The email newsletter of the Niagara Frontier Conference Lutheran Youth Organization
Issue No. 26 - September 2008

Note: The NFCLYO has now standardized the registration process for all events.  See the NFCLYO Events:  Registration 101 topic for more.

In This Issue
1.  NFCLYO 08-09 Kick-off at Lasertron - RSVP BY SEPT. 15!
2.  ELCA 2009 Youth Gathering
3.  NFCLYO 2008 Harvest Bash at Harvest House
4.  Upstate New York Synod LYO Senior High Youth Gathering
5.  NFCLYO Events: Registration 101
6.  NFCLYO 2008 End-of-Summer Field Day recap
7.  AutumnFest at LCLC
8.  More events planned for 2008-09
9.  CROP Walks are coming up
10.  NFC Youth Ministry Network
11.  Youth Groups: FREE web space available at NFCLYO.org
12.  Upcoming Events Calendar
About this newsletter

1.  NFCLYO 08-09 Kick-off at Lasertron - RSVP BY SEPT. 15!
It's back...all night Lasertron, devos, arcade, Cybersport, food and all night fun for grades 7-12!  Come to the Lasertron arena in Amherst the night of Friday-Saturday, September 26-27 at 12:30-7:00 am for the action!  The cost is $37 per person...non-playing adults are free.  Registration packs are now available online...click here to download them and for more info.  All youth must come as a group with a minimum of one adult per 9 youth attending.  A min. deposit of $20 per playing person must be with your group's RSVP form and mailed by Monday, September 15.
NOTE: This event has sold out in past years!!!  FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED for this event!

Don't forget to get your baby bottle at Lasertron to start collecting loose change for the Harvest Bash at Harvest House on October 26-27!

2.  ELCA 2009 Youth Gathering
36,000 Lutheran youth in one city at one time...be a part of the next ELCA National Youth Gathering in New Orleans, LA in the summer of 2009!  Go to www.elca.org/gathering to find out more!

On-line registration for the ELCA 2009 Youth Gathering opens at 1:01 am Eastern Time on Monday, September 15!!!

Do you have youth interested in going to the ELCA Gathering but no adults?  Give St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Eggertsville a call at (716) 835-0407.  They have room in their group to accommodate a limited number of youth from churches that may not have any adults going to the Gathering.  This is a tremendous opportunity for smaller churches with a few youth that may not be able to go to the Gathering on their own!

3.  NFCLYO 2008 Harvest Bash at Harvest House
This 07-08 first-time event returns!  An overnight at Harvest House in south Buffalo that calls attention to the ministry to children and families Harvest House provides.  We collect loose change for Harvest House, and we have a ton of fun too!  Worship, games, mixers, basketball, foursquare, arcade games, movies, and more!

Harvest Bash at Harvest House is for all in grades 6-12 (that's right, 6-12!) on Friday-Saturday, November 7-8 from 8 pm to 8 am.  The cost is $12 per person with all proceeds going to support Harvest House in their ministries.  Any and all baby bottles with loose change (especially paper change) are welcome too.  As with other NFCLYO events, all youth must come as a group with a minimum of one adult for every 9 youth attending.  A minimum deposit of $6 per person (adult chaperones are free) must be with your group's registration form and mailed by Wednesday, October 29.  Download the registration forms, get directions and more info by clicking here for the Harvest Bash at Harvest House page.

4.  Upstate New York Synod LYO Senior High Youth Gathering
Friday-Sunday: March 13-15, 2009 in Niagara Falls
Imagine a weekend event at a hotel with 300-plus of your friends all in one place to worship, grow in your faith, dive into some deep experiences, hear some live Christian music, serve the community, check out the falls, and have an amazing time...this is that event!  Picture CONVO times 8!  You will definitely hear more about this event as the time gets closer, so start getting ready now!  Registration for this event opens October 1, 2008!
LEAVE YOUR MARK ON THIS EVENT: come help piece this gathering together!  The beauty of the Senior High Youth Gathering is that it is very much youth-planned and led!  You can have a part in behind-the-scenes stuff, welcoming people, making announcements, speaking, interacting with the band and much more!  Come to our next Gathering Leadership Team meeting and see where you could make a difference on Sunday, September 28 at 3:30 pm at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Eggertsville.

5.  NFCLYO Events: Registration 101
The NFCLYO has now standardized the registration process for all events.  That means that you find out about, RSVP and register for all NFCLYO events the same way now.  (This does not apply to LCLC or Synod events!)  So let’s break it down:

Finding out about goings-on:  There are 4 ways to get the scoop on what’s happening...1-You’re looking at it: through our monthly email newsletter "Whats-UP@NFCLYO"...2-through our quarterly newsletter mailing "NFCLYO Happenings"...3-through our website at www.nfclyo.org...and 4-our Facebook Page. Contact Rick at rick@nfclyo.org if you want to find out more about any of these ways to keep in contact.

Ok, you know about said event, and you want to go:  Great!  To do that, you must RSVP for an event as a church group (one adult is need per 9 youth to be counted as a church group).  Get a hold of an event pack (either through a download on this site (click on "Events" above) or the insert in the quarterly newsletter mailing), fill in the info and mail that in along with any deposit due for your group BY THE DEADLINE!!!

Almost there…:  Once your church group is RSVP’ed, be sure to print/copy an event registration form (this is different than the RSVP form) for everyone (adults included) to fill out and bring with you to the event to turn in at the registration table (along with any amount due).

...and you’re in!:  Have a great time at NFCLYO events!  In the event an event is altered due to weather or for any other reason, updates will be posted on www.nfclyo.org and the group leader will be called (the person listed on your group’s RSVP form).

6.  NFCLYO End-of-Summer Field Day recap
Thanks to the 45 youth and adults who came out for a great day of games, activities, food and worship at the second NFCLYO End-of-Summer Field Day at the Picnic Pavilion of St. Nicodemus Lutheran Church in Marilla on Sunday, August 17!!!  We had people from at least 10 different churches from all across the NFCLYO area there.  This event has now become an annual happening, so look for it again after the LCLC 2009 Summer Camp season!

7.  AutumnFest at LCLC
Come back to camp on SATURDAY, October 4 (note the change in day this year!!!) to hang out, have great food, great worship, and great times in the beauty of autumn. Come reminisce and share a story of how LCLC has made a difference in your life...bring along camp pictures. Featuring many fall activities that AutumnFest is known for!  Come anytime...free admission!!!  For more info, please call LCLC at (716) 386-4125 or email the camp at lclc@alltel.net.

8.  More events planned for 2008-09
We're just getting started with this year's worth of awesome youth events with the NFCLYO, LCLC and beyond!  Here's some other events to look forward to this coming year:

Youth Encounter Junior High Quake: Friday-Sunday, November 21-23
An event geared for up to 300 6-9th graders from various churches (Lutheran and not so much but still good) across WNY at the Holiday Inn Resort on Grand Island.  Go to www.youthencounter.org for details.  NFCLYO churches made up a large portion of those at last year's Quake!

LCLC 2009 Winter Retreats
Winter Retreats at LCLC are a great way to stay connected to camp friends, camp and Jesus in the snow!  Weekend winter retreats geared for both senior high (9th-12th grades - January 2-4) and upper elementary-junior high (5th-8th grades - March 6-8) are offered during the winter.  Stay tuned for details and check out www.lclcelca.org for more.

NFCLYO 2009 Volleyball Marathon: Friday-Saturday, January 9-10
Volleyball Marathon will be back better than ever!  Food, activities, sleep (?!), mixers, movies, and of course volleyball are all a part of it.  This time though the "trophy" will go to not only the team that wins the volleyball tournament but to the team that raises the most money for Lutheran Charities of Western New York!

NFCLYO 2009 Winter Day Out: Sunday, February 8
Did you miss last year's Winter Day Out at Colden Tubing Company...49 people came through blinding snow to snow tube in near-zero temperatures (not to mention wind chill) and shiver through some great pizza and wings for dinner and a worship experience?  We thought we'd do it again!  Be ready after next year's Bills triumph in the Super Bowl for some more winter fun, food and worship!

9.  CROP Walks are coming up
Get out, take a walk and help make a difference against poverty across the world and right in your own community!  CROP Walks are great opportunities to get your group or church out and walking to raise awareness about world and local hunger.  Click here to find out when a CROP Walk is happening in your community and ask your church how to get involved!

10.  NFC Youth Ministry Network
Youth workers (full and part time, paid and volunteer): How about we get together to chat some time soon?  Any ideas, places, and dates to do this are greatly appreciated...contact Rick at (716) 465-1321.

11.  Youth Groups: FREE web space available at NFCLYO.org
Looking for a free, ad-free web space to use for your youth group?!  NFCLYO.org is your answer!  The NFCLYO is providing a free web page for each youth group in the Niagara Frontier Conference!  Your group can post:
-Event and meeting info
-Pictures
-A calendar
-And more!
Contact Rick M-G for more info at (716) 465-1321 or at rick@nfclyo.org!  If your group already has a web page, let us know and we can link to it!  Please link to www.nfclyo.org too!

12.  Upcoming Events Calendar
Click Here to go to the Youth Ministry Events Calendar.

About this newsletter
Whats-Up@NFCLYO is the monthly email newsletter of the Niagara Frontier Conference Lutheran Youth Organization.  You're getting it to let you know about upcoming youth ministry events of all sorts going on in the NFCLYO, an individual church, or something national.  We've even got stuff for adult youth workers.  We love to post anything your church has going on you want to open up to anyone to come or know about.  Don't want to get this newsletter? Email whatsup@nfclyo.org and let us know.  On the other hand, please make sure your friends, youth advisor and pastors are getting this newsletter, and pass the word around about Whats-up@NFCLYO!

Have a great month!!!

Rick "M-G"

Updated Monday, September 29, 2008