Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not… yet he bore the sin of many and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Isaiah 53:1-3, 12b

First, I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and hope you have a wonderful Christmas!

Second, thank you to everyone who participated in the youth fundraiser on November 21st. We set personal and financial records this year after not having one last year. So that you get an idea of what we are trying to do, there are three goals that we have when we go into organizing each year’s fundraiser.

#1: Work together as a team to provide a well organized event.

I am so thankful for my youth leader team. They put together the best cookoff we have ever had in terms of organization, communication, and facilitation. They set the bar so high in the work that they do for this church and for God. I especially want to thank my wife Erin, Kristy Ritchey, and Mandy Caicco for heading this all up in 2021, all the credit goes straight to them.

I am so thankful for the youth and their hard work. One quality that stands out as a strength in this group is service. Whether its pulling weeds, cleaning up, or in this case serving food they are the best.

I am so thankful for the church body who without being asked jumped in and helped in many ways. This is such a blessing and an encouragement that we have so many people willing to help out and be of assistance. To me this is a strong indicator of what a church’s heart is truly like and I couldn’t be prouder of our church.

#2: Provide an event to the church that encourages community and fellowship.

The fact that this year (almost 2 years now) have been difficult has been hammered home over and over again so I’ll try not to do it again. What I will say is that it was great to be with everybody and we weren’t in any rush to go home or do something else. The word present comes to mind as in everyone was in the here and now. I love these times together and am hopeful for many, this upcoming year together.

#3: Raise funds for the youth group.

Once again a giant thank you to everyone who gave towards the youth. This was the biggest monetary gain we have ever had. Your generosity is evident and appreciated. This year we are going back to Camp Carl for our retreat in February, so most of the gifts given by you will be going directly towards our stay there.

As far as what to look forward to in December, here is the week-by-week breakdown. Full printable schedule can be found here.

• We have youth group at our normal times: Dec 5, Dec 12
• Registration for the youth retreat begins December 13th and ends January 28th
• December 19th is the Nativity scene skit we put on for the children’s ministry during 2nd service
  • Students who sign-up to participate will need to be at church during 1st service on the 19th for the dress rehearsal
• December 19th is also the Christmas party, 12:00pm-2:30pm
  • the 1st part is an ugly Christmas sweater competition, where your sweater to church Sunday
  • the 2nd part is a White Elephant gift exchange
    • Don’t buy anything
    • Don’t give anything that is trash
    • Either give something that you no longer use that has value either intrinsically or monetarily or give a gift that is handmade
• December 26th is a single service Sunday

As always, email me here or call me if you ever have any questions, concerns, or prayer requests.

In Christ,

George