Hair Today. Gone Tomorrow.

This week we discussed the two main rules: Love God with all our heart, and love each other as we love ourselves, as Jesus said in Matthew 22:34-40.  What does it mean to love God?  We love the people in our lives by hugging, getting to know, spending time with, and being with them.   Jesus goes on to say in Matthew 25:24-40 that if we feed, visit, take care of, spend time with,or be kind to the least of people, we have done the same to Him.  
We talked about ways we can take care of others and show God love, such as the Christmas clothing drive that All Saints is starting.  The kids are encouraged to bring in and help collect used or new winter items such as hats, gloves, and socks for the kids at New Horizons.

Each student also helped to cut Wes's hair, which was then donated to Locks Of Love, a non-profit that makes wigs for cancer stricken kids who can no longer grow their own hair.  The kids left with a homework assignment for the week: find a way to serve someone new in their lives.


- Wes


Before... getting hair braided and tied!                                        After... hair is bagged up, ready to be donated

TTTTF&FA (things to talk to friends and family about)
- Scarf, Hat, and Glove drive for New Horizon's. Bring new or gently used gear to All Saints by Dec. 4.
- No MSM on Sunday 11/27.
- No MSM on Sunday 12/25

- Inner Tubing at Snoqualmie!! Dec. 17th. We'll arrange carpools and head up to the hill to spend the day playing in the snow (tubing from 9a-11a). Then we'll warm up with hot chocolate and lunch in the lodge. Liability Waiver.  Cost: Age 6-12 $17, 13+ $19, plus food money or a sack lunch. Invite your friends!! This is one of the most popular events with All Saints Youth each year!

- Youth Winter Retreat. Feb 3-5. All middle and high schoolers are welcome to attend this event (whether they regularly attend All Saints or not)! We'll leave Friday evening and head to Miracle Ranch. There we'll spend the weekend with other youth groups from around the Northwest listening to speakers, playing games, running around the Ranch, and rocking out to live worship music! Cost: $99 (includes meals). If you are able to sponsor a middle or high schooler so that they can attend this retreat please donate through All Saints and write MSM on the envelope or online. We would love to be able to provide scholarships so that all of our students can attend. Attending? RSVP w/ Hannah.

Why Jesus?

It was an awesome week at AllSaints. We worshipped together with the congregation (sneak a peek up in the balcony and you might catch us rocking out with everyone). For our talk, we continued to discuss who Jesus is. We framed our thoughts by watching a video that took a look at the actual places Jesus visited in Israel. The video showed some cool locations, including the Church of the Nativity – the designated birthplace of Jesus –since it’s not known exactly where he was born. Another spot that was explored in the video were the Southern Steps, leading up the Temple.

The video led into the segue that talked about Simeon, the prophet. He was a dude that was waiting for the Messiah to arrive, in fact he had been told by God that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. This story reminded everyone that the Jesus fulfilled many prophecies and we looked up a few of these, including one in Isaiah (Isaiah 7:14 to be exact!). It’s pretty cool to see how God orchestrated his Son to be the fulfillment of so many prophecies.  We challenged everyone to find another prophecy in the Old Testament that was fulfilled by Jesus in the New Testament. All the middle schoolers groaned that they have more homework piled on, but I think they’ll be up to the task.

A few good games were enjoyed as well. We got to play Ninja Warrior. Lots of fun and lots of laughs!

Upcoming Events…

-       - Inner tubing event in December. Enjoy the snow in Snoqualmie! Date and time TBA
-       - February Youth Retreat! We are going to Miracle Ranch from February 3^rd to the 5^th! More details on the way!

I hope you're having a great week!

- Loren

The Two Bratty Sons

This week at MSM we talked about the story of the two bratty sons (aka the prodigal son). We probably should have called them the Two Greedy Sons, but they were brats too, so it fits. We'd all heard the story before but it was interesting to explore the significant impact the younger sons request for his inheritance would have had on his family. He was basically saying that he wished his Dad was already dead and wanted "his" money now. Ouch! What a thing to say!

We also talked about the bratty older brother who couldn't understand why his Dad would take the younger brother back. He thought he was doing everything right by working hard for his Dad, but he was selfish too, just in a different way.

The Lock-In was a huge success! We had a great time. We played hard and then afterward slept hard. A live band came and led a time of worship for us which was loud and fun. Then we used mousetraps (scary!) to talk about what voices influences and how we know who to listen to. After that we played video games, hiding games, and run around games all night/morning long. Everyone was respectful of each other and our church which was awesome. They even requested that we have another Lock-In next month, but us adults are going to need several months of rest before we do it again.

Stay Tuned...
-  for information about an upcoming New Horizon's Scarf, Hat, and Glove drive. Details coming soon.
- Youth Snow Inner tubing Event in December. Date and Time to be determined.
- February Youth Retreat! Mark your calendars for the Youth Winter Retreat to Miracle Ranch Feb. 3-5 details coming soon.

Grayson, Louis, and Alex!

Noel, Allayna, Da'Zor, and Heiwon!

Mixin' It Up!

This week we decided to mix it up a bit. After worship we bundled up and hit the streets. We walked down to Queen Anne Ave to do what Jesus did, eat and drink with friends. First stop was El Diablo Cafe for some Mexican hot chocolate. Then we went to Menchie's for frozen yogurt and assorted toppings (paid for by the pound). It's not really a breakfast of champions, but it sure looked good! Then we went to Noah's Bagels. There we sat down, ate and drank and talked about Jesus.

It was perfect that the topic at All Saints this week was Luke 15, since last week we had talked about Jesus and Levi (Matthew) the tax collector. We talked again about why it was significant that Jesus kept hanging out with tax collectors and other "unsavory" people and why the Pharisees made such a stink about it. We even made the comparison that it would be like Kasey Keller (star goal keeper for the Seattle Sounders) hanging out with drug dealers. You just wouldn't see it. But that's what Jesus did! God's heart is for those who know they've got work to do and are repentant.

We even talked about the intelligence levels of sheep for a while. But there seemed to be some sheep fans in the group who just didn't want to admit that sheep aren't very bright. They insisted that sheep are smarter than they pretend to be. Maybe we'll need to plan a field trip to a petting zoo soon.

Side note: I had the opportunity to cheer on Cameron at his awesome soccer game on Sunday. It was awesome. The MSM Team wants to cheer for the middle schoolers at All Saints. Please let us know when and how we can be involved in their lives (recitals, games, project fairs, etc.).

Second Side note: The MSM @ All Saints blog (this thing you're reading right now) has it's first follower!! Thanks Allayna!!

Up coming Events!
Wednesday (10/26) All Saints Prayer Night! 
Please come at 7p to prayer for our youth before their Lock In and the friends, teams, classes, and families they'll influence on a daily basis.

Friday (10/28) MSM Lock In (Overnighter) at All Saints!
Starts at 7p. We'll play games, worship, learn, eat pizza (this'll be later so they may want to eat before coming), play more games, maybe sleep, play more games, and have a pancake breakfast. Parents please pick up between 8:30a-9a.
All youth must have a signed permission slip (copies available at drop at drop off)
Youth should bring snacks or drinks to share, $5 for supplies (totally optional), appropriate sleeping attire, sleeping bag/blankets, pillow, toiletries, flashlights, etc.
Bring some friends and get ready for fun!!

As always contact me with questions, concerns, etc.

Hannah
middleschool@believedoubtseek.org

Jesus calls Levi (Matthew)… but not on the phone.

This week at MSM we took a look at the story of how Jesus told Levi to leave his job as a tax collector and follow him. We talked about how rabbis chose their disciples, how tax collector’s were viewed by society, and who the Pharisees were. After we’d looked at each I asked the group who they related to most. The group seemed to agree that no one was like Jesus because he was perfect. And no one really identified with the Pharisees because they thought they were perfect. So we explored why they related to the tax collectors. Jesus told the Pharisees, "Healthy people don't need a doctor -- sick people do. I have come to call not those that think they are righteous, but those that know they are sinners and need to repent."We talked about who is a sinner (everyone) and what we as sinners needed to do (repent). 

At MSM this week we also played a few silly games. One involved tying balloons to our ankles and popping them. That game was really loud. Could you hear us?! We won't be playing that game during a gathering again. We don't want to get in trouble. =)

What: Youth Lock In. Games, Music, Food, Fun, Friends, and maybe even a little sleeping.
Who: 6-8th graders at All Saints AND their 6-8th grade friends, teammates, cousins, and neighbors.
Where: All Saints Church 1716 2nd Ave. N. Seattle, WA 98109
When: Friday Oct. 28 @ 7pm - Saturday Oct. 29 @ 9am (pick up between 8:30a-9a)
Why: It's fun. Middle schoolers are generally socially driven. It's an opportunity for the students to get to know each other in contexts outside of Sunday gatherings and grow as a unified crew to represent All Saints and our mission.
How: 
- RSVP by emailing me, turning in the permission slip, or letting me know who plans on being there (this is mostly so we can bring enough food!)
- Fill out a permission slip available at the concierge desk.
- Please bring: PJs, toothbrush/paste, sleeping bag, pillow, $5 donation for suplies, other sleepover necessities, drinks and snacks to share, and friends.
- We are hoping someone can bring their Rock Band set, Wii Games/Fit,  and other fun games for the group to play. If you have them, please get in touch with me.

Prayer Night
Monthly prayer night is being held at All Saints this Wednesday (10/26) at 7pm. It usually last about an hour and a half. Wouldn't it be amazing to have a group of parents or middle school supporters there to pray for our youth and the friends they'll be bringing to the Lock In? Just like the adults at All Saints our youth have a far reaching spere of influence. We should be praying for them. Please join me on Wednesday (10/26).

Thank you all for your patience as I work on getting more timely about posting this blog.

Hannah

Jesus was tempted in the Desert

This week at MSM we talked about Jesus being tempted in the desert. One interesting point that we discussed was that Satan and Jesus both knew scripture and were able to quote it back and forth to each other. Satan knew that Jesus was the Son of God! How crazy is that to think about? When so many people on earth didn't know who Jesus was or why he was doing the things that he was doing, Satan knew. Satan knew what a threat Jesus was to the work that he was trying to do. At MSM we talked about how important it is that we know God's word too and how studying scripture can help us when we get tempted by the Enemy.

The big news at MSM was the official announcement: We're having a lock-in!
Lock-In Info
What: Youth Lock In. Games, Music, Food, Fun, Friends, and maybe even a little sleeping.
Who: 6-8th graders at All Saints AND their 6-8th grade friends, teammates, cousins, and neighbors.
Where: All Saints Church 1716 2nd Ave. N. Seattle, WA 98109
When: Friday Oct. 28 @ 7pm - Saturday Oct. 29 @ 9am (pick up between 8:30a-9a)
Why: It's fun. Middle schoolers are generally socially driven. It's an opportunity for the students to get to know each other in contexts outside of Sunday gatherings and grow as a unified crew to represent All Saints and our mission.
How: 
- RSVP by emailing me, turning in the permission slip, or letting me know who plans on being there (this is mostly so we can bring enough food!)
- Fill out a permission slip available at the concierge desk or downloaded from here (as soon as I figure out how to upload it).
- Please bring: PJs, toothbrush/paste, sleeping bag, pillow, other sleepover necessities, drinks and snacks to share, and friends.
- We are hoping someone can bring their Rock Band set, Wii Games/Fit,  and other fun games for the group to play. If you have them, please get in touch with me.

As always, contact me with any questions, concerns or comments!

- Hannah
middleschool@believedoubtseek.org

Jesus Showed Up Today

Today was our first day of MSM at All Saints!

We started off by interviewing one another and then introducing each other to the whole group. After Grayson said an opening prayer we created a Full Value Contract. That's basically a contract that says how we agree to work as a group. Some of the things we decided we wanted In our group were fun, communication, honesty, and ice cream. Some of the things we decided we wanted Out of our group were name calling, sarcasm, snacks, and being mean.
We had a quick brainstorming session to talk about some of the activities we'd like to do for MSM outings. The list included having lunch together, go carts, worshiping with the adult gathering, playing wii, and drinking slurpies. Then we listened to a worship song before listening to the story of Jesus Calming the Storm. First I told the story, then Cameron retold the story. Then we walked through it piece by piece and discussed why we thought Jesus reacted the way he did and why the disciples reacted the way the did. From there it was game time! This group likes to have fun that for sure. Allayna is a very boisterous Bippity Bop Bop Bop player and Max is a rock, paper, scissors master. Dazor is going to help plan the worship music for next week. Bella was there too, taking it all in.
It was an awesome first day! I can't wait to see everyone again next week!

Also, Stay tuned for upcoming event announcements!!


-Hannah

Drum Roll Please!!

Are you ready? Are you ready for fun? Are you ready for fun at All Saints?! I can't begin to tell you how excited I am to start meeting with middle schoolers at All Saints! First, the basics. 

Who: All middle school students (6th-8th grade) are welcome. Friends, neighbors, family, classmates, and teammates are ALWAYS invited.

What: Games, worship, and lessons with a fun focus. We'll get to know each other as a community. We'll listen to and/or sing and play along with our favorite songs. We'll discuss a topic or theme that will let us know more about who Jesus is and the abundant life he wants for us through him.

Where: All Saints Church. 1716 2nd AVE. N. SEATTLE, WA 98109. Room 101

When: 11am on Sunday mornings starting on Oct. 2^nd!!

Why:  Our mission is for the youth of Seattle to grow in relationship with Christ through community, service, and fun.