This summer pre-school children will explore Florida at Sprouts Summer Camps. Sprouts summer camps are for children who will be between the ages of 3 to 6 by September 1, 2012.  Each week will have its own theme covering the history, geography and cultures of Florida.  There are five weeks of camps beginning the week of June 18 and ending the week of August 6. 

June 18- 22 - Everglades
June 25-29 – Farming
July 16-20 – Native Americans
July 30 – August 3 – Beaches
August 6-10 - Space

Camp hours are Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm.  Students may attend camp for any or all sessions.  Registration is now open. Space is filled on a first-come, first-served basis.  Summer camp fees are as follows:

• $25 one-time non-refundable registration fee per family
• $95 tuition fee per session
Registration forms are located at the Hospitality Hub, at Sprouts Central or register on-line at www.WelcomeToHarvest.org

Stepping Up is a special event for rising sixth graders and their parents. This is a special night of saying good-bye to Children’s Ministry and hello to Youth Ministry. The stepping up event will be held at Harvest Friday, June 8, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm, and will include dinner.

There will be a special stepping up, transitional Sunday school class for rising 6th graders on Sundays beginning May 6 and continuing through June 3. This class will help the kids learn what it is like to be a part of the Harvest youth group, teach them about the core values of HY5, and help them be ready to make that transition on Sun­day, June 10. This class will be taught by Connie Campbell at 9:00 am each Sunday. On Sunday, June 10 at 9:00 am, rising 6th grade parents are invited to class to learn more about youth ministry opportunities at Harvest, including the rising 6th grade mission trip to Gainesville, FL which will be held June 15-16.

Elementary: rising fourth and fifth graders are invited to experience the beauty of God’s creation and the awesome memories that a week at camp can provide.

Middle School: if you are a rising sixth, seventh, or eighth grader you can come and have a life changing experience.

High School: for rising ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth graders, as well as recently graduated seniors. Many high school students who come to camp are able to strengthen and deepen their relationship with Christ as well as beginning to explore ways that God is going to work through their lives in college and beyond.

Information about all of the United Methodist programs at Warren W. Willis Camp can be found at www.warrenwilliscamp.org.

Online registration is now open.

This summer there are many opportunities for your children to experience camp with family members or with their church family at Warren W. Willis Camp and Life Enrichment Center. Visit www.lecprograms.org for information on these great faith-sharing family programs:
Grandparents and Me Camp – 3 Sessions this summer! June 25-28, July 23-26, July 30-August 2, 2012.
Family Camp – July 2-5, 2012
Mom and Me Weekend - September 14-16, 2012

 Stepping Up is a special event for rising sixth graders and their parents. This is a special night of saying good-bye to Children’s Ministry and hello to Youth Ministry. The stepping up event will be held at Harvest Friday, June 8, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm, and will include dinner.

There will be a special stepping up, transitional Sunday school class for rising 6th graders beginning on Sundays May 6 and continuing through June 3. This class will help the kids learn what it is like to be a part of the Harvest youth group, teach them about the core values of HY5, and help them be ready to make that transition on Sunday, June 10. This class will be taught by Connie Campbell at 9:00 am each Sunday. On Sunday, June 10 at 9:00 am, rising 6th grade parents are invited to class to learn more about youth ministry opportunities at Harvest, including the rising 6th grade mission trip to Gainesville, FL which will be held June 15-16.

Sunday evening, May 27 from 5:00 to 8:00 pm Harvest Youth will gather in the Harvest parking lot for a Memorial Day cookout. There will be hamburgers, hot dogs, games and worship. Don’t miss this great holiday weekend HY5 gathering!

This year, 21 students have participated in Confirmation classes. The weekly sessions have been filled with thoughtful questions and thought provoking insights. The confirmands will gather at Harvest on May 18 for an overnight Confirmation retreat. They will engage in team building activities, small group break-out sessions, worship, and a time to prayerfully consider their decision to be confirmed. On Saturday, May 19, the Confirmation class with serve together in a Change the World service project. The final Confirmation session will be held Wednesday, May 30. The following Sunday, June 3, youth participants will have the opportunity to be confirmed as full members of the church at both 9:00 and 10:30 am services.

THERE WILL BE A PARENTS MEETING at 5:00 pm on Sunday, May 6. Come hear about plans for this summer’s events and trips as well as an update on current transitions happening in HY5. After the meeting, families are invited to stay and spend the evening at HY5 celebrating youth ministry, sharing stories, and reminiscing with Scott. It will also be an opportunity for us to send off Cameron Helwege and Ginny Scott, both of whom will be spending the summer as staff team members at Warren W. Willis Camp.

The Pack-a-Sack Ministry has expanded at Samoset Elementary! Thanks to the support of the Harvest family, Samoset Elementary’s track team received brand new matching t-shirts, which enabled them to participate in the Manatee County elementary school track meet. Members of the Harvest family are also serving as track mentors and providing good behavior rewards for students.

Currently, 90 students are provided with a weekend bag of food through Harvest’s Pack-a-Sack ministry. Enough food was collected in April to cover 5 weeks’ worth of weekend food bags. Also, over 20 larger food boxes have been provided to families over long school breaks. During the 2012-2013 school year, a $2,400 grant recently awarded by the Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch will allow more Samoset families to receive the larger food boxes during extended school breaks.

On May 19, as part of Change the World Weekend, Harvest will serve Samoset Elementary by mulching, painting, and assisting with several maintenance requests.

There is also an opportunity to honor Samoset’s teachers and staff. On May 7, the beginning of Teacher Appreciation Week, Harvest would like to provide 130 "thank you" muffins for the teachers and staff at Samoset. If you would like to serve Samoset’s wonderful teachers and students by assisting with Change the World Day and/or baking muffins, please sign up at Hospitality Hub 1 or contact Rev. Sarah Campbell at scampbell@harvest-umc.org. There is always the opportunity to donate financial resources, food items, underwear, and other supplies to the Pack-a-Sack ministry.

On May 19 and 20, Harvest will participate in the United Methodist Church’s Change the World movement. Change the World 2012 is a global United Methodist Church grass roots movement to support building community locally. Community-by-community around the world, Change the World weekend encourages all people, from the United States to Zimbabwe, to gather to perform simple projects in their community to improve lives. On Saturday, May 19, Harvest will Change the World by serving Samoset Elementary School, mulching, painting, and assisting with several maintenance requests. Harvest will also serve with Habitat for Humanity’s Brush With Kindness program, helping repair and paint peoples’ homes. On Sunday, May 20, Harvest will also collect food for Oneco United Methodist’s Food Bank. Look for sign up sheets at Hospitality Hub 1. For questions or to register, email Sarah Campbell at scampbell@harvest-umc.org.

Come out and Change the World!