This Week at Geneva

Holiday Worship Schedule

Christmas Eve

4:00 – Celebration of the Christmas Story

A joyful retelling of the Christmas story in which
children are invited to play a part

7:00 & 9:00 – Service of Lessons and Carols
with candlelight and communion

Sunday, December 26

10:00 am – Worship

Sunday, January 2

10:00 am -- Worship

Pray for our missions and missionaries:

Geneva’s Annual Boxing Night Clothing Drive for the Homeless

On Sunday, December 26^th beginning at 8pm the Geneva Senior Highs will be spending the night in the church parking lot to kick off our 16^th annual Boxing Night Clothing Drive for the Homeless. We will be collecting warm winter clothing, blankets, winter outer wear and toiletries from December 26^th through January 7. Bring your donations to the church. All donations will be taken to Fort Street Presbyterian Church Open Door Ministry to the homeless. Tell your neighbors!

Sock Drive – There is a chronic shortage of socks at The Open Door Clothing Bank at Fort St. Presbyterian Church. From now through Christmas, we will collect warm clean, new or gently used men's socks for distribution through the Open Door Ministry. Look for the brightly decorated collection box in the entryway.

Senior High Mission Day 3

Hello Family,

Day 3 was another hot day in W Virginia! There is not a whole lot different to report work-wise, as the groups are consistently doing the same thing each day. Every night our group meets in a private room to check in on each other, share stories, and prepare for the next day. Last night it was clear that Wednesday was the hardest day yet. The realities of altered sleep, rigorous schedule, many new experiences, and intense closeness with such a large group tends to make things tough in my experience.

Our youth are -as usual- representing God and our church very well. I believe they are learning more and more how challenging deep discipleship can be. They are seeing how having to choose between what God is calling us to and what we would REALLY like to do are often at odds. They get to see how caring for strangers is sometimes easier than caring for each other.

Please pray for us as today is our final workday, and we say goodbye to the people of WV. As you will hear on Sunday, our kids have been impacted by this community.

Peace

Dan

Senior High Mission - Pictures

Amanda having lunch

Friends!

Jam Session! Raking Rocks on the ball field.

Senior High Mission Day 2

We had quite a day on Tuesday. Kids club had a much greater turnout, with 12 kids. Our kids told great stories last night about the connections they made. They spent the morning at a nursing home, just spending time being with the elderly. It is the type of ministry that can be intimidating at first, but I think our group stretched their limits to be God's ears and mouths to these people.

The rest of us continued rehabbing a park. We raked more rocks from the ball diamonds and they are looking pretty smooth! We also painted the field house some more and cleaned it up. Tobi and I fixed some broken benches and picnic tables, cutting out the broken wood planks and replacing them with new wood. It was a sweaty day, but I hear y'all are having that too!

At the end of our work day, 2 brothers who have grown up in Mingo County sat us down and told us of the history here. It was sad to hear some of the history, and the future in their words, is "bleak". They concluded their talk thanking all of us for coming, and they were in tears at that point. As they thanked us for coming here "to work for free", it occurred to me that this is how God works. I think he smiles when we act on our faith. I think we were created to be with and help each other here on earth.

Please pray for us again today as we hit the spot where the week starts getting mentally and physically tough. Tonight we are going to worship, which should be a source of renewal.

Peace.
Dan

Senior High Mission Trip - Blue Grass Concert!

A night out at the bluegrass concert! Lots of sweat and fun!

Steven getting his blue grass groove on!

Blue Grass ! What Fun!

The BAND!

Senior High Mission Update

Greetings Geneva Family!

We arrived last night around 4:45 pm in Williamson, WV. It was a pretty easy drive- not much traffic and the GPS got us here safely. We lucked out a little when we contacted Matthew Adedeji and realized that although we were coming from drastically different directions, we were about to converge on the same road about 80 miles from our final destinaiton! So we met them at a gas station and picked Tobi up- saving Matthew at least 2 hours of driving. It was a God moment that we could never have planned better! We arrived to meet our fellow missionaries, churches from Minnesota,Pennsylvania, Ohio, and South Dakota. We had dinner, got familiar with the site, and worshipped before hitting bed @ 11:15. It was a long day and bed was welcome- it was very quiet except for a loud snorer! We had our group together last night to hear their concerns and expectations for the upcoming week- from what I heard- we are ready for the challenges! Please pray for all of us as it will be hot and challenging. Half the group will be doing kids' club on Monday and wed. , while visiting a retirement home on tues and thurs. The other half will be doing construction, painting, and some landscaping. I will keep you all posted.

May God Bless all our efforts here and at home this week!

Dan

Here’s What’s Happening at Geneva

Last Call for Graduates

We will be honoring our graduates in worship on Sunday, June 20. If you or someone in your household is graduating or has graduated from high school or college during the 2009-10 school year, please contact the church office or reply to this email with the following information:

Name of graduate, school graduating from, degree if college grad, future plans, if known. Also please indicate whether the graduate will be in worship on June 20.

Habitat Homeowner Search

Habitat for Humanity will be holding an informational meeting for those who might qualify as their next homeowners. The meeting will be at 6pm on June 15 and the Dorsey Community Center, 32715 Dorsey in Westland. Attendance at the meeting is mandatory to be eligible to apply. For more information about qualifications, please check the poster on the kiosk near the front doors.

Going on Vacation?

Vacation Bags are available for families to borrow during the summer. Inside each bag you’ll find resources to spark conversation and to feed your soul. These bags are a great way to stay connected to your faith while relaxing on vacation. Each bag contains books, music and activities for children, youth and adults. You are welcome to take one from the rack in the gathering area and bring it back when you return to church!

Camperships

Camperships are available for Geneva members and attendees who will be going to Presbyterian camps this summer. These camperships will cover up to half the designated camp fee. More information on camps is available in the gathering area. Contact Dawn Christenson, Local Missions Elder, at 734-397-1484 to apply.