Church Activities--All Ages! Also, NT Young Life info

Ripley United Church of Christ

Special Worship and Events:

Kids and Adults, watch announcements for Rally & Sundae Sunday, Worship-in-the-Park, fall Hayride, Christmas Eve, Ash Wednesday, Lenten and Maundy Thursday services.

We share in several ecumenical services and gatherings such as:

Thanksgiving, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Womens Quiet Hours, Mens Prayer Breakfast, Baccalaureate, Senior Girls Reception, Vacation Bible School, Winding Stair Worship (along with the Traers Winding Stair Festival).

Two big fundraisers, that also promote fellowship and working together within our church family, are the Gods Given Talent Auction (usually the 3^rd Saturday in March), and the Ripley UCC Food Stand at the towns Winding Stair Festival (3^rd Weekend in August).

Music and Drama at Ripley, and Ripley Summer Theater

Ripley UCC has been blessed to have led and hosted two major musical productions in recent years: Godspell in 2000, and Dave in 2002. Pastor Sheryl and her husband, Pastor Mike Campbell (who serves as a certified Interim Pastor in nearby churches) have taken major musical leadership responsibilities for these productions. But the stage talent, sets, lighting, makeup, costuming, fellowship hosting, publicity, ushering, etc. have been from the Ripley UCC parish and the community. Over 800 guests each season have attended the several performances of these musical dramas, filled with Spirit and humor. Many have compared us favorably to Old Creamery Theater or even to Branson. Profits in both cases were given to the North Tama Young Life shared youth ministry.

We have worked in both of these productions to make the scriptures come alive, including for several weeks in Sunday worship as the Biblical backgrounds and foundations were more completely studied, the songs shared in many different venues, and the lines Biblically based, and so carefully practiced and repeated became engraved upon our hearts.

There are opportunities for further music and drama ministry at Ripley UCC traditional, contemporary, and blended. How would you like to get involved?

Childrens and Youth Ministry

We have an active Christian Education department, who works closely with the pastor, and has developed a wonderful curriculum of Workshop-Rotation Sunday school, incorporating many principles of Multi-Dimensional learning.

The Pastor teaches a two-year program of Confirmation, typically to 7^th and 8^th graders. Students are then given the opportunity to confirm for themselves the Christian faith into which they were baptized. They also are given the opportunity to become full members of Ripley Church.

High school youth often are active in the Christian ed, music, and drama ministries of Ripley UCC. Our church also actively supportsboth as a mission, and as part of our ministry, the community Young Life and Wyld Life. These are shared ministries of senior and junior high students, staffed by a trained college graduate with many local adult volunteers, with active Club Meetings, Campaigner Bible Studies, and other opportunities for learning and growth in dynamic and applicable Christian faith.