SEPTEMBER AT A GLANCE:

•Mar. 6- MSM mtg.

•Mar. 9- HSM

Progressive Dinner

•Mar. 10- HSM mtg.

•Mar. 13- Pinewood

Derby (no MSM)

•Mar. 17- HSM mtg.

•Mar. 20- MSM mtg.

•Mar. 24- HSM mtg.

•Mar. 31- no HSM

(Easter Sunday)

*Parents of seniors,

please save the

afternoon/evening of

Saturday, April 27 for

our Seniors Retreat*

This newsletter and winter/spring schedules can always be found in the

student ministries section on our website (www.parkchurchholland.org).

If you would like a hard copy, please let me know!

I must admit, I like to clean. It’s relaxing. If I’m

stressed out, it doesn’t take long for me to grab cleaning

supplies. It’s almost like an outlet for me- something I can

do in the quiet of my home (and no, that’s not and oxymoron, my

home DOES get quiet!) while I think, pray, and have the

gratification of added productivity. That must be my Dutch

roots coming out- that work is so gratifying. But it is! When

I clean, I see an immediate difference: I see dust removed

from shelves, lint removed from carpet, bits of leaves and

dirt swept up from entryways, and smudges wiped off from

windows. And I love it- the process, the results, the

gratification, the whole nine yards.

I actually have a cleaning schedule ... I spread the

larger tasks (kitchen, mopping, etc) out evenly throughout

the week, and do some tasks (like vacuuming the ever-dirty-

under-barstool area) daily. It works. It keeps me on top of

things on a daily and weekly basis. And then there’s that

notion of “spring cleaning.” Spring cleaning is that deep

clean that we don’t do on a weekly or even a monthly basis.

It’s when we pay special attention to closets and other

“hidden” spots, and when we use cleaners that maybe only come

out of the cupboard once a year.

Did you know that our word“Lent” actually come from the

word Spring? In the late middle ages when the church moved

from using Latin to using words from the vernacular they

adopted the word “Lent” or spring for this church season.

When I learned this just last week, I couldn’t help but in my

own mind make a correlation between Lent and spring cleaning.

Just as spring cleaning gives a deep clean,

Lent is a time when we traditionally assume a heightened

spiritual awareness and sensitivity, often doing a

“spring cleaning” of sorts in our souls.

This is what we’ve been talking about in youth group for

the past couple of weeks and will continue talking about for

the month of March. During these weeks of Lent we take each of

our discussion times in light of the cross- isn’t it always

amazing how God made the whole of scripture to surround and

complement/accentuate the gospel message? In HSM we can

study the Psalms of Ascent in relation to the cross, and in MSM

we can talk about “leading a life of significance” in response

to the cross. May this foster “spring cleaning” in all of our

walks, as well as good opportunities for you to walk alongside

the students in their “spring cleaning” endeavors.

--Jen

SAME PAGEM A R C H 2 0 1 3

S T U D E N T M I N I S T R I E S

“SPRING CLEANING”

Middle School Ministry M ARCH 6- The

Sermon on the Mount

presents some of

J e s u s ' m o s t

m e m o r a b l e a n d

c h a l l e n g i n g

t e a c h i n g s . H i s

t e a c h i n g s

c h a l l e n g e d t h e

s t a t u s q u o a n d

e n c o u r a g e d H i s

followers to live

d i f f e r e n t l y - t o

l e a d l i v e s o f

significance. This

lesson will help

o u r s t u d e n t s

discover what it

means to lead a

l i f e o f

significance by

v a l u i n g o t h e r

people, becoming a

t r u s t w o r t h y

p e r s o n , a n d

choosing to love

others. Our texts

for the evening are

Matthew 5.21-26,

Matthew 5.33-48,

a n d M a t t h e w

7.24-27.

MARCH 13- It’s

Derby night, and

your whole family

is invited to come

to Park for a fun

e v e n i n g o f

watching races and

cheering on the

younger age groups

who have made cars!

MARCH 20- When

Jesus taught, He

c o n s i s t e n t l y

c h a l l e n g e d H i s

audience to think

differently about

faith, their role

in this world, and

what God expected

of them. He also

c h a l l e n g e d

people's thinking

about who He was.

In this lesson,

w e ' l l e x a m i n e

several passages

containing words

Jesus spoke about

himself-some of

t h e " I A m "

statements from

the Gospel of John.

These verses will

help our students

know Jesus better-

who He is, how He

wants to interact

with us, and how He

wants to reach out

to our hurting,

broken world. Our

texts tonight are

J o h n 6 . 2 5 - 4 0 ,

8.12, 10.10-15,

1 4 . 1 - 7 , a n d

15.1-8.

Wednesday Nights 6:15-8:00pm

stuff that’s good to know ...

SNACK SCHEDULE

March 6- Schloff

March 13- Derby

March 20- Schrotenboer

Thank you for providing

snacks for our meetings

this year. I don’t know

exactly what it is, but

fellowshipping over

food is always a great

time at our meetings!

SERVE UPDATES

At this point the only feedback that I have heard leans toward the Byron Center site ... we really need to make a decision and get deposits in by the end of the week if possible, so please let me know your thoughts! Again, our options are:

Benton Harbor June 26-30Byron Center July 13-19

Please shoot me an email or give me a call as soon as you can!

MARCH 10- We are

jumping ahead out of

order in the Psalms of

Ascent, as this week we

will talk about Psalm

129. This Psalm is all

about oppression, but

has a beautiful verse of

r e d e m p t i o n i n t h e

middle: “But the LORD is

righteous; He has cut me

free from the cords of

the wicked (verse 4).”

We will be talking about

what it is that Christ’s

sacrifice does for us,

w h a t i t m e a n s t h a t

Christ suffered for us,

and what that means we

are called to do and be

in response. We will

also unpack Isaiah 53

(the Suffering Servant)

and John 16.33.

MARCH 17- Two weeks

out from Easter we’re

going to start focusing

heavily on the cross

with a practice called

Lectio Divina. This is a

practice of silence

i n t e r s p e r c e d w i t h

reading and rereading

scripture in different

voices and sections. My

h o p e i s t h a t s o m e

students might find

Lectio Divina to be a

great way to practice

spiritual disciplines

on their own! We will be

reading the verses of

the crucifixion from

Matthew 27, Mark 15,

Luke 23, and John 19.

MARCH 24- Tonight we

are trying something new

that I’m really excited

about. Instead of a

regular lesson time, we

will have a time of

reflecting on images

related to Christ’s

death and sacrifice. My

hope is that an image or

t w o w i l l s t a y w i t h

students, etched into

their memories, as the

week goes on and leads up

t o E a s t e r . T h i s

p r a c t i c e i s c a l l e d

Lectio Imagio Divina,

which is the practice of

silence and solitude

with images.

MARCH 31 - No HSM.

E n j o y c e l e b r a t i n g

Easter! HSM will resume

meeting on April 13.

SNACK SCHEDULE -

Please bring snack for

30-40 people on your

assigned day ... drinks

will be provided.

March 10- DeRoo/Colvin

March 17- Busscher/

Buikema

March 18- Bui/Bristow

High School MinistrySunday Nights 7:00-8:45pm

PROGRESSIVE DINNER

Meet at church on Saturday, March 9 at 5:15pm for the Progressive Dinner!! We

will head to various congregation member’s homes in groups of 3-5 and enjoy

an evening of sharing a meal and getting to know our church family better.

Then hosts and students will progress together to church at 8pm for dessert.

I do need a headcount for this event, so please check with your son/daughter

as to whether they’ve let me know if they’re coming!

PRAYER CORNER“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have

peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take

heart! I have overcome the world.”

-John 16.33

•Praise God for the Professions of Faith of Susan, Andrew, Isaac, and Emily

this past Sunday! Pray for each of them to have opportunities to continue to

testify about who God is in their lives.

•Pray for the MSM group as our regular meetings come to an end this month.

Pray that we’ll have a strong finish and that we’ll be able to remain a

close-knit group as we move toward service projects.

•Pray for opportunities for the leaders to have meaningful discipleship-

oriented conversations with students. Pray that we will lead by example in

how to love Jesus with our whole beings.

•Pray with your middle/high schoolers about ways to practice deeper

discipleship, to live out our baptism in Christ, and about making Profession

of Faith if they have not done so.

•Pray for you son/daughter’s relationship with his/her mentor. Pray for

anxiety or fear to have no place in that relationship and for growth in those

discipleship relationships.

•Pray for the service projects that we will embark on, that God will guide and

bless the host churches as they prepare and plan for SERVE.

•Pray for our seniors as they make final decisions about college.

HSM Leadership Team:

Dick Bouman

Lia Buursma

Dar Koops

Jen Rozema

MSM Leadership Team:

Don Bui

Mike Buikema

Tracee Leeka

Jen Rozema