WATERLOO UCs – SHARED YOUTH GROUP MEETUPS – SAVE THE DATES! Join our next youth group on Feb 28th for a cozy crafty night! Do you have a project you are working on? Bring your knitting, cosplay, STEM projects, or whatever else you are working on! If you don’t have a project right now, noworries! We will have some starter activities for new crafts. We will meet from 7-8:30 on Wednesday Feb 28th in the Parlour at First United. In addition, in the next few weeks we will be brainstorming an outreach activity or project. This starts on the 28th, so you are welcome to start thinking of ideas now to bring to our time together. Our upcoming youth group dates are:
- Wed, Feb 28th
- Wed, Mar 6th- Please note that this is one week after the 28th, not two as is typical.
- Wed, Mar 20th
Come as you are! This is explicitly a 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusive and neurodiverse accepting group! If you have any
questions, feel free to reach out to info@emmanueluc.ca, who will direct you to the appropriate person to answer
your inquiry. YOU ARE LOVED. YOU MATTER TO US. EVERYONE IS WELCOME.
Blessings, Bethany McMullen, Yoonjoo Shin, and Rebecca Whiting
JOINT YOUTH GROUP of the FOUR UNITED CHURCHES: NEXT MEET-UP WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14 – From Rebecca Whiting and Yoonjoo Shin: The next joint youth group meeting is on February 14th, a.k.a Valentine’s Day! Presumably, it will be our last try for ice skating this winter, and wherever we meet, we’ll serve hot chocolate with so much love. Please meet us at Waterloo Public Square Rink (75 King St. S.) instead of at a church building. Please make sure to bring your own skates since the rink doesn’t offer skate rentals on-site. If you want to borrow skates, please check the availability from the Eastside and McCormick Branches of Waterloo Public Library (https://wpl.ca/Skates). There is more information listed below for renting skates for those who may need them. Once again, this event will be weather permitting, so if we need to change plans, another email will be sent out. No email means we are good to go for skating! Mark your calendar for these upcoming youth group meetings: Wed, Feb 28, Wed, Mar 6, and Wed, Mar 20. Come as you are! This is explicitly a 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusive and neurodiverse accepting group! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to info@emmanueluc.ca, who will direct you to the appropriate person to answer your inquiry.
YOU ARE LOVED. YOU MATTER TO US. EVERYONE IS WELCOME.
- Skate rental information: Two Waterloo Public Library branches rent ice skates. Please follow this link: https://wpl.ca/Skates .
WE’RE TRYING SOMETHING NEW! I want to put your creation on the big screen! Every week I’m going to send two questions/activities for pictures and a colouring page for kids (or kids at heart!) to do at home. Pick one thing to do (or all!), send them to me at bethany.mcmullen@parkuc.ca by Wednesdays at 9:00am for it to go into the slides that Sunday, or after for the next week. If you have any questions, please email me at bethany.mcmullen@parkuc.ca . This Week’s Activities: The Prodigal Son * send to Bethany by Wed, Feb 7 *
- Take a picture of a time that you felt loved this week.
- Take a picture of a time you felt God this week.
Click this link for the colouring page: SS-Feb-4-colouring-page.pdf
PARKMINSTER YOUTH: Sunday, Nov. 12th from 6 – 7:30 pm – join Rev. Heather and others for a special worship service and event in Kitchener geared for youth and young adults with The Hub Youth Network. We are also planning a special “Last Hurrah!” with Rev. Heather on Saturday, Dec. 3rd. More details coming soon!
YOUTH MINISTRY: This past spring, the four Waterloo United Churches gathered at Emmanuel United to discuss ways of collaborating and working together. Thanks to some very dedicated individuals, a group for youth in Grades 7 – 12 has started and welcomes youth from the four Waterloo UC’s and beyond to join them! Leaders Yoonjoo Shin and Rebecca Whiting extend a warm welcome to all youth who wish to attend. The next youth group meeting will take place on the 27th of October. Please keep in mind that it will be Friday (NOT
Thursday) this time. We are planning an excursion, and the detailed information will be emailed to the parents/guardians within a week. In the coming weeks, the group will start navigating several discussion topics such as justice, disabilities, a sense of belonging, gender identity, sexual orientation, and climate change as part of the first half of the meeting. For the latter half, we freshly baked a playlist full of our favourite songs for the background music. With the exception of October 27th, the group meets on Thursday evenings. This is explicitly a 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusive and neurodiverse accepting group. Come as you are: come with your sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnic, racial, and cultural backgrounds, mental and physical ability, and spiritual beliefs. Let’s create a brave space together! YOU ARE LOVED. YOU MATTER TO US. EVERYONE IS WELCOME. If you are interested in the joint youth group, please feel free to reach out to info@emmanueluc.ca – Parkminster youth and families can also reach out to Rev. Heather (revheather@parkuc.ca) to get connected.
PARKMINSTER YOUTH GROUP – OCTOBER 14 Youth are invited to join us on Saturday, October 14th from 1:45-3:30pm at the church for some outdoor fall fun! For more information, please contact Rev. Heather: revheather@parkuc.ca
SUNDAY, APRIL 16 – SOUP LUNCH FOR OUTREACH – Youth are invited to join Laura Hamilton and CE members to prepare and help serve delicious soups to share after worship. We hope you can join us as we celebrate the return of this event!
SATURDAY, MAY 6 – 5:30 – 7:30PM – KIDS PARTY/GROWNUPS NIGHT OUT – It was so nice, we are doing it twice this year! Children are invited to join our Children’s Ministry Team for dinner and activities while grownups enjoy their own evening out. Please RSVP to Rev. Heather (revheather@parkuc.ca) and indicate name(s) of child(ren), any allergies/dietary restrictions, and a contact number for a parent/caregiver.
CROW SHIELD LODGE EVENT: Saturday, April 29 – 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. – Youth 12 years and up and adults from the four Waterloo United Church communities are invited to a workshop at Crow Shield Lodge. We will be learning from staff and each other about ‘living into right relations’ through allyship in our region: what the needs are in the Indigenous communities here, ways we can “show up”, and perhaps learning from the life experience of the workshop leaders. Includes a light lunch. Interested Parkminster youth, please contact Rev. Heather (revheather@parkuc.ca) or Wendy Rudd (ruddwendy840b@gmail.com) for
more information. Spaces are limited. Thanks to Nancy Dykstra for coordinating this opportunity!
Our dynamic and growing youth group welcomes all youth – whether they have a church connection or not. We are an inclusive community where young people can be themselves and find supportive community with their peers.
Whether it is hanging out together, helping our community, supporting each other and having fun, Parkminster’s youth group is the place to be!
For more information or to find out when we will be meeting next check our events calendar or contact Bethany McMullen Bethany.mcmullen@parkuc.ca