Mission Trips - Each summer our youth travel to work on a mission project. Here are the trips we have made and projects we have done over the past four years:
2008 - put a footing around a fence we had installed on a previous trip. the new fence line was created to keep wild animals from being able to dig under the fence and kill the farm animals in Juarez, Mexico. They had received animals through the Heifer project for which our children's ministry has collected money in the past. We currently collect used ink cartridges and all money we receive for them goes toward the Heifer project.
2010 - traveled to Leadville, CO. Our main mission was to bring Vacation Bible School to the community. We also did yard work, washing of windows and painting of the youth building at the church, at the Mance, and at the home of an elderly member of the church.
2011 - worked on a variety of service projects in Leadville, CO, including an extension of 2010's Vacation Bible School to three days. We stayed at the First Presbyterian Church in Leadville. View photos and read reflections from the experience provided by our youth.
Our youth also provide leadership for our children at our own Summer Vacation Bible School!
CROP Walk
Our Youth obtain pledges for walking in this annual event, and a portion of the money raised benefits Storehouse West. The 2011 Walk is at 1:30 p.m. (registration at 1:00) on October 23, 2011, at the 2nd Presbyterian Church, 812 Edith Boulevard NE, in Albuquerque.
There are two different walk options: A two-mile loop with a tour of StoreHouse Albuquerque if desired, or a 4 mile loop with a tour of StoreHouse and St Martin's Hospitality Center. Water bottles provided!
Optional Soup Dinner and Awards: 2:00-4:30 p.m. (with Orbit, the Isotopes Mascot, balloons! And free T-shirts for everyone collecting more than $100.
Go to http://www.churchworldservice.org/site/DocServer/ABQ_CropWalk_Bulletin.Newsletter_Insert_2011_updated.pdf?docID=5241 for more details.
Halloween Carnival
Every October our Youth puts on a Halloween party and invites the children of the church and surrounding community to participate. This year's is October 29, 2011, 5:30-7:30 p.m., at our church.
Donations of non-perishable food items (shelf-stable, canned, or packaged) for Storehouse West are encouraged. We'll have games, treats, a duck pond, a soda pop tree, lollipop tree, a ghost toss, and a haunted house are planned.
Christmas
Living Nativity - Each year we re-create the Christmas Story by providing a Living Nativity for the local community. An evening of fellowship, music and yummy Christmas treats can be enjoyed by members and the community, after they journey through the rose garden and encounter the Holy Family with all their visitors!
Souper Bowl of Caring
Hunger isn't just a Third World problem. One in six people in America (one in four children) live in food-insecure households.
On Super Bowl Sunday, February 5, 2012, our youth will collect an offering for a mission of their choosing. The Souper Bowl of Caring is an ecumenical effort to eliminate hunger.
Easter
Easter Egg Hunt - Each year our Youth put on an Easter Egg hunt for the children of both our church and surrounding neighborhoods!
Prayer Vigil - From the earliest days of the church, the Easter Vigil was primarily a means of preparing new converts for baptism into the Christian Faith, which was normally done on Easter Sunday as the focal point of the entire year. This preparation traditionally arises from a set of Scripture readings from the Old Testament that recounts the unfolding of God's creation of a people in the Exodus, and a promise of restoration from Zephaniah.
Beginning the Saturday evening before Easter, our youth sponsor a prayer vigil that continues through the night and ends on Easter morning. Members of the congregation participate in these petitions and spiritual preparation for celebrating the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ.