Tuesday Tunes: Christmas Style

I am not sure about you but I often forget what the true meaning behind a lot of Christmas songs. I have been singing them for as long as I can remember so sometimes we just take them for granted which is a shame. So this week I want to take a long at one song that I enjoy myself and when you look at it closely you realize how much theology is in it! That song is Hark! The Herald Angels Sing  which is a song I am sure you all know.

"Hark! The herald angels sing,

Glory to the newborn king;

Peace on earth and mercy mild,

God and sinners reconciled!"

Right in the first verse just shows the reason for the season! We are given new life because God sent his only Son to save us. "made peace through the blood of His cross" Colossians 1:20 And no this song is not telling the Harkisheimer family to listen up.

Though to my it is the final verse that really jumps out and shows the true meaning of Christmas.

"Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!

Hail the Son of Righteousness!

Light and life to all He brings

Ris'n with healing in His wings

Mild he lays His glory by

Born that man no more may die

Born to raise the sons of earth

Born to give them second birth

Hark! The herald angels sing

Glory to the newborn King!"

To me there is so much great theology in there. "Light and life to all He brings" is just so awesome because here in the middle of winter, when it is literally the darkest time of the year He comes and brings us light. In the dark is when we need the light the most. He absoultely came and gave us a second birth, he gave us another chance to have a relationship with God "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" 2 Corinthians 5:17. 

I don't want to bore you to death so I encourage to look at this song more and other Christmas songs you constantly sing to see what the message behind them is!

Jr High Weekend 2014

After a crazy and tiring weekend of trying to entertain middle-schoolers I feel like I have finally stabilized (mentally and physically). For those of  you that don't know every year the Jr High takes a trip to Delanco one weekend early in December. This past weekend was my first and I have to say it was an absolute blast.

We started the weekend with an awesome night game thanks to Mike, where I got to be the Winter Soldier and fight Danny who was Captain America. All the kids had a blast running around camp at night while Mike and I chased them.

The next day we did some cleanup around camp and no one died which was awesome. We played manhunt again and later did some target practice with old tiles and softballs. Smashing and breaking things is always a blast regardless of how it happens.

Overall the weekend was one that the kids really got a lot out of which is awesome. I could see kids not only grow closer to each other but to God as well which is what we were there for after all. I have to say that I did feel like I grew closer to God as well. Most retreats I am always caught up in getting the message across to these kids that I forget the messages they can show us. That just goes to show how awesome the kids are that I get to work with. I know I miss seeing you all at Launch every week!

Feel free to comment your favorite part of the weekend!

No Man Is An Island

So Tenth Avenue North came out with a new album a few weeks ago and this was the first single off of it.

Here is what Mike Donehey has to say about this song:

"We need each other. How else are we ever gonna love like God unless we're forced to love people who don't deserve it? God loves us undeservingly, and then He invites us to love in the same way. If we want to participate in the Divine, then we need to come off our islands and come back to the shore"

This gives us another perspective on Mark 12:31 "The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself." 

Sometimes we judge and hate others because they are different but we need to realize that Jesus loves every single person on this planet. We should try to do the same. 

-Jack

Meet Chef Kevin!

I am a chef at Los Amigos (Mexican restaurant). I am from Pittsgrove, NJ. I graduated from Schalick High School in 2003. In my spare time, I enjoy playing video games and cooking food.

Favorite TV Show:  Saturday Night Live

Favorite Movie: Wayne’s World

Favorite Sport:  Wrestling

Favorite Sports teams:  Philadelphia teams

Favorite Video Game: Break Out

Favorite Food: Bacon

Mimi

Hey #sickyouths! Here’s a little blurb about myself. I am 19 years old and have grown up here in Sicklerville while attending SUMC since before I was born. I am in my second year at Camden County College and am majoring in Early Childhood Education. I work at rainbow gymnastics where I used to train. Now, I teach gymnastics to all different age groups which is awesome. I love getting involved with different events here at church and when I was in youth group coming out to events strengthened my relationship with Christ tremendously—so get involved!

Favorite TV Show: everybody loves Raymond, but I don’t really watch tv.

Favorite Movie: FROZEN..or any Disney movie

Favorite Sport: gymnastics

Favorite Sports teams:Temple Rugby*

Favorite Video Game: Mario party

Favorite Food: pizza all the way..or chocolate





*Editor's addition

Teri Patterson

I have been attending SUMC since December of 1995.  We had been worshiping in the church that my family had attended since I was since years old prior to making the change.  What brought us to SUMC was the great youth program they had for teens.  Mark and I have 3 daughters, 3 son in laws and 6 grandchildren. Serving with the Sr. High youth last year was a true blessing for me.

Favorite TV Show  "The Good Wife"

Favorite Movie:   "Hope Floats"

Favorite Sport:  was Softball, now Tennis

Favorite Sports teams:   Phillies

Favorite Video Game:  Mario Bros.

Favorite Food:  Roast Beef and Mashed Potatoes

Meet Papa Bear

Papa Bear (Eric Ulrich) is someone who is always a constant presence in not only the youth group but in SUMC. He didn't write anything about himself probably because he doesn't think we are worthy to truly know who he is. I also think he was in a rush as he was about to do a wash-up. Anyways here is another youth leader answering some questions about themselves! Check in every Friday for another  youth leader!

Favorite TV Show: Seinfeld

Favorite Movie: Remember the Titans

Favorite Sport: Baseball

Favorite Sports teams: Yankees

Favorite Video Game: Pong

Favorite Food: Cheese Burger

Ocean City retreat 2014

So Senior High youth group had their Ocean City retreat two weekends ago. I want to apologize for not posting an update quickly enough about how the weekend went as I was a bit busy then I had the Men's Retreat where we did manly things such as burn a lot of things and eat a lot of things. Though we didn't eat what we burned or burn what we ate. Anyways I thought the Ocean City retreat was an awesome experience and, along with Freshmen, it was my first experience on this retreat.

There was some change this year as we stayed at a new place, which I personally really enjoyed staying at. As you can see the the right we had a large open area where our speaker, Zach Swanson, was able to witness to us. I love this picture simple because of what is going on with a large banner above that says "Trust in the Lord", it is such a simple sentence yet it speaks volumes. We had enough room to play some dodge-ball and hockey at nights along with pickup game of basketball going on during the day.




As with every retreat you could tell some of the students were nervous but as time went on they really started to open up their hearts to the Lord and each other. Personally it was awesome to grow with our youth but to also get to know some of the HCF Rooted kids.








There was a lot of freetime to roam the boards but Saturday we had a game time on the volleyball courts by the beach. Dan, Mike and Dave had planned different events for the kids which all of them seemed to enjoy and all of them got involved. Eventually Captain Jack and his team came out on top, although that was never in question.... One event we had to dig up different puzzle pieces and put them together and that is what you see to the left. The passage that is created with the pieces is 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation, the old has gone the new has come!" I personally love that verse and was glad it was such a big park of the weekend.


Well I have already wrote a lot so I will leave you with a picture of the beach service which was amazing. I am really glad the kids were able to come down the beach to grow in Christ and fellowship with one another. I can't wait for Poconos Retreat next!

Tuesday Tunes with Moah Maunders

Here we are again with our weekly installment of Tuesday Tunes and this time with Noah Saunders!

"So for me, this song is about when you're kind of lost and you're at rock bottom. You might be looking for something to hold on to, maybe a voice to hear. So this song is talking about a group of kids in South Africa who lost their parents to AIDS but they were still joyful because they had God. So this song is kind of saying how everyone changes the world in some way, so you should try to make it a good change." - Noah

Switchfoot - "The World You Want"

Youth Leader: Captain Jack

I figured I would start off with myself to break the ice. I am not really sure what I am exactly going to say (or type) but I guess I will start off with the basics. I am 20 years old and was born and raised here in Sicklerville. I am a new Christian having accepted Jesus into my life in the summer of 2013 and my faith really started to grow in leaps and bounds when I got involved. A big part of that was because Dan and Mike who invited me to the Men's Retreat. There was a special moment at that retreat for me where I decided I was going to fully dedicate my life to God. Doing retreats and creating fellowship with others is a great way to build your faith. That is why I encourage youth group so much and I hope to see many of you out to youth group and retreats! Even though I was a leader, youth group has also helped me grow in my faith as I get so encouraged seeing all the youth come out and really started to put their lives to God.

Favorite TV Show: The Office

Favorite Movie: Lord of the Ring series

Favorite Sport: Soccer and rugby

Favorite Sports teams: All Philadelphia teams and Arsenal

Favorite Video Game: FIFA, Halo, Mario Kart and Super Smash

Favorite Food: Cheesesteaks

I also currently go to Temple University and in my Junior year. I am studying Secondary Education and English (Don't worry I will be that cool English teacher you always hoped for). I play rugby for Temple also. So yeah this is the basics on myself but I hope you come out to events so I can get to know you!

Tuesday Tunes: Featuring Alligator

This week we are hearing from Ally Zepp who is currently a Junior and in our high school youth group. Here is what she had to say about her song of choice:

"It's really hard to pick just one song to share about. I personally, have really been enjoying the band 'All Sons and Daughters' and I have chosen to talk about their one song I really like called "Christ be all around me". The chorus says "above and below me, before and behind me, and every eye that sees me, Christ be all around me". It speaks to me because it's saying that when anyone sees us at anytime, no matter the circumstance, we should be showing people Jesus. By this I mean that our actions and words should be resembling Christ and showing people Jesus's love for them."

Check back next week to hear from another student!

Throwback Thursday! What Ocean City retreat meant to past members.

So Ocean City weekend is coming up and we can take a quick look at what this weekend has meant to past members of youth group! The year after their name is when they graduated.

"The OC retreat was always something that got me through the first few weeks of school. It was great fellowship with other youth and the morning worship on the beach is awesome. It's definitely something to look forward to!" - Emily Saunders 2013

"My freshman year I was doubting the existence of God. While we were having our last session on the beach the leaders told to scatter around for some silent time and devotions. So I stood close to the water praying to God asking for Him to show Himself. As I was praying I was hit by a wave, which I believed to be a sign from God which encouraged me in my faith in God" - Tyler DeMuro 2014 

"The OC retreat was always something really fun and refreshing to look forward to at the beginning of a long school year. One of my favorite memories was when a hurricane came through during the retreat. That Friday night the boardwalk was deserted and several of us just ran and slid on the wet board, using our shirts as sails. I also remember the streets flooded so Mike tried to surf on a boogie board! The scavenger hunt and Sunday morning worship on the beach were always highlights of the retreat. Always tons of fun and a great time to grow closer to God with friends" - Josh Saunders 2010 

"The Ocean City retreat was something I looked forward to every year. It was really fun to hangout with Christian friends, worship on the beach and grow closer to the Lord. Long lasting friendships and memories were made there" - Alyssa Zepp 2013

"The ocean city retreat was always something to look forward too at the end of summer. The beginning of school was always somewhat of a stressor for me so to be able to get away for a few days and spend time with Christian friends helped me stay on the right track for the rest of the school year. This was especially true as a freshman going into Winslow highschool. The retreat gave me a chance to strengthen my relationship with a group of church friends who also happened to go to school with me. Besides that though, It's an awesome time which makes for so many great memories on the board walk and in the boys sleep area before shut-eye." - Danny Saunders 2009

"The Ocean City Retreat was so special to me because I was able to meet with God in a new atmosphere, among his beautiful creation, and experience new things in my walk with Him. Not only did my relationship with God grow stronger, but also did my bond with my brothers and sisters in Christ. I absolutely loved the intimacy of worshiping together in a small setting and getting to know myself as a daughter of Christ a little more each day." - Emily Kelly 2013

 This photo is from 2011 and features Emily Saunders, Alyssa Zepp, Emily Kelly and Tyler DeMuro all whose experiences you read about above! Seems like worship on the beach is a big hit and it also seems that the Saunders enjoy talking about their experience. This OC trip will be my first experience too so I am excited! I will hopefully see you Friday!

Getting started!

Hello everyone! So the other night during our top secret youth leader meeting, an idea that came up was to make a blog for youth group. I feel as though this will be an easy way for students to really see what is going on and get easily accessible information about upcoming events for not only youth group but our church.

We will be doing some Throwback Thursdays, Tunes Tuesdays, Youth Group and retreat recaps and posts that will help you get to know your leader!

Below is a picture of the upcoming events in the month of September

September 17th - This is the kick off party for everyone in youth group (7th to 12th grade). There will be food, games and just a good hangout to get to know each other better. TODAY! (If you are reading this when it gets posted)

September 19-21st - This will be the Senior High (9th-12th) retreat to Ocean city. Click here to view all the information about it.

September 24th - This will mark a special event See You At The Pole where you will meet outside at your school's flagpole to begin the day with prayer. The beginning of Launch for our Jr Highers and Grow Groups for our Senior Highers will also start. Both groups will start at 6:30 and go to 8:00

September 28th - Ember begins for Senior Highers. We will hangout, play games and do a lesson at the end.

Share this information and page with friends and family! The more youth we have out to these events the more fun we can have. These events will be here before you know it so make sure you stay on top of it!

Also, feel free to comment about what you are most excited about for youth group this year!

-Jack Broomell