas Child.  So, in response to our topic for the evening, we spent the rest of our time stuffing teddy bears that some of the women of our church stitched.  These teddy bears will be packed in OCC shoeboxes and become a source of comfort and love for many children across the world!  Check it out:

Once Upon a Parable

This week at FUSION Gathering, we talked about parables!  Jesus often used these everyday ordinary stories to explain a greater heavenly understanding.  Sometimes lofty theological thoughts only make sense when we look at them from our earthly standpoint.  Have you ever used a story to explain something to someone else?  I bet you have, maybe without even realizing it.  Jesus knew he could connect with the people by talking about things like fishing and farming because those were topics they were very familiar with.  Maybe parables today would include things like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!  Regardless, Jesus' parables still have a lot to teach us today about how God calls us to live as disciples of Jesus Christ.

We took some time reading several parables from the Bible and then chose two to act out!  Check out the youth re-enacting the Parable of the Prodigal Son and the Parable of the Good Samaritan.  What's your favorite parable?

See you next Sunday!!  Don't forget that the youth will be helping serve lunch after church this Sunday for the Operation Christmas Child lunch fundraiser.

Armor of God

What a great first night at Connections Sunday night discipleship ministry at Farmville UMC this past Sunday!  It was an especially great night back at FUSION Gathering!  I miss hanging out with the youth on a weekly basis over the summer, so I'm excited for fall to be here.  This Sunday we talked about the armor of God from Ephesians 6:10-20.  What a great passage to start off with as we think about all the new challenges and opportunities a new school year brings!  Clearly the best way to think through this Scripture is to create the different elements of the armor...so that's what we did!  Check out our interpretations of the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, sword of the spirit and shoes ready with the Gospel of peace!

See you next Sunday!  Don't forget, the youth usher on September 22nd at the 11am service, so let me know if you are able to serve in this way by emailing me at LBlakely@farmvilleumc.org or calling the church office at 434-392-4686.

Fall @ FUSION

Well, folks, summer is officially over!  Bummer.  BUT that means fall is well underway with lots of great things coming up at FUSION: Farmville United Methodist Church's youth ministries!  Take a look at all the great things planned so far this fall (and beyond).

Join us at FUSION Gathering (aka Youth Group) every Sunday night from 6-7:30pm in the youth suite (rooms 1&3) as a part of "Connections".  Connections is a church-wide discipleship ministry starting on September 8th which will offer opportunities for children, youth (FUSION Gathering) & adults!  So bring along your siblings, parents & friends!  There's something for everyone.  We will gather in the fellowship room at 5:45pm for dessert & coffee then head to our individual groups at 6pm.  Check out our Facebook page at Connections@FUMC, our church website at FarmvilleUMC, or bulletin boards around the church to see all the different small groups and studies available!  We hope to see your whole family there!

Our annual Fall Youth Retreats are quickly approaching!  Our middle and high school conference youth retreats are held at Eagle Eyrie in Lynchburg with youth from all over the state!  The middle school retreat will be November 8-10th and the high school retreat will be December 6-8th.  The cost of the retreat is $120.  We always have a blast!  You won't want to miss it.  Email or call me (Lyndsie) @ LBlakely@farmvilleumc.org or 392-4686x23 to reserve your spot!

Many of you have helped wrap, stuff & pack shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child!  This year you have a special opportunity as youth to help with this mission project!  On September 29th, we will be hosting a luncheon here at church to benefit Operation Christmas Child!  We need our youth to be our waiters and waitresses for this event.  Can you volunteer an hour or more of your time that afternoon to serve lunch to our community to raise money for OCC?  Email or call me (Lyndsie) @ LBlakely@farmvilleumc.org or 392-4686x23 to let me know! 

Also, mark your calendar for the OCC Youth Packing Party at 10am on November 9th which will be held at Fuqua School!  Come and help pack hundreds of shoeboxes with youth from all around our community.

Join Josh Blakely every Sunday from 9:45-10:45am in room 1 for youth Sunday school for grades 7-12!  Fellowship together, read Scripture & dig deeper into your faith!  6th graders will meet upstairs in room 23 for Sunday school.

Start making your plans now for our SUMMER 2014 YOUTH MISSION TRIP!!!  Middle and high school students are invited to join us as we travel to Christiansburg, VA as we work with Project SPY to do home repairs, worship together and have a lot of fun!  The mission trip will be July 26-August 1 and the cost will be $300.  We will be planning various fundraisers throughout the year to offset some, if not all, of the cost.  Registration deadline is February 1st!  

I can't wait to see you all for these great opportunities we have lined up!  I pray school is off to a great start for each of you.  Peace!