Perry Highway Evangelical Lutheran Church A Congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Perry Highway Wexford, Pennsylvania 15090

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1 Perry Highway Evangelical Lutheran Church A Congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Perry Highway Wexford, Pennsylvania The Reverend Dennis J. Ferguson, Senior Pastor The Reverend Roger Nicholson, Pastor Emeritus Church (724) Pre-Kindergarten (724) Fax (724) Hi PHLC! Welcome to November! This month is a time our nation collectively reflects upon all the things we have and can be thankful for. It s the time that people start to emotionally prepare for the holiday season and all that comes with it. We also erroneously recall the pilgrims and Native Americans enjoying the first Thanksgiving meal in peace and harmony, but when we actually look into the history, we can be at ease knowing that there have always been fights surrounding the Thanksgiving meal. As we enter a new month, we will be trying two new ideas out. The first one is a divided family ministry event. As a church, we ll go see two different films: Wonder and The Star. You can read more about that on page 4. The other is having middle and high school youth group directly after church on Sundays (11:15ish am to 12:30 pm). Having it at this time will allow parents the freedom to go shopping or go out to eat for lunch. No one will have to come back in the evening and miss out on a football game, and it also frees up students evenings for the infamous Sunday-night homework cram. Let me leave you with a reminder. The holiday season may be tense and anxietyinducing, but When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind. -R.J. Palacio, Wonder Page 2.National Youth Gathering Alexandra Spallek Page 3..Youth Quake Page Movie Day with Family Ministries Page 6.November Calendar Page 7.Confirmation Retreat Schedule Page 8.Updated Confirmation Calendar Page 9..Remind Page 10 College Day with PSALM Sincerely, Jason A. Dauer Director of Family Ministries Living daily in God s amazing grace!

2 P a g e 2 National Youth Gathering! WHO? Any youth in 8 th, 9 th, 10 th, 11 th, or 12 th grade! Adult leaders must be over 21 years old. WHEN? June 27 July 1, 2018 (We ll leave a day or two earlier) WHERE? Houston, TX WHY? Alexandra Spallek The National Youth Gathering was an incredible experience like no other. Creation is filled with music and laughter and relaxation, Lutherlyn was filled with learning and team building, and Sunday school was filled with food, learning and worship. The National Youth Gathering rolled all of the best aspects of these into one incredible event with one more big aspect - helping the community. Going to Detroit, my first National Youth Gathering, I was a bit precarious going in, not knowing what to expect. Soon I learned those worries had no basis because every day was incredible. Helping the Detroit community, our project assisting cleaning up neighborhood house properties, seemed like a labor intensive, couldn t really be that entertaining, if I wanted to pull weeds I could have just stayed home experience - but in reality it was a truly enjoyable day. We spent the time using whatever tools we could get our hands on to completely transform a piece of property from overgrown to habitable. And the most rewarding aspect of this one day of labor was seeing the joy and excitement in the eyes of the children living in the neighborhood. Not only because across the street now there is a proper yard, but to see people caring about them and their community. It was amazing to give back in such a way where we couldn t even imagine the appreciation the locals would have for our work. Now of course it wasn t just all work and no play - no event that Pastor attends ever is! Between racing on bounce houses, playing Frisbee, walking around the city in the evening, music and worship sessions, eating pizza in the room late at night, there wasn t a moment where the room wasn t filled with laughter. As someone who tried to take advantage of every opportunity I could at Perry Highway Lutheran Church, this is one I regret not having gone on earlier. I would encourage anyone who thinks they would like a week of fun, wants to help out in the smallest way, wants to meet new and interesting people, and wants to get to know the peers in your youth group better to go to the National Youth Gathering. Honestly, this is an experience I will always cherish and think back to. If I were still in Pittsburgh, I would do what I could to come along.

3 P a g e 3 February 2 4, 2018 Pittsburgh Airport Marriott Hotel Event Speaker: Tiffany Thompson Tiffany is a princess, a tattoo artist, and a weight lifter. She loves making new friends and traveling around this world sharing stories about how our Abba King delights to surprise us with awesome adventures. Cost: $250 includes registration, food, travel, hotel (Max for the weekend. Price will drop if more students attend.) RSVP and deposit due by December 3 T-Shirts - $12 now, $15 at event

4 P a g e 4 Movie Day with Family Ministries Let s go see a film together! The Star and Wonder will both be released on November 17 th. (I recommend arriving early to ensure tickets.) Each is a family film with positive lessons for your children. Family Ministries will go to Cinemark at McCandless Crossing on the 18 th. More information to come Wonder is based on the book by R.J. Palacio. August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school until now. He s about to enter fifth grade at Beecher Prep, and if you ve ever been the new kid, then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie s just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he s just like them, despite appearances? This will be a film for all ages. The book is a must-read. The Star is a creative retelling of the Nativity story. A small but brave donkey and his animal friends become the unsung heroes of the first Christmas. The film stars Steven Yeun, Kelly Clarkson, Aidy Bryant, Keegan-Michael Key, Kristin Chenoweth, Anthony Anderson, Gabriel Iglesias, Ving Rhames, Delilah Rene, Patricia Heaton, Kris Kristofferson, Gina Rodriguez, Zachary Levi, Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Tracy Morgan, and Christopher Plummer.

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6 P a g e 6 November 2017 Independence may be an American value, but it s not taught in the Gospels. The Gospels teach us interdependence. It s a good thing to need other people and God. That s how we re made. Shane Claiborne Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday All Saints Day College Day with PSALM Daylight Savings Time Ends -All Saints Sunday -Family Worship Sunday - Thanksgiving Food Bag Distribution, 8:45-9:45 am -Youth Group, 11:15am-12:30pm Youth Group and Thanksgiving Food Bag Collection, 11:15am-12:30pm Confirm. Retreat -Sunday School Teacher Meeting, 11am -No Youth Group Election Day Veterans Day -No Bible Study Family Ministries Meeting, 7 pm Family Ministries at the Movies: Wonder and The Star Thanksgiving Confirmation Retreat Imagine Conference Youth Group, 11:15am-12:30pm Youth Group in the kitchen We ll be baking All Saints Day cookies and distributing Thanksgiving Food Bags to the neighborhood. Imagine Conference at North Way Christian Community, ft. Eugene Cho. Topics include adoption, human trafficking, refugees, and more. Confirmation Retreat See the full schedule on pg 6 Youth Group at Starbucks after we collect the Thanksgiving Food Bags in the neighborhood Family Ministries at the Movies (early afternoon) More info to come Youth Group at Starbucks Discussion on homelessness $5 Student $25 Adult $35 Family

7 P a g e 7 Confirmation Retreat Schedule November 10-11, 2017 Friday: 6:30 7:00 Arrival at PHLC 7:00 7:30 Ice Breakers 7:30 8:00 Welcome and Worship 8:00 9:15 Lesson 1 9:15 9:45 Small Groups/Skit Prep 9:45 11:00 Large Group Games 11:00 12:30 Free time/snack 12:30 Lights out Saturday: 8:00 Rise and Shine 8:15 8:35 Breakfast Prep 8:30 9:00 Breakfast 8:55 9:15 Breakfast Clean-Up 9:15 9:30 Worship 9:30 10:45 Lesson 2 10:45 12:30 Service Project 12:15 12:35 Lunch Prep 12:30 1:00 Lunch 12:55 1:15 Lunch Clean-Up 1:00 4:30 Free Time 3:30 4:45 Lesson 3 4:45 6:15 Small Groups/Skit Prep 6:00 6:35 Dinner Prep 6:30 7:30 Dinner 7:20 7:55 Dinner Clean-Up 8:00 9:15 Worship through song/communion 9:15 10:30 Small Groups/Skit Prep 10:15 11:00 Skits 11:00 12:00 Free Time 12:00 Lights Out Sunday: 7:30 Rise and Shine (Pack personal belongings) 8:00 8:15 Breakfast 8:15 8:45 Church Clean-Up 8:45 9:45 Distribute Thanksgiving Food Bags to the neighborhood 9:45 11:00 Church 11:15 12:30 Youth Group (Starbucks)

8 P a g e 8 Confirmation Dates November 5 th...thanksgiving Food Distribution and Collection November 10 th 12 th...fall Retreat (Lock-in at PHLC) November 12 th...thanksgiving Food Distribution and Collection December 9 th...bible Study at Panera, Wexford December 16 th... Congregational Christmas Party January 13 th..bible Study at Panera, Wexford February 2 nd 4 th... Youth Quake February 10 th.bible Study at Panera, Wexford February 21 st... Lenten Supper February 28 st lenten Supper March 7 th Lenten Supper March 10 th..bible Study at Panera, Wexford March 14 nd....lenten Supper March 21 th...lenten Supper March 28 th...lenten Supper March (TBD)...Sr. High & Confirmation Retreat at Lutherlyn April 14 th.bible Study at Panera, Wexford April 20 th -22 nd...youthfest at Camp Lutherlyn April (TBD)...Present Faith Statements to Council May 19 th...confirmation Rehearsal May 20 th...confirmation Sunday (10am Service) June 25 th July 1 st...national Youth Gathering (Dates may be changed & added throughout the year. Changes are noted in red.)

9 P a g e 9 Remind is an app used by school teachers to efficiently distribute information to students. PHLC parents and youth are urged to sign-up to receive updates on events as hopefully this will become a primary communication channel for Family Ministries at PHLC. You can join by downloading the app and/or entering this information into your phone: Family Ministries: Sunday School: Confirmation Class: Youth Group: National Youth Gathering: or to or to or to or to or to 81010

10 P a g e 10 College Day with PSALM (Pittsburgh Students Active in Lutheran Ministry) For High School Juniors and Seniors Talk with college students about faith and campus ministries See the universities with a personal tour by current college students Volunteer and explore downtown Pittsburgh $15 per student. Includes lunch and snacks. November 4th, am - 6 pm Forbes Ave Pittsburgh, PA *Contact pastor@lucpgh.com