Church guide

Camp is about friends, and our students bonding with each other. It’s for learning & experiencing. It’s the one time a year that I am away from my family for a week and get to be fully with your children. Our adult volunteer leaders get such valuable undivided attention with them too. And the leaders are such stellar individuals that I’d go to adult camp with them if we weren’t already going to youth camp. Seriously, some of the best young adults your students could be around for a week. The camp counselors we get assigned each year are also incredible. We adopt them as ours forever every year. We send them off the last day of camp with letters about what they’ve meant to us. I believe each year of camp adds on to who our students are. It’s a piece of who they become. At the very least we leave with inside jokes about Luke H.’s face meeting the rock wall, and that also being the ‘prophecy’ that got us out of the escape room. It’s memories of Annalea scaling the cliff, and us holding our breaths with her every foothold, and willing her up with our hearts. It’s guys carrying each other on their backs while running during the scavenger hunt, only for us to win, but NOT win because no one won. And Adult Jake reminding us that the only thing he likes better than winning is a well-made point. It’s about sitting around the camp fire in the evening listening to the kids give shout-outs to each other about things they saw in each other that day. So many that you have to cut them off and send them to bed. I’m no longer afraid of the inevitable drama that comes with a week of us all together, because of the opportunity it gives us to choose to be like Christ in those moments. And for the students to realize that our group is measured by how seen, heard & loved every last one of them feels. All that being said… We have a great group going this year, and a couple of spots left. If you want to bring friends they are more than welcome to join us. Just LMK soon! Camp Eagle Adventure Camps

Restore weekend at CTCH. We’re nostalgic because it was our last one with Reilly Shelton before he graduates 😭😭😭

We hope that you are planning to take part in both Restore Weekend... and New Story Festival. Both are super important. Restore Weekend to get a better feel & really grasp what the DNA of Austin New Church is. And New Story Festival to hear progressive thinkers & leaders tell a better story for a better world. Below you will find the PROMO CODE to register for 40% off the entire weekend or also register for a FREE Sunday pass. BUT YOU HAVE TO REGISTER online at their website to get either of the offers. Promo Code: ANC-NEWSTORY-WEEKEND for 40% off or free Sunday pass.

DON’T GO TO CHURCH this Sunday! It’s a fifth Sunday of the month so Austin New Church closes the doors & will be all over town at different projects this weekend instead. Students will be here 👇🏼👇🏼 at Central Texas Children’s Home on Saturday from 10 am to 1 pm helping spruce up the campus for their upcoming 50th anniversary celebration. More details on that to come in April! For those coming THIS weekend wear clothes you don’t mind getting dirty, bring work gloves & sun screen. See y’all soon!

‘Notes From The Field' is a play at the ZACH Theatre right now. It's about the current racial divide in the U.S. with a highlight of the School-to-Prison Pipeline. A friend who attended says a crucial part of the play is that during the second act the audience is broken up into groups for community discussions, with the goal of those discussions to be a call to action of sorts. To get people to think about the important components of the play and what we can actually DO about it. The age range is 14 and up. Student tickets are discounted to $30 (with a valid student ID). Yes, that's the discount price. It's only running through the rest of this month. We’re available to go with the students this week one night Wednesday the 27th through Saturday night the 30th, so email or text soon if you're interested so we can pick a night and buy tickets. Our friend did say it was intense. Which I don't mind if it is meaningful but just wanted to give you all a heads up. Parents are welcome to come too. Adult prices can be found online at: https://tickets.zachtheatre.org/single/PSDetail.aspx?psn=7981

Only a HANDFUL of summer camp spots are still available so if you’re on the fence LMK ASAP! We’re taking THIS to camp too this year instead of vans. 🎉🎉 No, Austin New Church didn’t win the lottery. We just got a great discount on the charter bus with the help of our friends Camp Eagle Adventure Camps & the bus company. 🙏🏼🙏🏼

We learned some Spanish today too.

Ladies Senior Citizen Social, THIS Saturday, March 16th from 10 am to noon. I know some of you will be out of town for Spring Break, but for those of you in town, we are helping Ms. Lupe put on this event at the Santa Rita complex. Our youth group will be there painting nails for the residents. Other ANC people will be there doing chair massages & hair cuts too. Ms. Lupe is open to anything that blesses the ladies there so if you have something we could add LMK. RSVP via text or email if you can make it.

Half of our camp spots are full at this point so if you’re on the fence, decide soon! I have a feeling they will fill quickly this year. Plus Camp Eagle Adventure Camps sent these rad stickers I’ll bring for y’all on Sunday to Austin New Church Youth restore groups ALSO meet THIS week: • South HS & MS COMBINED (for just this time) on Tuesday the 26th at the younger Pruet’s at 7:15 pm • Central HS & MS meet on WEDNESDAY the 27th at the Lehenbauer’s at 7 pm

#toimmigrantswithlove

THE TALK. It’s what you think it’s about. But hopefully not as awkward as you think it will be. A 3-part series starting this month for HS boys & girls. Our approach is best summed up as BIBLICAL + SCIENCE + PRACTICAL... without the cheesiness & shame. I don’t know if we’re brave or crazy but I know we aren’t perfect. And I know it’s not an easy subject to broach but it’s an important one. And worth the hard discussions with parents & teens. Message me if you want the location of the parent ONLY info meeting TONIGHT. Youth restore groups ALSO meet THIS week: • South HS on Tuesday the 12th at the younger Pruet’s at 7:15 pm • South MS on Tuesday the 12th at the Hedrick’s at 7 pm • Central HS & MS meet on WEDNESDAY the 13th at the Lehenbauer’s at 7 pm

Still thinking about the baby shower some ANC ladies had at Posada Esperanza of Casa Marianella today for our friend Maritza. And a related reminder about Part 1 (of 2) of the 201 Class for Migrant Ministries. It will be in the ANC Sanctuary tomorrow night, February 10th from 6-8 pm. No registration needed. This week @jessica_goudeau will be joined by a DACA-recipient and activist who fled violence in Central America and came to the US as an unaccompanied minor. She will talk about the profound loneliness of being an immigrant caught up in the bureaucracy and give us advice for how to enter this work well.

Mini planters from @abeautifulmess with @lindslagle & kombucha tasting & lesson with @geetarcolin tonight. Thx Slagle’s for hosting & loving on our students this PALentine season! ❤️🌱🍵

Also. Our students killed it. The Blind Cafe Experience is a lean team like we are and they pulled off a great show with a lot of hustle & heart. Our students worked their tails off and made me proud AGAIN that they are ours.

I need you guys to meet Garrick, one our blind ambassadors from The Blind Cafe Experience Saturday night. During our dinner in complete darkness, he & our other blind ambassador for the evening, Faith, lovingly & hilariously explained the misconceptions we make about blind people & answered ALL of our questions about their lives. But you guys. Garrick also works with a nonprofit METAS that travels to Mexico to help blind kids & teachers there learn how to live independently to their fullest potential. And he also works with blind undocumented people in Texas to teach them the same. I’m stilling learning more about him and this org but my mind is completely blown by the good work they are doing. And it was in the midnight hour, the last hour of an 8 hour shift, while we were disassembling the scaffolding & folding up the window coverings that he got to tell me about his life. And I got to tell him about our little church. And we got to dream about doing things together. http://metasinternational.org/ http://metasinternational.org/

#Souperbowl Sunday with @imagineartgallery was delish today! And since we shared the Community Center with them during youth today, John & Cody from @imagineartgallery added to the lesson & discussion. The bowl with the $$$ is y’all coming through for the slippers for the single foster mom retreat with Austin Angels 🙌🏼🙏🏼 Another beautiful Sunday y’all! Go watch some football with your neighbors! 🏈🥣 😇 ❤️

Imagine Art offers specialized supports tailored to empower artists with disabilities to create art. Non-disabled players engage as working artists in their studios to create a diverse, inclusive space where all artists thrive. Austin New Church is partnering with them THIS SUNDAY for Souper Bowl Sunday! 🥣 🏈 ❤️

SAVE THE DATE for ANC youth group wide PALentine’s Party at the Slagle’s in south Austin on Wednesday, February 6th from 7:15-8:45 pm. Lindsay is going to help us make these mini planters & Collin is going to teach us how to make kombucha! We’re SO Austin. Right?!? • We also have RESTORE Groups THIS WEEK • South HS on Tuesday the 29th at the younger Pruet’s at 7:15 pm • South MS on Tuesday the 29th at the Hedrick’s at 7 pm • Central HS & MS meet on WEDNESDAY the 30th at the Lehenbauer’s at 7 pm • RSVP to me ASAP about the PALentine’s Party so I can get enough succulents, clay & snacks! • 📷 credit: @abeautifulmess

• June 16th-21st • $425 for 5 nights/6 days • Only 3 hours away in beautiful Rocksprings,TX • HS & MS • Our best week of the year! • $100 to reserve your spot! • See parent email for more details! 📷 credit: Camp Eagle Adventure Camps

I need you guys to meet Garrick, one our blind ambassadors from The Blind Cafe Experience Saturday night. During our dinner in complete darkness, he & our other blind ambassador for the evening, Faith, lovingly & hilariously explained the misconceptions we make about blind people & answered ALL of our questions about their lives. But you guys. Garrick also works with a nonprofit METAS that travels to Mexico to help blind kids & teachers there learn how to live independently to their fullest potential. And he also works with blind undocumented people in Texas to teach them the same. I’m stilling learning more about him and this org but my mind is completely blown by the good work they are doing. And it was in the midnight hour, the last hour of an 8 hour shift, while we were disassembling the scaffolding & folding up the window coverings that he got to tell me about his life. And I got to tell him about our little church. And we got to dream about doing things together. http://metasinternational.org/ http://metasinternational.org/

How I’m feeling now that we have our spots locked in for @campeagletx session 3 next summer. SAVE THE DATE: June 16-21, 2019. It’s one of our best weeks of the year. 🙌🏼

For those starting school this week... American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and Active Minds have some tips for taking care of your mental health in the classroom. (1) Put your hands to work (a smooth stone, play dough, stress ball, fidget spinner, cube, elastic hair ties, doodling. (2) Grounding (use your senses to draw you back into the now and reconnect with the world around you... mentally or on paper note things around you that you can see, touch, feel, smell or taste) (3) Retake control of your situation by breathing. In and out. In sync with this GIF. When we focus on our breathing the rest of our body gets a break. It restores what many of us crave during an anxiety attack, control. (4) YOU DO YOU. Think back to what helped you in those moments of fear, think about what got you to feel more in control. And use that. Don’t compare your ways of destressing in class to others. Everyone comes to the table with different skills. Be willing to learn and ask questions, but don’t compare or detract from your own methods. #stigmafree #mentalhealth #justbreathe

#sideways #slamdunk #backtoschool #poolparty

Y’all win. At life. And this! Thx for the vid @lauren.elenaa #backtoschool #poolparty

#tbt zip line 3000 Camp Eagle

#tbt until I run out of good camp footage I think 🤔 My fave part of this one is when someone asks if all sweat tastes the same 🤣

morning chaos —> dance party night @campeagletx #tbt #ancyouthsummercamp

The boys hustling during the scavenger hunt! Where we won but we didn’t! #teamwork #jesuswins #tbt #ancyouthsummercamp