Retreat Ideas

Homeless Sleep Out/Feeding the Homeless - Submitted by Lynell Kennedy

Each January we host a Homeless Sleep Out. The idea is to foster a little empathy for the homeless of Houston. Each youth is allowed to bring a sleeping bag, a large box to sleep in (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) and the clothes on their back. No pillows, Ipods, MP3’s, Discmans, portable DVD players – you get the picture. This has proven to be an unforgettable experience for the youth that attend.

We do this in conjunction with feeding the homeless at St. John’s UMC the next morning. We spend part of the evening in small group sessions and ask that they bring the following items for the Daybreak Ministry at St. Johns:

bath towels (slightly used or new); a package of men’s clean white socks, some travel sized toiletries like the ones you get at nice hotels; toothbrush and toothpaste (travel size); laundry detergent (full size).

The following are promotional articles that we put in our newsletter and the church wide Messenger:

BOXES NEEDED FOR OUR “HOMELESS”

PARENTS: We need large boxes for our “homeless” to sleep in on January 7th. If you have any large boxes, please bring them to the Family Life Center. This will be our kids’ only shelter for that night out, so ask around. Last year we got some from a family who just moved into our neighborhood!

BREAKFAST AT ST. JOHN’S UMC

Even if you do not attend the Homeless Overnight, you can still help serve breakfast to the people at St. John’s UMC. Just be in the Family Life Center at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, January 8th and bring some money for a McDonalds stop on the way home. We will have you back to MDUMC by Noon.

DAYBREAK HOUSE

St. John’s UMC operates a really awesome place called Daybreak House. At Daybreak House, the homeless can come and receive minor medical services (donated by the doctors at St. Joseph’s Hospital), and take a shower while their clothes are being washed and dried. They are always in need of: clean used bath towels; sample sizes of soap, shampoo, shaving cream, toothpaste, toothbrushes, lotion, deodorant, etc.; clean white socks; and laundry detergent. If you can supply any of these articles, please bring them to Lynell’s office in the Family Life Center by Friday, January 7th. We will deliver them to St. John’s when we go to serve breakfast on the 8th.

Mystery Trips - Submitted by Carrie Olander

This is a retreat we have been doing for the last 5 or 6 years. We do a mystery trip for our Seniors and for our 8th graders and it is always one of their favorite things that we do. Basically the idea is for you to plan an action packed weekend of stuff for you guys to do. It can be things that are completely ridiculous or things that are meaningful. We usually stay the first night in Houston and then go to either San Antonio or Austin. Check to see what kind of things are happening the weekend that you want to do the retreat and then book your tickets! One of the most fun parts of this retreat is the kids trying to guess where we're going next so make sure you keep it a secret!

Here are a few things we've done that have been fun:

Ate at Ziggy's Healthy Grill and participated in improv there -- Miniature golf -- Picked up dinner and then went and ate in Zilker park in Austin -- Spamarama (Austin's annual Spam Festival...keep Austin weird) -- Went to farmer's market in Houston and gave each kid $5 to buy food and then took that to the 4th ward to give to them -- San Antonio Rodeo -- Monster Truck Rallies -- Went to T Bar M and did ropes course stuff -- Stubbs barbecue in Austin. They have a thing called Gospel Brunch on Sunday afternoons which is excellent food and excellent entertainment. -- Praise and Worship

all for ONE; ONE for all - Submitted by Heather Gates

This was the theme for our Beach House Retreat this year. It went over very well. The main idea of the theme was unity. Here is how the different topics and events took shape:

Friday Night: Romans 15:5-6
We come together to glorify God. We are here this weekend to spend time together as Christian brothers and sisters and make God smile.

Saturday morning: Ephesians 4:11-13
We spent Saturday focusing on what gifts we bring to the table and how God needs all of us to be a part of the body. Saturday afternoon they had some quiet time" to pray about and think about what their gifts were and then we came back together and talked about them as a group

Sunday: Colossians 3:13-14
We took communion as a group on Sunday before we left. The main focus was that Christ gave His life to be the ONE for all so that could all be in this for ONE- God.

We did several group building exercises and other things over the weekend. It was wonderful!!

Becoming - for girls - Submitted by Sandra Roberson

Jr. High and Sr. High girls participated in Becoming an all girls retreat by Walking Faith Ministries geared at helping female adolescents discover who they are as Godly women. The night included break-out sessions a princess party and a huge slumber party at Miss Sandra's house. The girls and adults shared lots of laughs smiles and nail polish to make the evening a great success. Walking Faith was an extremely amiable group to work with. Their price was fair and it included all their great programming worship and any required supplies. The church handled our own food which allowed for us to tailor it to our specific expenses. We at St. Peter's greatly enjoyed our weekend and recommend this girls' retreat as a great kick-off for a girls ministry or accountability groups.