MISSION 2009 - HOPE HILL CHILDREN'S HOME

In just a few short weeks, we'll be heading to Hope, Kentucky for a week of service at Hope Hill Children's Home. Our week will be filled with days of cleaning, building maintenance, fence repair and incredible ministry with the residents and staff of Hope Hill. And while it might be too late to join us on the trip, you can still be a part of the experience. As a way of making the residents of Hope Hill feel special, we will be presenting each with a personal gift bag complete with a new pair of pajamas, fleece blanket, and various hair and skin products. We are still in need of donations to make this possible- especially small fleece throws and hair care products like shampoo and conditioner. If you would like to help, contact Pastor Jim Sirks at the church: (269) 965-1908.

Need a Parental Consent Form?

To download this year's parental consent form, right-click on the picture of each page and save it to your computer. Then print it out and bring it with you (filled out, of course)!

ANNUAL ADOPT-A-FAMILY DAY, SATURDAY DECEMBER 13

Our annual Adopt-A-Family Day is Saturday, December 13th. This year we are sponsoring 10 children representing five different families from the Franklin School neighborhood. We are asking everyone to donate $20 towards their gifts, and if possible, participate in the shopping, wrapping, and the party itself.

This years AAF will look a bit different than in year's past. When we only sponsored 2-3 children, pick-up and drop-off were no problem. Sponsoring 10 children last year posed some pretty big headaches. Therefore, this year we are partnering with Pastor Sue Morgan and Crosspoint Church, located just a couple of blocks from Franklin School. Following our time of shopping, we'll head to Crosspoint Church for wrapping and decorating. Then we'll immediately have our Christmas Party with our children AND their parents AND the students from Crosspoint Church (who, by the way, will be providing all the FOOD!) Our itinerary will look like this:

9:00 a.m. Meet at Target for shopping!
11:00 Head to Crosspoint Church for preparations.
1:30 p.m. Meet kids and parents at Franklin School.
2:00 Christmas party at Crosspoint Church
4:00 Clean-up and dismissal of children
4:30 Party Over!

And remember, we'll still be doing our gift exchange ($5-10 max), except this year we'll be exchanging with the teens at Crosspoint Church! So put your Santa Hats on, love in your hearts, and be ready for an awesome day of changed lives!

LET'S GO SHOPPING!!!

Hey everyone! Once again it's time for our annual Christmas Shopping Tour! Instead of heading to Chicago this year, we're tring something a little different- GREAT LAKES CROSSING!!! GLC is an awesome outlet mall in Auburn Hills with all your favorite stores and more. It has a huge Forever 21 outlet store, Steve & Barry's, Bass Pro Shops, and more. Additionally, it has a Rainforest Cafe, Steven Spielburg's Gameworks, movie theaters, and more. PLUS, it's all INSIDE!!! Meet at the church at 7:30 a.m., and make sure that you have your PARENTAL CONSENT FORM, a FRIEND (and their PC Form), and $5.00 for gas. We'll be back at the church at 10:00 p.m. See you there!!!

M-66 CORN MAZE, SUNDAY OCTOBER 19TH

We LOVE the corn maze! It's not Fall without a corn maze! Meet at the church at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 19th for a trip to Athens and the spectacular M-66 Corn Maze! Prizes for teams who complete the maze the quickest! You will need $5.00 for entry, and extra hot chocolate. We'll be back at the church at 9:30 p.m. Friends are ALWAYS welcome!

HARVEST PARTY! Friday, October 31

Hey Gang! Fall is typically a time of celebration when we give thanks for a great summer and bountiful harvest. It's a time when we can come together and renew friendships in the great outdoors before the snows of winter come. With that understood, we're having a harvest party! It will be Friday, October 31 at the home of Pastor Jim & Lisa Sirks from 8:00-11:00 p.m. The evening will include food, games, trick-or-treating in the neighborhood, and an awesome scavenger hunt! All you need to bring is a costume (no gore or occult themes please!) for trick-or-treating and a snack to share. We'll provide hotdogs and smores to roast! See you there!

WE'RE BAAAACK! The Cellar Reopens September 10

Hey everyone! Well, it was about time that I updated this puppy, so what a better way than to announce the opening day of the Cellar! The Cellar will open up for the Fall season next Wednesday, September 10, and will run from 6:00-7:30 p.m. Our first session will be a "welcome back" night complete with S'mores over the campfire and a review of the highlight video from IYC 2008 in San Antonio! Following sessions will focus on these themes:

September 17- "Love Your Neighbor" - The story of the Good Samaritan
September 24- "Being Present" - Just how "in tune" with your surrounding are you?
October 1- "Being Engaged" - How to make a real difference in the world.
October 8- November 12- "H.A.B.I.T.S." - Developing good spiritual habits.

The H.A.B.I.T.S. theme will actually run for 6 weeks, and will focus on developing good spiritual habits. Each Wednesday night is always a great time to spend with your friends, hanging out, drinking cappuccino, and (starting September 24) playing basketball! See you there!