Youth
Meet St. Luke’s New Youth Director: Russ Britton !
Greetings! I'm Russ Britton and I am happy be serving St. Luke's as your Youth Director. I have been serving as the youth director for Shepherd of the Mountains 
Lutheran since March of last year and look forward to joining together to serve the youth of both faith communities. Here's a little bit about me.
I grew up in Longmont, Colorado (where my parents still reside). I attended St. Olaf College in Minnesota where I majored in Philosophy and Religion. After time spent in multimedia CD-ROM production, substitute teaching, foreign software documentation, and much time in outdoor ministry, I have served as a youth minister since May 2001. Prior to Utah I served a congrega- tion in Colorado Springs for four years.
My interests include running, reading (pretty much a non-fiction guy), music (both playing piano, guitar, and drums as well as listening to most any type preferably with a beat), and comedy/laughter. I am delighted to be married to Sarah Britton, who is a preschool teacher over at Park City Academy. We reside in Pinebrook and very much enjoy the variety Park City has to offer. While my ministry experiences and training have taken place largely in the Lutheran tradition, I look forward to working with Fr. Charles and the St. Luke's community to serve your youth and families!
Engage the Fearful and Wonderful
My summer has gone pretty well so far. Hope it’s been good for you too. Hey before I get in too far, you might be wondering, where I get the ‘fearful and wonderful’ name for this segment? The mystery trip crew should recall, from Psalm 139:14 where it states we’re all, yes all of us, are ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’. Rather than freaking us out, hopefully this stimulates in us some awe and wonder for the marvelous works of God.
I’ve been thinking about how we’re to love God with our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength. (Mk 12:30; Lk 10:27) This fall I’d really like to see that each month we try to move in each of those four directions in some way. Which leads me to ask you (and don’t be surprised if I do)... what does it look like to love the Lord with all your ______ (fill in with one of the four above)? What could we do as a group to encourage one another to love the Lord with all their _______? Hmmmm.
Some random things I have encountered this summer that make me think God is
at work. What would be on your list?
www.pandora.com
The wonderful world of music recognized for the complexity it possesses.
Watching a little boy hold his Dad’s hand as they walk to Quarry Village in Pinebrook
A baby’s recognition of its parent’s voice
Laughter and smiles
Coldstone Ice Cream
The difference in you all from pictures of last summer to events this summer.
Watching birds at the bird feeder
The delight at getting a book you’ve wanted to read for some time
The gears are at work for an excellent fall and keep your eyes and ears open because we’ll be looking for youth, like yourself, to help pull together various events of service, fellowship, and fun.
May God bless and keep you as you have a safe and enjoyable remainder of your summer!
Russ
Reaching Russ? txt msg or call 659-1774
** Check the youth boards and Hey YOUth E-Newsletters for more details as the events get closer.
Thurs, July 12th
Group Movie Afternoon: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Details TBA
Monday, July 16th
RAGING WATERS • $14 10a-8p
Tues, July 17th – Sun, July 22nd
Episcopal Province VIII HS Youth Gathering in Salt Lake City at Westminster College
Russ will be there serving the Diocese
Mon, July 30th – Fri, Aug 3rd
DAY CAMP 9a-1p -- We’ll need some excellent MS & HS volunteers to make it great!
On Thursday evening at 6pm we’ll have a program to showcase some of the songs and lessons we’ve
learned. Also Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon, we’ll have a youth volunteer outing after Day Camp in the
morning. Watch for details.
PASSING THE BATON: Thoughts for parents
For faith to ‘stick’ it’s caring adults in the lives of kids who testify to the importance of relationship and under- standing of God and Jesus. Sure, a youth director can encourage the process, but I don’t hold a candle to parental influence. So while I’m daily glad for the chance to care for, serve, and guide our congregation’s young people, I hope to become more and more an advocate for the primary faith models in the lives of kids... their par- ents. Along those lines here are some quick clips from books and articles I’ve read lately. Both are available in their full format if you let me know you’d like a copy. And as I introduce this ‘Passing The Baton’ segment in the newsletter, please let me know if there is a topic you would like me to address. In the words of a song from High School Musical “We’re all in this together.” Peace Russ 659-1774 M or youthdir@shepherdofthemountains.org or russ@stlukespc.org **A Website Worth Checking Out: www.cpyu.org Center for Parent & Youth Understanding With the tagline ‘Understanding culture to impact culture,’ this website offers insights into the world and influ- ences many teens (perhaps yours, perhaps not... ask them) are facing daily. **Importance of Parental Example – What are the odds? “...in families where neither parent attends church regularly, only 6 percent of the kids will grow up to be faithful to Christ. If only mom attends regularly, 15 percent will remain faithful. If only Dad is consistent in his attendance, only 55 percent remain faithful. But in those fami- lies where both parents model regular church attendance, 72 percent of their kids will remain faithful.” From YOUTH CULTURE 101 - Chapter 14 “Especially for Parents: Helping Teenagers Find Their Place in God’s Story” by Walt Mueller p. 425 **Exposing Kids to Faith and Letting Them Decide: “But what if we took this approach with other areas of their lives? ‘I was forced to attend school as a kid and thought it was pretty boring – sometimes torturous. So, I don’t want to make my kid go to school – that would be unhealthy. We’ll take him the first couple of times to ex- pose him to it, then let him decide.’ Or maybe, ‘I think sports and fitness is a good thing, so I’m taking my daugh- ter to the pool. But I don’t’ want to force her to swim – I just want to expose her to swimming. So I won’t make her wear a suit. I’ll just have her look at the water, maybe stick her toes in, and watch some other folks swim a bit – see what she thinks.’ This notion of “exposing” kids to faith – with a fragile level of commitment and a lack of de- termination and diligence on the part of parents – just seems ludicrous to me. If you don’t practice your faith, you’ll never really get the hang of it, or even know if it’s something you want to get the hang of.” From Winter 2004 issue of Congregations Magazine “Church vs. Soccer” by Rev. Jennifer McKenzie