June 19 - Promotion Sunday, Graduation Celebration, Special Guest at The House, Last chance for Summer Camp

11:00am @ The House

If you have a graduating Middle Schooler into High School or a High Schooler into College and Career then please plan to attend the 11:00am at The House for a brief time of celebration of your child's accomplishment.  

New Middler Schoolers:  If you have a new Middle Schooler, please plan on them staying for the 11:00am so that they can meet and make new friends and be a part of our promotion celebration.

Special Guest at 11:00AM at The House

We also have a guest speaker at The House this Sunday, a candidate for our new Youth Pastor, Ryan Reed.  Ryan will share a bit about himself and why he'd like to be our youth pastor at Hillside.  You can find out more about him on his blog: www.ryanr.org 

You are Invited to meet our Special Guest:

Following the service at 11:00am, parents and students grade 5th through college are encouraged to come directly to the House to meet Ryan and his wife Stacy.

Summer Camp - Last Chance!

We still have 3 spots for HS girls and 3 spots for HS boys for summer camp...deadline is June 20 to put your name on a spot and pay your deposit of $100.  Junior High has some spots in August.  www.MountHermon.org for more information.  HS:  Week 6, July 17-23. JH:  Week 9, August 7-13.

Cost:$545 per child.  $100 due at time of reservation; $445 due June 30.

If you have a 2nd through 6th grader that you would like to send to Summer Camp, please give me a call and we will talk about all of the options out there for your child.

Summer of Service

This summer our focus will be on serving others whenever and where ever possible.  Jeff Broussard is coordinating our Summer of Service so check in with him about ways that you can be plugged into a place of service with others.

Stay Up-to-date even if you are away from Hillside

Youth Facebook Page & the Family Ministry Blog will help you keep informed about what's going on...sign up to follow or to receive email updates.  http://hillsidefamilyministry.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=314878230206

 

If you have any questions, or want to register for one of the summer camps, please feel free to contact me directly and please be sure to RSVP if you have a graduate.

For parents only...encouragement to not "go it alone"

FOR PARENTS ONLY: 

Over the next three weeks, we are talking to your student about the importance of community & to be in service to others. What that means is simply this—we need other people. God never meant for us to go through this life alone. There are times when each one of us knows that very well, and then there are other times when it’s the last thing on our minds. Wherever you are at, you need other people. And they need you. It’s part of how we see God in action in our world. It’s also how we learn more about Him and ourselves. So as we kick off this series and begin or SUMMER OF SERVICE, I thought you might appreciated the thought represented in the article below.  

Recently, I ran across the following article from Carey Nieuwhof, the Senior Pastor of Connexus Church in Canada. It’s a very candid confession, and one that may reflect your story at some point in your life. 

FIND A FRIEND 

By Carey Nieuwhof

By default over the years, I have been a pretty private person. I handle most things pretty tightly. I don't have a lot of people who are close to me, but those who are close to me are people I trust implicitly and establish a deep loyalty to.

When I was going through a tough season a few years ago, I went to see some Christian counselors, and their helpful message was simply this—I couldn't go through this alone. Everything inside me said, "Yes, I can," but I realized they were right. I couldn't do it alone.

I remember the night I shared what I was going through with my community group at the time. I'm sure my pride had kept me from talking about it before. Plus, I had earlier been convinced I would just wake up out of this at some point and it would go away. I didn't need to tell anyone. Clearly, that strategy was failing. So I talked to our community group through some tears one night. The love, prayer, empathy and compassion that poured forth was huge. I was humbled and blown away.

Toni, my wife, continues to show an unbelievable kindness. And I have a handful of close friends near and far (some live a long way away), some colleagues and some staffers who tracked with me through this season. I am so grateful for them.

Friendship is still not easy for me. I am really quite private at my core. In this networked world, I know thousands of people by name, but if people get too close, I can still push away. I'm working on that. God's working on that. There has been some big progress on that, I think.

But what I want to say is that I have come to realize that you can't do it alone. We are social beings. We are meant to be together.

I am always surprised that when I sit down with someone to talk through a life situation they are going through, and I ask them "Who else do you talk to this about?", the #1 answer is "No one," That breaks my heart.

If you're going through a hard time, find a friend. Talk to them. Pray with them. For me, it was hard, but life giving, to include a handful of people in a circle. It was life giving to see a group of people in my community group care deeply. We can’t do this alone—and we were never meant to do it that way. 

If you have not found your way into a community group at Hillside yet, please note that most of our current groups will be taking a summer break and we are looking to launch new groups this fall.  So begin now to open a time in your weekly schedule for next fall so that you can join into a community that will enhance your life journey and hopefully deepen your walk with Christ.  Your commitment to opening a time and opportunity to join a community group and your own spiritual development will be worth it.

If you have any questions about Community Groups at Hillside for adults contact Pastor Steve Pridemore (steve@hillsidemarin.org) or for children and youth, contact me (terri@hillsidemarin.org).

© 2010 Orange. All rights reserved.  

Get connected to a wider community of parents at www.orangeparents.org.

Student Ministry starts a new series June 5

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT:

Here is an overview of what we’re talking about in Student Ministries for the next three weeks, finishing out our 2010-11 school year.   

The summary below is called the “parent cue”.  The purpose of the parent cue is to help you dialog with your child about the sessions each week, to help bring home the ideas and allow you to share your family core values on this subject or to form family core values. The question is intended not just to be asked by you, but to be responded to by BOTH of you. Use this opportunity to find out what God is teaching your child, and allow your child to see what God is teaching you as well. 

WE:

Series Overview

In following Christ, there is one truth that most of us forget—we were never meant to do this alone. We need other people. It’s critical not just because we need friends, but also because in community we understand more about who God is. We see how He is working in other people’s lives. We learn things that God has taught them, and we get an opportunity to love and serve others. The WE series helps us discover the “WHY” behind community—why we need it, why we should pursue it. 

Session One - June 5

We need other people. We get that when we feel lonely, don’t we? But the reality is that there are times when the last thing we want is someone around—whether it’s our own grumpiness or because we just don’t want to be hurt again. But God made us in such a way that people fill a very specific need in our lives. And while God does supply all our needs, He created us to need other people, too.

Session One Parent Cue: Where do you have the greatest sense of community in your life? How has this been a good thing? How has it been a difficult thing?  

Session Two - June 12

We talked last week about how we need people, and if we’re honest, we all have realized that at some point or another. But there’s a reluctance to take that next step because it’s risky. It’s scary. And most of all, it’s messy. True community costs us something. But if we don’t have it, it will cost us a lot more.

Session Two Parent Cue: Share a time when you were hurt by someone. Then share a time when you felt lonely and really needed other people around. After some time and perspective, which one was worse? Why? 

Session Three - June 19 (Promotion Sunday in our Family Ministry environments)

People’s stories are powerful, aren’t they? There’s something about hearing what’s going on in another person’s life that puts things in perspective for us. We may be thinking that God has forgotten us, that He doesn’t care about what’s going in our world, but then we hear someone share how God showed up when they really needed Him. And because of that, we begin to think that maybe, just maybe, He can be there for us, too. That’s the power of community. It’s how we see God at work in our world. It’s how we grow closer to Him. And it’s an important part of growing in our relationship with Him.

Session Three Parent Cue: What have you learned about God from other people in your life?