Exploring Campus Mission Oppotunities - Workshop

The Pacific Southwest District College Ministry is thrilled to be welcoming Rev. Greg Fairow to Southern California for a two day workshop that will explore campus mission opportunities. Rev. Fairow serves LCMS World Mission in partnership with the Lutheran Campus Mission Association as a catalyst for Christ on campus, and a part of the Ablaze movement. Specifically, Rev. Fairow helps LCMS congregations near colleges and universities start intentional campus mission ministries, transform dormant ministries, and expand plateaued ones.

The workshop will be held at the District office from 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 10, 2008 through 12:00 p.m. on Friday, January 11.

Anyone and everyone who might be interested in starting or expanding their missional outreach on campus is invited. This includes pastors, DCEs, DCOs, and all other church workers (rostered or not) at all district ministries with campus outreach opportunities. This also includes part-time and volunteer staff.

The cost will be $70 for one or $110 for a team of up to three from a single congregation.

Early registration deadline is December 21, 2007

Walk up registrations can be done at a cost of $90 per person (no team discount).

A special hotel rate has been secured through Concordia University at the Best Western Airport North. When you call (714)-432-8888 to make your reservation simply ask for the Concordia rate and tell them that you are attending a conference at the University and you will get the $84/night.person rate.

A group dinner will be organized Thursday night to further discussion and networking. This dinner is not included in the cost of the workshop.

Continental breakfast will be provided on Friday morning at the District office.

Rev. Fairow plans to return, in Spring 2008, to provide individual congregational follow-ups to further your campus ministry efforts for those congregations who desire that additional
assistance.

For additional information please contact Dave Rueter (drueter@soth.org).
For registration forms click here.

Staying Connected While @ School

For those of you working your way through your first semester of college far away from home, you might be feeling a certain loss of community. Back home, only a few months ago, you might have had a great group of friends, a solid church youth group, and adults in your congregation who you could turn to in times of trouble. Though you can still stay in contact with all those people through wonderful social networking sites like myspace and facebook, there is still a need for face time with an actual person. That is the way God created us. After God created Adam, He noticed that Adam just did not seem to be complete. He had access to all of God's creation, but he was still lacking something. Adam had God's complete attention and he still needed more. Adam needed a helper, someone like him who he could relate to. That is why God create Eve. God created Adam with a need for Eve. We too are all created with a need for social connections. The purpose of the church is not just to pool our resources to build spiffy buildings. Rather the purpose of the Church is to be the Body of Christ, that is the community of believers, formed by Christ, for the expressed purpose of building one another up in faith.

Just as God new this need in His creation, so to do we, the PSD College Ministry, understand that need. That is why the right hand column on this blog has links to congregations and ministries of the Lutheran Church that seek to connect College students to a local congregation while they are at school. That is also why we are pleased to provide you with this link to Lutheran Student Fellowship. Here you will find a search engine that will provide you contact information for a student ministry in your area that you can connect with to help restore some of those feelings of community that you left behind only a few months ago. We hope that you will find a point of connection that will help to uplift your faith life and restore your soul through worship and fellowship. If you ever need help connecting to a ministry in your area please feel free to contact Lutheran Student Fellowship or the PSD College Ministry.

8th Annual Ski Trip

Registration materials for the 8th Annual PSD College Ministry Ski Trip should have arrived at your congregation this past week. We will again return to Mammoth Mountain and the Convict Lake Resort.

January 3-6, 2008

The Program
This is the 8th annual College Ministry Ski/Snowboard trip the Pacific Southwest District has offered to Young Adults across Southern California, Arizona and Nevada. The purpose is to get away from the busyness of life and enjoy God’s creation. January 3rd is mainly a travel day and time to relax in our two cabins. We will be at the ski lifts on the 4th and 5th from 9am to 4:30pm and enjoying the winter evenings back at the cabins. Each evening there will be a Bible Study and time for prayer and worship. We will leave the cabins by 10:30 on the 6th and eat lunch down the hill in Bishop.

Fees:
- Early Registration with Lift Tickets (postmarked before Nov. 16) $230
- Early Registration without Lift Tickets (postmarked before Nov 16) $125
- Registration with lift ticket (Postmarked between Nov 17 and Dec 14) $260
- Registration without Lift Ticket (Postmarked between Nov 17 and Dec 14) $145
- Late Registration with Lift Ticket (Postmarked after Dec 15) $290
- Late Registration without Lift Ticket (Postmarked after Dec 15) $165
All Fees include 3 Nights in a cabin at Convict Lake Resorts, at least 6 meals and a T-shirt.
Fees with Lift Tickets also include a two day lift pass at Mammoth Mountain,
T-shirt’s cannot be guaranteed after December 15.

Forms:
Each group needs to turn in one group form and a Medical Release form for each participant. If you need the room, you may use more than one Group Form. To get copies of the forms either contact Brandon Heath (see below) or watch for the forms to be posted on the District site (www.psd-lcms.org).

Housing:
We are staying at Convict Lake Resort. Between the two cabins; Mt Morrison and Bodie; there is a big screen TV, Jacuzzi, two kitchens, and room for over 50 participants. If you want more information check out their website: http://convictlake.com/cabins.html . Rooms are assigned based on gender. No Coed rooms!

Meals:
To keep cost low, each participant will help cook one of the six meals provided during the weekend. If there are any dietary concerns, please list that on your personal medical release form and high light it. Each participant is responsible for food during travel and while at the ski lodge.

Lift Ticket:
Some registrations above include a 2 day Lift Ticket to Mammoth Mountain. These are nonrefundable. If your choose not to ski or snowboard the second day, your ticket will just go unused.

Transportation:
You are responsible for your own transportation to Mammoth and back. If you are looking to car pool, feel free to contact us. We will give you contact information on people attending the event close to you.

Lessons:
We invite all levels of skill to join us for the ski trip. Professional Lessons are not included in registration, but participants within the group may be willing to help you on the mountain. If you would like to get professional lessons feel free to check out Mammoth’s web site for times and prices: http://www.mammothmountain.com/ski_ride/lessons/

Rental Equipment:
Your registration does not include rental equipment. You can rent anything at Mammoth mountain. Go to http://www.mammothmountain.com/ski_ride/rental_demo/ to get rates and more information. You may be able to find rentals cheaper in your hometown or in the town of Mammoth.

Refunds:
We understand that circumstances arise that may force someone to cancel before the event. The following is a refund schedule:

Before or on November 16th - Full refund minus a $20 filing fee.
Before or on December 14th - Half refund minus a $20 filing fee.

NO REFUNDS AFTER DECEMBER 14th

All refunds must be made in writing either by letter or email.

Substitutions
You may substitute a person that originally signed up but was not able to make the
event. We will need a medical release form for the new individual. Due to housing issues,
substitutions will have last claim on where they are sleeping.

Contact information:
Please make all checks payable to PSD College Ministry and send to our Registrar:
PSD College Ministry
Attn: Alyssa Smith
28850 Western Ave
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

If you have any questions please call Brandon Heath at 619-462-5211 x129 or email at
bheath@christlamesa.org.

Summer Gathering in Yosemite

The Third Annual PSD Summer College Gathering will be taking place June 25-28, 2007 just outside of Yosemite at the High Sierra Campground. Bob McKinney will be our storyteller working with our theme of Road Rule: Stories from the Road of Life. The cost for the gathering is just $75. The registration materials are ready and available on the yahoo group. Just go to the files section and open the Summer Gathering file and download both documents. If you have questions please contact DCEDave@faithhb.org

Summer Gathering!

Please save the dates of June 25th to 28th as we head back to Yosemite Valley for our annual summer gathering. This years theme: Road Rules: Stories from the Road of Life. More information will be coming soon. Stay tuned!!

Mexico House Building- April 21st

Come get your hands dirty and help some of our brothers in Mexico on April 21st (all day). Please plan to join us as we put some feet on our faith and share the love of Jesus with others. Meeting time is 7 am near the boarder. Join us for a great trip as we partner with Amor Ministries to build a house! Their goal is simple: To build hope. They say, "Hope is a concrete floor, Hope is four strong walls, Hope is a roof that doesn't leak, Hope is giving more than you can, Hope is getting more than you gave! " It is hard work but the rewards are awesome.

From the Amor Website:

The Amor Mission Trip
The Amor mission trip is a short-term mission trip based on serving the local church in Mexico, while creating cross-cultural understanding through direct exposure to the Mexican culture. Amor Ministries doesn't want a group to just build a house in a developing nation. We want a group to understand the conditions of poverty through immersion.

Due to the early meeting time (7am) near the boarder, Christ Lutheran Church has offered a place to stay Friday night (the 20th) for those groups that are coming from out of town. Those staying will be treated to a continental breakfast Saturday morning. Bring your sleeping bag and pillow. The cost is $35 per person, which covers building material. Each person/group needs to provide water and food for themselves while they are in Mexico. An Individual Mission Trip Participation form (PDF format) can be found at the Yahoo Groups page. Amor needs to have final numbers by April 11th so please fill out those forms and send it in with $35 before that date. Please have all checks made out to PSD College Ministry. Please note that youth under 18 must obtain a parent or guardian signature. Feel free to invite students who are seniors in High School as well. If you have any questions please contact Brandon Heath at 619-462-5211 x129 or bheath@christlamesa.org.