Zion Lutheran Church's Youth and Children's Ministry

Our next regular Fusion Youth Group meeting for 7th through 12th grade youth students will take place in December, likely from 5PM to 7PM at Zion Lutheran Church. 

If you are considering joining us for the fun, consider bringing a friend along as well! A meal will be served, and no money is needed for these meetings.

Our next regular high school youth group meeting for 9th through 12th grade youth students will take place this Sunday, November 23rd, from 5PM to 7PM, in the Zion Lutheran Church youth room. 

If you are considering joining us for this meeting, consider bringing a friend along as well! A meal will be served, and no money is needed for these meetings.

COFFEE: The Zion Fusion Youth Group will continue to manage the coffee fellowship time as an ongoing fundraiser following both services on Sunday mornings. 

ALUMINUM CAN COLLECTION: The youth group is responsible for the aluminum cans, so if you would like to collect cans for the youth group, these can be stored in the fenced in area in the gravel parking lot. We would appreciate if cans were crushed, if possible, to maximize space, and we are not currently accepting any other types of aluminum products, at this time. Do not put any other type of recyclable products in the bags with the aluminum cans, and do not put any type of trash in the fenced in area in the gravel parking lot as bags are not sorted before taking them to be turned in. We appreciate your assistance! 

YOUTH FUNDRAISER: The Zion Lutheran Church youth students are once again selling discount cards to fundraise for their various events, activities, and initiatives. Just like last year, these cards are full of discount offers with the generous support from many local businesses from around this area. If you would like to purchase one of these cards to support both our youth students and our local area businesses, please speak with a youth student, Mr. J, or call the church office, Monday through Thursday, to inquire soon. The cost of each card is $10, they are only valid for one calendar year, and limitations and exclusions do apply. See card for details. At this time, we can only accept cash or checks, and checks can be made out to "Zion Lutheran Youth.” In addition, we are only planning to print a limited amount, so if you would like a discount card, please don’t hesitate to inquire.  

CONFIRMATION: Confirmation classes for public school 7th and 8th grade students will be once again taking place on Wednesday afternoons, from 4:00PM to 5:30PM, beginning last Wednesday, September 10th. These classes will continue at that time on most Wednesday afternoons into the spring, unless otherwise announced. A quick remember, if the public school does decide to cancel school for any reason, it is our policy to be likewise closed for Confirmation classes on that Wednesday. As of now, the 7th and 8th grade students will be learning from our DCE, Mr. Jareske, in the old 7th/8th grade school classroom. Both 7th and 8th grade students will need a copy of Luther’s Small Catechism for class each week, so if students have not yet received a copy of this resource, it can be purchased from the church for $20 a copy. Families should also work to complete a registration sheet and pick up a few information sheets at their earliest possible opportunity. For more information, please contact the church office. 

Reminder, there will be no Confirmation classes for public school 7th and 8th grade students this Wednesday, November 26th, due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Regular classes will resume the following Wednesday, December 3rd, and continue through December 17th.

COOKIE AND CANDY FUNDRAISER: Need cookie and candies for Christmas? Let us help! We are proud to announce that the Fusion Youth Group will be offering the Christmas Cookie and Candy Fundraiser once again this year. As before, we will be taking pre-orders by calling Derek Jareske (402-385-8381) by December 3rd, and we will have these items available for pickup on either December 13th, 10AM-12PM in the Zion kitchen, or December 14th, following the 9AM church service and the 2PM Children’s Christmas service in the narthex. Only a limited number of pre-made platters will be available for those who do not pre-order. All funds will go toward paying for youth activities. For more information about how this can be completed, and our varieties, please check the flyer on our church website or call Derek Jareske. 

Options include: Dozen Decorated Sugar Cookies ($15, pre-order $12), Dozen Undecorated Sugar Cookies (pre-order only $10), Large Platters of Cookies and Assorted Candy ($45, pre-orders $40), and Small Platters of Cookies and Assorted Candy ($35, pre-order $30)

Some dairy free cookie choices can be made available as a pre-order option, only. Base prices will be increased for this option to account for the extra price of dairy free items and special ingredient alternations. 

COOKIE BAKING/CANDY MAKING: To prepare for our upcoming cookie fundraiser, the Fusion Youth Group is currently planning to bake cookies and candy on the evening of Friday, November 21st, beginning at 6:00PM in the Zion kitchen. Although plenty of help from both youth and parents is required, we will not need the whole group, so if you would like to help on this evening, please let Mr. J know (dcejareske@zionlutheranpierce.com) as soon as possible. We are planning more opportunities to help in the next several weeks, so if you are not able to help on this occasion, you can plan to help in the near future. Alternatively, if you would like to complete some baking on your own, in your own kitchen, please speak to Mr. J about getting the information needed to complete this endeavor. Thank you!  

• CONFIRMATION: Every Wednesday at Zion Lutheran Church beginning at 4PM
  • No Confirmation for public school 7th and 8th grade students on Wednesday, November 26th, due to the Thanksgiving holiday. 
  • Classes resume on Wednesday, December 3rd.

• COOKIE BAKING: Friday, November 21st, at Zion Lutheran Church beginning at 6PM

• HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH MEETING: Sunday, November 23rd, at Zion Lutheran Church beginning at 5PM

• THANKSGIVING EVE SERVICE: Wednesday, November 26th, at Zion Lutheran Church beginning at 7PM

• In regards to youth events and activities, occasionally plans have to shift and change due to conflicts and other factors. With that being said, if you are not currently receiving updates and reminders from the youth group, please speak to Mr. Jareske as soon as possible, so you can be added to the list of parents/guardians currently receiving this type of information. 

• If any high school students, especially juniors and seniors, would be interested in taking a group college visit to Concordia University Nebraska (CUNE) in Seward during this next year, please speak to Mr. Jareske in the near future to receive information about visit costs and waivers. CUNE is one of the universities in the LCMS university system, and they have a variety of programs of study, including several opportunities for those considering church work. 

• If any youth students would be willing to assist during church services on Sunday mornings, please call 402-329-4313 to let the church office know. We are currently looking for both ushers and technology booth assistance, and training will be provided for anyone willing to serve in either capacity. We have recently begun live-streaming our Sunday morning services with our new camera equipment, and in an effort to better manage all of the moving parts within a typical service, a few additional volunteers to assist with either running the soundboard, running the camera, or managing the slideshow would be very much appreciated. 

• If any 7th grade and older youth, or parents, would like to help with Faith Weavers for this year, please feel free to let me know at your earliest convenience. 

• If there is someone who you believe should be getting update emails, and they are not currently receiving new updates from Mr. Jareske, please let us know, so we can add them to the email list. 

• Our group of 17 successfully returned from attending the Middle School Youth Gathering this past weekend, and everyone had an absolutely amazing time! Thank you to everyone who assisted with this trip, especially our amazing parents and adult leaders, and thank you to everyone who gives to support youth ministry at Zion and makes these types of trips possible. Please look forward to seeing a short video about their experience, which will include brief videos and pictures from the trip, to begin a church service in a few weeks, and if you see one of the individuals who attended, please make sure to ask them how everything went! 

• Our assortment of greeting cards has been recently re-stocked! We have everything from anniversary cards to sympathy cards, so if we are in need of cards for your next occasion, check with us first. We will also be offering our yearly Christmas card sale during the season of Advent, which begins on Sunday, November 30th, so please look for our table in the narthex if you need to re-fill your supply of Christmas cards this year.