There is still a need for Youth Sunday school teachers for May, June & July. Days that need coverage are: May 20^th & 27^th; June 24^th; July 1^st, 8^th, 15^th & 22^nd. Please contact Christa Tarr if you are able to help on any or several of the Sunday mornings listed.

The SOTV Youth Fellowship is moving to a New Time! Starting on Sunday, June 3^rd during the evenings the Middle School Youth (6-8^th grade) will meet from 5:30-6:30 p.m. with dinner from 6:30-7:00 p.m.; the High School Youth (9-12^th grade) will meet from 7:00-8:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. Leadership will be provided by the SOTV youth mentoring interns, Shelton Caldwell, Brent Gillespie and Cortney Romero. Please contact them if you have any questions.

Help is needed for Christian growth class teachers for middle/high school-aged youth for the months of May, June and July.� "Feasting on the Word" curriculum (the same as the adult class but written for youth and very easy to follow).�� Volunteers may teach for one Sunday, or for more.� Teaching time will be 9:45 am - 10:45 am in May and 10:45 am - 11:45 am in June and July.� Contact Christa Tarr to volunteer or for more information.

The session approved a youth mission stock sale fund raiser. We will be selling the mission stock on May 13th and 20th.�The church will be having a mission fair on the 20th, so that will be great! The money we raise�will go to fund our High School Youth Mission Trip to Mora, NM on July 8-13, and the Midhigh Mission Experience, which still needs to be planned. We need youth and adult volunteers to "man" the tables both Sundays, but especially on the 20th.� Contact Christa Tarr to help.

The youth fellowship planning team would like to give a heartfelt thanks to the youth and parents who stayed for the lunch and meeting after worship on March 25th. The shared opinions and suggestions are helping the team develop a new and exciting youth fellowship program! The planning team is currently made up of 3 mentoring interns: Shelton Caldwell, Cortney Romero and Brent Gillespie, and ruling elder Christa Tarr. Ruling elder, Kathy Rhoades and pastor Tom Hart are also involved in praying for the team and helping with decisions. Prayer support and communication from all will be essential in the next couple of months as the planning continues. Be looking forward... to something great! God is on the move! Blessings in Christ, Christa Tarr.

Correction-- the Youth Lock-In will be on Friday, April 27th from 7:00 pm until 12:00 pm on Saturday, April 28th. It was reported in the Chimes to be on April 20-21, those dates are incorrect.

This past March 2-4, high school youth, college students and adult leaders from five churches in both Santa Fe and Sierra Blanca Presbytery participated in the Presbytery of Santa Fe’s high school retreat. Our theme, "This Kind of Trouble: Dr. Seuss and the Sermon on the Mount," looked at Jesus's call on our lives to live in God's kingdom...and that when we do, we will get into "trouble." We looked at ways people throughout history have challenged the status quo and stood up for those in need against tyranny and oppression.

One of those people was Dr. Seuss, who in his books addressed many social justice issues in a way that was easy for young children (and older ones) to understand. We played games, got "energized" with dancing and worship songs, created bedsheet murals, ate, laughed and shivered together (it was very cold!). On Sunday morning we finished up with a worship service that involved the youth and included communion. At the end of the weekend we were all reminded to go out and be “holy troublemakers”.

Christa Tarr
Youth Elder

Youth March Schedule

Youth April Schedule

Youth May Schedule

Youth "letting the light shine in" through their mission work

In Luke 10 : 1-20 we learn about how Jesus, in wanting to reach out to others, CALLS seventy (35 pairs) followers to go out together into the COMMUNITIES He was about to visit. The followers did as they were called to do. Some places accepted them, some did not. But they returned with joy, reporting that demons obeyed when they spoke in His name. Jesus reminded them that he had given them power to CONTEND with snakes and scorpions and the power of the enemy (things that scared people). Jesus said they have reason to be happy not because evil spirits obeyed them, but because their names were written in heaven (they were the CHOSEN ones).

How, you might be asking, does this connect to Harry Potter? The "ACtivators" presented this to the youth using a catechism format of four questions, posed in a series of skits starring two wizards named "Dumbledora" and "Harriet," a group of 7 youth, and a guy named "Joy." Each skit was paired with film clips. The four questions were:

Q: How do wizard stories start? A: With a CALL
Q: Into where do wizards get called? A: Into COMMUNITY
Q: What are wizards called to do? A: CONTEND with things that frighten or scare people
Q: What do wizards see when they look in the mirror? A: one of the CHOSEN ones

In small groups, the youth and ACtivators responded to what was revealed in the skits, movie clips and scripture by creating bed sheet banners. And of course, no retreat would be complete without a ton of games, energizers and worship music! Food? There was plenty! Sleep? Not much! The members of First United Presbyterian Church of Las Vegas, NM served as gracious hosts to about 40 participants, including 10 youth and adults from SOTV (Carlie, Cassidy, Alex, Abi, Angelyn, Adam, Sarah, Tim, Christa and Jeremy). We thank you for your prayers and financial support of the ministry to youth in our church and the community.

Christa Tarr Youth Elder

In a moment of inspiration Tomas Atencio shared with us his desire to create a "gigantic origami peace crane." When that idea was shared with others, the Holy Spirit spread the enthusiasm and before we knew it a large group was planning to come together to "make it happen."

On October 2, World Communion Sunday, we took up our denomination’s Peace offering. After worship the youth group from Covenant Presbyterian Church in Albuquerque joined the youth from SOTV for lunch and fellowship. They then proceeded out to the parking lot, where a 40’ x 40’ square of butcher block paper had been laid out on tarps. Following instructions, they folded and unfolded until the basic shape began to take form. The group, with much care, lifted the unfinished paper crane and carried it into the gathering space. What a sight that was!

And it reminded us all that peace can be a fragile thing if we are relying on our own strength to accomplish it!

After the work of art was completed, Shelton Caldwell and others erected it, displaying it for all to wonder, "why is there a pterodactyl in the gathering space?"