Youth News

Youth News
for Zion's "Youtherans"

	Canoe the Rum River postponed until August 6th	Rain postponed the trip until Friday, August 8th. All Junior and Senior High kids are invited to come and join your friend from Trinity Lutheran as we canoe the Rum River from lake Mille Lacs to Lake Shakopee. The canoes will be provided by Camp Onomia. We'll leave from Zion at 9 a.m., spend the morning on the river, and stop at Happy's in Onamia for some lunch and/or ice cream. Sign up on the Youtheran board outside Pastor Blenkush's office. Adult are invited too!
	Why Go Lutheran?	Are you, or someone you love, searching for a college or university to attend? If so, check out the new video “Why Go Lutheran?” and its website WhyGoLutheran? The 3-minute video is not your typical recruiting film. It’s a clever animation that lays out all the reasons why a student should “go Lutheran.”
	Confirmation Orientation September 15th	Attention all 7th, 8th, and 9th grade students and parents-you are invited to an orientation to this year's Confirmation Studies program. Come meet your teachers, learn about the program and the expectations. We will begin at 7:00 p.m.
	Attention 10th Grade Confirmation Students!	It is never too early to mark your calendar for upcoming event The first date you will want to place on your calendar is your Affirmation of Baptism date—Sunday, Oct. 31st. Working backwards, add Saturday, Oct 30th for the Annual Confirmation Dinner (with pictures and Confirmation rehearsal). This a dinner put on by members of Zion's Confirmation Committee for the soon to be Confirmands, their parents and Mentors. It is an opportunity to get cleaned up and dressed up and enjoy a wonderful meal in your honor. The next date is Saturday, Sept. 18 when we will have our Confirmation Interviews. This will be a time to interview members of Zion about matters of faith as well as a chance to talk about how the Confirmand's Confirmation faith statement is taking shape. And then there is the Annual Confirmation Retreat on the weekend of Oct 9-10. This year there is a change in venue as we will be at Luther Point Bible Camp in Grantsburg WI. (We could not get into Camp Onomia on the dates desired.) This change in location will cause us to change our normal routine a bit, but it will work out fine and perhaps even better! Confirmation Students and Parents—keep you eyes open for more information to come!
	Camperships	You can help kids go to camp! We encourage our youth to go toattend our Lutheran Bible Camps and experience the love and power of God is new ways. Zion offers camperships to its younger members to help make camp a possibility for everyone. Pick up a Campership form, fill it out, and return it to the church office - one form for each child. The church treasurer will send the campership money to the camp. A campership will cover for half the cost - for a weekend or half week camp , up to $75, or up to $190 for a week long camp
	Spring Confirmation Retreat	The Spring Confirmation Retreat at Gustavus Adolphus College was the weekend of April 10-11 and was for all Confirmation students in grades 7-9 and adult leaders. check here for photos!
	Wild Mountain Ski Trip	It was time to wax those skis and hit the slopes, so the Zion Youtherans took a trip to Wild Mountain (outside Taylors Fall) for Saturday, Feb. 20th. Our friends from Trinity Lutheran in Milaca also joined us. See a few photos from the trip.
	Confirmation Bowling Party	See some photos of the 1-10-10 Confirmation Bowling Party
	Affirmation of Baptism 10/25/09	See a few photos of Confirmation Day
	Confirmation Retreat Photos	The 10th grade Confirmation class spent October 3rd and 4th at Camp Onomia on a retreat to prepare for the Affirmation of Baptism service that will be held on Sunday. October 25th. See some photos of the retreat.
	Middle School Gathering	The Middle School Gathering was a great opportunity to introduce young people to the larger church and enhance their confirmation teaching. This year’s focus for the Gathering was on The Lord’s Prayer. “Pray. Always.” It gave middle school youth a deeper understanding of prayer and how prayer is central to our daily life. Congregations were asked to make Prayer Scarves so that each youth could have one. Zion sent 35+ crocheted, knit, or tied fleece scarves. 900 youth and adults attended this event and congregations sent about 1700 scarves! See some photos.
	Mission Trip 2010: Milwaukee	The Count Down is On Till Departure! - On Friday July 16^th 20 youth and adults from Zion and Trinity will head out for an inner city Mission Trip in Milwaukee. Your prayers will be appreciated. The following individuals will be participating: Katie Blenkush, Connor Crook, Andrea Dahlen, Jorgen Erickson, Justin Fransen, Ashlynn Harlan, Jake Hoskins, John Knapp, Andy Manoleff, Cole Manthie, Alysa Niedzielski, Orianna Scherer, Spencer Slade, Cameron Sundberg, Anna Totzke, Makayla Wiedewitsch, John Cook, Joyce Sundberg, Dawn Reede and Pastor Stephen Blenkush. We will have a special Mission Trip Commissioning Service on Sunday July 11^th with a final Mission Trip Meeting after worship that Sunday.
	Feed My Starving Children	On Tuesday, June 24th about 18 folks from Zion drove down to the headquarters of Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) for an evening of packing nutritious meals for severely malnourished children. (Photos) These meals are then distributed to starving children in over 55 countries around the world. Our group from Zion along with another group from a Catholic Church in NE Minneapolis packed 7,776 meals that will feed 21 kids for an entire year! Wed. Oct. 15 was a second opportunity to serve and help feed children around the world. If you would like to learn more about FMSC go on line and visit www.fmsc.org These people made a difference!
	BWCA Canoers	The BWCA group 's photos !
	ZZ Topics	9:15 AM Sunday mornings, the ZZ TOPIC (Zion Zone Teens of Power in Christ) group for high school teens meets in the basement. Join us!
	Prayer Blocks	"Passing on the Faith Table Grace Prayer Blocks" will be available and all proceeds will go toward Youtheran activities.