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Youth News!
This link will get you to the site for our trip to Jackson, Kentucky.
You can get to know staff, get directions, learn about the families and center from here!
Here's the link for the most recent Wesley Foundation News...
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Greetings,
Have a wonderful Martin Luther King Jr Day. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr focused much of his work and life on service, education, and the church community. This Wesley Foundation Update will take a look at some of the service projects, learning opportunities, and fellowship opportunities at the Wesley Foundations. Blessings as you reflect on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., his work, his service, and what significance it has in your life.
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University of Northern Iowa
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Based on Matthew 25:14-30
The Parable of the Talents
Every week at our Wednesday Worship service we take an offering and decide as a community how to use this offering to help those in need. Last year, we gave this money to the Food Bank because each individual dollar became eleven dollars worth of food. Fall semester, we had consistently high numbers in attendance at Worship. By Thanksgiving, we had accumulated $33. This was surprisingly low because of the increase in numbers from last year. So, one week we took the story of the Talents and applied it to our offerings. The $33 was distributed to everyone there and the idea was to take the dollar or two and turn it into something else. One person told her parents about the project and was given $20 to turn her dollar into $21. Another found a $20 in her purse and also turned her dollar into $21. Two students used theirs to join a Polar Bear swim and raised money for that fundraiser. Others found equally creative and useful ways to invest their dollar. Each student who received a talent that Wednesday night did their part and increased our offerings to almost $1000! Now, we just have to decide how to use these talents to better the lives of others.
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University of Iowa
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 The Lincoln Cafe in Mount Vernon, Iowa gives away free french fries for life to anyone willing to get a tattoo saying "Food is important." In campus ministry tattoos are optional, but we still give away lots of free food. Last semester campus ministers Marsha and Paul acted as short order breakfast cooks during Finals Week. One student invited her friends on Facebook to stop by for fuel to ace their tests and some friendly encouragement. Next week UI Wesley kicks off the semester with Spiritual Smorgasbords-a weekly home-cooked meal and spiritual community. Wesley Students also volunteer regularly with a community program simply called "Free Lunch." Free Lunch serves over a hundred guests daily in need of food. Of course, food is important-it's basic-but it's more than that. In campus ministry we keep learning about the table-where strangers become friends and angels are welcomed unawares. |
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Iowa State University
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We have a busy week at the Iowa State University we are starting three big studies this week. For Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we have planned a service project. We will be going to local grocery stores, handing out information about what the local food pantry is in need of, collecting that food, and taking it to the food pantry. We are sponsoring this community wide event as a part of the Martin Luther King Jr Day celebration in Ames. We have over 35 volunteers that want to help including an honors floor, a group of guys from a fraternity, another group from Iowa State, and several individuals. We are also starting two book groups and a video study this week. Below you will find a little information about these studies.
Several of our studies this Semester
"Insurrection: To Believe is Human, To Doubt, Divine" by Peter Rollins
(from an Amazon.com review) "In today's world we are painfully aware of the gap between what a person professes to believe and what rules that person actually lives by. So-called "Muslim fundamentalists" who are light-years away from the tenets of Islam, and "Christians" who would make Jesus blanch with horror. In "Insurrection," Peter Rollins presents his own path of Christianity, one intended to return to the revolutionary nature of Jesus's teachings, and away from the belief/action dichotomy that has clogged and clotted so much of organized religion today.
Rollins writes well, without getting mired in jargon. His message can be profoundly disturbing if you see your own life reflected in it, or profoundly reassuring. Agree or disagree, this is a book that should be read."Participants will receive a free copy of the book.
"You Lost Me: Why Young Christians are Leaving Church...and Rethinking Faith" by David Kinnaman
Some young adults are wandering away from the church. Some studies have friends or other peers that are drifting away or encourage them to drift away. Perhaps some of the students that will be reached by this book have drifted away. We are hoping to use this book to help students reconnect and to help them help their friends to reconnect with God and the church? They will also find out if they're a Nomad, a Prodigal or an Exile."You Lost Me...Why Young Christians are Leaving Church and Rethinking Faith" is by David Kinnamon (author of "UnChristian...What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity and Why it Matters"). Participants will receive a free copy of the book.
Nooma Videos
Rob Bell, pastor and author of the book "Love Wins" has put out a series of videos called "Nooma" (a play on the Greek word "pneuma" which means "breath" or "spirit"). These short videos ask some challenging questions about how we are (and could be) living out our relationships with God. At least one of these studies will be student led.
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Mark Your Calendars!
We hope you can join us on Sunday, March 25, 2012 at faithspring (our alternative worship service at 5:30 p.m. in the Annex Worship Space (130 S. Sheldon)). Bishop Julius Calvin Trimble will be preaching. Be sure to stay for our FREE Sunday Supper following faithspring at 6:30 p.m.
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Drake University
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Leaf caught on razor wire
Iowa Correctional Institute for Women, 2012
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| A Simpler Life: Nurturing Heart, Mind, & Spirit: Part 2 |
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by Karla M. Kincannon
Kendra had always lived at a fast pace. She was quick to say yes to invitations to parties and extracurricular activities. Her GPA was strong; studying came easy to her. Kendra bubbled over with a contagious enthusiasm for life. People wanted to be around her. On her small campus, she was involved in many clubs and organizations, and she soon rose to leadership positions. It wasn't long before everyone knew her name.
In her sophomore year, Kendra began to feel a little overwhelmed by her schedule. She had so many obligations that she often didn't begin to study until late at night, scrimping on sleep to keep her grades strong. The pace of her life was leaving her harried and scattered.
Signs of stress began to show. She felt tired all the time, she caught colds easily, and she no longer enjoyed many of the activities she used to love. Her life was too busy, and keeping up such a hectic pace no longer seemed worth it. Trying to do everything made it impossible for her to enjoy any of it.
Things finally came to a head for Kendra in the Covenant Discipleship group her college chaplain led. One of the members was sharing from Thomas Kelly's Testament of Devotion:
"We have hints that there is a way of life vastly richer and deeper than all this hurried existence, a life of unhurried serenity and peace and power. If only we could slip into that Center."
Kendra started to cry. She wanted that sense of peace she used to have. She would do anything to "slip into that Center," but she didn't know how to get there. Her life felt complicated and out of control. Kendra's friends in the CD group rallied around her. They prayed for her and handed her tissues. Her chaplain talked to her about being a good steward of her time and about learning to be selective about her involvement in activities. The group discussed how to make good decisions about the use of time.
Kendra confessed, "I usually decide whether to do something by how it will make me look. I say yes to things because I want people to like me. I always pray about my decisions, but I never ask what God wants me to do. Maybe I can learn to listen to God first."
Before the CD group meeting was over, Kendra had made the decision to resign from three clubs and take the following Saturday to goof-off--something she hadn't done in a long time. She also signed up for the religious life retreat on simplicity. She knew this was just the beginning of learning to live life in a new way, and she wanted to find out how to do it.
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Please forward to your Youth Leaders.
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reggiessleepout.org Read and share Reggie Kelsey's story. Register. Donate. Volunteer. Learn about homelessness and hunger.
At Drake Stadium
Sleep Out Under the Stars.
Raise community awareness and support. Enter the Boxed-In Design contest. Live entertainment. Games. Food. More.
You can help
Create a team. Invite an event ambassador to speak to your youth group. Register to sleep out. Sponsor a camper or team. Spread the word through Twitter and Facebook; your newsletter, bulletin, or e-blast.
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In Memory of Reggie
Reggie Kelsey was a young man who aged out of the foster care system in 2001, and within three and a half months, died in the Des Moines River.
 Reggie had an endearing personality, but functioned at a third grade level and suffered from hallucinations and depression. He worried about how he would survive on his own. After being kicked out of his latest foster care placement, Reggie bounced from one shelter to another, and occasionally camped outside while working with Iowa Homeless Youth Centers' street outreach staff and others to try to qualify for federal disability payments.
As a result of Reggie's death, Youth & Shelter Services, Inc.(IHYC's parent organization) led the effort to develop the Iowa Aftercare Services Network to provide services to young people aging out of foster care. The program has now been expanded to include a monthly stipend and additional services and is referred to as the PAL (Preparation for Adult Living) program.
Reggie's Place Coffee Shop and now Reggie's Sleepout were named in honor of Reggie. Youth & Shelter Services and Iowa Homeless Youth Centers are committed to prevent another like tragedy.
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| reggiessleepout.org |
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For more information, to sign up, or to donate,
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SUMMER EVENTS:
Appalachia Service Project:
Appalachia Service Project, Inc. (ASP) is a Christian ministry, open to all, fostering human development by addressing housing needs in Central Appalachia. The goal is to make homes "warmer, safer and drier" for needy families in Central Appalachia. Fund raising and preparations are ongoing for the 2011 summer trip. See Steve Benson or Jeremy Poland for information.
Please click here for an updated link to the Youth and Young Adult web page as referenced by Eric Guy.
A fun video on Psalm 23! Check it out!
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