E.P.I.C. Student Ministry Newsletter- Jan 2011

Do you ever feel you're like you're not good enough, or righteous enough, to be of any use to God? Jacob, son of Isaac, is a great example of someone who was deeply flawed and yet was promised great things by the Lord. Learning about Jacob's life has provided our middle and high school students an opportunity to experience God as He reveals Himself to us in the Bible: a keeper of promises, a designer of perfect plans, and One who loves us unconditionally. Here are a few fun ministry highlights from the last couple months:


Our annual E.P.I.C. Christmas party at Garth and Kathy's house


Freeze!



Pizza and Playstation 3 at Garth & Kathy's house



Patrick and Jackie (pictured with Ben and Will's mom, Janelle) portraying Joseph and Mary in our church's annual Christmas Extravaganza


Two wonderful student plays from our Aloha High School students: "Reckless," and "The Uninvited."

Happy New Year!
Youth Pastors Garth and Kathy Hamilton

Here are a few bonus pics for this online version:


Cheering for the Aloha High School Warriors, who captured the Oregon 6A State Football Championship 34-13!




Student pile-ups on Wednesday night

Ben making his debut as the service "flow person" in Big Church


Rocking out to the "Nothing and Everything" tour with Disciple, Red, Brian "Head" Welch, and Silverline (concert photos by Cameron Heilman)

Catching Up With the Hamilton Kids

IMG_3231.JPG
Originally uploaded by gkhamilton

A lot happened to the grown up kids of our family in 2010… Kathy and I bought our first house, Kathy’s brother Tony (pictured below with Tom, Kathy, me, Lora, and Cheryl) continues to excel as a C.P.A. who audits federal spending for the General Accountability Office in Washington D.C., and Kathy’s sister Cheryl is still enabling Marion County clients who are mentally ill to live on their own, outside of an institution.

(Photo by Moneey Munni) But the biggest news from last year was that Summer, my little sis, got married!


A couple of years ago when Girl told the family that Mike Sorensen was her new boyfriend, we were excited for her. It turns out that I had already met Mike at a Yale Lake boating trip with the Bridge singles group from Crossroads Community Church. This is the earliest photo that I have of Mike and Girl together in a photo, both watching from the boat as I water tubed at Yale Lake that day. I came to discover that Mike is a fun, caring, committed Christian who works at his uncle’s classic Volkswagon auto shop.



Mike is also a very talented artist, and our family caught our first glimpse of his water colored paintings on display at the Haystack Gallery in Cannon Beach. I would recommend checking out his artwork at www.michaeldavidsorensen.com. After hanging around town with my parents and some of their friends for a while, the four of us drove south.


Later that day we hiked up a short trail from Devil’s Cauldron (south of Smuggler Cove), across Highway 101 from Neahkahnie Mountain, for a wide open cliff side view of the sea.



The four of us kids try to get together occasionally, like when Kathy and I hooked up with the Crossroads gang for some lively music in downtown Portland after seeing a rock concert.

Mostly though, we just meet for the occasional coffee or lunch with our parents.



Distance and my leg injury prevented me from seeing much of them last summer, but we did squeeze in a couple of back to back family camping trips to Banks Lake, Washington and Morrow Bay, California (I’ll be featuring more photos from these trips in my upcoming Blogspot posts).

I look forward to getting to know Mike better. And of course, I miss spending time with Girl. One thing’s for sure, though… God brought those two together. Mike and Summer Sorensen are a fantastic couple!


Coming to www.garthhamilton.blogspot next month… pictures from Mike and Summer’s wedding!

From Our Newly Expanded Family... Happy New Year!!

DSC_0196.JPG
Originally uploaded by gkhamilton

Happy New Year!!

Do the Black Crowes Needtobreathe?

I'm a huge music lover. Live music in particular gets me moving in a way that nothing else can. Earlier this month, tour buses from two of my favorite live bands, the Black Crowes and Needtobreathe, each made stops in Portland within a four-day window! I was in rock 'n' roll heaven, so to speak.

On Saturday night, the Black Crowes chose the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall as one of the final stops on their 2010 farewell tour. Though their collective world view differs vastly from mine, I've been into the Crowes' music since the 1990s. There was something about their free, decidedly non-modern rock approach to music that got my attention as a high schooler. Then, after seeing them play live with some of my college buddies, I was hooked. In concert, the grooves and swells of their jammed out performances of originals and cover songs manage to be both tight and spontaneous, simultaneously. From that year on, I've caught every local Black Crowes show since 1998, including the one from their aptly titled "Souled Out Tour" a few years back. Their music has soul to spare, and yet I don't hesitate to pray for each of their own souls whenever I feel led.

My conflicted feelings about the Black Crowes have been echoed by Christian rock band Third Day, who continue to be influenced by their sound. In "Blackbird," their thinly veiled tribute/challenge to the Black Crowes, front man Mac Powell tells them that Jesus loves them and sings, "Black bird, how I love to hear your songs/ I could spend all of my time in the shade/ Of the trees and listen all day long." The song, peppered with references to Crowes lyrics (and, when played live, sounds at times like a straight up cover of "Remedy" with reworked lyrics) continues with a paraphrase of Jesus referencing Isaiah 6:9-10 in Matthew 13:14-15: "But you're ever hearing, never understanding/ Ever seeing but your heart has grown calloused/ You're in a storm and lost your way/ Won't you fly to heaven and be saved today?"

The Crowes' lyrics may not always portray a particularly high view of Christ or His followers, and stories abound about perpetuating their stereotypical rock star lifestyle. However, their versatile musicianship and stunning cohesiveness as a band is rarely expressed with vulgarity, and their songwriting is often underscored with pleas for love and peace.

That's a good start.

A few days after the Black Crowes show, my friend Joe and I caught Needtobreathe at the Roseland Theater.

Being as they are one of my other favorite live acts, I was disappointed last year to suffer the most intense headache of my life on the very day that Kathy and I saw Needtobreathe previously at the Hawthorne Theater. This time around, I was ready to rock.

Chances are, many people have already unknowingly heard Needtobreathe's songs in films, TV shows, or movie trailers. They're not a household name yet, but Taylor Swift considered them hot enough to personally hand them the opening spot on her upcoming national tour (which begs the question, why would she want to try to follow them in concert?).

Click the thumbnail above to play short video clip of the mic-free, no-amp Needtobreathe acoustic encore at the Roseland Theater. I didn't bother to film much of the rowdier moments. I knew I wouldn't be able to stand still long enough to hold the camera steady, anyway.

The set list was a crowd pleasing mix of both familiar and yet to be released songs, with a few unexpectedly amped up versions of some their mellower fan favorites. Sadly, their show didn't even come close to matching (in length) the previous weekend's 3+ hour swan song of the Black Crowes, and I doubt that I was the only one in the crowd who was hoping to experience the epic worship of "Signature of the Divine (Yahweh)." These two small complaints aside, though, this was another amazing show from a band that is really hitting their stride!

Musically, Needtobreathe has evolved from the anthem rock of their debut album to their current eclectic blend of southern rock, Americana, and blues/soul. And their live show leaves their studio-recorded material in the dust. Sound familiar?

I thought so, too. Minutes before kicking off their diverse set of electric/acoustic/folk/piano/organ country rock, I couldn't help but smile as the last recorded song of the Needtobreathe pre-show music played… "Good Morning Captain," by the Black Crowes.

A Week of Musical Bliss

IMG_7346_edited-1.JPG
Originally uploaded by gkhamilton

Coming soon... A rundown of my two favorite rock 'n' roll bands to catch live (not counting U2, who skipped Portland on this year's world tour). I pray for one group, and I worship along with the other. Amazingly, I caught both bands' shows in town last week!

E.P.I.C. Student Ministry Newsletter- Sep 2010

Since returning from International Youth Convention in Orlando last month, our students at Aloha Church of God have enjoyed a month of spiritual encouragement from the book of Philippians, fellowship, and laid back summer fun. Among the latest highlights:

Crazy games during E.P.I.C. Wednesday nights

Sharing about IYC Orlando with the students back at home

Campmeeting at Warner Pacific College

Dual fundraisers holding signs for a car dealership, earning money for our upcoming summer activities

Water balloon fight!

Hiking in the Columbia River Gorge

Cruising in the Jeep

Playstation 3 gaming at Garth and Kathy's new house

Our young people thank you for your prayers. We've had a fun summer!

In Christ,
Youth Pastors Garth and Kathy Hamilton

P.S. I'm having some difficulties getting our youth camping/boating pictures uploaded. In the meantime, here are some other bonus pics from this summer:

BLAM!! Collision on home plate!

The infamous banana cake, in honor of Garth's birthday


The dominant team goes deep field to win the water balloon toss


Kenny gets pwned by Brandon and Patrick at the E.P.I.C. water fight!!

Student Ministry Newsletter- September 2009

Note: My latest post for September 2010 is still in "draft" mode (as this one has been), so I'm posting this 2009 entry for a fun look at what we did last year at this time. As soon as I finish uploading recent pics from this summer, I'll publish the new entry. Enjoy!

This has been a fun and action packed summer for our student ministry. We created many memories together, and remembering God's blessings have been a key theme from our teachings this past month. We've been following Israel's story as the Lord led them further from their slavery in Egypt, preparing them for a new life of freedom and obedience in the Promised Land. We can also be free to experience God's promises by relying on the Holy Spirit to set us apart for His calling (as Moses and Aaron were anointed for ministry), acknowledging that everything we have belongs to God (as demonstrated by God's instructions for the Year of Jubilee), and learning to be grateful for God's blessings (in contrast to the Israelite's grumbling and complaining in the desert).

In addition to this summer's day hikes, backpacking/ camping trips, swimming, and boating excursions, we always consider OR/SW WA State Campmeeting to be a highlight. Will operated the camera on the opening night as this year's theme, "A Hope and a Future," was introduced. A group of students also took part in Warner Pacific College Night on Wednesday.


As always, we celebrated the end of summer with laughs and thrills at our annual camping/waterskiing weekend in Washington State. After setting up camp near the town of Couger, we had dinner together and walked down to Yale Lake for a brisk twilight swim.
Back at camp, we explored the area, toasted s'mores, and enjoyed interesting conversations around the campfire.

Garth's dad, Bo, made a surprise appearance at camp the next morning while Garth was leading morning devotions.


After sharing a delicious pancake and sausage breakfast at camp, we launched Bo's boat in Yale Lake and cranked up the fun.


Our toys of choice were the wakeboard, the kneeboard, and the water tube. Bo pulled each of us behind his boat according to our own preference of speed, sharp turns, and craziness.
It was a great weekend of camping and boating, and we look forward to next year!

Thanks in advance for remembering our student ministry in your prayers for the upcoming school year. Details on the launch of our new E.P.I.C. Student Ministry will follow next month!

In His grip,
Youth Pastors Garth and Kathy Hamilton

Here are some blog-exclusive bonus photos for this month:

Playing Tree on Garth's birthday

Taste testing different blends of joe at Coffee Stop, narrowing down options for the upcoming Aloha Church of God Blend

Not one, but TWO soaking wet water balloon fights.

We had a Slip 'N' Slide contest before we dried off. Derek G.(pictured) easily took the top honors.

And finally... observing communion together on the playground (after one of the water fights) at the end of Garth's teaching