BGMC Sunday & Ugly Tie Kick-off!

Last night we had a huge amount of Kid Vid Veto pledges turned in and nearly doubled how much we've taken in from our first BIG fundraiser!  So far we've brought in over $800 bringing our total for the year so far over $1,350!!  AWESOME!!  But we've still got $650 to go and that's probably about it for the Kid Vid Veto, so don't forget to keep filling those Buddy Barrels and don't forget to bring them this Sunday as we collect our regular monthly BGMC offering!

It's also time to start decorating ties for our next BGMC fundraiser!  We'll start collecting them over the next couple of weeks and start displaying them on Mother's Day for voting.  Remember, the way it works is that we put a Buddy Barrel next to each tie on the table in the church foyer and people vote for the tie they like best with money.  The tie that receives the most money will be worn on Graduation Sunday by Pastor Kevin!  Pastor Ron wears the 2nd place tie, then Pastor Nick and so on including the elders if need be.  We try to wear them all, but we need lots of ties to raise more money for missions so make sure you get one done!

We just got back from the District Summit and came home with a plaque for 10th biggest BGMC giver in the Wisconsin, Northern Michigan District at $2,234.09!  We can beat that this year and maybe make it into the top 5!  We're already more than half way there!

This Sunday in the Playhouse: Ehud's Secret Message!

As our series in the Old Testament Judges continues, we learn about our first two deliverers, Othniel and Ehud!  But of these two, Ehud has the more interesting story, so that will be our focus.  Make sure your kids don't miss it because there's a strong point in this little account that will benefit them if they pay attention.  Ehud had a special gift that others might have seen as a disability, but God used it to deliver His people!

We'll also have a few surprises this Sunday, including special guests and activities.  See you Sunday morning at 10:30am!

Purity Ring Ceremonies

A Purity ceremony is commonly known as the time when a purity ring is given and a vow of purity is taken. Most often when the vow of purity is made, God is, at least, acknowledged, if not included in the vow. Purity ceremonies are also known as and referred to as: a true love waits ceremony or an abstinence ceremony.

Personal Decision:
The most important aspect or part of a purity ceremony is the commitment and dedication of an individual to stay pure. The vow of purity needs to be a personal and individual decision. Those who take part in a purity ceremony need to be committed and dedicated to the vow they are taking. Teenagers should not participate in these ceremonies simply to please their parents. There is no point or reason for a teenager to participate in a purity ceremony if they are not planning on keeping their vow and staying pure until marriage.

Importance of Parents:
Parents play a vital role in purity ceremonies. Children need to have their parents present at these ceremonies. They need their parents support. The presentation of the purity ring (or item) by a parent, shows the parents support of their child’s decision. Parents should also make sure their child understands and is ready to make the vow of purity. Children need to know and understand the importance and weight of the vow they will be making.

Vows:
Vows of purity are taken during a purity ceremony in a public or private place. These vows are most often made or taken in early teenage years; however, there are many people that make or take their vow of purity when they are older. There are also many people (often in college or in their twenties) that will retake or remake their vow of purity. It helps them to re-commit, remember and renew their desire that they had to stay pure when they were a young teenager.

Types:
There are many different types of purity ceremonies. Some are very formal and elaborate, while others are very simple. There are no requirements other than a decision and/or vow to stay pure until marriage.

Purity Balls
Purity Balls are a very elegant and elaborate purity ceremony. It is elaborate in that it is symbolic of a wedding. A purity ball is thrown for daughters and their fathers. The daughters come dressed in beautiful gowns and the fathers come dressed in tuxedos. It is an evening full of dancing, cake, prayer and most important, the presenting of purity rings or other purity items, such as a necklace or bracelet, by the fathers to their daughters. Fathers make a vow and promise to protect their daughters and guard their virginity. As the fathers are making these vows and promises, they present a purity ring (or other item) to their daughters. These daughters are then under their fathers guard and protection until they are married and replace their purity ring with a wedding ring. The daughters promise their fathers that they will stay pure.

Purity Ceremonies
There are many different purity programs at local churches in which teenagers can enroll. These programs consist of several Bible study and relationship classes, followed by a purity ceremony (kind of like a graduation). At these purity ceremonies, the students make their vows of virginity and purity publicly in front of a congregation. As they do this, they are presented with a purity item, most often a ring. The item is presented to them by their parents or an adult guardian.

Other Purity Ceremonies
Purity ceremonies do not need to be formal. They can take place between just a parent and a child at home, at a restaurant, at a park or wherever. Sometimes purity ceremonies take place just between a boyfriend and a girlfriend; promising one another that they will be pure until marriage. Other times purity ceremonies will take place with a few witnesses present and a certificate is signed and presented after or during the ceremony. Purity ceremonies are simply for anyone who wants to stay pure.

It's DECORATE YOUR DIRECTOR NIGHT!!  Remind your kids to bring all kinds of fun stuff  with which to decorate their club director: hats, scarfs, jewelry, pins, armbands, belts, etc. etc. etc.  The only thing we ask is that everything your kids bring to decorate their leader be something they don't have to hold on to.  After all, though they are superheroes in many ways, they don't have more than two arms each.  So whatever the kids bring, make sure it can be WORN.  We'll see you at 6:15pm ready to have some fun!

Paper Airplane Theme Night at Awana!

TOMORROW NIGHT IN AWANA: PAPER AIRPLANES WILL FLY!!

Remind your kids to make and bring some paper airplanes to fly at Awana clubs tomorrow night! The games we play will use paper airplanes so you may want to even encourage them to bring several different kinds and backup planes since they tend to be fragile. In fact, we've invited some kids to bring extras to share. If your child is good at making paper airplanes it would be great if they bring 10 or 20 to share for the littler kids who don't know how to make one.

It'll be fun so don't miss out as we launch the month of April with another exciting Awana club night! The fun starts at 6:15pm as always! See you then!

Purity Rings

A purity ring can be simple or it can be fancy. It can be cheap or it can be expensive. It does not matter. A purity ring is a ring that represents a promise, vow, commitment or goal to abstain from sex until marriage. Purity rings are typically worn on the left ring finger. It is significant, in the fact that it is the same finger on which a wedding ring is worn. It is to remind an individual their desire and goal to abstain from sex until marriage. Once marriage takes place, the purity ring is removed and replaced with a wedding ring.

Purity rings (also known as chastity rings, or abstinence rings) originated in the United States in the 1990s among Christian-affiliated sexual abstinence groups. Wearing a purity ring is typically accompanied by a religious vow to practice abstinence until marriage.

David Bario, a reporter in the Chicago Tribune, Rutland Herald, and several other news websites wrote: "Under the Bush administration, organizations that promote abstinence and encourage teens to sign virginity pledges or wear purity rings have received federal grants. The Silver Ring Thing, a subsidiary of a Pennsylvania Evangelical Church, has received more than $1 million from the government to promote abstinence and to sell its rings in the United States and abroad." The ACLU of Massachusetts brought charges against this decision, because the Silver Ring program did not ensure its secularity and hence was ineligible for federal funding due to the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The settlement between the ACLU and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) says that any further similar applications of Silver Ring Thing must be reported to ACLU and closely scrutinized for separation of church and state.

History
Purity rings really got their start in the 1990s when the Bush administration began promoting safe sex and STD/STI prevention/protection.

“Under the Bush administration, organizations that [promoted] abstinence and [encouraged] teens to sign virginity pledges or wear purity rings have received federal grants. The Silver Ring Thing, a subsidiary of a Pennsylvania evangelical church, has received more than $1 million from the government to promote abstinence and to sell its rings in the United States and abroad.” ¹

What is a Purity Ring?
It can be simple or it can be fancy. It can be cheap or it can be expensive. It does not matter. A purity ring is a ring that represents a promise, vow, commitment or goal to abstain from sex until marriage. Purity rings are typically worn on the left ring finger. It is significant, in the fact that it is the same finger on which a wedding ring is worn. It is to remind an individual their desire and goal to abstain from sex until marriage. Once marriage takes place, the purity ring is removed and replaced with a wedding ring.

Promise Rings vs. Purity Rings
Purity rings are actually a type of promise ring. There are several different types of promise rings. Some are used to show commitment and affection to a significant other when engagement and/or marriage is not desired. While promise rings are used to show commitment to a significant other when engagement and/or marriage is desired.

Furthermore, promise rings are also used to make promises and commitments to ones self. This is where the purity rings come from. They are often used to make commitments to ones self to abstain from sex before marriage but can also be used to make commitments to others that you will abstain from sex before marriage.²

Who Wears Purity Rings?
Anyone can wear purity rings and anyone can purchase purity rings. In many cases, parents buy purity rings for their adolescents. However, there are also many young adults who buy purity rings for themselves. It has become more and more popular over the years among both, adolescents and young adults who have never had sex.

“Purity rings are also popular among “secondary virgins,” the abstinence movement’s name for people who have already had sex but have made a pledge to give it up until marriage.”³

Anyone can wear purity rings regardless of whether they have previously had sex or not. Wearing of a purity ring, is promising ones self that they (at least from that point on) will abstain from sex before marriage.