The Christmas Season

Hey guys. So Christmas is coming around. Here are the events you should know about:

November 25th - 6pm - Christmas decorating around the church
December 20th - 6pm - Christmas party at the Hertl's. Bring a small (less than $5), wrapped present!
December 23rd - Bible Study is on! We'll finish 'The Nativity Story'
December 24th - 10am - Brian and Emily get married! Everyone is welcome to the ceremony!
December 27th - 6pm - No Youth Group Meeting
December 30th - 9pm - Bowling at the Playdrome. meet at Church, return by 1030, $7 for shoes and a game
February 5-7 - ??pm - Winter Retreat Ski Trip! 150 bucks. Make sure you sign up!

Feel like your missing out on what's happening? Give Brian your cellular device number and he'll send texts about meetings and special events. Remember, Jesus loves you!

Final Notes on Fall Retreat

Hey Guys. This is it! We leave for the Fall Retreat tomorrow! Just so you know, the forecast for Saturday is for rain. Unless its really crazy, terrible weather we'll still do the ropes course, so be sure you have rain gear. Ponchos and multiple layers ought to help. Also, be sure to bring a second pair of shoes! Even though its bad weather Don't Be Afraid...because that's our theme for the weekend. It should be a good weekend. Drew's leading us in worship, we'll have some words from me and plenty of youtube videos to keep us entertained. Also, we'll have a special appearance of cake-wrecks. It should be pretty awesome. See you at 6pm Friday and parents, we'll be back before 4pm Sunday!

Fall Retreat!

The Fall Retreat is only a few weeks away! We leave Friday, October 23rd at 6pm. We'll come back Sunday, October 25th around 4pm. There are ropes courses, a football game and general mayhem all weekend long. We'll also have some worship services together and end Sunday with communion. If you haven't turned in your deposit money (50 bucks please) or a form yet, do that as soon as you can. Here is a link to the Camp Pecometh form (youth, please fill out page 5, parents coming on the trip need to fill out page 6). The total cost is $110 and if you have any issues with paying that much money, just come and let me know. You can also find the link to the Camp Pecometh website on the right in the 'links' section of the blog - its conveniently labeled "fall retreat." And finally, an awesome picture from the fall retreat '07:

Multi-Ethnic Dinner

There's a big multi-ethnic, multi-cultural event next Saturday at First UMC of Toms River. It will be held in the Family Life Center from 4pm to 7pm on October 10th. FUMCTR youth should feel free to stop in at any point, eat some good international food and watch some unique cultural forms of celebration. You can even meet the Bishop and the District Superintendents of the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference. Join us for a celebration of the cultural diversity of our Church!

B-1 canceled

Hey guys. I just got an email today that the B-1 lock-in is canceled. How lame. They said there wasn't enough "participation." Let me know if you want to hang out Saturday afternoon at the church and just chill with an open gym. If you raised money, we can make sure it still goes towards the projects you picked. We'll meet together on Sunday, like usual, from 6-8pm and figure it out then, so be sure to bring your money that night. Its too bad the event was canceled, but we have the CROP walk October 18th and our Fall Retreat October 23rd-25th. Those will not be canceled for anything short of a natural disaster! Take care and I'll see you soon!

B-1 cometh!

Hey TR! The b-1 lock-in is this Saturday! We meet at 11:30am at the church and will drive together to the Pinelands Center at Mt. Misery. If you didn't pick a project to support yet, here is a direct link to the ones we talked about at youth group. Pick your favorite project and bring the money you raised with you Saturday. We have lots of fun and exciting stuff lined up for the event so join us, and maybe even bring a friend! We should be back Sunday around 12:30pm. If you have something Saturday or Sunday and need to be dropped off late, or picked up early, here is the location of the pinelands center. Here's a picture of my favorite project - CEREIMI which cares for children in Chile. Get ready for a fun and world impacting event!

Youth Group Begins!

Here's something you should get really excited about: this week we start our regular youth meetings! FINALLY! It took forever to get here, but we will have our regular 6pm-8pm meetings on Sunday evenings, and our 6-7pm Bible Study on Wednesday nights. You can check the calendar at the bottom of the blog for specific details on what is happening at some of the meetings. When I get a chance I'll write a sentence or two about the meetings. You'll know whether its a mind-numbing lecture or a run-around adventure. Also, Wednesday nights we'll have food with the Kids For Christ (KFC) starting some time in October @ 5:30pm. I'll have more details for those of you that attend on Wednesday nights. Come and join us for either meeting. I promise to hear what you guys want for the meetings and do my best to meet your needs. Its only days away! Get ready!

B-1

Here's a nice, high-quality picture from Youth Sunday. Congratulations to everyone on a spectacular conclusion to Youth Week! Everyone loved Youth Sunday, and I'm excited to do it all again next year (pictures will be posted in the links section soon).

Also, be sure to attend our next big event - B-1. Its a fundraiser to help people from around the world with specific projects to better their communities. We will raise funds and then have a huge lock-in September 26th to 27th, from noon Saturday to noon Sunday at the Pinelands Center in Mount Misery. follow this link for more information. We are already registered, but look at the site for the project you'd like to sponsor. Join us for a truly life-changing event!

Youth Sunday

Hello Everyone! This Sunday, August 30th, is Youth Sunday, so be sure to join us at all three services as the youth take over! If you haven't volunteered to help yet and want to, please be sure to let Brian know. We can use lots of help for the 8 and 11am services. We have Drew preaching, and a couple unique things to jazz up the service. If you signed up for Youth Sunday at the lock-in please be sure to come at least 10 minutes early so we can go over your job. Thanks everyone, and let's get excited for Youth Sunday!

UMARMY makes the news!

Hey guys. Check your local paper because you might be in it! The Observer Reporter published an article today about First UMC and our participation in UMARMY. You'll find the following picture plastered on the front page! Read the article. I'll post a link to it when they put it online and I'll make sure to put a permanent copy up somewhere in the church.

Don't forget, Youth Week starts this Sunday. We'll meet at the church at 4pm and then head over the Hertl's together. We are going to start the night with a little rally to kick off youth week. Make sure you let me know if you plan on participating so we can have enough drivers. Thanks and see you soon!

Youth Week

You asked for it, now you got it! Here is the Youth Week information. comment, text, call or facebook me any questions or ideas!

August 16th (Sunday) Pool Party and Group Games @ the Hertl’s (15 Liverpool Ct. TR) 4pm to 8pm

August 17th (Monday) Six Flags: Great Adventure $30 10am to 10pm

August 18th (Tuesday) Movie Night and Group Games @ FUMC of Toms River 6pm to 9pm

August 19th (Wednesday) Delaware River Tubing $17 10am to 6pm

August 20th (Thursday) Sports Night against St. Andrews 6pm to 9pm

August 21st (Friday to Saturday) Lock-in followed by a service project @ FUMC of Toms River 6pm to noon the next day

Youth Sunday is August 30th at all three services!

*Note: this is a link to the waiver for Thursday's tubing adventure.

Client Night Thursday, July 16th 2009

Hi. Geez there is a lot of stuff happening these first few weeks in July. This Thursday there is a client night with the UMARMY here in Toms River. Everyone from the youth group is invited to join the UMARMY as we serve a meal to the youth and to the clients. Please arrive around 4pm to help prepare the meal and around 530 to serve the meal. I haven't been to a client night before, so I don't know how long the event lasts, but I imagine it won't be more than 2 hours (so 6-8 for the meal and program). Let me know if you plan on helping out!

Also, remember that you are welcome to join the UMARMY every day for worship at 7am and 930pm. Wednesday night is a special "experiential" worship service so please plan on attending that, if you have the time. See ya!

UMARMY Themes and Schedule

Hello! Several people have asked about the themes for this year's UMARMY. Well I finally have it! Here it is, along with the schedule:

Saturday, July 18th 5pm - Pack the U-haul truck with supplies and luggage

Sunday, July 19th 9:30am - Attend Contemporary worship service, be commissioned and depart

Sunday Night Theme - "Get Acquainted" and discover color groups and work teams

Monday Night - "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and represent your favorite baseball team

Tuesday Night - "Swim Night" so bring a bathing suit and snorkeling gear

Wednesday Night - "Eating Out" with our color groups, including games and maybe karaoke

Thursday Night - "Client Night" where clients join us for dinner and celebrate our accomplishments

Saturday, July 25th 4pm - Approximate arrival time back at First UMC of Toms River


Call or email me with any questions. Thanks!

UMARMY Dinner in TR

Hey team. As many of you know the UMARMY host church provides dinner on the first night for the team coming in to do service projects. We are hosting a group from Massachusetts and Connecticut so we need to make dinner! It starts on July 12th at 6pm, but if you are helping you should be there at least half an hour early. We will serve about 60-65 people hot dogs, mac 'n cheese and baked beans. It should be a simple meal to prepare, but we need some help. This is open to anyone 7th grade and up. Come join us in welcoming a UMARMY team to our community! Thanks.

Youth Council Meeting

Here's a thought: youth ministry only happens with the dedication, talent, love and energy of youth. Youth Council is a group that meets to help steer the course of the youth ministry. So that means, if the youth council is going to steer well it needs all the good things that young people bring to the table. So here's another thought: why don't some youth and young adults join the youth council to decide what the youth group does! Its only a thought, but maybe some youth and young adults would be interested in joining us July 26th at 4pm in the parsonage (101 Walchest Drive). Comment with your thoughts, or come to the meeting and tell us what you think!

Here's the agenda for youth council:

review the youth ministry.
what is the purpose of youth ministry?
what does our ministry do well?
what does our ministry do poorly and how can we change that?
in what direction do we want to move?

Should we add anything else? Let me know! God bless.

UMARMY

Its time to get down to business! I'm new here so I don't know much about how things normally go in terms of retreats. Here's what I'm thinking, though. I heard the UMARMY is normally 'commissioned' by the contemporary service and the youth group literally leaves for Williamsport at the end of the service. That sounds like a plan to me! Please plan on attending the contemporary service of FUMC of Toms River July 19th, at 9:30 am. That would also mean all our stuff needs to be packed before the service. Please plan on coming to FUMC Toms River Saturday, July 18th at 5pm to pack the truck and U-Haul. We return Saturday, July 25th, probably around 4pm. Be sure your permission slips are turned in and all the forms are filled out properly. Are you excited, yet? I am! See you soon.

This is a work in progress

Hello everyone! I am Brian Neville. I'll be your Assistant Pastor for the foreseeable future! My main responsibility is making the youth group go! I hope to have lots of pictures, music and videos of the youth on this page, but it might take a while before we have some of that to put up here. You'll also be able to check out calendar events. You can see the date, time and location of events and there should be plenty of extra information for parents, as well. Just click on the event you are interested in. I can't wait to get to know the people of Toms River United Methodist Church, and as I know you better this site will change as you, yourselves add to it! You can find my email address on the main church page and my home phone number in the church bulletin. Ask me for my cell phone number and text me. I love texting almost as much as I love amazing youth games. Ok, that's it for now, but be sure to say hello and let me know who you are and what kinds of things you like to do. See ya!

Testing

Hi. I'm just trying this out. In time you might see lots of information show up here about the First UMC of Toms River youth group, but we'll see about that.