Marc Middleton - Director of Children's and Youth Ministries

Happy Summer everyone! School’s out and the fun can begin, right? I mean…some of us still have to work, but fun can still happen. It just requires balance. Most family’s schedule opens up during the summer, yet the summer can be the busiest time of year because we try to squish 9 months’ worth of fun events that we couldn’t do during the school year into three months of summer fun! I hope Clio Bethany UMC will be on your radar this summer because COE and I have a LOT…and I mean a LOT…of fun stuff planned for all families of all kinds this summer. From movie nights to games, VBS to VIBE, among other events, we are going to be a happening place this summer. (Do people still say happening? I’m an old soul, so forgive me.)

It’s so exciting to see everything planned this summer! We haven’t been this busy in 3 summers now. We haven’t had this consistency of events in what feels like a long time! Is it exciting? Yes. Is it stress-inducing? Yes! Does it come with fear as well? Yes! This summer for me will be hosted by a myriad of emotions. While it’s full of excitement, energy, and hope from all the different things that we’ve planned, I’m reminded that this summer isn’t about JUST that. We’re getting a new Pastor this summer as well. This transition comes with new joys and some hesitations because it’s change. Change always seems to be followed with those two emotions: happiness and hesitation. It’s exciting, yet scary. Plus, we see the Cooperative Parish system with Otisville come into action. That as well, comes with it both happiness and hesitation.

To recap: this summer, from my perspective, includes the following emotions: excitement, energy, hope, happiness, hesitation, fear, anxiety, and others that are lying under the surface of everything. It’s going to be a summer to remember, I believe. God’s presence is going to be flowing with us all summer long. From the different events to the different emotions, to the different volunteers, to the different attendees, and to the overall atmosphere. We are welcoming God’s presence here with open arms. We are going to be the light in the community that shines in the chaos of the world. We will be the safe and loving place that the church should be to all who come.

With all that, let’s get into what July and August have in store for us!

Online Ministry Stuffs

We have migrated over to YouTube as our hub for all of our videos. For our main channel (the lesson videos), the schedule is listed on the image to the left. Note a couple changes:

• Minute Motivators move to Tuesdays at Noon instead of being on Wednesdays at 6pm. This was to make room for #SelfCareSummer!
• Moments with Marc come back on July 15 as Marc returns to the Sunday morning stage on July 10 with Pastor Kayla.

Our Gaming Ministry will expand this summer. We will stream two days a week (Saturday and Sunday) starting July 2. This will continue through the end of August!

There will also be a major video at the end of August on our main channel (CORE Student Ministries) explaining future plans of our online ministry for the fall and beyond. Stay tuned for that!

Movie Night Under the Stars

July 16 and August 27

Gather at 8:30pm;
Movie to start approximately at 9pm

Let’s gather outside in front of the church to watch movies this summer! Bring your chairs, drinks, and snacks that aren’t popcorn (We’re serving that!) and enjoy this time together outside and under the stars. We will have some games and activities available before the movie starts as well! This is a FREE community-wide event that families of all ages and all types are welcome to join!

Outdoor Family Game Nights

Tuesdays from 6pm – 8pm

We are gathering at the ballfield behind our church for all kinds of fun! When I say ALL kinds of fun, here’s just a snapshot of what we’re going to do: basketball, cornhole, badminton, chalk drawing, snow cones, cotton candy, volleyball, and MORE! This is a FREE community-wide event for families of all ages and all types to come up and join! Bring your own games as well if you’d like! We will be hosting this event all summer until Tuesday, August 24 (and we have a special surprise for the last event, but I’m keeping that a secret!)

***Please note that there will not be a Game Night on August 9
due to our Vacation Bible School! ***

We want to invite you to join our Science Team this year for VBS! We will conduct some experiments to attempt to understand some of the miracles Jesus performed a little better. Registration is live! Tell your friends, family, and neighbors that we’re having a VBS this year! This VBS is for all Kindergartners – 5th graders.

Summer VIBE

July 6, 20; August 3, 17

6pm – 8pm

Our Youth asked for our gatherings to continue, so who says that fun and fellowship have to stop for the summer! We will continue our VIBE programming on an adjusted schedule for this summer. This is a time for all Youth (5^th – 12^th grade) to join us for fun, fellowship, and experiencing God’s presence all at once! You do not have to be currently attending or a member of Clio Bethany UMC to join us for VIBE!

Painting for Jesus

Thursday, July 28 from 6 – 8pm

You may have heard me talk about doing a Bob Ross Night the last few months. We are going to pivot from that due to unforeseen circumstances. We still are going to paint. We still will wear some Bob Ross wigs. We are just changing what we’re going to paint. After a conversation with our Youth, we talked about some painting topics, but the final decision is still being decided. We may just come to the church to paint whatever Jesus puts on our hearts. We will also have some kind of food served at this event.

All youth (5^th-12^th graders) are welcome to come to the church for this event! It’s a free event for all youth in the community. You do not need to be a member of Clio Bethany UMC nor affiliated with us at all. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Youth Laser Tag Night

Thursday, August 25 from 6 – 8pm

To close out the summer, we will be hosting a Laser Tag Night for our Youth! We need to send the summer out with a bang! We will either gather outside or in the Fellowship Hall for the Laser Tag arena! All youth (5^th-12^th graders) are welcome to come to the church for this event! It’s a free event for all youth in the community. You do not need to be a member of Clio Bethany UMC nor affiliated with us at all. If you have any questions, please let me know.