2009-2010 Lifeline

Gearing up for another year! All students entering grades 8-12...join us!

Over 800 hundred Catholic teens in a gymnasium, a Mass where everyone loves to sing, and snacks? Sounds like Lifeline, our monthly program that turns the NET Center into a hot spot for Catholic young people in the Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis and beyond.

Now in it's fifteenth year, each Lifeline evening includes Mass followed by locally and nationally known speakers, musicians, priests, and entertainers who dynamically proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Youth and their parish leaders come to Lifeline events to celebrate their faith so they can be encouraged and equipped to share it within their parishes and schools.

2009-2010 Schedule

Oct. 3: LIFELINE MASS & Evening Program with Mike Hoffman
"Ignite Your Faith!" (w/ Eucharistic Adoration)

Nov. 7: LIFELINE MASS & Evening Program with Fr. Mike Schmitz
"Deus Caritas Est" (w/Eucharistic Adoration)

DEC. 5: LIFELINE MASS & Evening Program AND
STEVE ANGRISANO IN CONCERT ($10 tickets advance)

Jan. 9*(2010): LIFELINE MASS & Evening Program with the NET Teams, Breakouts for Men/Women/Parents

Feb. 6: LIFELINE MASS & Archbishop John Neinstedt
"Vocation to the Priesthood and Religious life"

Mar. 6: LIFELINE MASS & Evening Program with Gina Bauer
"Vocation of Marriage and Family Life"

Apr. 10*: LIFELINE MASS & Evening Program with Fr. Andrew Cozzens & Sonar (An evening of prayer, praise & worship and Eucharistic Adoration)

May 1: LIFELINE MASS & Evening Program with Fr. Jim Livingston and Eucharistic Adoration (Come, Holy Spirit)

Mark your calendars and SAVE YOUR SATURDAYS!

More information...

NET Ministries website

Sonar Band website

Steve Angrisano website

Poster Contest!

Grades K-8

September 2nd-September 30th

3 winners will be chosen!


"Journey with Jesus" Poster Contest

Are you a drawer, painter or doodler? Then this is a contest for you!
All youth in Kindergarten through 8th grade are invited to participate in the poster contest for the St. Francis of Assisi Parish Mission. Young people will design a poster for the theme “Journey with Jesus”. The winning designs will be used at the Parish Mission.

There will be three winners at different levels: K-2nd, 3rd-5th, and 6th-8th grades. Pick up an entry form at St. Francis of Assisi School, Parish Center office, or in the kiosk in the Gathering Space at church. All entries are due by Wednesday, September 30th.

For complete rules, please pick up an entry form at any of the above listed locations.

Nighttime Photo Safari

Another successful photo safari! We had about 10 students join this adventure downtown. We started off with dinner at Bilotti's. Yum :) It ended up being a GREAT evening for taking photos and walking downtown.


Karen gave us some good information about what to look for to take a good picture, how to shoot at night and other tricks of the trade!



We walked down by the peace plaza and other stops along the way...great opportunities for some interesting photos!




We had 'veteran' students who have been to ALL 3 Photo Safaris and some students who had never been! Grades ranged from 7th-11th! And everyone had fun...and learned along the way!



Thanks to all students who participated. Thank you to Mrs. Delaney and Mrs. Frank for agreeing to chaperone for our evening. You are much appreciated! Thanks also to Karen for sharing her talent and her time with us!

COMING SOON...look for a display in the Gathering Space with photos taken by our students at our photo safaris!

Help with the Fall Festival!

Sunday, October 4th

The Fall Festival has several opportunities for young people to get involved and serve the parish! This is a good opportunity for middle school and high school volunteers. Opportunities include: dinner servers, silent auction, children’s games, bottle boutique, clean-up/tear down and more!

The Fall Festival is a huge event that requires many volunteers and many hours of preparation and work. Please consider how you, your family, your children may take a part in helping this wonderful event for our parish community! Contact Carol you’re interested: youthminister@stfrancis-church.org

Attention parents:

Help is needed to organize crafts and games for children in the Activity Room during the Fall Festival. If this is something that you are gifted with (or maybe you'd like to work with your Confirmation student) please contact Carol as soon as possible!

And, Thank you!

August Photo Safari

Friday, August 21st

6:30 -9:30 pm

If you've never been on a photo safari before--here's your last chance this summer!

We'll start off with dinner at Bilotti’s Pizza Village (304 1st Ave SW) at 6:30 pm and check-in with Carol. After dinner, the group will walk from Bilotti’s towards the Peace Plaza and up towards the Gonda building and Mayo park. Karen will assist students in looking for interesting images. She will be available for any questions students have about how to use their cameras.

Parents can pick up their students at 9:30 pm at the Kahler Grand Hotel (Parents may use the turn around to pick up students conveniently in that area.) Please watch for the weather forecast for the day and dress appropriately.

Items to bring:
· Your own camera (digital, film, or disposable.)
· Fully charged battery (or extra batteries)
· Empty memory card
· Good walking shoes
· Comfortable clothes you can move around in

Depending on numbers, a couple adult chaperones will be needed for this event. Please mark on your child's permission form if you are able to help. Thank you!

Iron Chef Summer 2009: UPDATE

Congratulations to Mara and Michaela: our Summer 2009 Iron Chef Winners!

This is the 2nd time that Mara and Michaela have won our Iron Chef Competition. They have defended their title and proven to be a commanding force in the kitchen!

Our 'Secret Ingredient' was STRAWBERRIES! And both teams combined this ingredient with brownies (in two different ways) to create wonderful summer time treats!

The winners took home the golden spatula and also giftcards to Dairy Queen!

Thanks to all the teams who participated.

Watch for the Iron Chef winter version this December...will anyone be able to take on our reigning champions??? Tune in to find out!

Ronald McDonald House Dinner UPDATE

On Sunday, August 2nd the youth group of St. Francis of Assisi provided a dinner for the families staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Rochester. All families staying at the house have a child who is struggling with an illness and are being treated in Rochester. Sometimes this requires long stays out of town, large expenses and time away from friends, family and home.

The Ronald McDonald House provides an inexpensive and welcoming atmosphere for those families. Part of that atmosphere is providing house meals served two nights per week. Different communities and volunteers throughout the city bring food, prepare it and serve it to the families staying there.

We took a group of about 12 people to the Ronald McDonald House to serve our potluck meal. We served 20-30 people and packed all the leftovers for other families who weren’t able to make it that evening. I was proud to see our young people offering to jump in wherever they were needed, to interact with families and to share their joy with all who were present. We even enjoyed some dinner music by one of our youth who played the piano for us---it was lovely!

I received a thank you note following the event and I thought I would share it with the whole youth ministry community. Thank you to all students and parents for your time, energy, and resources that helped to make this dinner possible!

New friends at St. Francis,

On behalf of the children and their families, I would like to thank you for the wonderful dinner you served. Your caring and sharing help us to provide a refuge from the hospitals as well as supporting the families. They truly appreciate your generosity and volunteering as they are going through challenging times. Thank you again for sharing your time and talents with everyone at the Ronald McDonald House!

Sincerely,

Ashley Walker
Family Services Manager

All middle school students are welcome.

School Supplies Victory Party and Movie Night!
Thursday, August 13th

6:00-8:30 pm

Activity Room

All middle school students are welcome to join us for the Victory Party/Movie Night next week on Thursday, August 13th! We will begin at 6:00 pm and end at 8:30 pm in the Activity Room.

We will have pizza and snacks, watch a movie, and one lucky student will have their name drawn for a free ticket to Valley Fair for our trip on August 24th! All eligible students for the drawing must have participated in the school supplies drive last week. If your student participated, please submit his/her name to Carol to make sure their name is included in the drawing!

Permission forms are available in the gathering space kiosk, or parish office. If you’d like to bring your permission form with you or fill one out when you arrive, please just let Carol know you’re planning on coming—you can turn the form in when you arrive!

Please RSVP by Wednesday, August 12th.

289-2427 or youthminister@stfrancis-church.org

You may bring permission forms with you on Thursday.

And the WINNER is...

The Middle School Team with

22,325 points!

The High School Team finished with

8,290 points!

THANK YOU to all families and parishioners who participated. Your donations will go to families in need throughout Olmsted County. Now they will have a head start for a great school year.

THANK YOU!

Together, we donated:

4 Binders
6 back packs
12 glue sticks
18 scissors
19 bottles of glue
24 packs of crayons, markers, and colored pencils
45 Two pocket folders
55 Spiral Notebooks
102 pens
185 pencils

And…rulers, calculators, pencil sharpeners, erasers and more! THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all families who participated for the high school and middle school teams. Your donations are much appreciated!

VICTORY PARTY:
The middle school team will celebrate their victory during our movie night on Thursday, August 13th. (Previously scheduled for Monday, August 10th)

ALL MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE WELCOME. Even if you did not participate in the school supplies drive, come watch a movie with us! All middle school students who participated in the drive will have a chance for their name to be drawn for a free ticket to Valley Fair for our trip on August 24th.

Note: If your middle school student participated in the drive, please submit your name to Carol to make sure that your student is included in the drawing. Also, it is preferable that your student attends the movie night on Thursday, August 13th and be present if his/her name is drawn.

Service Splash UPDATE

Our service splash was a success! We worked hard to sweep, pull weeds, and clean up the church and school grounds.

Afterwards we enjoyed cooling off with water balloon contests, sprinklers, and a frozen t-shirt contest! Fun was had by all and the time flew by!

Thank you to all the students who participated!

Your hard work is much appreciated!

Last Chance!

Valley Fair 2009

Monday, August 24

Arrive at St. Francis at 8:15 pm.

Leave church at 8:30 am.

Return to church at 7pm.
Cost: $35 includes transportation and ticket.

All forms and money are due by

Monday, August 17th


Valley Fair 2009 Schedule

8:15 am Arrive at St. Francis Church
8:30 am Leave for Valley Fair
10:30 am Arrive at Valley Fair
1:30 pm High School Groups Check-In with Carol
5:00 pm Leave Valley Fair
7:00 pm Arrive back at St. Francis of Assisi Church

ALL FAMILIES are invited (children of every age). Elementary age students will be with their families the entire day. Middle School students (entering 6th---entering 8th) will be in groups with one adult. High School (entering 9th and older) students will be in groups of 2-4 people and will check in with Carol at 1:30 pm. (If you are sending a middle school student, please check to see if chaperone help is needed.)

Bring money to buy your lunch at Valley Fair or you may bring a sack lunch from home. If you are bringing a lunch from home, please arrange that with your group so that you all leave the park together to eat. Coolers will be made available on the bus to keep lunches cool. If your groups decides to bring lunches and eat outside the park, be sure to have your hand stamped so you may re-enter after lunch. You may bring snacks to eat on the way home.

All permission forms and money due by Monday, August 17th. Permission forms available in the Parish Center Office or Gathering Space Kiosk.

Make checks out to "St. Francis of Assisi Church".