Shepherd of the Prairie has a document that is helpful to have filled out for your loved ones as they plan your funeral.
This funeral planning guide is available online at www.bit.ly/SOTPplan or as a hard copy in the church office.
A New Chapter for Youth Ministry at SOTP!
God’s Holy Spirit is truly moving in exciting ways this year! We have three really big announcements related to our youth ministry program!
The first is that we have officially hired our new full-time Youth Ministry Coordinator! Mia Larkin will begin her ministry on August 10. A Huntley native, she has wealth of experience working with youth and an incredible passion for building relationships and a community among young people. I will let her introduce herself in more detail as she comes aboard, but for now, please know how excited we are to have her join our staff. It has been a very long process, but we wanted to make sure we hired just the right person for the job, and Mia is that person! Look for opportunities to meet her very soon as well as for her installation during worship.
The second is that SOTP’s brand new Youth Council had its first meeting on July 21. Our new Youth Council is made up of one 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grader. The council’s first members are Emma Stegge (7th), Max Wodnriska (8th), Zachary Serpe (9th), Daphne Shaw (10th), Andrew Padget (11th), and Lucas Monson (12th). Mia Larkin, Jess Panella, and I will accompany this amazing group of young people as they dream up and execute new and exciting youth ministry opportunities. The team’s first meeting was spent building relationships and developing a vision and goals for their work together. They have identified three broad areas of focus: weekly activities, Bible study/devotions, and large events. Each of these areas will be the focus of a chairperson from the team as well as one of the adults while the group, as a whole, will contribute ideas and effort in making all three aspects a reality.
While this fi rst group was brought together through personal invitation, starting this coming spring, the youth of SOTP will be electing the members of this Youth Council going forward. The plan is to elect a new 7th, 9th, and 11th grader each year to serve a two year term. Youth who have served will be eligible for re-election. As I shared about Mia, look for more info about this awesome team very soon as well as their installation during worship.
Our Youth and Family Ministry Team, which currently consists of Dan Wichtendahl, Monika Wichtendahl, Jess Panella, Carrie McCabe, Tim Torkelson, and me (with the forthcoming addition of Mia) will continue to do its great work alongside the new Youth Council, and as we blaze this new trail, we will be diligent in developing a synergy that will allow the two groups to complement each other, focusing on middle
school and high school ministry. The Children and Family Team will continue their work with our Pre-K through 5th grade youth. SOTP is so blessed and I am so grateful for the work of these groups.
The third announcement is the launching of a new SOTP youth ministry experience. We are moving away from our Thursday night Youth Group model to a new Sunday night experience! Youth Group will now be 6-8 pm every Sunday, starting August 16th. And with the new leadership of Mia and the Youth Council, it promises to be a revitalized and innovative ministry! This is a good time to remind everyone that I have always encouraged 8th graders to join Youth Group during their 8th grade year in order to build a bridge between Confirmation and Youth Group. Look for more information on this newly refreshed ministry soon!
Thank you all for your continued support of our young people and our children and youth ministries. Exciting things are happening, and I can’t wait to see where the Holy Spirit is taking us next!
email Pastor Ryan at pastorryan@sotpmail.com