This has been a tough year for youth ministry at Northminster.

Our beloved youth director of over three years, Chelsea Knox, resigned at the end of last August.  After trying unsuccessfully to replace Chelsea last fall, Luke Walther came on as an Area Director for Young Life (our youth ministry is a partnership with Young Life) overseeing both La Jolla and Clairemont.  Luke was really great at what he did, but after a few months Luke resigned when he realized that both La Jolla and Clairemont needed to be staffed by full-time positions.  Since he had originally been called to serve the La Jolla area, he stayed with that area.

That was discouraging at first.  But we were soon reminded that God never leaves us in the lurch!

So here’s the good news!

We have found a new youth director for Northminster/Clairemont Young Life—and I am really excited about this guy!  Here are some things you need to know about him:

• His name is Kevin Curtis.
• He is married to his wife, Pam, and they are expecting their first child in June.
• Kevin has A LOT of experience in youth ministry, both as a Young Life staffer and as a church youth ministry volunteer.
• Kevin and his wife will be moving here from Verde Valley, Arizona.
• They are both really looking forward to getting plugged in here at Northminster.  One of the things he shared is that they’ve missed having a real sense of church community where they’ve been living, and that’s something they are really looking forward to (and something I know all of you have to offer)!

Because he and his wife are expecting their child in June, Kevin won’t begin serving here full-time until July 1.  In the meantime, however, he will be making monthly trips to Clairemont to begin working with leaders, working with the Young Life Committee, working with me, and getting to know all of you.

His first visit will be the weekend of March 14.  At that time, we will introduce Kevin to all of you in church and give you an opportunity to begin to get to know him.

As I’ve already stated, I’m really excited that Kevin is going to be joining us here at Northminster! Keep Kevin and his wife, Pam, in your prayers over the next several months as they begin their transition and await the birth of their baby.  I believe Kevin will be used powerfully by God in the lives of the middle and high school students here at Northminster, as well as all those kids in the community whom God is longing for us to reach.

–Pastor Markus Watson

Don’t forget that we’ll have an Ash Wednesday Service tonight at 7:00 p.m. (Feb. 17). Let’s begin the season of Lent together as we prepare our hearts to remember the crucifixion and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus at the end of these 40 days.

Many of you have no doubt heard me mention the Missional Transition Team by now.  And many of you may be wondering, “What exactly is the Missional Transition Team?”

First, a little background, and then I’ll tell you what they do.  The Missional Transition Team (MTT) originally started out as the Pastoral Transition Team (PTT), made up mostly of people who had been on the Pastor Nominating Committee that hired me.  The PTT and I started meeting over the phone before I moved to San Diego to spend time in scripture and in reading and discussing The Missional Leader by Alan Roxburgh.

The PTT met from July-December, 2007.  It was a great team!  They were incredibly helpful to me in my transition and in helping me begin to understand Northminster’s history and culture.  By the end of 2007, I said to the PTT, “Y’know, I feel like I’ve pretty much transitioned into the church, but this team is doing such great work!  Why don’t we keep meeting, but change our name to ‘Missional Transition Team’?”  The team loved the idea, so we presented the idea to Session and were officially dubbed the Missional Transtion Team.

Over the years, the membership of the MTT has changed.  Some are still on the team from the early days; other members are newer.  This gradual turnover of members has been great because it means that we’ve always got new ideas coming!  One of the best things about the MTT’s membership is that six out of our nine elders on Session are currently active on the MTT!

So, what exactly does the MTT do?  You can think of it in a few different ways.  In one way, the MTT is simply a brainstorming team.  A lot of times we come together without an agenda.  After spending about 20-30 minutes in Scripture and prayer, we say to each other, “So… What’s coming up at church that we should talk about?”  Other times we have a clear agenda.  For instance, “Vacation Bible School is coming up.  Let’s brainstorm some ways we can connect with those kids’ families.”

You can also think of the MTT as a think-tank.  Since most of the elders are on MTT, we’re able to think through the implications of certain ideas before a motion is brought to Session.  Then, we can answer any questions for the rest of Session with good, well thought out information.

But most of all, this is what the Missional Transition Team does:  It is constantly asking, “What is God up to in our church?  What is God up to in our community?  What is God up to in the world?  And how can we join God in what God is doing?”

If you’re interested in being part of the MTT, let me know!  Call the church office at 858-490-3995, or e-mail me at mwatson@northminstersandiego.com.

This is the third sermon in the series titled “Christmas Soundtrack”.

Theme – Jesus was born into a world where ultimate power resided in the hands of one man—Caesar.  But the angels’ song told the shepherds 1) that an even greater power resided in a little baby lying in a manger and 2) this powerful God’s “favor rests,” not only on those shepherds, but on everyone!

The text for the sermon was taken from Luke 2:1-20.

Northminster is pleased to announce the introduction of an electronic option for making regular offerings. Contributions can now be debited automatically from your checking or savings account (or processed using your credit or debit card). Our new electronic giving program offers convenience for you and much-needed donation consistency for our church.

If you are currently giving on a weekly basis, you will no longer need to write out 52 checks a year or prepare 52 envelopes. And, when travel, illness or other circumstances prevent you from attending services, this program will allow your weekly offerings to continue on an uninterrupted basis.

Direct Debit Giving is used to automatically transfer funds from your checking or savings account to the church’s bank account. If you are already using direct debit to make mortgage and car payments or to pay utility bills, then you know how it works.

Credit & Debit Card Giving lets you make offerings automatically on a pre-determined schedule using a credit or debit card. Today, many families use debit cards as a convenient alternative to checks or use credit cards in a responsible manner to manage a wide range of obligations.

Online Giving lets you go to the church website to make one-time donations or to set up a schedule of automatic donations. By setting up a password protected profile, you will be able to log in at any time to make donations, change a recurring donation plan or view your personal giving history. As you contemplate your future contributions, please consider electronic giving.

If you do not wish to sign up for on line giving via the Internet, an authorization form is available in the church office.

We will be having a family Christmas Craft Advent Workshop on Sunday, December 13 from 11:30am – 3:00pm.

It will take place in our Congdon Hall at Northminster. Participants will create ornaments, crafts and even a special parent gift for the Christmas Season!

Cost is $12 for single person and $18 for a family.

All funds collected will go to Urban Youth Collaborative.

Please call the church office if you have any questoins

Please join us Tuesday, December 8 at 2:00pm for our annual Christmas Tea. There will be no charge. Come enjoy tea and goodies, followed by a program prepared specially by Olive Thompson. There will be carol singing with Peggy at the piano, as well as a soloist! The collected layettes for CCSA’s newborn program will be on display and we continue to collect  them along with diapers and receiving blankets. Blessing for the season from the Women at Northminster.

Join Northminster in helping the homeless! Signups to help out with this year’s Interfaith Shelter Network Rotation will begin Sunday, November 29, after worship service. This year as in the past 20 + years, the Northminster congregation will serve as a support congregation for a homeless shelter that will be set up at Clairemont Lutheran Church across the street from Northminster. From January 27 to January 30, Northminster will be responsible for providing donations for breakfast and lunches, cooking dinner for about 12 homeless individuals, and providing one or more persons to spend the night at the church

The Interfaith Shelter Network involves 120 congregations of all denominations countywide in a Rotational Shelter program. About 60 of the congregations host the program in their facilities for two or four weeks a year and the remainder serve in a valuable support role, providing volunteers for meals and overnight hosting, transportation and donations.

Through neighborhood congregations linking with others, people are sheltered where there are no shelters and receive the understanding and support of congregations when previously all they knew was fear and uncertainty. Congregations benefit by getting to know homeless individuals personally and the mutual sharing of stories is beneficial to both.

Guests are only sent to congregations in the Network after being screened by an area social service agency to assure there will be no active drug, alcohol or mental health problems. Guests sent to the Network’s congregations must be willing to work closely with the referring social service agency to resolve the problems leading to their homelessness.

This is a practical, manageable way to serve for both host and support congregations. Congregations host the program for two weeks at a time, usually once, but no more than twice a year. The volunteer and meal support they receive from neighboring congregations is invaluable. Only 12 guests at a time generally stay in the congregation facilities. At the end of two weeks, the whole operation — cots and guests — rotates to another area congregation. Guests can stay up to eight weeks in the Network.

There are many ways to help. This is a great volunteer opportunity for friends, families and organizations to work together in this important mission. It could be a perfect Small Group project! To learn more please visit our table in the patio after the worship service, or call the church office at (858) 490-3995.

All women are invited to participate any of our activities.  We participate in projects which we are involved locally as well as those with the Presbyterian Women of the Presbytery, a group which includes all of the San Diego County Presbyterian churches. This group meets on the 4th Friday of each month September through June, except for November and December.  We will meet this year on Friday, December 11 at Trinity Church in Spring Valley for a musical holiday program presented by their Christian School.

The Women’s association consistently collect small toiletries for the Community Christian Service Agency where they are made into health and hygiene kits of individual and family size for distribution to those referred to CCSA and especially at this time of year we begin getting together items for CCSA’s special project of putting together layettes for new-borns.  Although this is an on-going project our Northminster Women choose to make it a special offering for the holidays along with the CCSA program of Adopt a Family for Christmas.

Items for the layettes should be no larger than the up to 3-month size.  At our Christmas Tea on December 8^th, the items collected will be on display as well as a completed layette already packed into a large bag. Needed items are nightgowns, “onesies”, diapers, nursing bottles, bedding, bath needs, blankets and receiving blankets, hats,  car carriers, etc. etc.

December 8 – Christmas Tea at 2:00 p.m. (which replaces our Circle meetings this month)

The Northminster Preschool will host its annual Wild West Carnival for preschool aged children on Saturday, November 14, 2009 from 10am to 2pm.  The Carnival features game booths, pony rides, clown face painting, jump houses, bake and craft sales, silent auction and raffle drawings.

Inclusive wristbands may be purchased in advance for $20 per child or on the day of the event for $25 per child; individual tickets will also be available at the door.  Silent auction and raffle prizes have been generously donated by local businesses, student’s parents and faculty and include many gift certificates from restaurants, spas, arts organizations/shows, sport activities and more.  The silent auction themed gift baskets are a great place to shop for holiday gifts.

A printable copy of the flyer may be obtained by clicking HERE