Blood:Water Mission - another way to help

Some of you might remember two years ago when we took an offering for Blood:Water Mission. You guys gave an incredible amount, and it was a joy to send such a huge check to provide clean drinking water for African villages. Well here's another way you could help out.

I got an email yesterday asking me to join Blood:Water Mission's group on a new action-oriented social networking site called Razoo. If Blood:Water Mission gets enough members, they could be selected as winner of the Change Your World Contest, which would award them $10,000.

Blood:Water Mission is doing great things helping Africans get clean fresh drinking water from wells right beneath their feet. I'd encourage you to join Razoo as well, and after you confirm your email address, click on http://beta.razoo.com/groups/bloodwatermission to join the group and help them out.

New Watershed website

In case you hadn't seen it yet, Watershed is sporting a new website.   Thanks once again to Sam Otis for lending his awesome talents in the creation of this site!

Now that the site is live, would you enjoy maintaining the site?  It doesn't require much time, but is a necessary element to keep the website current.  If interested, email me at erin.bird@newcovenantbible.org.  You don't have to design, but you do need to have a knowledge of HTML (or the software) to make changes (without messing up Sam's great design).

Oh, and if you look at the site in Internet Explorer 7, the site is all messed up.  Go with a good browser like Firefox or Safari (or stick with Internet Explorer 6) - they know how it is supposed to look.

Tonight's Staff Meeting

Hey everyone,

Had someone call asking if tonight's staff meeting was at New Covenant where we have been meeting for Staff Meeting or if we were at our new location for this fall, Maranatha Bible Church. The answer is: we will be meeting at Maranatha at 7:30 pm. And on the agenda for tonight, a tour!

For a map/directions to Marantha, click here. If that doesn't work for some , do a Google Map search for 701 25th St. NE.

Thursday Informal Activity: Volleyball at Thomas Park

After discussion with a few others, the consensus is that we should round out our "informal" activities for the summer by having an evening of volleyball (maybe even a tournament) at Thomas Park in Marion. We'll plan on meeting at 7pm by the courts.

If you want to come earlier and enjoy a picnic in the park, that would be cool -- maybe leave a comment here if you intend to do so, and try to convince the rest of us to join you in picnicking.

Hope to see you there. :-)

Thursday Informal Activity: Nature Hike (Indian Creek Nature Center)

Hey y'all. One of the activities that was popular on our summer survey was a Nature Hike. So... let's have a nature hike. Wear some comfy shoes and some bug spray and come join us. We'll meet at the Indian Creek Nature Center (click title for a Google map) at 7pm this coming Thursday evening, Aug 2. Also click here for driving directions (from the nature center website).

Hope to see you all there, and if you have comments, feel free to post them here.

Camp Courageous Pineapple Sale

We Need You!

Are you familiar with camp courageous of Iowa?!? If not, please visit their website. It is a wonderful, nonprofit, organization that provides weekend respite care and week long retreats for people with disabilities. The camp and its volunteers are an inspiration and the joy the campers get from attending the camp is truly incredible.

Every year the camp holds pineapple sales leading up to their annual pineapple gala, held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown Cedar Rapids. On Friday august 10 and Saturday august 11, volunteers will be selling pineapples at area Hy-Vees (Cedar Rapids, Marion, Coralville and Iowa City). Money handling skills are not required, as the pineapples are purchased through Hy-Vee, and all proceeds go directly to Camp Courageous! All you need is a smile, a friendly attitude, and a desire to serve! Volunteers are need to cover in 2 hour time blocks (minimum) in groups of 2-3 per store, from 4-7 on Friday and 10-6 on Saturday. The pineapple displays will be put together by Hy-Vee, all you have to do is show up and smile!

The following weekend (Saturday August 19) is the Pineapple Gala, held at the Crowne Plaza. Details about the tickets can be found on the website. There is a silent auction for some wonderful options, a dinner, followed by a live auction. Tables of ten can be purchased, or individual dinners can also be purchased. All proceeds go directly to Camp Courageous, including dinner prices and all money raised by the auctions. This would be a great social event for some outrageously awesome fun!

These are both great opportunities for individuals, friends,and families of any size! If you are interested in any of the above opportunities, please contact John or Nichole as soon as possible. This is a great chance to be a part of our community, and help raise money for a truly honorable cause.

What: Camp Courageous Pineapple Sales
Delmonte Gold Large Pineapples for $4.00
When: Friday August 10, 2007 4-7 PM
Saturday August 11, 2007 10AM-4PM
Where: Area Hy-Vee Stores including-
Cedar Rapids, Coralville, Iowa City, and Marion

Since you're reading this, I know you're interested in helping. Please contact Nichole or myself to sign up for a specific location and time.

John - kngdmwarrior@hotmail.com

Nichole - aquathlete13@yahoo.com (319-431-5332)

July Worship Gathering

Come join us this Thursday (the 26th) at Palisades-Kepler State Park for our July Worship gathering. If you came out to our gathering last month at Bever Park you know how much it was to be outside for a change. Unlike last time, we won't have food beforehand, but we will have smores and a fire afterwards, so stick around (no pun intended :-)) for awhile.

Here is a map showing how to get to the park, which is off US 30 going east toward Mt Vernon.

Here is a map of the park. We have reserved Shelter #1. We plan on starting at 7:30pm, but feel free to show up anytime beforehand and enjoy the beautiful park.

Staff Meeting #2

Just a quick reminder here that Staff Meeting #2 is tomorrow night (Thursday, July 19) at 7:30 pm. It will be held once again at New Covenant's building in Room 143 (the same room as last time). If you don't know where that is, stand in the foyer facing the worship center where we used to meet on Thursdays, and go to the end of the hallway on your left.

Thursday Informal Activity: Thomas Park

Hey Watershed. This is really late notice, but for those of you who read this, let's get together Thursday evening for another "pseudoWatershed" activity. Let's meet at Thomas Park at 7pm. It's not really a picnic, but bring some food if you want to eat. Then at 7:30, we'll walk on the trail some, or play some volleyball (rumors of water balloons...). No fixed schedule other than that, just an informal get together. Hope to see you there. :-)

Bike Riding: Thu, Jul 5

Hey all you bike riders (the nonmotorized kind, that is). Since we are not having a normal Watershed gathering this Thursday, let's meet for bike riding instead. The plan is to meet at Cedar Lake Park (just west of the H Avenue exit on the Interstate) at 7pm. From there we'll travel either north or south on the trail for an hour or two...should be a nice relaxing evening ride. Hope to see you there.

July 4 Young Life Fundraiser

Andrea S made us aware last Thursday night of an opportunity to help one of our local organizations, Young Life. They are looking for volunteers on the 4th (just a couple short days away) to help man a vendor stand from appx. 6pm - 10pm, and then help with cleanup from 10pm - 1am. Anyone can work one or both shifts.

If you're interested in helping out in this way, let me know (or post a comment here), and I'll forward that info to Young Life.

June Worship in the Park

It's June, and that means being outdoors. That's why Watershed is meeting outdoors this Thursday, June 28, at Bever Pavilion in Bever Park. That's the pavilion by the east entrance to Bever Park--so if you're coming from First Ave, driving on Bever Ave, it'll be the second entrance to the park.

Now, you can come at 7:30 and worship with us. But better yet, come at 6:30 and eat with us! There will be a potluck, starting at 6:30. The hot dogs, buns, plates, napkins, and plastic-ware will be provided. Your job is to bring a side dish to share, and your own beverage. We do have electricity available, so crock pots are welcome. Someone suggested (very cleverly) that y'all could post the side dish you plan to bring so not everyone brings the same thing, because really, who wants 30 platters of lutefisk(*)?

Lutefisk aside, I'm really bummed that I can't be there. But you can make up for it by inviting a friend to come with. And let me know how cool everything I missed was.

The short version:
Thursday, June 28, 6:30PM, potluck at Bever Pavilion in Bever Park.
Thursday, June 28, 7:30PM, worship at/near Bever Pavilion in Bever Park.
Come, and feel free to invite a friend!

(Disclaimer: Not that there's anything wrong with lutefisk. If "fish jello" offends you, please imagine I said "Baked Beans", "Potato Salad", or "Great-Aunt Millie's Roast Asparagus Poppers", whichever is most palatable. Further disclaimer: The author of this post hereby disclaims all knowledge of any great-aunts that may be named Millie, whether they roast asparagus or not.)

Winning

In our staff meeting last Thursday, we talked about winning and Watershed. A win is any time a young adult goes deeper with Christ, be it coming to a Thursday night gathering for the first time, or coming to Christ, or getting involved in their church. We discussed ways that we've seen "wins" occur at Watershed, and some of the things we need to do to continue seeing wins in the future. Here are some of the things you brought up...

• Organized small groups/mentorship groups (possibly meet on Thursdays)
• Bring back the group that met after Thurs night gatherings to discuss the message
• Social events geared toward deepening relationships
• Once a month organized events that might be more comfortable for seekers
• Give people an outlet for their Spiritual Pathways
• Calendar on website for anyone to post events on
• White board in the entry-way to the gathering that lists upcoming activities
• Have someone available after each service for prayer
• Greeting team
• Everyone is a greeter!
• Identify the target audience? Are we trying to reach the churched or the unchurched?

Looking over that list, 3 areas stand out to me: welcoming new attenders (ankle deep), fellowship (knee deep), and small groups/iron-sharpens-iron activities (waist deep).

We also discussed some ways to get the word about Watershed out to the community...

• Letter to area churches
• Vision partner of 89.1 The Spirit
• Ads in the Gazette, Penny Saver, Christian Business Directory
• Contact Christian businesses
• Community service outreaches and events
• Laundromat bulletin boards
• Personal invites
• College campuses (beginning of the year fairs)
• Location (be where we want to minister)

Please discuss the ideas listed above. Are there any other things you believe we need to to do in order to see more wins? Can we focus on all these or are there certain ones that stand out as more urgent than others? We'd love to hear your thoughts.

Summer Activities Survey Results

Many of you took a "Watershed Summer Activities Survey" in May before we took a break for the summer. I have compiled the results of that survey, and you can download the Excel spreadsheet by clicking the title link.

We'll try to organize some informal favorites from this list during the "off" weeks of Watershed in July and August, so... stay tuned.

Marion by Moonlight -- Jun 14

As mentioned briefly at our last Watershed meeting in May, we are going to try and arrange some informal activities on the "off" weeks during the summer.

For this week, I'd like to invite everyone to "Marion by Moonlight" at the Marion square this Thursday night. The music goes from 6:30 - 9:30 pm. Let's plan to meet at the square at 6:30.

Hope to see you there. If you have comments on this, feel free to leave them below.

Thursdays and Texting

I must admit, it felt a bit strange not having a Worship Gathering tonight. Instead, I was hanging out with John, Matt, Amber, and Bill working on the June 21 staff meeting, the June 28 Worship Gathering (we almost have a park secured!), and the new location (several good options, I must say!). While I missed worshipping and hanging with all of you, I am excited about this summer and gearing up for next fall.

The main reason I am posting is that I just read a blog about text messaging among young adults. You can read it here. I don't even own a cell phone, so I am obviously not contributing to any of these numbers, but I'm curious how many of you text someone daily? While in your car? And how is your life different because of text messaging? And would you say life is better because of texting?

Comments are open!

Rethink the Website

Tonight we start our summer teaching series called Rethink. I'm excited about it! This evening we'll look at the idea of rethinking our faith (can you do that?). I am hoping that many of you will be challenged in your own faith through this 4-part summer series.

You might notice a few changes to the main website. We've scaled back the site just for the summer, with a new site hopefully launching towards the fall. We'll put announcements right on the home page, as well as on here. We left up the About Us stuff so that any visitors can learn a little more about Watershed before they check out a gathering in June, July, or August. We'll also keep the Listen page up since several of you download the mp3s.

Keep watching the website and/or Waterblogged for info about our June, July, and August gatherings, including locations and directions.

Summer Activities Anyone?

Some of us Watershedders are thinking it would be fun to schedule some informal gatherings on Thursday evenings when we are not having normal Watershed or staff meetings this summer. The dates that these special events might happen are: 6/7, 6/14, 7/5, 7/12, 8/2, 8/9, and 8/23.

I came up with a list of ideas, and I'd like your input. Click here to download or open the Word document with the survey form. Fill out what you think sounds the best, and email the form back to me. I'll also bring some copies of the survey to Watershed on Thursday.

Staff Meetings

Tonight's "Major Announcement" was the schedule of "staff" meetings. If you are on volunteer staff, or are interested in being on staff, then come to our meetings this summer on the third Thursday of each summer month at 7:30 pm. The specific dates are:

June 21
July 19
August 16

These meetings will not have times of worship through song or a 30-minute teaching from the Bible or any of the other elements typically found at a Worship Gathering. Rather our times together will be focused on the discussion of the "relaunch" of Watershed in the fall and how we can all play a part in its success. And of course praying together about these things!

We have assembled an email list from people who have submitted their addresses to us regarding staff stuff. If you would like to be on this list to stay informed of staff-related issues, then email me at erin.bird [AT] newcovenantbible [DOT] org.

Four Oaks Service Project

If you are the kind of person who loves playing with kids and getting involved in the community, we have an opportunity for you. We recently found out about a Mexican-themed event hosted by Four Oaks for underprivilidged and hurting children. They are looking for volunteers to help with games (pin the tail on the donkey, bean bag toss and more), serving food, helping with crafts, and just playing with the kids. Erin just spoke last Thursday about giving of our time and energy by helping out with children. They love it when we play with them because they just think we're cool!


Date: Sunday, May 20
Time: 11:30 - 3:00 *
Place: Smith Center (map)

*The event starts at noon, but volunteers need to arrive at 11:30 to receive instructions.

I realize the event is this Sunday, and the last thing we want to do is pull you away from your normal Sunday church service. So if you would normally be attending church at this time, please don't skip church to do this instead. But if you attend an early morning or evening service at your church, and are interested in participating, please let us know!

If you are interested, please contact Joe with your name and birth date at joeclark@joeclarkia.net ASAP, as Four Oaks needs to know how many volunteers are coming for planning purposes.