Howdy!

It’s almost April! I can hardly believe how quickly this year is going.

I hope you all are doing well this week. Sunday went very well, as we
focused on Old Testament sacrifices. This is usually a very difficult
subject, but the YF handled it very well. We discussed how God
implemented the system of sacrifices and why they were to be done.
This week we will learn how those sacrifices were fulfilled once and
for all in Jesus.

Parents, make sure you check our website for blog updates on
parenting, youth culture, etc.

POINTS OF NO RETURN
// Lunch Bunch: Meet us for lunch at the Eastgate Centre each
Wednesday of the Easter holidays. On 13 & 20 April, we will gather at
12 noon in the food court of the Eastgate for lunch and chat. Bring a
friend or two and some money for Pizza Hut, KFC, Subway, etc.

// Small Group Sunday Lunch: This is moved to Sunday 15 May. Make sure
you mark it in your diary!

MARK YOUR DIARIES
// Wednesday
Office Hours: 4:15pm @ the Eastgate

// Friday
Unit 4 Youth Café: 7:30pm @ the King’s Factory

// Sunday
Youth Fellowship: 7:45pm @ the Church

——-

// Wednesday 13 & 20 April
Lunch Bunch: 12noon @ Eastgate Centre

// Saturday 7 May
Scavenger Hunt: 7-10:30pm

// Sunday 15 May
Small Group Sunday Lunch: 1pm in various locations (no YF that evening!)

// Friday 8 July – Monday 11 July
Isle of Lewis Camping Trip

Soli Deo Gloria,

Ethan

Howdy!

Only a few more weeks until the holidays (I feel like I’m always
saying that), so let’s finish strong. We’ve had great attendance since
moving back to the building. Make sure to invite a friend or two!

POINTS OF NO RETURN
// Scavenger Hunt: The scavenger hunt has been moved to Saturday 7
May. Please make this note in your diaries!

// Small Group Sunday Lunch: We are rescheduling the Sunday lunch for
sometime in May due to 3 April being Mother’s Day.

// Isle of Lewis Camping Trip: Mark your diaries for 8-11 July for a
banterful weekend in Lewis. Cost will be somewhere around £25-35,
including all transport, food, etc.

MARK YOUR DIARIES
// Wednesday
Office Hours: 4:15pm @ the Eastgate
NO Christians in Sport (cancelled)

// Friday
Roots: 7pm @ Inshes Church
Unit 4 Youth Café: 7:30pm @ the King’s Factory

// Saturday
Roots Shoots

// Sunday
Youth Fellowship: 7:45pm @ the Church

——-

// Saturday 7 May
Scavenger Hunt: 7-10:30pm

// Friday 8 July – Monday 11 July
Isle of Lewis Camping Trip

Soli Deo Gloria,

Ethan

Howdy!

Make sure you check out a few articles I’ve written and referenced in
the last week dealing with Facebook.

I don’t have much else to say today, so I’ll just get right into the
meat of this email.

POINTS OF NO RETURN
// Scavenger Hunt: The scavenger hunt has been moved to Saturday 7
May. Please make this note in your diaries!

// Small Group Sunday Lunch: We are having another Sunday lunch for
small groups on the 3rd of April. We will let you know which home you
will be going to. Make sure you bring with you a bottle of juice to
share!

// Stuart Townend: Stuart Townend is behind modern hymns such as In
Christ Alone, How Deep the Father’s Love for Us, and The Lord’s My
Shepherd. He is coming to Inverness for the Alive Festival in June,
but I am told tickets are selling fast. Tickets are just £12 for
adults and £8 for under 16s. Check out the Alive Festival ticket
options here.

// Isle of Lewis Camping Trip: Mark your diaries for 8-11 July for a
banterful weekend in Lewis. Cost will be somewhere around £25-35,
including all transport, food, etc.

MARK YOUR DIARIES
// Wednesday
Office Hours: 4:15pm @ the Eastgate

// Thursday
Dead Chuffed: 7:30pm in the Sports Hall

// Friday
Unit 4 Youth Café: 7:30pm @ the King’s Factory

// Sunday
Youth Fellowship: 7:45pm @ the Church

——-

// Sunday 3 April
Small Group Sunday Lunch: 1pm in homes throughout the area

// Saturday 7 May
Scavenger Hunt: 7-10:30pm

// Friday 8 July – Monday 11 July
Isle of Lewis Camping Trip

Soli Deo Gloria,

Ethan

Howdy!

I really enjoyed the weekend. Not only did we have a fantastic time at
Mairi’s for pizza on Saturday (and Ignite … and McDonald’s), but
Sunday saw one of our largest YFs in some time. It’s great that there
is so much excitement, so let’s keep that going for the rest of the
term!

POINTS OF NO RETURN
// Scavenger Hunt: Due to a few circumstances out of my control, I am
going to have to reschedule the scavenger hunt. We will probably have
it sometime at the end of April or in May. Stay tuned!

// Stuart Townend: Stuart Townend is behind modern hymns such as In
Christ Alone, How Deep the Father’s Love for Us, and The Lord’s My
Shepherd. He is coming to Inverness for the Alive Festival in June,
but I am told tickets are selling fast. Tickets are just £12 for
adults and £8 for under 16s. Check out the Alive Festival ticket
options here.

// Isle of Lewis Camping Trip: It’s true — we are having another
camping trip to the Isle of Lewis this year. Matthew Macleod is very
good at persuasion. Mark your diaries for 8-11 July for a banterful
weekend in Lewis. Cost will be somewhere around £25-35, including all
transport, food, etc.

MARK YOUR DIARIES
// Wednesday
Office Hours: 4:15pm @ the Eastgate

// Friday
Unit 4 Youth Café: 7:30pm @ the King’s Factory

// Sunday
Youth Fellowship: 7:45pm @ the Church

Soli Deo Gloria,

Ethan

Howdy!

I hope everyone is doing well this week. It was great to be back in
the Smithton Church building on Sunday. It’s a great space for all the
things we do and will be very useful now and in the future.

Just wanted to update everyone on a few things …

POINTS OF NO RETURN
// Pre-Ignite Pizza: For those interested, Mairi Fraser is hosting YF
folks at her flat (Flat 8, 4 Crown Ave) before Ignite on Saturday,
6pm. Pizza will be provided, so please bring along some juice to
share. Everyone will walk over to Ignite at the Ironworks at 7pm. If
you would like to come, please let Mairi or your small group leader
know, so we can get the right amount of pizza.

// Ignite: Even if you are not able to get to Mairi’s before Ignite,
you can still make the event at 7pm. The Ignite band will lead
everyone in praise, and the speaker is Dominic Smart of Gilcomston
South Church, Aberdeen. Tickets are just £2 and can be bought from
IronWorks online or at the door.

MARK YOUR DIARIES
// Wednesday
Office Hours: 4:15pm @ the Eastgate

// Thursday
Dead Chuffed: 7:30pm @ Smithton Sports Hall

// Friday
Unit 4 Youth Café: 7:30pm @ the King’s Factory

// Saturday
Pre-Ignite Pizza: 6pm @ Mairi Fraser’s flat (Flat 8, 4 Crown Avenue)
Ignite: 7pm @ IronWorks

// Sunday
Youth Fellowship: 7:45pm @ the Church

Soli Deo Gloria,

Ethan

Howdy!

We are back in the church building this week. Thank you to parents and
friends who provided homes and food along the way. I’m pleased to say
that we are planning on having YF in the newly renovated hall in the
church. We will have plenty of space and access to audio/video. Dave
Egg has been working hard on connecting the A/V in the church, so make
sure you thank him for working till all hours of the night.

POINTS OF NO RETURN
// Athens Mission Team
We were scheduled to have a meeting this week. I’m not sure if that’s
going to go ahead, but I will let you know as soon as possible.

// Scavenger Hunt
Our next Dead|Alive event is scheduled for the 26th of March. Last
year, our photo scavenger hunt was a big success. Mark this in your
diary and be sure to invite a friend or two!

MARK YOUR DIARIES
// Wednesday
Office Hours: 4:15pm at the Eastgate (Pizza Hut)

// Friday
Unit 4 Youth Café: 7:30pm at the King’s Fellowship

// Sunday
Youth Fellowship: 7:30pm at Smithton Church

See you this week!

Soli Deo Gloria,

Ethan

Howdy!

This is going to be an insanely short ramblings, because I am still
tired from the Weekend Away. Although, I will say that I really
enjoyed it — perhaps the best I’ve been on yet. I will plan on writing
a blog post for the website giving a debrief of what we experienced in
Arbroath/Dundee. Until then …

POINTS OF NO RETURN
// No YF this Sunday: I want to give our leaders a much-deserved week
off, so there will be no YF on Sunday. We will return to our regularly
schedule programme on Sunday 27 February (hopefully in the new
building!).

MARK YOUR DIARIES
// Wednesday
Christian in Sport: 7pm at the CYC, Bank Street

// Thursday
Dead Chuffed: 7:30pm in the Smithton Sports Hall

// Friday
Unit 4 Youth Café: 7:30pm at the King’s Fellowship

// Sunday
NO YF

Enjoy your break!

Soli Deo Gloria,

Ethan

Howdy!

Happy February to everyone. January went by rather quickly … I
suppose because we didn’t have piles of snow this year. For some
reason, snow seems to slow time down.

Girls, check out what we have on for you this weekend…

POINTS OF NO RETURN

// Girls’ Pizza & Film Night: There is a pizza & film night at Mairi
Fraser’s this Saturday, 7pm. Food is provided (you can bring other
snacks if you like). The location is Flat 8, 4 Crown Ave (at top of
Stephen’s Brae). All girls are welcome, and feel free to bring a
friend along.

// Weekend Away: You will get an itinerary on Sunday. Parents can get
them through their teenager or the website (when it’s available). I
will also make sure to email it next week. Money is due Sunday. If you
haven’t paid your deposit, it’s £50. If you’ve paid your deposit, it’s
£40. If you’ve paid your deposit and went on the service weekend, it’s
£30. If you have two children and paid your deposit for both, it’s £40
for one and £15 for the other. Confused? Email me if you are.

// Compassion Child: Parents, you can encourage your children to give
to our Compassion child, Wilmer (in Bolivia). We need £21/month. We
have about 35 youth, so this shouldn’t be too difficult. If everyone
gives £1/month, we will be able to give Compassion the extra money.

MARK YOUR DIARIES

// Wednesday
Office Hours: 4:15pm @ the Eastgate

// Thursday
Dead Chuffed: 7:30pm @ Smithton

// Friday
Unit 4 Youth Café: 7:30pm @ King’s Fellowship

// Saturday
Girls’ Pizza & Film Night: 7pm @ Mairi Fraser’s, Flat 8, 4 Crown Ave
(at top of Stephen’s Brae)

// Sunday
Youth Fellowship: 7:30pm @ Smithton

The Weekend Away is quickly approaching … get excited!

Soli Deo Gloria,

Ethan

Howdy!

Happy Burns Night to you all. I actually have no idea what the point
of Burns Night is … other than to celebrate the work of Robert
Burns? I’ll have to check Wikipedia on that one. I know, I know, over
two years in Scotland and I still don’t understand the purpose of
Burns Night. Forgive me.

Anyway, good to see you all out on Sunday evening. We have nearly 20
signed up for the weekend away now, but I know there are a few of you
who would like to go but forgot your deposit. Please get that in to me
ASAP, Sunday at the latest, because we have to book transportation and
get our final numbers in to the Windmill Christian Centre.

POINTS OF NO RETURN

// Roots is back on this Friday, beginning a new term. 7-9pm at Inshes
Church for those who are interested. Bring a friend or three!

// Parents, if you were absent from parents meal/meeting on 13th
January, you can download the meeting agenda and this term’s calendar
here. If you were not at the parents meeting, you will have missed the
news that this will be my last term here at Smithton Church. My family
and I will be leaving Scotland this summer and making the trek back
across the Pond. If you have any questions about that, please don’t
hesitate to ask! There will be someone replacing me, and the post will
be announced shortly.

MARK YOUR DIARIES

//Wednesday
Office Hours: 4:15pm @ the Eastgate

//Friday
Roots: 7pm @ Ishes Church
Unit 4 Youth Café: 7:30pm @ King’s Fellowship

// Saturday
Champions Event: 10am @ the Aquadome

//Sunday
Youth Fellowship: 7:30pm @ Smithton

Enjoy your haggis!

Soli Deo Gloria,

Ethan

Howdy!

As I said on Facebook, I forgot how much I love my YF. There is
nothing like spending my Sunday evening with these guys and girls. It
was great being back at Smithton, even though meeting in the sports
hall is still a bit out of the norm. I will remember not to give them
candy before small groups. That just didn’t mix well.

Parents, if you missed the meal/meeting last Thursday, you can
download the calendar and meeting agenda from the website.

POINTS OF NO RETURN

// YF Food (23 Jan): Nina Meredith & Joan MacDonald

// The Athens meeting this Saturday at the Mackays’ is mandatory. If
you want to go on the trip, you need to be there (unless there is an
emergency, you are ill, or you received special permission from me
prior to the meeting).

// The 2010-2011 YF Weekend Away is just a few weeks away, 11-14
February! Cost is just £50, and a deposit of £10 is due this Sunday 23
January. You can download a flier and/or watch the promo on the
website.

// The Story of God: this term our teaching and small groups will
focus on the Story of God, a narrative form of God’s plan of
redemption as found in the Bible. More information is available here:

http://www.somacommunities.org/learners/story-of-god/

// Office Hours: we have moved Office Hours to 4:15pm. I will be there
until around 5:30pm, but you may leave whenever you need.

MARK YOUR DIARIES

Wednesday
// Office Hours — 4:15pm, Eastgate
// Christians in Sport — 7pm, CYC on Bank Street

Thursday
// Dead Chuffed — 7:30pm, Smithton Church Hall

Friday
// Unit 4 Youth Café — 7:30pm, King’s Factory

Sunday
// YF — 7:30pm, Smithton Church Hall

Have a great week!

Soli Deo Gloria,

Ethan