Children's Christmas Pageant

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.