Central Family and Youth

30 Hour Famine 2010

2010-03-02T07:25:00.001-08:00

The CPC Youth were joined by the Youth of Heartland Community Church for the 30 Hour Famine. This event, which benefits the Christian relief agency World Vision, raises awareness of and support for hungry children around the world. The youth went without solid food for 30 straight hours. During those hours they did various activities that taught them about the challenges faced by poor communities. This year the focus was on Ethiopia, where 1 out of every 2 kids do not get enough to eat. The youth also put together some "Hygiene Kits" for earthquake relief in Haiti. Through their efforts the CPC Youth raised $3810 to help fight hunger!

Super Bowl Party 2010

2010-03-01T13:43:00.001-08:00

The Beardmore's once again demonstrated their fabulous hospitality by hosting the CPC Youth (and parents) for our Super Bowl Party. The Saints fan ended the night by celebrating, as did Eric and David Beardmore--the first and second-place finishers in the ping-pong tourney.

Youth Ski Trip 2010

2010-03-01T13:28:00.001-08:00

We traveled to Bittersweet Ski Area (Otsego, MI) for a day of skiing, a night at a hotel, and a worship service in our hotel room.

CPC Children's Christmas Pageant 2009

2009-12-10T10:05:00.000-08:00

On December 6th, 2009, the children of Central Presbyterian Church performed a "Sing a Song of Christmas" pageant. They sang their hearts out and did a stellar job! After enjoying the pageant, we all shared in a wonderful meal.

The show in full swing.

"Sing a song of Christmas, sing of peace on the earth..."

The angels tell the Christmas story.

At rehearsal. Some of the leaders (from left to right): Pam Young, Patti Foster, Annalise Drake, Aura Emsweller.

The seating was dinner-theater-style. Allison Donaldson headed up a team to provide a delicious meal immediately following the pageant.

Great job, kids!

Youth Paintball Outing

2009-11-05T12:46:00.001-08:00

There's no better way to show Christian love than to try to inflict maximum pain on one another with paintballs! (Well, almost no better way, maybe.)

Youth Lock-In

2009-11-05T12:38:00.001-08:00

The Youth were "locked-in" to the church from 10:00p to 9:00a on Oct 16-17. Games, snacks, food, a discussion on persecuted Christians, and even a few minutes sleep were shared by all.

Most of our games were played in the dark and therefore did not lend themselves to photography. We coud take a picture of basketball, though.

No Lock-In is complete without pizza.

The girls compete in a game of Scattergories.

Harvest Party 09

2009-11-05T11:53:00.001-08:00

Our fourth annual "Neighborhood Harvest Party" was another resounding success. Headed up by our Children's Ministry Coordinator, Patti Foster, we had close to 200 hundred people come and enjoy the festivities. Caroline Parker plays "Mega Ball."

"Amazon John" of Silly Safaris entertains the crowd.

Our gym was tranformed into carnival-central.

Katie Pimmler does some face painting.

We had two "Big Bounces"--one for the older kids and one for the little tikes.

Hunger Hike 09

2009-11-05T11:19:00.000-08:00

Several of our families and youth participated in the annual Hunger Hike. We were able to raise over $500 to donate to local food banks.

Posing with an aardvark from Texas Roadhouse.

On the walk.

Montreat Youth Conference

2009-08-13T10:45:00.000-07:00

Ten teens, four adults, and one two-year-old travelled from Central to attend "Youth Week V" at Montreat Conference Center in Montreat, NC. There were over a thousand other teenagers there that week (July 26-Aug 1). We rented a house in the mountains, enjoyed the beauty of the place, participated in the warm spirit of the conference, and heard several stirring messages which challenged us to put our Christian faith into practice. "World On Fire" was the theme of the conference, and we were called to help fight the wildfires that rage in our world (global warming, poverty, oppression, discrimination, etc.). We really bonded with each other and with other high schoolers from around the country. We hope to go back to Montreat again soon.

Lake Susan on a rainy day.

The youth using a giant umbrella they made out of a sheet.

Candlelight service by the lake on the last night of the conference.

Our Group (L to R): Andrew Meeks, Peg Wier, Allen Bol, Victoria Smith, Austin Hartz, Kate Wier, Jacob Smutz, Tori Sauer, Darryl King, Hannah Sauer, Katie Pimmler, Chris Burgess, Tobias Tillett, Rita Tillett, Wes Tillett.

Over 1,000 high school students sing their hearts out to God in the assembly.

Dunes Trip 09

2009-07-23T13:51:00.000-07:00

A rainy day in Lafayette turned out to be a gorgeous day at Indiana Dunes State Park. Another great Dunes trip! The purpose of this trip is really quite simple: enjoy the outdoors, enjoy one another, enjoy God and the life He has given.

Ready for the ride. It's about a two hour drive to the state park from the church. We had another 15 people or so meet up with us at the Dunes.

Chillin' (and roastin') on the beach.

Cory painted the hood of her vehicle with chalkboard paint. She decorated it up to celebrate the Dunes Trip.

After an initial shock, the water temperature was actually quite tolerable, even bordering on enjoyable. :)

Duncan digs out. He was buried vertically in the sand up to his chin.

Summer Youth Activities

2009-06-30T10:00:00.000-07:00

Tuesday nights this summer are "Ultimate Nights." We play some ultimate Frisbee, swim in Greg and Millie Mitchell's super-refreshing salt-water pool, and talk to the Ultimate One (i.e., we pray). We have also had some team-building and Bible study meetings with our Youth Leadership Team. (The Youth Leadership Team is comprised of 6 youth and 4 adults who have the responsibility of shaping the overall programming and curriculum of the CPC Youth ministries.)

The glorious pool!

Some team members try to assist an unconscious victim in the team-building activity called "Nuclear Holocaust."

A competitor prepares to hit the water for the "Biggest Splash" contest.

The Youth Leadership Team is reading through the book of Proverbs this summer.

Meeting at the home of Tom and Jennifer Pimmler.

Mission Trip to Appalachia

2009-06-30T08:29:00.000-07:00

On May 27-31, 2009, an intergenerational team of us headed out from Lafayette to Hazard, KY, six hours away. We partnered with the Housing Development Alliance to help construct a new home for a family in need of better housing. This hilly region in southeastern Kentucky is one of the poorest areas in the USA. But we found the people of Kentucky to be rich in spirit, as they kept us laughing, thinking, working, and learning.

The 2009 Mission to Appalachia Team: Brad Parker, Gabe Parker, Annette Brehm, Aaron Brehm, Emma Brehm, Paul Spurgeon, and Wes Tillett.

This is what building site looked like when we showed up.

Here's what we were able to accomplish in our 2.5 days of work

We pounded hundreds of nails as we put down the floor joists and subfloor, built exterior and interior walls, and constructed the porches. It was hard work but we enjoyed it. We also enjoyed getting to know one another, exploring a bit of what the Hazard area had to offer, and gathering for times of Scripture reading, discussion, and prayer.

All in all, it was an extremely positive experience—one we all feel blessed to have been a part of.

Youth Year-End Fiesta

2009-06-30T08:13:00.000-07:00

We celebrated the end of the school year by having a "fiesta" at Youth Group. Perhaps the most important lesson learned that evening was this: if you are going to have a jalepeno-pepper-eating contest, be sure to have lots of milk on hand to help douse the flames afterwards.

"Water U Doing?" VBS Kick-Off Party

2009-04-29T07:47:00.000-07:00

Our theme for Vacation Bible School this year is "Water U Doing?" We will focus on Jesus as the Living Water and on providing clean drinking water to children in Malawi (Africa). We are partnering with Trinity United Methodist Church, another church in downtown Lafayette. On April 19th we had a party to get recruitment and registration rolling for our June 14-19 VBS. We had Purdue students from the Engineers for World Health teaching the children about water conservation and purification. We had an African drum group--Cirque Afrique--entertaining us. We had free food. We had water-themed games. We had prizes. It was a blast! Our "Water U Doing?" VBS is going to be great!

Easter 2009

2009-04-29T07:40:00.001-07:00

We celebrated Resurrection Day with all sorts of special additions--double bass, timpanis, trombone, trumpet, flute, saxophone, dancers, and streamers. Psalm 150 says basically to praise God with all that we've got. We attempted to do that on Easter morning. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! So we have to celebrate!

The photos below are courtesy of Katie Pimmler.

Seder Meal

2009-04-29T07:33:00.001-07:00

On Palm Sunday (April 5th, 2009), we held a symbolic Passover Meal. We learned about the basic rituals of this ancient Jewish feast and gave specific attention to how we reinterpret this meal in light of Jesus Christ. It was really educational and really a lot of fun.

30 Hour Famine 2009

2009-03-19T07:44:00.000-07:00

From 7:00a March 7th to 1:00p March 8th the CPC Youth went without solid food. This "30 Hour Famine" is an international youth event geared both to help educate youth about the realities of hunger in our world and to help raise funds for malnourished children throughout the world. The CPC Youth participated with an amazing amount of enthusiasm, thoughtfulness, and effectiveness. Below are a few highlights.

We played a series of educational games to learn about the realities of life for poverty-stricken children. This year our games focused on the Amazon region of the world. We divided into various "tribes" and competed for various resources. Pictured above, Kate Wier crosses "the river"--a game simulating the difficulties many children face just getting to and from school every day.

We constructed two "Roadside Memorials"--one along Columbia Street and one along South Street. Our aim was to raise awareness and support for children caught in the jaws of hunger. At each memorial we planted 1,100 forks in the ground. Each fork represented a child's life snuffed out by hunger each hour. We also constructed five signs that were interspersed with the forks. The signs read: "Every Day On Earth" "26,000 Children Die" "From Hunger" "Do Something" "www.30hourfamine.org." While we were working on the memorials we had people stopping and asking what we were doing...we were already meeting our goal of raising awareness!

The band "Red Umbrella" put on a spectacular concert in our gym on March 7th. This Christian band played a bunch of catchy, dance-able tunes that had our youth bustin' a groove (even though they hadn't eaten in more than 12 waking hours). The songs, the lights, the demeanor, the talent, the focus--Red Umbrella puts on a great show! We won't be surprised if they make it big in the coming years.

Crab Soccer Tournament. Another one of our "tribe" games.

A few more donations trickled in and brought our grand totol to $2,107.00! Our goal was $1500. Thank you, CPC Youth, for your faithfulness, hard work, and generosity! Thank you, Central Presbyterian Church, for your support and encouragement! Together we are helping to make a difference for our younger brothers and sisters who need food.

Ski Trip 09

2009-02-25T06:50:00.001-08:00

A few pix from our 2/7/09 ski trip up to Bittersweet Ski Area (Otsego, MI--about a 3.5 hour drive). The day was breezy but with temps in the upper 40's. It made for slushy skiing but we didn't mind. It was a great day.

Jacob Smutz (in the blue an orange jacket on the right) navigates the slopes.

Maggie Painter and Hannah Sauer head to the chair lift.

Kate Wier, Austin Hartz, and Greg Mitchell take a rest in the lodge.

D'Angelo King, Darron Davis, and Darryl King ride the lift up the slopes.

Loaded up in the church bus, ready to head back home.

Super Bowl Party 2009

2009-02-02T12:42:00.000-08:00

The Beardmore Family was generous enough (and brave enough) to invite the youth and parents/families over for another Super Bowl Party. It was the third year in a row the Beardmore's have hosted us. Pizza, chili, ping-pong, games, a beautiful home, wonderful hospitality, a great crowd of friends and family, and an incredibly good football game made this a thoroughly enjoyable evening for everyone.

Ready for halftime.

Enjoying the universal love language: pizza.

Shoes at the front door. We had close to 60 people join us at the Beardmore's for the party.

Eric and David Beardmore duke it out in the finals of the ping pong tournament.

Eric and David Beardmore defended their home court. David (on the right) took out his older brother Eric (left) in the finals to take first place.

Children's Christmas Pageant

2008-12-22T13:08:00.000-08:00

The children of Central put on a wonderful pageant on December 14th. The pageant was written and directed by Annette Brehm. This clever "reader's theater" style play focused on the theme of preparing for Jesus Christ to come into our hearts and lives at Christmastime. Bravo, kids!

"Let us not lift our souls to another," the children sing.

Rehearsing the play.

"P.R.E.P.A.R.E. the way of the Lord."

Annalise Drake and Lilly Parker performing.

Calvin Walters, Gabe Parker, and Ethan Wood reading their parts.

Turkey Bowl and Chicken Cup

2008-11-25T08:22:00.000-08:00

Our third annual Turkey Bowl resulted in a victory over the youth for the adults. The final score was 91-84 (yes, that's a football score). But many adults are still paying days later for that victory...with various sore muscles, aches, and pains... The ladies took a little more laid back approach to the Chicken Cup. No score was officially reported, but it was reported they had a good time competing and kicking the soccer ball around together.

It seems to be a tradition in Turkey Bowl flag football that for every quarterback there should be at least 10 receivers. Here Deshon Davis drops back hoping to find an open man.

The youth and adults pose with The Turkey Man trophy after the game.

Some of the ladies pose for a post-game shot.

Hannah Sauer won "The Good Egg Award" for her outstanding attitude, skill, and effort in the Chicken Cup.

Mitch Sauer strikes the Heisman pose after winning "The Heinzman Trophy" for his outstanding attitude, skill, and effort in the Turkey Bowl.

Pie Auction Action

2008-11-25T07:57:00.000-08:00

The youth conducted their annual fundraiser: auctioning home-made pies on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. The congregation responded with another display of astounding generosity, with individuals buying pies for up to $130 a piece. As a result the youth raised over $2900 in about 45 minutes! The money will be used to defray the expenses of the Youth Ski Trip (Jan 09), and as scholarship money for the high school retreat/camp at Montreat, NC (July 09).

A dazzling array of delicious pies made by our youth (with a little help from mom and/or dad, usually).

Our auctioneer, Dick Mills, interviews Chris Burgess about his pie. Dick has an uncanny ability to weave humor, enthusiasm, love, and a little guilt into his auctioneering. His lively performance helped make the Pie Auction enjoyable and successful.

Austin Hartz and Jacob Smutz enjoying the Pie Auction festivities.

Kathy Parker lovingly shoves a pie into the face of her husband as their son, Gabe, gleefully looks on.

Brad Parker was the lucky winner of the "Pie in the Face" contest. His wife (Kathy) and daughter (Allison) are there to help him celebrate his victory.

Middle School Fall Retreat

2008-11-18T07:32:00.000-08:00

We headed to Camp Tecumseh on Nov 15-16 for a 24-hour retreat. The theme for the weekend was "Dare to Believe." We talked about "risk-taking faith" and looked at stories from the book of Daniel to illustrate the fact that faith in God is a risk, but God is reliable. We also spent a great deal of time just hanging out as a group--doing a low-ropes course, shooting rifles, eating together, playing games, chasing a bat out of the girls' room, playing "ga-ga" (Israeli dodgeball), and generally having a great time together.

The group poses at the "Spider Web" of the low-ropes course. This was a team-building activity that taught us about the need for cooperation, listening, and leadership.

Hannah Sauer and Anna Alspaugh attack the climbing wall.

David Beardmore won the "Saturday Archery Contest" with his stellar archery skills. He scored a 37 and beat all other youth archers at the camp on that day.

D'Angelo King and Greyson Eller celebrated birthdays on Sunday (Nov 16) of our retreat. DA turned 13. Greys turned 12.

Posing for a group shot in the girls' cabin. Back (top) row: Darron Davis, David Beardmore, Greyson Eller, Brandon Davis, D'Angelo King, Hannah Sauer, Anna Alspaugh, Harley Perkins, Ross Mitchell, Andrew Meeks. Front (bottom) row: Wes Tillett, Rita Tillett, Kelsey Perkins, Hannah Schweikher, Allison Parker, Kathy Parker, Jonathan Hartz, Allen Bol.

Paintball, Corn Maze, Cook-Out

2008-10-31T07:16:00.000-07:00

October 26th was another Small Group Outing for our Youth Group. The Sr High Boys' and both Junior High Boys' Small Groups played paintball at the Paintball Barn near Attica, IN. The Sr High and Junior High Girls' Small Groups navigated one of the corn mazes in Tippecanoe County. All the Small Groups met up afterwards at the home of Tom and Jennifer Pimmler for a buffalo burger Cook-Out.

Our fierce and good-looking group of paintball gunners.

Aidan Hill sporting some paint on the face. (Thank God for good paintball masks.)

The ladies playing some backyard games.

Cheerful on-lookers (and eaters).

Greyson Eller carries the ball for a huge gain. Unbelievably, there was no holding call on this play. We are petitioning the Pimmler's to install instant-replay capabilities for future backyard football games at their place. :)

Dodgeball Tournament

2008-10-31T07:01:00.000-07:00

On October 19th we hosted a Dodgeball Tournament for the Youth (Grades 6-12). The Youth Group from Trinity United Methodist Church joined us in our double-elimination tournament. Our aim with this event was to build some bonds between the Youth of Central Presbyterian and the Youth of Trinity UMC, as well as just have some fun.

Eric Beardmore, in the foreground, came dressed to be a play-maker in the tournament. Alas, no amount of bling could compensate for his lack of skill (jk, Eric!). :)

The Runners-Up. (They barely lost after a hard-fought series...as you can see, some of them were pretty bummed about the defeat.)

The Winners!

A little piece of the action.

Harvest Party 2008

2008-10-07T06:29:00.000-07:00

Gorgeous weather + good food + great entertainment + gregarious volunteers = our biggest crowd yet for the Neighborhood Harvest Party! We had 97 children sign in for this party on October 5th. Counting adults and volunteers, we had 175 or more people participating in this event. Thank you to everyone who came--either to play or to volunteer (or both)!

Safari Steve of Silly Safaris entertains the crowd with his Noah's Ark routine. Here he is holding a python. He also brought a skunk, an owl, a bunny, a baby alligator, a baby tortoise, and several other animals. Very funny. Very fun.

Kids line up to play in various carnival-style games. Kids would win tickets by playing the games and then cash the tickets in for prizes.

Allen Bol dispenses tickets to Emma Brehm after she successfully competed at the game "Plucky Ducky."

Volunteers help the kids sign in.

A couple of toddlers take a joy ride in the Big Bounce.

September 28th, 2008 Highlights

2008-09-29T10:43:00.000-07:00

September 28th, 2008 was an incredibly full day for the Family and Youth Ministries of Central. At both worship services the Youth were presented with a plaque by The Presbyterian Foundation. This was to represent the $25,000 permanent endowment they won for thier video entitled "29,000 a Day." In-between services a reception was held in the Youth's honor. The local TV station, WLFI TV18, covered the story of the Youth's award-winning video (it aired on the 6 and 11 o'clock news). We also said good-bye to Colin Fogarty, a long-time member of Central who had been exteremly faithful in his volunteer work as a drummer in the Celebration band and as a Youth leader. And that evening we started our Small Groups with the Youth Group, playing a county-wide game called "Bigger or Better." Each team started out with a pink cotton ball and went around to church members' houses, asking for "bigger or better" items at each home. Among other things, the Youth brought back a bicycle, a treadmill, a tent, a wireless keyboard and mouse, and an angel lawn ornament. What a day!

Bob Leech, CEO of The Presbyterian Foundation, presents the Youth with a plaque for their award-winning video "29,000 a Day."

Colin Fogarty gets "baptized" for his new role as a full-time firefighter in Noblesville, IN.

Ross Mitchell, Andrew Meeks, and Jackson Drake descend upon the home of Terry and Lynne Phillips to request something "Bigger or Better" than a 3-foot piece of PVC pipe. They walked away with a gorgeous painting of a couple of sailing ships.

The High School Boys Small Group with their "Bigger or Better" spoils.

The High School Girls Small Group won the "Bigger or Better" game with this bicycle.

Hunger Hike 08

2008-09-22T08:28:00.000-07:00

We had 25 people from Central walk in the Hunger Hike on Sunday, September 21st. Our team raised over $700 in the effort to provide for local food banks. The total amount raised by the community was around $60,000. Aaron Brehm sporting the 2008 Hunger Hike shirt.

Before the Hike, the youth took a hike of a different sort: carrying water bottles from the church to the Hike start/end site. We had washed these promotional bottles for the Hunger Hike during Youth Group and transported them during Sunday School.

The Hike started and ended at Reihle Plaza. The first 500 of the 850 walkers got one of the water bottles.

Darron Davis, D'Angelo King, Woody Archibald, and Brandon Davis walked with the Central team on the Hike.

More of the Central team. Chris Burgess, Austin Hartz, and Andrew Meeks in the front. Elizabeth and Mark Sharp, Allen Bol, and Willie Burgess behind them.

Youth Group Kick-Off: Hunger Hike Prep

2008-09-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

Youth Group got kicked off for the year on September 14th. In preparation for the Hunger Hike, Lafayette Urban Ministries (LUM) asked the CPC Youth to wash water bottles. These bottles will be passed out as a promotional piece to the first 500 hikers at the Hunger Hike, which raises money for local food banks. The Youth will participate in the hike next week.

Colin Fogarty, Woody Archibald, and Austin Hartz at work. All 500 bottles and caps need to be sterilized before being passed out to the Hunger-Hikers.

Austin Bailey and Eric Beardmore getting it done.

Jonathan Hartz stacks bottles to dry. We certainly hope there will be a huge amount of community support for the Hunger Hike! Hunger is a real issue in this community, too.

Turkey Run 08

2008-09-08T10:23:00.000-07:00

Each year we have a church-wide Camp Out

at Turkey Run State Park.

A terrific time every year. This year--Sept 5-7--was no exception.

Below are a few quick highlights of a weekend full of fun.

Hiking the famously beautiful Trail 3.

Canoeing Sugar Creek.

After our church-wide "Stone Soup" carry-in dinner on Saturday evening, groups competed in an intergenerational activity: "The Egg Drop."

Outdoor Worship Service on Sunday morning (after pancake breakfast).

Climbing rocks and posing along the trail.