Interview with Joseph Finnie

Q: How old are you, Joe?
A: 12

Q: What grade are you in, and what school do you go to?
A: I'm in 7th grade at Rockford Middle--the best school ever!

Q: What makes it the best school ever?
A: The teachers, the people...and the sports teams

Q: Do you speak a foreign language?
A: No

Q: If you could learn one, which would you choose?
A: British or Australian

Q: Do they teach those at Rockford Middle School?
A: No, they dont

Q: If you had to live the rest of your life in one room, what color would you paint it?
Q: Could it be more than one color?
A: Yes
A: Then it would be a smorgasbord of Middle Earth Scenes

Q: If you got thrown into a canyon, what would you yell on the way down?
A: [Let the record show that Joe was unable to decide on a syllable, so we now need to throw him down a canyon in order to find out]

Q: What's your favorite game show?
A: Jeopardy

Q: Who knows the Real You?
A: I don't know...God?

Interview with MaKenna Landstra

Q: How old are you?
A: 11

Q: What grade are you in, and what school do you go to?
A: 6th grade at Highlands Middle School

Q: If you could have film crews follow you around for a week and make a movie of your life, would you do it?
Q: Would it be in theaters?
A: Yes
Q: Would I get paid?
A: No
A: Sure

Q: On school picture day, you have to choose to wear bunny ears OR a fake nose with glasses OR a cowboy hat OR a rainbow bozo wig. Which do you choose?
A: Bunny ears - inside joke

Q: Have you ever tried to really see how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop?
A: Yes - Once made it to 250, about halfway

Q: Have you ever had a birthday wish come true?
A: Yes

Q: What would be your superpower?
A: Invisibility

Interview with Sergei Guider

Q: How old are you?
A: 12

Q: What grade are you in and what school do you go to?
A: 7th grade at Forest Hills Eastern Middle School

Q: If we were going to throw you a surprise birthday party, where would you want it to be?
A: In a world made entirely of cheese

Q: What was your favorite roller coaster at Cedar Point?
A: Gemini

Q: If you had to be chased for a day by mummies OR zombies OR vampires, which would you pick and why?
A: Mummies, because they're slow

Q: What's your biggest accomplishment in life so far?
A: Nosedive in the snow, at night, in front of my friends at a sleepover, wearing only underwear

Interview with Rylee Storms

Q: How old are you?
A: 11

Q: What grade are you in, and what school do you go to?
A: 6th grade at Northview Highlands Middle School

Q: If you could compete in the Olympics, which event would you choose to compete in?
A: Beach volleyball

Q: Next weekend, you get invited to roller derby, pro wrestling, and a monster truck rally. Which one do you go to?
A: Monster truck rally

Q: Can you see Russia from your house?
A: No.

Q: So you have no international experience?
A: No, I don't

Q: What are you going to be for Halloween?
A: A recycling bin

Interviews!

Okay gang, here it is, the list of interview questions I'm sure you've all been dying to read. But because it's from last year, we have some mysteries to solve. First, even though I wrote down some of y'all's answers, I didn't always remember to do that, and second, even when I did remember to, I didn't write down whose answers are whose. So, I'm going to post the questions from last year together with the answers I happened to write down, and I'm going to leave it up to you guys to stake your claims.

In conclusion, if you remember preferring hang-gliding to wind-surfing, post a comment and let us know! After all, the reason we do this is for all of us to get to know each other better.

LIST OF INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FROM 2007-2008:

With Answers

1. What's your favorite candy bar? (Three Musketeers)
2. Have you ever seriously considered whether God could create a rock bigger than himself? (No)
3. Daily Show or Colbert Report? (Daily Show)
4. Do you like to wake up early or sleep in late? (Sleep in)
5. What's the last movie you saw? (Gone With the Wind)
6. Would you ever eat a chocolate chip sandwich? (Yes)
7. If a tree falls in a forest and no one's near to hear it, does it still make a sound? (Sure)
8. If you had to spend the day with either the Quaker Oats guy, Aunt Jemima, Mrs. Butterworth, or the Trix rabbit, who would you choose? (Trix rabbit)
9. If you could give Christian a nickname, what would it be? (Christy)
10. If you had to invent a sandwich, what would be on it? (Peanut butter and jelly...and other stuff Julianne doesn't remember...)
11. What do you do for fun? (Ride my bike)
12. If someone you didn't know very well (like a friend's parents) took you out to dinner, would you be more likely to get the cheapest thing on the menu or the most expensive? (Would depend on the parents and how well I knew them)
13. Are you usually early for things or late? (Late by 5 mins)
14. Are you a cat or dog person? (Both)
15. Wind-surfing or hang-gliding? (Hang-gliding)
16. Who's your favorite sports team? (I don't have one)
17. Have you ever really considered the destiny of the human race? (Not really)
18. What's the best restaurant in Grand Rapids? (Triny's)
19. What is the most bizarre haircut you could ever have? (A red mullet)
    

Without Answers

1. If you could go anywhere for Spring Break, where would you go?
2. What's the best book you've ever read?
3. Do you have a secret talent?
4. If you had to go to school in your choice of a tuxe, a tutu, a bunny costume, or a hockey goalee's uniform, which would you choose?
5. Who's your favorite band?
6. In artistic terms, would you describe yourself as more realistic or abstract?
7. What's the longest you've gone without sleeping?
8. If you were being pursued by bandits through the streets of Grand Rapids, how would you try to lose them?
9. Who do you most admire?
10. Where's your favorite hangout?
11. What's the strangest bumper sticker you've ever seen?
12. If you had to spend the rest of your life sounding like one of the characters from The Simpsons, which one would it be?
13. What's the worst injury you've ever had?
14. Popsicle question: Red, green, blue, or purple?
15. What do you think of vegetarianism?
16. Forrest Gump thinks life is like a box of chocolates; what do you think it's like?
17. What's an important thing that you've lost?
18. What's a cool thing that you've found?
19. Do you usually like surprises?
20. If you got to redesign the kids' play area in Woodland Mall, what would you have it made out of instead of food?

Cedar Point, Bigger or Better, and The New School Year

Youth Group will be held on Wednesdays this year at St. Andrew’s from 6:30-7:30PM (come early for dinner). We will have two groups: one for middle school students and one for high school students. We will be using a small group model so that youth can get to really know others their same age. Each small group will have a qualified and caring adult to learn, laugh, grow and talk with. If you haven’t ever checked it out, September 17 is the kickoff and will be the perfect time to see what all the hub-bub is about. You can meet the leaders and the other youth.

Sept 24, the youth group will hold its second annual “Bigger or Better” competition where the high school girls will defend their title. You don’t need to know how to play and won’t need to bring anything. Come to have a great time.

Saturday, Oct. 4, we will go back to Cedar Point for their Halloween themed set-up. We will leave at 7:15AM from St. Mark’s and will return to St. Mark’s at around 3:30 AM Sunday morning (ouch!). Cost is $50 (we have scholarships) which will include transportation and your ticket. Parents are more than welcome (we could use the extra drivers).

Sunday afternoon Bowling- We will bowl again at Northfield Lanes this year. We bowl every other week (dates are coming soon). You can sign up your teams of four with Christian baron (458-4593 or cbaron@wedgwood,org) or sign up and be placed on a team. Anybody and everyone is welcome. This is an inter-generational league.

An Inconvenient Truth- Dedicated to Dennis

Last week (Jan. 6) we watched the film "An Inconvenient Truth". It was the 2nd part of our "Ecology Ain't Nothin' but a G Thang". Julianne has been doing agreat job getting us focused on some of the facts that are out there. She has a minor in Environmental Studies and is just more smarter than me on these issues. So listen up as she speaks.

Hopefully we'll have some time this Sunday to talk about the movie. We will also be discussing issues regarding food. Julianne has asked to bring our favorite food or drink in that has a list of ingredients on it. I think it's ironic that today in the news the Food and Drug Administration declared today that meat and milk from cloned animals is OK to eat. It will be fun to "gril" (get it?... grill her) Julianne on that one. Here's a link.

I also want to remind everybody that just because Christian says so doesn't make it so. One thing that I've really appreciated about the Episcopal Church has been the diversity in opinions and views on a variety of things. Though I haven't researched this movie and the "facts" in it, I trust the overall theme and facts in it. We must always be doing our homework though and keep searching for the truth in all things. If you have concerns about this movie or anything else that we are looking at, let me know and maybe we can do some more research to try to get to the bottom of things.

Cedar Point

Hey guys. Here is important info about Cedar Point.

G.R.E.Y. (Youth Group) Trip to Cedar Point Oct. 27

The youth of St. Andrew’s and St. Mark’s will be going to Cedar Point ON Saturday Oct. 27. We will leave from St. Andrew’s at 5:30 AM sharp. We’ll spend the day in the park and then return at around 2 AM. To avoid pick-ups at 2 AM, we’ll sleep over at St. Andrew’s and then go to the Eucharist together. Students can get the early bird rate of $55 if they pay by Oct. 7. Others pay $75. This includes your ticket and transportation. (If you need a scholarship, let me know!) See Christian with questions. 458-4593

POVERTY

These last few weeks in youth group we hace been discussing the reality of poverty. Here are some web sites that will hopefully open your eyes to the reality of poverty.

http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Poverty.asp

http://www.poverty.com/

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTPOVERTY/0,,menuPK:336998~

http://action.one.org/declare/index.html?gclid=CN-vgL673Y4CFQdEFQodt1UpQA

Youth Group Photos

The Youth Group as a Whole.

The Middle School Girls With There VCR.

The High School Girls With There Winning Mountain Bike.


The Proud High School Boys.

The Middle School Boys With There Rad BMX Bike.

Our Fearless Youth Director Doing His Thing.

Youth Group Summary

Sunday September 16
This past Sunday we met as a large group in the middle school room and discussed a strong topic, poverty. We touched on some of the more dramatic statistics. The one statistic that stuck out to me is more than 3 billion people live on 2 dollars a day or less. It's discouraging to think that half the world lives on such a little amount. When most of us can find 2 dollars in change in the couch or by the dryer. But as always there is hope. Next week we will talk about what we can do to help the poor. The last Sunday of the month we will be helping out at St. Marks preparing and cleaning up for the breakfast. I believe if we take things one step at a time and understand poverty we will be able to make a difference for the better.
"...to reflect God's love to all creation..."

For all those who don't know me.

My name is Daniel Aubrey Flory. I was born and raised in Michigan. I attend Sparta Senior High School. My interest in the church has grown over my life time thanks to my parents and previous religious leaders. I'm a big fan of football and sports in general. I love to travel and see new things. I recently walked the bridge for the 50Th anniversary this labor day. My favorite sport to play is disc golf. For those of you who don't know what that is feel free to ask. I happen to have cut my thumb open well enough to get out of work that night and received 6 stitches Friday. Well if you have any more questions or anything of the like feel free to ask.

"...to reflect God's love to all creation..."

Daniel Flory

Our first youth group of the new school year.

Sunday September 9.
This past Sunday the youth group met to start off the new school year. I'll start off by saying this is, in my opinion, the funnest youth group to date. I was surprised by the number of new members to join the youth group. We started the evening off by a group discussion on the idea of seeing God in our every day lives. We proceeded to play a game called "Bigger or Better". The object of the game is to go around the neighborhood with a paper clip and you have to trade it for something bigger or better. We split up into four groups: middle school girls and boys and high school girls and boys. Each with their respective chaperons went out into the community to trade there paper clip. Each group came back to the church roughly 45 Min's later with there items in hand. The high school girls came back with a 21 speed mountain bike. The middle school boys rode in on there neon green and white bmx bike. The middle school girls strolled on back with a working VCR. But the high school boys not to be out done ran back cheering with there: 8' Mexican sign, old English long bow, assorted fire works, pine cone x-mas tree and a wreath wrapped in lights. How ever, do to some faulty judging, the high school boys were out done by the high school girls mountain bike. All in all this year promises a renewed faith in the lord and never ending memories.
"...to reflect God's love to all creation..."

Danel Flory

My (DanielFlory) Internship at St. Andrews

For the next 16 odd weeks I will be interning at St. Andrews Church. It's a requirement that I put in an average of 13.5 hours a week for my internship. So this means my responsibilities will vary greatly. Christian (our fearless youth director) has asked me to update and manage the GREY blog. I am excited to give this blog the extra swing it needs to get people interested in it. I have been given a few task so far by Father Mike. He has asked me to read in church and take acolyte classes. I will be updating my progress and activities as often as needed.
"...to reflect God's love in all creation..."

Daniel Flory
FloryDaniel@yahoo.com
cell: (616) 295-4421
home: (616) 887-8073

Aware of God's Presence

I haven't updated this blog in a LOOOONG time. Dan Flory will be doing it from now on.

It was great to see all of you at church on Sunday. I wonder if many of you have tried to be aware of God this week. Looking back, try to remember times when you felt God or times you felt God working in your life. If you can think of anything, post a comment and we can all learn from your experience.

I have been reading a book on St. Benedict. I have noticed God moving in my life when I calm down and quiet myself. I am aware of God when I listen and look and try to see what God is doing.

I had a great conversation with my friend Matt on Friday night. I believe God was with us and we talked about some things that we both noticed in one each others lives.

Blessings on you all and may you notice God more today than you did yesterday.

Peace,

Christian Baron

Last Call for the U.P.

Hey guys. I haven't update this Blog in a while. I wanted to send out some reminders about this summer. Sunday, June 17 is the last day to get the $85 rate for the U.P. trip. So, get your money in.

Also, we've been going to BW3's almost every Tuesday for wings. Part of the reason for going on Tuesday is because they have a special. There has been some mention of a different day being better for some. Are there any preferences? Let me know. Maybe we could add another outing every other week and have it be on a different day.

Also, Gretta is getting baptised on Saturday the 16th. I'd love it if some of you could come. Hope to see some of you there.

This is actually Paul

If you cant tell form the title, this is christian's login, but its actually me, Paul. This is mostly a test blog. Anyway, we had a pretty sad showing at the last buffalo wild wings thing, it was just christian and I. (and a friend from school that works there) We still managed to nearly kill ourselves, ordering that many "hot" wings. My mouth still hurts. Participate people! Seriously, im going to bug you all tonight at youth group about it.

Intorducing Paul- The New Blog Administrator

Hey guys. Paul is going to start to post each week to let you know what's going on. We can only hope that Paul will muse about movies, sports, American culture, and the Church. Thanks for being willing to do the work Paul.

Desperate Attempt to Get You Guys to Read this Blog

Hey guys. Here it is. The first person to comment on this post I'll take to see a movie. I get to pick the movie though and you should bring a friend (who has to pay for themselves). I still think it's a pretty good deal for you. Oh, and if you'd rather see a play at The Civic, I'll bring you a snack too.

Camp Henry

We have been lucky enough to secure a retreat date at Camp Henry in Newaygo. I've worked 5 summers in a Christian Camping environment and know how valuable these retreats can be for individuals and more importantly for a group of people trying to live in community (that's us).

The cost is $30 and includes 3 meals, lodging, and our group building activities. This is a good deal. If you are reading this, you are probably already signed up to go, so I'll see you on the retreat.