YOUTH
Christian Education
Hour Youth Group
Confirmation Service Trips
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
HOUR
Youth are encouraged to attend the Christian Education Hour from
YOUTH GROUP
The youth group activities include: raising funds for
their trip, helping out with many service projects, having fun and learning
more about being in community! Some of the things we have done frequently are:
babysitting at the Heartland House weekly during the summer, serving the
Banquet downtown, and participating in worship, in particular leading the early
Easter worship service and helping serve the Easter breakfast. Our activities
vary, so 
check the calendar.
Spirit of Peace youth at the local CROPWALK. They raised
$1081. for water development in poverty stricken areas
of the world.
CONFIRMATION
Confirmation is three
semesters, and usually students start confirmation around 9th grade. However,
that varies depending on how many 
students
are in clusters of ages, and occasionally a younger or older student is part of
a class. Confirmation is weekly and is taught by one of the pastors. Students
are given tools with which to become lifelong learners and seekers. We study
the Bible and recommend ways to use it. We also study what it means to be human
and in relationship. We encourage them to ask questions, to think for
themselves, and to respect differences of opinion. At the end of
confirmation, students may choose to be confirmed as members of the church.
SERVICE
Service is an important
way to experience what it means to "love our neighbors as ourselves,"
a part of Jesus' Great Double Commandment. Youth have the opportunity to
participate in a wide range of service activities. Some past activities
include: decorating Christmas trees at Dow Rummel
Nursing Home, raking and cleaning for elderly
homeowners or an elderly rural congregation, teaching computer skills to older
members, collecting gifts and helping with a Christmas party for children of
incarcerated parents, and cleaning 
the church nursery. We hope that
all youth can experience how good it feels to help others.
TRIPS
Trips are a great way to
learn to know and care for each other. They also are excellent
educational and service opportunities. Our last trip was to Denver, Colorado . The first leg of our journey 
took us to Crazy Horse Mountain
in the Black Hills where we participated in the Crazy Horse Volksmarch,
walking with about 15,000 other walking enthusiasts up the face of the
mountain. In Denver, we attended a Buddhist Dharma Family Service at the
Denver Buddhist Temple, followed by a lecture and question/answer period with
one of the clergy; we observed a Muslim call to prayer and participated in a
Muslim-Christian dialogue at the Denver Islamic Center; and we learned the art
of zazen meditation at the Denver Zen Center.
For our service projects, we helped to build a rock path at one of the Denver
Urban Gardens, a non-profit organization that creates community gardens that
primarily serve low to moderate income populations; and we did a variety of
gardening tasks at an Earthlink Greenfinger
Garden, an organization that serves the Denver homeless population through
transitional housing, feeding and clothing programs. To round out our
experience, we spent the last day at Six Flaggs
Amusement Park. We are currently in the process of fundraising for our
next trip.