St. John's Voice Of The Youth

HELPING IN THE NURSERY BY ALEXANDRA KEMPF

It means a lot to me to have the privilege of working in the nursery on Sunday mornings, during Sunday school. It's always a blast with the little kids. I enjoy making crafts, coloring, and playing with them. Seeing the kids smiling faces every Sunday warms my heart. It makes me feel like a kid again. The kids always know how to make me laugh. Helping in the nursery helps me to get to know the kids better. Playing with them really does bring back memories from my childhood, and I enjoy every moment of it.

THE SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT BY EMILY BERGEY

On the second Sunday of Advent (December 6, 2009) we went to Huff's church. The church service was really beautiful. We sang many church songs. All of the words to the songs were in German. They had a soloist. She sang all of the songs in English. We had all of the holy scripture in German. Then we received communion. It was really different from our communion at St. John's. We got small candles. After communion, we lit our candles. And then they turned off the lights. And we sang Silent Night by candlelight. Tranquility filled the room. It was peaceful. It was truly a beautiful church service for all. I can not wait for next year! Until then, so long!

HALLOWEEN @ ENRICHMENT BY DANA BILLY

Ok, I know this is a little late, but this was such a great event I had to write about it! The Enrichment night of October 28th was different from all the rest. The whole room was filled with vampires, floating heads, witches and pumpkins. Everyone came in costumes; kids and adults alike. We did many activities such as making pumpkins and playing Halloween bingo. Then, when we headed down to eat, we saw the spooked out rooms. There were with mummy hot dogs, finger potatoes and jack - o - lantern pizza pies. This was a night to remember. We had so much fun! What a "Spook-tacular" night!

WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE AN ANGEL BY LAUREN BILLY

Being a member of St. John's Angels is extremely fun. As an Angel, you are responsible, respectful, mature, and helpful to others. As part of the Angels, you should be willing to participate in community service (it's really a lot of fun.) Plus, when we partake in community service, we get to go different places. For instance one time, the Angels along with other church folk went to Maine. While there, we served a spud lunch to the community, and it was a big success. We wee also able to help out their community by painting an old railroad car, in which people stayed while they were hiking. These are only some of the tings we can do as an Angels. We also get to serve church's congregational dinners. Some other things we get to participate in are Hot Dog, the Ice Cram, and the Christmas Socials. As Angels it means that we have to be devoted to our work. This means NO GOOFING OFF! ) Not really! We goof off and have fun all the time while we are doing work. When we put time and effort into helping others we get that feeling of satisfactory. As Angels, we have all become good friends. Being a part of St. John's Angels is awesome.

A DICKENS OF A CHRISTMAS BY KELSEY WEBER

On Saturday, December 12h, we traveled to see A Dickens of a Christmas. The show was full of songs, humor, and good performances. It began with Christmas Carols and rules in the form of a song. After, we proceeded into the chapel for the story of the creation of Stille Nacht (Silent Night) by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. the performance blended humor and creativity into an interesting story about the true meaning of the holiday season. Next, we went to the Dining Room or the Parlor to play games and listen to poetry and letters to Santa with Catherine Dickens or Mrs. Higgins. Finally, we saw a reenactment of A Christmas Carol starring Charles Dickens, Basil Higgins, and some of the audience. The highlight of the shows was audience participation by some members of the church including Emily Bergey and Mrs. Bergey. Emily played a German cat and Mrs. Bergey serenaded the audience with the help of the keyboard. Overall the performance was excellent as well as fun for everyone.

OVER THE TOP AT ST. JOHN'S BY HENRY CONOLY & EMILY BERGEY

Sunday December 6th was the annual White Gift service here at St. John's. During the service, a lot of Christmas songs were sung prior to the arrival of the baby Jesus, played by Katherine Elizabeth Baker. Upon the arrival of the babe, we continued to sing more church songs. Then the three kings played by Branden McMasters, Alexandra Kempf, and Henry Conoly, brought forth their gifts to the altar. White gift packages of all sizes were given by the congregation. The gifts were then separated to be distributed through Urban Promise and Christian Network Outreach Church (CNOC) of Norristown. WE DID IT AGAIN! As a whole, St. John's along with the help of the community, Angel friends, and the proprietor of E-Z Storage, was able to collect a total of 276 coats for CNOC. This figure is about double the amount we collected last year. After the gifts were divvied up, we loaded a portion of them along with all the coats in the truck donated by E-Z Storage to go to CNOC. Walt Weber took the other portion of the gifts to go to Urban Promise. When we arrived at CNOC, we had made it just in time to share communion with them. After we had shared communion, the congregation expressed their gratitude towards us for everything we've done for them this past year. At the end of the service, we gathered along with some of the members of CNOC in a bucket brigade formation. It was like clock work, fast and efficient. After having said our goodbyes, we headed to The Old Country Buffet for some dinner. Mark your calendars for next year, and remember many hands touch many lives.