Retreat Details. . .

Dear Confirmands, Parents, and Mentors,

As you know by now, our Confirmation Retreat is fast approaching. The information in this post is also being mailed/given to you this week, but as it is so important, I wanted to post it here, too.

We will leave the church parking lot (upper portion, near the church office) at 5:30 p.m. on Friday August 8th. Please come having had dinner—we will have snacks, but no evening meal together on Friday. We will be staying the weekend at Dream Horse Guest House in Kinsman. My wife, Kelly, and I will be the adult chaperones for the weekend. You can find a list of what to bring—and what not to bring—in your confirmation booklets.

Mentors are asked (but not required) to come for the session at 2 p.m. on Saturday called “Planning for Confirmation Sunday.” If mentors wish, they may stay through the session entitled “Grace,” at 3:15, but we will ask them to head home after that.

Please note that we will be going to the Centenary United Methodist Church for our last field trip on Sunday morning. If mentors wish to join us for worship, you can meet us at Centenary at 9 a.m. on Sunday August 10th. Centenary UMC is located at 1413 Belmont Avenue in Youngstown.

We plan to arrive back at the church by about 11:00 or 11:15 on Sunday morning, so parents can plan to pick up their youth shortly after the end of the second service.

Important: We need to have your permission forms in before you can go! Please turn them in to the office ASAP! The deadline for this has been extended to noon on Thursday, which is the last time that anyone will be in the office to collect your forms. If you do not turn them in by that time, you may not attend the retreat.

Cost: Some have asked about the cost of the retreat. Our approximate cost per person for this event is about $90. We are asking that we split this cost three ways: $30 from the church, $30 from the mentors, and $30 from confirmands’ families. If for some reason you are not able to contribute this amount, any amount will be accepted towards this, and the church will cover the rest. Contributions can be brought with you to the retreat, or you may send them to the office marked “Confirmation Retreat.”

If you are unable to attend the retreat, there will be another confirmation retreat in the spring of 2009. You may attend at that time, and be confirmed with that class of confirmands. All work completed for this confirmation session will count toward the next course.

I look forward to seeing you all at the retreat this weekend. May God bless you as you continue on your journey toward membership in Niles First United Methodist Church!


Yours in Christ,



Pastor David

P.S.—Don’t forget to mark your calendars for September 14th. That is the date for Confirmation Sunday.

Call the office at (330) 652-1439, or e-mail me at: davidmacdonald@mtsoalum.org if you have any questions.