Welcome back to 5 Petal Friday!

How many issues do you have to publish of something before you can stop calling it "new"? Welcome to the bi-weekly newsletter from the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries of your own Virginia Synod ELCA. By now, veteran readers of our first two groundbreaking issues know that in each edition we’ll have five items - one for each of the five petals of the Luther Rose. Feedback welcome! (Send comments to delaney@vasynod.org and we'll make sure they get to the editor.)

5PF VOLUME ONE ISSUE FOUR comes out September 15! To keep getting every issue of this newsletter delivered to your inbox, make sure you subscribe sometime soon (we've cleverly hidden the subscribe button at the bottom so you have to read the whole thing - pretty smart, huh!).

The results of last week's Random Debate question, "Christmas or Easter or Something Else?": No results - the survey thing malfunctioned. Oh well. Highly trained engineers are working on the problem.

THIS WEEK'S RANDOM DEBATE:

How many issues of a newsletter do you have to publish before you can stop calling it "new"??

At least 5

At least 10

Way more than 10

The 5 Petals for Vol. 1 Issue 3 of 5PF...

Lost and Found Registration & Early Registration Discount

Lost and Found is our annual faith-sharing retreat for youth in 7th-8th grades and their adult advisors. This year's event is Nov. 17-19 (Friday evening to Sunday noon) at Eagle Eyrie Conference Center in Lynchburg (as usual!). The cost is $160 ($150 until the early registration deadline of Oct. 23) per person. All the event information and links to both online registration and downloadable paper forms is at the Virginia Synod website. Here's the direct link: https://vasynod.org/event/lost-and-found/

Announcements & Reminders

--> Information and forms for adults who will be leaders at Youth Events:

-Opportunities for Small Group Leaders in 2023-2024

-2023-2024 Small Group Leader Information Sheet

-Permission to Conduct a Background Check

-What it means to be a (Young) Adult at a Synod Youth Event

--> PLEASE POST THE ANNUAL YOUTH EVENT CALENDAR IN YOUR CHURCH BUILDING (even if you [think you] have no youth!)

Our synod youth events and other ministries with youth and young adults thrive on the prayers of all of God's people! The blessings, support, and witness of our more senior members are at the core of passing on the faith to the youngest members!

And ... maybe they have grandchildren who will hear about these events through them!!

Download a printable pdf of the poster here!

--> REGISTRATION FOR THE ELCA YOUTH MINISTRY EXTRAVAGANZA (aka,"THE E") - Jan. 18-21, 2024 - IS OPEN! ... and the early bird discount deadline is Oct. 15! All the necessary information and links for registration are available here.

-WELCOME TO BISHOP PHYLLIS MILTON, who starts her term with the Virginia Synod TODAY and is a GREAT supporter of youth and young adult ministry! Thanks be to God!

The Lost and Found

Planning Group

Please keep this year's Planning Group for Lost and Found 2023 on your regular prayer list as we begin our planning in a couple of weeks.

Our chaplain is Pastor Cindy Keyser from Christ Lutheran in Roanoke and we have youth representatives from College, Salem; First English, Richmond; Resurrection, Fredericksburg; St. Michael, Virginia Beach; and St. Philip, Roanoke. Our adult advisors are Bryan Hepner from Caroline Furnace and Maren Corliss from First, Norfolk.

Meet JOURNI - a vocational discernment tool from the ELCA

The ELCA has a wonderful website and tool for helping young adults (and others!) discern paths to leadership and service in the church and the world.

Journi.faith guides users through a process that combines self-exploration with exercises in listening for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Whether someone is interested in seminary, service opportunities, advocacy, or strengthening fellowship ties with others who are also asking how God may be calling them, Journi is a great place to start.

Youth Ministry Tip for September

GROUP Publishing is an organization that seems to have been around forever, serving youth, leaders, and congregations for generations. Although their work has mainly been geared toward the evangelical world of the Christian family, they serve mainline and independent ministries of all types. For decades "Group Magazine" was the go-to monthly resource for real nuts-and-bolts ideas for ministry with teens. These days their resources are mainly online, and when used with a Lutheran lens, their materials are particularly helpful for leaders and congregations who are looking for basic guidance in preparing adults for leadership and engaging young people in the life of the church. Most of the their newsletters and regular emails are free just for signing up.

Go to group.com to get a glimpse of what is available.

Keep up with all things VA Synod Youth and Young Adult Ministry by following us on Instagram and liking our Facebook page! Snapshots of each edition of 5PF will be posted there on publication day!

If you liked what you read here, don't forget to subscribe to receive 5PF issues bi-weekly! You don't want to miss out on an issue of 5PF. Share with your friends and on social media! We will be sending these first few issues to our larger list, but later in the fall, you will need to subscribe to continue receiving them!

Subscribe to 5PF!

To provide feedback ... ask questions ... obtain more info on any of this ... contact Dave Delaney, Virginia Synod Director for Youth and Young Adult Ministries: delaney@vasynod.org