Photos from the last week of Advent

Photos from the Sunday School Advent/Christmas program on 12/20 and high school/young adult "Cookie Ninjas" delivering treats to those who work the night shift in service to our community, 12/18.

 

Middle School Service Plunge 2015

Last week, 10 CtK youth, plus a couple of their friends and some fabulous adults, joined middle school youth from Hope Lutheran Church for a week of worship, learning and SERVICE here in the Gallatin Valley.
The theme verse for the week was Micah 6:8 - He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Monday morning the group weeded at God's Garden, which produces thousands upon thousands of pounds of food for the Gallatin Valley Food Bank and the Community Café.
Tuesday morning was spent on trail maintenance with the Gallatin Valley Land Trust, at the Cherry Creek Fishing Access. It was hard work (there were blisters to be had!) but great to see the results of the effort, before and after.
Wednesday morning half the group went to the Gallatin Valley Food Bank and packaged macaroni noodles into one-pound bags (finishing off a 1,000 pound box of noodles - that's a lot of pasta!). The other half of the group offered a free car wash, with donations accepted for the food bank.
On Thursday morning, the two groups switched places - half for a carwash, the other half to the Food Bank. This time, the Food Bank crew sorted eggs and repackaged unbroken eggs into cartons.
Friday morning, everyone headed to the Family Promise Day Center to help with cleaning, yard work and other projects.
Every afternoon included Bible study, lots of games, a crafty project, and worship.
It was a great week! Look for more photos in worship on a Sunday in the near future!

Middle School Service Plunge 2015 - the closest thing we got to a photo of the whole group.

It's Lent

Today is the Friday after Ash Wednesday, which makes it the first Friday in Lent. And it's not too late to take up a special discipline for the season. The traditional practices of the season are prayer, fasting and almsgiving. In keeping with the idea of fasting, lots of folks talk about "giving something up for Lent." The first few paragraphs of this article proved a helpful way for me to think about that - so helpful that I quoted them in my sermon last week.
I know a lot of people who "pick something up for Lent" instead, or who do a little subtraction for the sake of the addition - a "fast 'from' and feast 'on,'" if you will.
Here are a couple links to creative practices for Lent. Personally, I'm doing the Lent Photo a Day as part of my keeping of the season this year - I find it helps focus my vision, and helps me see what I might otherwise miss. If you decide to do the Photo a Day, too, consider posting your pics on your favorite social media platform, and be sure to tag them with the word for the day as well as #ctkbozeman. Thanks!

Lent Photo a Day

40 Things to Give Up For Lent: The List

If you're wanting to make a greater commitment or are looking for something a bit more robust, consider enrolling in Jan Richardson's online retreat - Beloved: An Online Journey Into Lent + Easter. There's a fee for participation, but everyone I know who's ever done one of her online retreats speaks highly of it!

Service Plunge & Family Art Night photos

Those gathered at CtK this past Sunday had a great time, kicking off another year of learning in Sunday School, blessing backpacks, and enjoying this video of photos from the Middle School Service Plunge and Family Art Nights this summer. Enjoy!

Affirmation of Baptism on Reformation Sunday

Congratulations to the 9th graders who affirmed their baptism on Reformation Sunday! May God bless and keep you always!

VBS 2012 Photo Slideshow

Here's a slideshow of pictures from VBS 2012 at CtK. It was a great week! (Sorry some are upside down - they're all right in my photo album, but Picasa turned them on their heads!)

Women's Retreat

Getting ready to head home Sunday afternoon

Nine women headed down to Big Sky last weekend for a women's retreat.
The group ate together, prayed together, laughed, cried, learned, read, sang, listened...
Some skied, some knitted, some went for a walk, some wrote in journals...

Overall, it was a wonderful time to grow in faith and friendship together as sisters in Christ. It was also a meaningful and reflective way to spend the first full weekend of the new year, as routines and rhythms interrupted by the holidays gear up again.

Not able to participate this year? The consensus seems to be this should become an annual event - so, next time!!



Saturday evening in Big Sky



Photos from Friday at the Cardboard Box City

A good time was had by all at the Family Promise Cardboard Box City on Friday night. And CtK participants even won some prizes - congratulations!

It's not too late to donate to Family Promise if you'd like to. Check out their website.

And a few more photos from the event:

Fun at VBS

Vacation Bible School is FUN!

Shrove Tuesday Slide Show

Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras here at CtK was a big hit once again. Many thanks to Courtney Yovich for taking all the fabulous pictures! See more on the bulletin board in the social hall!

Photo Slide Show from Sledding Night last Saturday

Finally - here are some photos from last weekends Sledding Extravaganza!

The First Annual Strike of the "Cookie Ninjas"

We had a great time last night, baking up a storm, getting silly with icing, wrapping plates of cookies and then making stealth deliveries all over town between 11pm and nearly 12:30am. We felt a little bit like spies or ninjas, getting let into very secure buildings after dark. All those night-shift folks who work to keep our community safe and cared for really appreciated the goodies. Way to go CtK youth!

Middle School Retreat - PHOTOS!

Our middle school confirmation class had a retreat in the middle of October. You can check out some additional of the pictures from the event at the Lutheran Youth in Service blog.

Sent to Serve

Here is the final Daily Update for VBS this year. It has been a wonderful week, with great children, amazing volunteers and fantastic staff from Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp.

Thanks again to everyone who has made "Love to Serve" possible. And be sure to check back, we'll try to get photos posted here sooner than later!