S.S.T. 2009 - Flint: requirements
required dates and events

1. October 5th Parents & Teen Meeting: All teens interested in the big trip to Flint must attend this initial interest meeting with at least one parent/guardian. If you fail to attend this meeting you will not be eligible for the trip. If this date is not doable and you have a valid excuse for missing please contact Mike in the YM Office prior to the meeting. If you call afterwards you will not be eligible for the trip. Only prior notice with an approval from Mike will be excepted.
2. One Local Service Experience sponsored by SAND Youth Ministry: All teens must attend one local service opportunity sponsored and run by SAND Youth Ministry in order to be eligible for the trip. Following are the dates for these 4 possibilities: St. Malachy's Halloween Party (Sunday, October 26th - 7:30a.m. to 3p.m.), SAND Service Lock-in with Bowling (Friday, November 14th - 6p.m. to 11p.m.), Hunger: Night of Reflection (Friday, January 23rd - 6p.m. to 11p.m.), or Hunger: Day of Service (Saturday, January 24th - 9a.m. to 4p.m.). There are no exceptions/excuses from this requirement due to there being multiple opportunities to fulfill the requirement.
3. One night of the Parish Mission (Dates: TBA): All teens must attend at least one night of the Parish Mission if they wish to remain eligible for the trip to Flint 2008. The teens must sign in with Mike in the gathering space and then check out with him in the Gathering Space at the conclusion of that night of the Mission. Each night usually lasts 1.5 to 2 hours. There are no exceptions/excuses from this requirement due to there being multiple opportunities to fulfill the requirement.
4. May 17th Parents & Teens Final Meeting (6 PM in the Community Room): All teens signed up for the big trip to Flint must attend this final meeting with at least one of their parents/guardians. If you fail to attend this meeting you will not be eligible for the trip any longer. If this date is not doable and you have a valid excuse for missing please contact Mike in the YM Office prior to the meeting. If you call afterwards you will not be eligible for the trip. Only prior notice with an approval from Mike will be excepted.
5. Youth Ministry Car Wash (June 14th - 7a.m. to 12p.m.): All teens that remain eligible must work the YM Car Wash and then clean up following the Car Wash. If you fail to attend the duration of these service requirements you will no longer be eligible for the trip to Flint. If this date or part of the date is not doable and you have a valid excuse for missing please contact Mike in the YM Office prior to the Car Wash weekend. If you come to the event and try to leave without prior notice you will no longer be eligible for the trip. If you call afterwards to mention your excuse, you will not be eligible for the Flint trip. Only prior notice with an approval from Mike will be excepted.

The Forms
Download the Permission Forms and waivers

1. To be given out at the initial Parent/Teen meeting on October 5th, 2009. If you misplace them or need to get new forms you can do so by clicking the buttons below after the Initial Meeting has taken place. Both forms are required for the trip to Flint.

Nazareth Farm Service Trip 2009 • Centerpoint, WV • $275 • dates TBD

Important Details...
Please check back in November of 2008 for details on the possible 2009 summer trip. It is a tremendous week of retreat, service and community. You will certainly be changed by the experience. This trip is only open to active Juniors and Seniors in Peer Ministry. Get more involved if you'd like to be considered for this trip.


What they're about
The Farm's mission

Nazareth Farm is a Catholic community of volunteers inspired by the Gospels and Social Teaching of the Church and focused on prayer, community, simplicity and service. This community is impelled primarily to reach out to high school and college volunteers who come to work with us for a week. The full time community of Nazareth Farm and the community of volunteers who come for one week, together form a community rooted in the Gospels and Social Teachings of the Church by sharing morning and evening prayer, meals, work, service and outreach.

Nazareth Farm is devoted to developing relationships and eliminating sub-standard housing through home repair in rural West Virginia. The community of Nazareth Farm lives in and serves the people of Doddridge County. We are prompted to reach out to the families of Doddridge and surrounding Counties with whom we minister build relationships and offer home repair. This service is rooted in the four cornerstones of prayer, simplicity, service and community.

Nazareth Farm provides a communal experience of Church as a center of action and prayer. The Nazareth Farm community lives its mission through shared prayer, meals, work, hospitality and community development. Thus, the community through reflection, promotes and advocates for social action and economic justice.



Cornerstones
Values held by the Farm


Prayer: On the Farm, we pray to begin the day, before each meal, as we work, and each evening to end the day. We recognize that God has given us all that we have, and we thank the Lord for the many blessings we experience daily. As Christians, we are called to promote a community of peace and prayer.

Simplicity: Too often, our lives get cluttered with the “stuff” of modern life, such as television, radio, and cell phones. The cornerstone of simplicity is all about being in right relationship: with God, with others, and with ourselves. We feel that by giving up things like TV, make-up, cell phones, iPods, etc., we are free to “tune-in” to one another. Conservation is another important part of simplicity, particularly with water. We ask that volunteers take only 3 showers during the week here, and that two of those be with our bucket showers (they use only 5 gallons per shower!) We also encourage volunteers to conserve water by using our outhouses instead of the indoor toilets.

Community: As a community of equals, we eat together, do dishes together, work together, pray together, and spend free time together. During meal time, we ask that volunteers take what they eat, and eat what they take. Rather than play video games or watch TV, we play games, sing songs, and have good conversations together. Also, on Tuesday nights, we invite many of our friends from the community over for supper, prayer, and fellowship. Rather than shop at large stores like Wal-Mart and Lowe’s for our food and supplies, we give our business to small and locally-owned businesses. We feel that we are called to be responsible members of our community and use our gifts and talents for others.

Service: We choose to do home repair for people who can’t afford the labor, and or can’t make the repairs themselves. We do repairs for no salary or compensation. We work with people, not for them. We try to recognize when our needs have been filled so that our excess can be used to fill someone else’s needs. The next step is to give of ourselves by truly giving of our need, not just our want. Nazareth Farm is about home repair, but more importantly we are about people. We believe that God loves each of us in the same way and so we strive to give all people the dignity and respect they deserve.

Upcoming Local Service
opportunities sponsored by SAND Youth Ministry

• Info coming in the Fall of 2008.