Greetings,

As the end of the school year rapidly approaches, hopefully you will be able to take a moment to connect with students that might be leaving your ministries. Feel free to email names and future schools of graduating seniors to Lisa at lisa@cwames.org. She would be happy to pass along that information to the appropriate people to help make transitions for students a little bit smoother.
Iowa State University

 faithspring band hits the road


By: Jason Janssen

 During the last several years, it has become tradition for the faithspring band to hit the road. Over the years, we have visited congregations around Iowa and Hampton UMC in Hampton, IL.  On March 5 and 6, the band visited Alta Church of Christ in Alta, IA. 

 

The trips are always a good time for all!! We get all of our gear loaded on Gus and we are off. Most of the time during the trip, one or more guitars come out, and we have live music while traveling down the road. Upon arrival, it is usually a quick set-up and then a rehearsal to get ready for the evening event.

 

This year, we offered a service of music and scripture. The goal was to offer scripture that matched up with songs that are band favorites. Prior to the trip, a collection of favorites get's made. From that list, I put together a song order and then worked to select scriptures and a few anecdotes to weave the evening together.

 

After the evening event, we hunkered down for the night at the Frye household (my Mom and Step-Dad). After too many hours of tall tales and lots of laughter, all were bedded down. Sunday morning we were back to the church to assist in leadership of their Sunday morning service.

 

After church, it was off to Ames again to get unloaded, and get set-up to help lead faithspring (th e alternative worship service on Sunday evenings at 5:30 p.m. when Iowa State University is in session) upon our return. We were a very tired, but very happy group when we got back.

 

As a group, we enjoy sharing the word of God through song. Once again, we have been blessed by a very gracious and generous group in the COC congregation. A great time was had by all!!

 

Group members are: Mat Wymore, Mark Sanfilippo, Aaron Hewitt, Julia Lihs, Carli Johnson-Scott, Jonathan Brand, Eric State and Jason Janssen.

  
The faithspring band will be playing in the Gathering Space tonight (Friday, April 15th at 7:30 p.m.) at Collegiate United Methodist Church Wesley Foundation (2622 W. Lincolnway, Ames, IA 50014). 


University of Northern Iowa

After spring trips to Washington DC to learn about homelessness, New York City to learn about Immigration (interestingly at the same time as the Postville Raids were happening back here), San Francisco to learn about urban justice ministries and Miami to learn about serving with the poor, this year we are not taking a trip.  It's disappointing, candidly speaking, but perhaps there is something to learn.  We have had a very busy year, going many directions.  Perhaps this year is our Sabbath year, a year to pause and listen.  That's hard for some of us.  We are tempted to fill every moment with activity and trips and cool projects.  Increasingly, we have become aware of the need for a sabbath time even in campus ministry.  Sabbath time seems to create space to listen, and encounter more willingly others with whom we come into contact.

Robert Gelinas, The Jazz Theologian blogger, writes this about sabbath and listening

I believe that listening is part of the essence of jazz.

"The most important thing I look for in a musician is whether he knows how to listen."  Duke Ellington

"Jazz is primarily a heard reality..."  Kirk Byron Jones

Listening is what helps us make the most of every moment.  There is no such thing as "just a moment."  The gospel is about incarnation and resurrection.  Incarnate living means that we have time to listen to others.  Resurrected living means that we have time to listen to God.

 [Here are] a few techniques that help us create the acoustics to a listening life.

Having time:  In the same way that a drummer keeps time we can to.  Perched in the back of the ensemble in the worst seat they keep time because it is the best seat to serve the others.  What would it look like to live this as a metaphor for ministry and leadership?

 

The Break:  This is a technique that jazz incorporates so that it is easier to listen to a particular person as they solo.  It is the practice of creating space in the music, a planned moment of disruption.  God gave the ancient Hebrews a way to "break" for the sake of listening:  Sabbath & Selah.  Do you have any insight how you have sought to live these concepts?

 

Developing Your Ear:  Dictation is the process of listening to a piece of music and transcribing it to paper.  Tone Matching is a call and response game in which to musicians of the same instruments try to match what the other plays.  How might we apply these concepts to developing our ear to hear others and God?

 

Stay in the groove [and thank you for your support of Wesley Foundation and UM College ministries].



University of Iowa

The University of Iowa Wesley Foundation sponsored an educational trip to El Salvador over spring break. The heart of the trip centered in hearing people's stories and building relationships. Here's two picture stories.  

 

The first day of the trip in the capitol city we met a young woman named Daniella in her clothing shop. Daniella had recently started this business to get away from her old neighborhood's gangs and violence. Our delegation donated clothing for her new venture. She thanked us with kind words and handmade items. Daniella is in the center of the picture with her son, Daniel, who was celebrating his eighth birthday.  

 


The last day of the trip our delegation volunteered with a medical team from Newton, Iowa who set up a clinic in a small rural village in the mountains. They put us to work sorting eye glasses, administering simple eye exams, holding people's heads while they received dental work, weighing and measuring people, and working in pharmacy. We also got to play some. In this picture Eddie is trying to keep up with these quick runners. That day there wasn't time for long conversations, but the story we saw was one of faith and hope. 


Graduating Seniors: 5 Steps to a Better Transition

by Abigail Parker

 

Youth and college ministries is something I've been thinking about a lot lately. I've decided on some things I would do if I were still a youth minister:

  1. Find out where my seniors are going after high school and connect them to their new people. I recently had someone email me with the contact information for one of their graduating youth. This person knew I worked for a church that seeks to reach young adults and thought we'd be a good fit for their graduating senior. I've since talked with this senior and planned a time to visit with her when she gets to Austin. This is how our connectional system should work! She is moving from one ministry to another (hopefully). We are not just dropping her off and hoping she'll find the Wesley Foundation or a United Methodist Church in town. We are being intentional and weaving her into the broader church. Way to go pastors who do this! I wish I had.
     
  2. Be honest about the church. Our seniors are often going to a context that does not invite them into the work of the church. They had entire ministries and staffs devoted to them from birth to graduation-worship, service, and play opportunities geared to their contexts. Once they graduate, this all disappears. Churches often have nothing for this age group or make a very minimal effort. When you visit a church as a young person, you may be the only one your age there. People may not even see you as a "real" potential member. Let's talk about this with our seniors and not try to hide it by hoping they enter a Wesley Foundation instead of a local church. Someday they will leave college too and they are "young" until they are 35 or 40...
     
  3. Visit churches with them during their senior year. What is it like to be "the Visitor"? You need to know. Seniors should take some field trips (if they will) and learn about other churches in and out of their denomination. It would also be good to have some follow-up discussions. Maybe you didn't like everything but could you find a place there? Why or why not?
     
  4. Commission them to a mission field instead of graduating them out with kind words and a gift. Now that they know the context they are walking into, let's commission them as missionaries from our church into their new mission field. Paul did this, why can't we?? We can develop a ritual that no longer graduates them out, but pushes them onward as disciples.
     
  5. Connect them with an adult (NOT their parent) in the church who will check in with them throughout their first year and beyond. Paul wrote letters. We need to check in with our missionaries too. Have adults in the congregation commit to a once a month check-in via Facebook, phone, text, visits, care packages, etc. These adults can meet with one another to support their efforts and pray for their young adult.

These small steps could go a long way toward keeping our graduating seniors loved, supported, and connected. Even just one of these steps could be helpful. They would work for any type of graduating senior-those going to college, starting into the workforce, staying in town, moving far away, etc. A few tweaks could also help them work for seniors in college. It's really all about staying connected and connecting them to people in far-off lands. The UMC is capable of doing this because we can easily find a United Methodist prescence almost anywhere in the world. How many pastors reading this have called on the connection in the past? We've stayed on gym floors, called the United Methodist Church in the small town when our car is broken down, asked to be connected to a mission project, used each other's vehicles...why not call on one another to nurture our children into adulthood? Will you try it with your seniors this year?

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