December 2018 / January 2019
YOUTH NEWS
Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12
UPCOMING EVENTS FOR 2019
Add our GOOGLE CALENDAR to stay up to date on what we have planned in 2019 for our youth. We would love to see you and your youth groups at our diocesan sponsored events!

Want to invite other youth groups to your youth event and advertise your event in the YOUTH NEWS newsletter or add it to our calendar? Let us know at communications@diocgc.org.
January 18-20
Happening #55 Staff Weekend
Nativity, Dothan

February 1-3
Happening #55
Nativity, Dothan

February 15-16
Diocesan Convention Youth Lock-in
St. Paul's, Daphne

February 16
Mardi Gras Event
Christ Church Cathedral, Mobile

June - July
Camp Beckwith
Beckwith, Fairhope
July 21-27
Youth Mission Trip (organized through Houston Strong)
Houston, Texas

July 26
Episcopal Night at the Wahoos
Wahoos Stadium, Pensacola

August 24
Worship on the Water
Beckwith, Fairhope

September 27-29
BayLights
Beckwith, Fairhope

December 28-30
Winter Woods
Beckwith, Fairhope

Plus SAVE-THE-DATE for EYE ( Episcopal Youth Event ) on July 5-20, 2020!
Preparing for Christmas with your EYC has gone SOCIAL! All around our diocese, youth groups can share in one big Christmas spirit through Facebook and Instagram using the hashtag #EYCJingles2018! Are you caroling with your EYC group? Have you decorated a Christmas tree? How will your youth group be bringing in the holidays? Share your stories and songs with us online!

Include #EYCJingles2018 to your social media posts this year!
FEBRUARY 1 - 3 | Happening #55
Happening registration is open!! February 1-3, 2019 at Church of the Nativity in Dothan, Alabama. Happening is a Christian experience presented by teenagers, for teenagers with the help of clergy and lay adult leadership. All youth who have ever attended will tell you that it's a highlight of their teen years. For youth in 10th, 11th, and 12th grades.
If you are interested in being an Adult Staff member please e-mail Happening Coordinator, Addie Boyd-Quina, at  addiequina@yahoo.com .
WE HAVE EXCITING NEWS TO SHARE!
Recently, a dedicated group of clergy and lay leadership gathered at the invitation of Bishop Russell along with Ministry Architects to develop an intentional plan for Christian formation beginning with education for our children and youth. It was an inspirational two days focused on confirmation, formation, and calendaring. We look forward to sharing more as our work develops. The overarching theme was "what do we want our youth to know, feel, and do because of their experience through the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast."
COMMUNITY
MISSION IN ACTION
Panama City Service
by Kate McGurk, youth minister at St. Christopher's, Pensacola

St. Christopher's has been paired with St. Andrew's in the Hurricane Michael relief effort. I have traveled and served twice now this month and I am witnessing incredible acts of love and service. I am so grateful for the teens in my EYC group- we had nine of our teens serve a couple of weeks ago. They helped parishioners of St. Andrew's begin the cleanup process and did some heavy lifting. We met a couple and worked in their yard for a few hours that Saturday morning. They told us that during the storm, a tree came through the house and they sat and prayed. Even in the midst of disaster, they stopped to pray. It was a powerful example for the teens. Both homeowners were so grateful for the help we gave them that morning in clearing their backyard of debris. 

I am also so grateful for all of the adult parishioners who have traveled there to help. My parish shows me how God wants us to serve. On my first, visit three of us helped a woman salvage some of her belongings before we went outside and prayed together. She said goodbye to her home and put her faith in God that there would be a new beginning. Even though I didn't know her, I knew her as a sister in Christ. I felt thankful that I could be there to help her. 

I know we will continue to aid in their relief effort and I think we have formed a bond with St. Andrews.
TIME TOGETHER
Creating experiences where our Episcopal youth can spend time with one another is an essential part of our life together in Christ. We've gathered for some pretty great moments over the past couple of months.
Worship on the Water

This past August, almost 100 youth and adults gathered at our favorite place, Camp Beckwith, for an afternoon of fun fellowship. We celebrated the Eucharist on the water, shared a meal, and tie-dyed some really awesome t-shirts.

Click the photo above for more pics!
Fall Fling

In October, our diocese sponsored the Fall Fling in Mobile and Pensacola. These community events were opportunities to paint some pumpkins, participate in fun activities, and attendees were given jars to collect "Coins from Heaven" for Hurricane Michael Relief.

Click the photo above for more pics!
YOUTH GROUPS
(send your group photos to communications@diocgc.org)
Christ Church Pensacola
Holy Cross Pensacola
St. Christopher's Pensacola
FANTASTIC TEEN!
A big shout out to Selene Roberts of Holy Cross, Pensacola for collecting costumes and candy for a service project. This fantastic teen approximates *100 costumes to Boys & Girls Club *80 costumes to Sacred Heart Children's Hospital, *200 to Panama City/ Port Saint Joe, *50 costumes to local day care, autistic classroom and local families *300 Halloween trick or treat bags *100 bags of candy to Boys and Girls Club. Way to give back to your community Selene!
RESOURCES
Last Minute Advent Activities
Click the link below for some last minute Advent activities to do with your youth groups while we wait for the coming of Christ!

Summer Mission Trip Planning
Too soon? It's never too soon to start planning that youth mission trip!
We would love to hear from your youth groups! Tell us what you've being doing and about all those God moments we know you're having!
Share your events too! We will add them to our church and community event calendar!

The purpose of this newsletter is to help keep Youth Ministry leaders and all those who support their ministry up-to-date with the latest information on events and news about Youth Ministry in the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast.

We would love - and be so grateful - for you to share this newsletter or any portion of it in your church communications.
DioCGC Youth Ministry
www.diocgc.org/youth
DioCGC Youth Ministry is a ministry of
the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast