2 0 0 9 F A L L E D I T
CHILDREN & YOUTH
NEWS
LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE RESURRECTION
z
Family Devotion
I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. ~Matthew 19:23-24
As summer comes to an end and regular
activities resume, we get back into the daily
grind of doing too much. These are great
Inside this Issue: activities to remind us that all that stuff
doesn’t matter in the big scheme of things!
Family Service 2 ACTIVITY #1: Pretend that you have to
Opportunities leave your house quickly. Give everyone 10
minutes to gather up their favorite toys,
Fun Family Outings 2 books, stuffed animals and other items.
Everything you are going to take with you
Summer Travels 3 must fit in your backpack or be tied to the
outside of the backpack. You must be able to
wear the pack on your back when it is full.
Let’s Akaloo!! 5 Ready, set, “Go! You have 10 minutes.” Take
time to look at the different items they packed
Teen Devotion 6 and ask why they selected each item.
Music to Check Out 6 Before doing the next activity, set the
backpacks aside and read Matthew 19:23-24.
Middle School Youth 7 Hold up the needle. It is impossible for a
camel to get through this hole in the needle!
High School Youth 7 Jesus is saying that it is impossible for a rich
man to get to heaven. Why? Because when
the rich man dies, he is no longer rich as the
Pictures from the 8 world defines rich, he can not take his stuff
Summer with him! The rich man and the poor man go
to heaven with the same amount of material
We Need You! 12 possessions—nothing.
nnn ACTIVITY #2: Make a small tunnel using a
line of chairs - or be creative! The tunnel
needs to be small so that everyone will have
to remove their backpack to successfully get
through. Create rules that will make sure you
go slowly and cautiously. For example, you
can't move the chairs. Or, if you don't mind a
little mess, place glasses of water on top of
the chairs and if any water is spilled, they
must start over.
Put on your backpack and get ready to play a
game. You each have three attempts to get
I O N
z
through this tunnel. See if you can get
through faster on your third attempt. Get
ready for your first attempt! Don’t try to go
through wearing your backpack! In order to
succeed you have to take it off. Just leave it
behind - don’t push it in front or drag it
behind as you go through the tunnel.
Jesus talks a lot about money and possessions.
He warns us not to fall in love with “things”
or to treat money as more important than
people. Jesus warns us not to love money,
toys, cars, our home, etc. more than God.
Talk about some examples of loving money
and people more than God. Not giving to the
poor. Reading all kinds of books but never
the Bible. Complaining about going to
church where we can worship God with
others. In the first activity you had to pack
your backpack. Is there anything in your
backpack that reminds you of God or
represents your spiritual faith? In the second
activity you had to crawl through a tunnel.
What if your house had been on fire and you
had to stay low and crawl along the floor to
get out safely? People who try to escape a fire
and cling to things may not get out safely.
Jesus' story is about a man not just trying to
get out of a burning house, but a man
wanting to get to heaven. We need to be
careful not to let “things” become more
important than people or God. Those
“things” so easily get in the way of our
relationships with Jesus and with each other!
Close in prayer - thanking God for all the
things you are blessed with and remembering
that he is more important than any thing!
Adapted from www.famtime.com.
 Family Service Opportunities
MUST Lunch October 19
The MUST Shelter always needs your help!! MUST Lunch October 26
Lunch October 27
needs people willing to prepare and serve meals for the
following days this fall: More dates are available on the bulletin board outside
Lunch August 1 the gathering room. Your family can prepare the meal
Breakfast August 3 on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday. For more information,
Lunch August 24 contact Marianne Varley.
Lunch August 25
Breakfast August 30 The Shelter also is in particular need of the following
Lunch August 31 food items: canned meats, spaghetti sauce, peanut
Breakfast September 1 butter, jelly, dry milk, tomato sauce/paste and large size
Lunch September 7 diapers (size 4,5, 6). They are also in need of Cereal,
Dinner September 7 soup, spaghetti, canned fruit, canned pasta, canned
Lunch September 13 vegetables, canned and dry beans, Mac and cheese,
Breakfast October 5 Baby Food, rice, boxed meals, and can openers!
Lunch October 11 You can put these and other nonperishable food items
in the collection site at LCR.

Fun Family Outings

PUMPKIN FESTIVAL INDIAN FESTIVAL AND POW-WOW
STONE MOUNTAIN PARK STONE MOUNTAIN PARK
FRIDAYS - SUNDAYS NOVEMBER 5-8
OCTOBER 2-31 Experience Native American culture
Visit the pumpkin tumbler, watch the through dance & drum competitions,
music, authentic craft demonstrations,
great pumpkin puppet parade, dress
cooking samples and storytelling
up in your favorite costumes for the
activities. Learn about primitive skills
children’s costume parade, compete in such as flint-napping, bow making, fire
the pie eating contests, participate in starting, open fire
the trick or treat scavenger hunt, and cooking and
CAGLE’S DAIRY FARM more! pottery.  Or, find
SEPTEMBER 4 - NOVEMBER 15 that one-of-a-kind
With two different locations and over holiday gift in our
60 total acres of corn maizes, Cagle’s artists'
Dairy Farm is a great place for your marketplace,
where world-
family to celebrate fall! Open Friday
renowned Native
nights, Saturdays and Sundays. artists and
Admission is $10 a person. For more crafters demonstrate their skills and offer
information, visit http:// items for purchase.
caglescornmaize.com.
 Where in the World Did We Go This Summer?
Children & Youth at LCR traveled all over the
place this summer, from Florence, Alabama to
Ancient Rome! For details about our summer,
check out http://lcryouth.wordpress.com. Here’s
a recap of what we did.
AFFIRM 2009
FLORENCE, ALABAMA
This year, 8 youth and 5 adults from LCR attended
Affirm. Hillary Nelson’s recap of the event was
featured in the Southeastern Synod E-Newsletter:
“My experience at affirm this year was excellent! I
was in the group Revelations, where we basically
explored more in depth about ourselves and others.
Some nights were pretty emotional for some and
others it wasn't that big. I, personally, almost started
to get emotional when one of us would interview the
other about the most influential person in your life so
far. Revelations had it's own theme this year called
It's all about me. It was really nice, each group
session that we played a song and had a verse. We
would then write in our prayer logs about the song
and/or the verse. It was a great time to relax and just
have some one on one time with God and ourselves.
One night we even were asked questions and had to
stand in the agree, disagree, strongly disagree, and
strongly agree area based on our opinion. Some of
the questions I was very neutral about and it was
interesting hearing others opinions and some
questions had some pretty heated debates. I also had
a great small group this year and we all really clicked!
Lost and Found was awesome and one night two of
the groups were stuck in a tornado warning with
them! That was so great of them to not just sit there,
but take the time with each one of us and talk to us.
I loved worship this year, because even though it was
different this year it was also unique. For example, we
would start out worship with say the peace or do
communion different ways each night. I realized by
the end of the week how much I really did enjoy the
worship despite the previous complaining I was
exhibiting the first day. I also loved learning new
songs and also worshiping with old ones as well! It
was pretty exciting when Revelations won the
volleyball touranment and I really enjoyed the talent
show being held in the auditorium. It was also
exciting to be on the SESLYO Board for my first
time this year and even more fun reconnecting with
everyone at our meetings and just seeing them all
around in different groups. I also loved reconnecting
also with old affirm friends that I have met over
previous years and also meeting new friends as well.
Affirm overall has helped me develop more and more
in my faith as I have gotten older! I also look forward
to each affirm year because of that!”
MIDDLE SCHOOLERS GO TO
LUTHERIDGE
3 youth from LCR and 5 youth from Brumby
celebrated Fourth of July at Lutheridge for Middle
School Explorers week. This has become quite a
tradition for these youth and they had a great time
exploring their faith and the great outdoors! Ask
them their stories!
WOW 2009
KNOXVILLE, TN
In July, nine of LCR’s youth and two adults attended
Win Our World urban ministry experience at St.
John’s Lutheran Church in Knoxville, TN. Most of
our youth were apprehensive as well as eager when
we arrived on Sunday. Despite their hesitation, we
were quickly greeted with overwhelming and upbeat
excitement by the WOW staff.
Each day, we were split into small groups and given
mission assignments at locations all over Knoxville,
including the Knoxville Area Rescue Mission
(KARM), Beardsley Farm, Wesley House, Project
Live, the Salvation Army, and more. Many of our
days began at 6:15am serving breakfast at the
KARM shelter down the street and ended around
11pm after a full day of worship, mission work,
leadership development activities, and nightly
devotions. Through our long days together, we
developed strong friendships and relationships with
one another as well as with youth from St. John’s
and St. Andrew’s in Columbia, SC while working
for the glory of God and building his kingdom in
inner city Knoxville.
Working with our homeless and needy neighbors
during our WOW mission experience, our faith and
understanding grew through relationships and
conversations at each of these mission sites. One
example in particular stuck out to us the most. Chris
Osberg, Mitchell Frey, Andre Leon, and Danny
Ritchie spent a day at Project Live – a mission
started to help local elderly through conversation
and yard work in order to keep them in their homes.
Their Project Live site was at the home of an elderly
gentleman by the name of Leon Womack, who has
been confined to his home for quite a while now.
During a conversation with Leon after their day full
of hard work of “mowing down a jungle,” as Chris
put it, Leon expressed his gratitude to the guys by
telling them that he “didn’t know that youth like you
guys still existed” but was thrilled to see that they
still did.
Another favorite mission site of the week was the
Wesley House – a safe haven for inner city school-
aged youth. When we arrived at the Wesley House,
all the eyes of children lit up with excitement. They
were so happy for every youth that arrived at the
house to play with and care for them! After simple
card games, conversations, and some amazing
basketball plays, our youth realized how privileged
they are compared to the situations these kids call
life. The dreams and ambitions that these
disadvantaged kids have put our own lives into
drastic perspective.
There were so many other stories we could share
with you, and I’m sure you have heard many
already. Besides mission work and faith building,
WOW encouraged youth to find “beauty in the
mess” in ourselves, in our family, in the church, and
in the world. Because of this newfound awareness,
the youth that attended are able to open our eyes to
God’s grace and amazing works everywhere we go;
from the slums of Knoxville to the downtown city of
Atlanta. Through the leadership development and
youth empowerment they gained through this
fantastic week, they have been encouraged to bring
back our excitement from WOW in order to lead
change for the better here at LCR. So LCR, get
ready…because here the youth come!
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
ANCIENT ROME
In July, over 100 children, youth and adults
discovered what it might have been like to live in
ancient Rome in the years just after Jesus’ death.
LCR was transformed into an ancient Roman
marketplace, the house where Paul was kept under
house-arrest, and an underground cave secretly used
by Christians as a gathering and worship space. We
learned all about how much God loves us, how his
love changes us, and saw with our own eyes how a
Roman guard’s own life was changed by the story of
Jesus Christ.
If you missed our trip, you can experience ancient
Rome through pictures posted on the LCR webpage
- just click on the “About LCR” tab and go to the
Photo Gallery.
We are so thankful for all the volunteers that helped
make Rome happen. A special thank you to
Barbara Kirk, Sue Koeneman, and Jill Robertson
who served as the planning team for the week.
 Here We Go ... Let’s Akaloo!
We are so excited to begin our Akaloo journey! Rally Day
was an awesome experience - if you didn’t get a chance to
put your handprint on the wall, make sure you find a chance
to do so! The downstairs rooms have been transformed from
plain rooms into rooms ready to Akaloo - take a tour of the
rooms next time you’re in the building!

Crystal still needs registration forms for several children. If

you have not yet turned in forms for your children, please do
so as soon as possible. We want to make sure we have
accurate information! We always have room for more along
our Akaloo journey, so make sure to bring your friends along!

Take 5 for Faith

This summer, we introduced Faith5, which stands for Faith Acts In The Home. To help you remember to Take 5
for Faith, we sent placemats home on Rally Day - if you didn’t get one, make sure to pick one up from the
Gathering Room!

Here’s how you do it: Whoever is going to bed first in your home calls “Faith 5” or “Huddle Up!” Everyone must
drop what they’re doing, turn off the television, put down the newspaper or their homework, set ALL the phones
on silence and gather in a room of the convener’s choice. Then take turns going through these five simple steps:

SHARE highs & lows of the day. What was the best thing and the worst thing that happened to each of you
during the day?
READ and highlight a verse of Scripture in your Bible. Don’t worry if you don’t know what to read - each
Sunday you’ll get a bookmark with suggested verses for each day. You can also signup for a daily email reminder!
TALK about how the verse relates to your highs & lows.
PRAY for each other. Pray for your highs & lows, for your family, and for the world.
BLESS one another. Remind each other that you are children of God.

Akaloo Wish List

Several classes are looking for items that you might have. If you have any of the following, or know where we
could get them for an inexpensive cost, please contact Jill Gadebusch, Gloria Frey, or Crystal Oxner.

Picture books for children ages 2-4

Beanbags or other large floor pillows
Carpet squares
Couches or other comfy chairs
Area rugs
DVD player
 Teen Devotion: What will you plant in your garden?
For he has actually sent to us in Babylon, saying, “It will be a long time; build houses and live in
them, and plant gardens and eat what they produce.” ~Jeremiah 29:28

Plant 4 rows of “P’s”:
Prayer
Praise
Patience
Peace
Plant 4 rows of squash:
Squash gossip
Squash criticism
Squash complacency
Squash saying what you
cannot do
Plant 4 rows of lettuce:
Let us show up for
worship
Let us show up for Bible
study
Let us show up for
meetings
Let us really love self and
neighbor
And you know no garden
is complete without some
turnips:
Turn up to church on
Sunday
Turn up to Bible study
Turn up when you feel like
it AND when you don’t
Turn up to help one
another
And to conclude our
garden, we must have
some thyme:
Time for God
Time for each other
Time for family and
friends
Time for ourselves.
Take care of your garden
by following these
directions:
Water freely with patience
and cultivate with love.
There is much to be
harvested in your garden
and this is the prayer I
pray for you - Lord, let my
heart be good soil. Eat
what your garden
produces.
As you begin your new
school year, think about
what you will plant in
your garden, how you will
cultivate it, and what will
it produce as your year
goes on?

~Taken from a sermon by Rev. Larry Clark at the 2009 LYO Convention. Rev. Larry Clark is the
Executive Director of the Lutheran Theological Center in Atlanta.

Music & Movies to Check Out

CAGE THE feel-good “story about love” of
the season.
ELEPHANT 500 DAYS OF
For fans of Kings SUMMER I LOVE YOU, BETH
of Leon and Starring COOPER
Beck, you can check them out at Joseph Starring Hayden Panttiere, it’s
http:// another of those “high school
Gordon-
www.cagetheelephant.com. Levitt and nerd tries to get popular girl”
Zooey movies. Just an all around feel
JOSHUA good movie, so
Deschanel,
JAMES the film touts I’ve heard.
For fans of John
itself as “not
Mayer, Joshua
a love story,
Radin, and Ray
but a story about love.”
LaMontague. Joshua’s new
Featuring fantasy dance
album focuses on some of life’s
sequences, ‘60s fashion and
biggest questions. Check him
songs from Temper Trap, Serge
out at http://
Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin, and
www.joshuajames.tv.
Belle & Sebastian, it could be the
 Middle & High School Youth
Middle School/Confirmation
This year, Confirmation consists of two parts: Sunday morning and Wednesday evening. Youth in
7th-8th grade are invited to participate in Catechism instruction taught by Crystal Oxner and Pastor
Dave on Sunday morning between 9:45am-10:45am in the middle school youth room downstairs. All
youth in 6th-8th grades are invited to participate in Wednesday night service learning activities from 6:30
pm - 8:00pm! All parents of middle schoolers and all 7th-8th grade youth are invited to join us at
9:45am on August 23 for an informative meeting about what Confirmation will entail this year.

High School
There are two opportunities for high school youth to engage in fellowship and Bible study this year - on
Sunday morning and on Wednesday evenings. During the Sunday school hour, high schoolers will
engage in Akaloo and take a look at how the Gospel of Matthew applies to their everyday lives.
Throughout most of this fall, on Wednesday evenings, high schoolers will be exploring the Gospel
According to the Simpsons.

All Youth
Several times this fall all youth 6th-12th grade will be invited to combined events. Mark your calendars
for the following:

Sunday, September 20 - Youth-Led Worship Planning Meeting from 1:00pm - 5:00pm

Sunday, October 4 - Youth-Led Worship Planning Meeting - final details & some rehearsal from 1:00pm
- 2:30pm
Wednesday, October 7 - Rob Bell @ Cobb Energy Center
Saturday, October 24 & Sunday, October 25 - Youth-Led Worship Rehearsal & Worship Services
Wednesday, October 28 - Trick or Treat for Canned Goods
Wednesday, November 25 - Thanksgiving service project (this will be sometime during the day!)
 Quotes from youth who attended WOW 2009
“The trip to WOW showed me many different sides of the
city Knoxville.  I learned a lot and really started to
understand the Beautiful Mess of the creation around us.  me want to at least try to be more thankful because I have so
Serving breakfast at KARM to hundreds of our neighbors
really showed me that people are able to find beauty and
happiness in even the darkest of situations.  People insisted
on praying before they would receive their meals, smiled at
us as they came in, and thanked us for serving.  It just
amazed me that God was so clear and obvious in even the
worst of conditions.” ~Katherine Boda
“The part that meant the most to me was the prayer walk on
Friday.  Seeing all of these people on the street was really
depressing.  Then, we saw a man with a baby and a woman
with two small children.  This really hit home for me
because I had never noticed homeless children and I
questioned if God loved them as He loves me, why do I have
all the things I do and they don’t?” ~Andre Leon
“The week at WOW taught me about ‘holy chaos.’  best they could.  All they had were some belongings, or
Basically, the world, church, family, even ourselves can be
viewed as beautiful messes.  We may see something as
dysfunctional, but when you spend time with that thing, you
learn that beauty exists there.  This beauty can be a
multitude of things, like a smile, a symbol, or a thank you.  I
learned that by viewing everything as a beautiful mess, my
faith, along with the community’s faith, will grow.”
~Mitchell Frey
“The excitement and love for inner city mission shown by
the staff and leaders of WOW really spread to all of the
guests of WOW.  This sense of community made me feel
like I was working for something larger than our individual
church, but for the ELCA and world as a whole and for all
those who really needed us.” ~Brian Boda
“This week at WOW, what amazed me the most was serving
breakfast at KARM on Thursday morning.  I didn’t know
there were so many homeless people on the streets.  It
touched me at how some of those people didn’t accept any
food until they had prayed.  I didn’t know such faith was
possible under such rotten circumstances.  It was incredible”
~Paige Jordan
“It amazed me how much of an impact we made.  I’ve
always been told that if you do something nice for someone
they’ll appreciate it.  Well, duh – but it was great to
experience it.  Everyone was so grateful and even though
they didn’t have much, they still said thank you.  It makes
much to be thankful for and I take way too much for
granted.” ~Emily Glass
“The thing that meant the most to me this week was when I
went to Mr. Womack’s house for Project Live.  I spent a
good bit of time talking to him and at one time he stopped
and looked at all of us and said “You know, I didn’t know
people like you still existed.  I am so thankful for your help.” 
He was so thankful and wanted to talk to us as much as
possible.  This was the moment that meant the most to me.”
~Chris Osberg
“What meant to me the most was discovering the beautiful
mess in Knoxville, TN.  The moment I walked outside on
the streets of Knoxville I realized that all the homeless
people were God’s children even though they didn’t live the
nothing at all.  Every time I passed them at least one of
them said hi!  When I went on a water wagon, my heart was
lifted.  It just amazed me how they were still able to put a
smile on their face and appreciate all that we had done for
them.  This would have to be one of the best moments of
this week.  To me the homeless people were a great example
of a beautiful mess.  They might not have been living in the
best conditions but you could still see the faith in their
hearts.” ~Leah Kelm
“WOW was a great experience.  I loved everything about it. 
We had a wide range of opportunities for taking the
splendiferous love of Christ out into the Knoxville
community.  God can be seen, felt, and heard in this
neighborhood with a prevalent homeless population.  We all
saw so much beauty in this humongous mess.  I’d say my
favorite experience was Thursday.  Danny and I were sent
on a unique mission opportunity with some people from St.
John’s and St. Andrew’s: we got to go fishing with some of
the people staying in the shelters at the VMC.  It was just
like going to a lake with your family or friends; we laughed
and joked, snacked, fished, and swam.  All the ‘guests’ on
our boat had a really great time – so great that they were
making plans so that we could stay.  I loved them all, and
was ecstatic that we had such a grand day out.” ~Becky
Ritchie
 LCR Children & Youth Need You!
Have you been looking for a way to get involved with Children & Youth Ministries at LCR? There are many different
ways that you can help - contact Crystal if you are interested in any of these (or any other) opportunities!

SUNDAY SCHOOL
Although we have a full slate of teachers, there’s still room for you if you feel called to serve in this way. All of our
youth will be akalooing, so whether you are passionate about the little bitty ones, the really big ones, or the ones in
between, there’s a place for you to be involved with Akaloo. You can be a substitute, you can team teach with other
teachers who are already preparing to Akaloo, or you can be part of the team that plans Intergenerational Events
throughout the year.

CHILDREN’S MINISTRY
Children’s Ministry Team
The Children’s Ministry Team is the visionary team behind Children’s Ministry at LCR. We meet monthly to think
about and plan Children’s Ministry events including Sunday School, Family Events, Vacation Bible School, and all
things children!
First Communion
We need someone to help coordinate this very special event! Our fourth graders and their parents will receive first
communion instruction on Sunday September 13 after the 11:00 service. Any older youth who has not yet received
first communion is also invited to participate. We will celebrate their first communion on World Communion Day,
October 4.
Christmas Pageant
All children and youth are invited to participate in the annual Christmas Pageant. Helen Phelps, our Director of
Worship and Music, needs dedicated adults to help coordinate this incredible seasonal event. We’ll need adults to help
with directing the pageant, creating and fixing costumes, preparing cookies for the cookie reception, and more!
Easter Egg Hunt
We need someone to coordinate this annual event. Traditionally held on Palm Sunday, our older youth hide eggs for
our younger youth. If you want to be involved but find that you are too busy for a regular commitment, this is a great
one-time job for you!

YOUTH MINISTRY
Middle School
This year, our confirmation program consists of Wednesday evening service opportunities for all middle schoolers and
Sunday morning Catechism instruction for 7th-8th graders as well as various other youth events throughout the year.
There will be an informative meeting for all 7th-8th grade youth and parents and all 6th grade parents on August 23
from 9:45-10:45am in the Middle School Youth Room. We need faithful and dedicated adults to help with these
awesome youth!!
High School
Senior High Bible Study continues on Wednesday nights and we need faithful and dedicated adults to come hang out
with us! Our first series this fallWe’ll share dinner together and begin a 13-week series on The Gospel According to
the Simpsons! We will use episodes of The Simpsons to explore the Gospel in a new and exciting way. If you are
interested in helping lead our worship time at these gatherings, please contact Crystal. Adults - if you are a fan of the
Simpsons you are welcome to come hang out for this series. We’re not sure what our next series will be!

For more info about children & youth ministries at LCR, check out the bulletin board in the Gathering Room, or contact Crystal!
Lutheran Church of the Resurrection Crystal Oxner, Director of Children & Youth Ministries
4814 Paper Mill Road Phone: 770/953-3193
Marietta, GA 30324 E-mail: lcrcym@mindspring.com