Men's Retreat: August 20-22, 2010

Hey Stirring men, it's that time again-time to break away from the emasculating confines of society and thrive in nature as wild men of God. Last year's men's retreat featured downhill mountain bike racing, stirring (no pun intended) speakers, and a severe injury to Campus Pastor Sean Gaffner. Good times indeed.

This year, the Men's Retreat will be at Lassen Pines from August 20 to August 22, starting with dinner at 6pm on Friday through breakfast on Sunday morning. Just like last year, there will be friendly(more or less) competition, paintball, fire pits, lakes, poker, and of course, awesome man-food. UNLIKE last year, there will be enough beds for everybody, so nobody has to sleep on the floor this year. And we're trying to keep maulings to a minimum this year as well.

It'll be less intense than this:

But more intense than this:

Gaff's heading up there today to scout out the situation and plan out the shenanigans. Participants will be limited to the first 75 men who sign up and pay the full $110 fee, so get off your butt and email Sean at sean@thestirring.org or Amy at amy@thestirring.org to sign up.

Be a man. Go to the Men's Retreat.

Demolition Saturday!

by Billy Brown

It's time to get amped up for some destruction-this Saturday is The Stirring's first Demolition Saturday, so get ready to blow off some steam while tearing the new building to shreds.

There are going to be two shifts, one from 8am to 12pm, and one from 12pm to 4pm. The Stirring will provide lunch for people who sign up in advance.

This week, we'll be looking at breaking up tile, tearing down drywall, and pulling up carpet, so if you've got them, bring simple instruments of destruction (and cleanup) such as hammers, crowbars, flathead shovels and push brooms.

If you want to get involved, Dan Lance has a few words of advice:

-Proper clothing must be worn at all times. This includes: proper shoes (no sandals), long pants, hard hat and eye protection (available on-site if needed), and work gloves.

-As a volunteer, your work will consist of “light duty” tasks – no power tools or power equipment will be needed to complete your tasks. However, for “Professional Volunteers”, please provide some proof of your construction expertise so that we may utilize your skills.

-Make “Housekeeping” a constant effort. A clean site is a safe site.

Contact Amy@thestirring.org if you want to help out so Dan can get a head count and we can make sure that there's enough lunch for everyone.

You get to combine wanton destruction with a free lunch and a chance to 'get on the wall' with your Stirring family. It's win-win-win.

Community Spotlight: Gabe Kossol

by Nicole Garbutt

I had the chance to sit down with Gabe and get to know a bit more about one of the Stirring’s newest staff members.

Gabe has been a part of the Stirring community since it began, albeit long distance. After growing up here in Northern California, he moved out to Colorado to attend Colorado Christian University. There, he and his wife, Krista, followed the Stirring through podcasts and catching occasional services while home visiting family.

Once finished with college, Gabe worked as a worship pastor and youth leader at a local church in Colorado. Still, he and his wife felt very impacted by the Stirring and prayed that God would open a door for them to move back to Redding and an opportunity to get involved.

Shortly after the birth of his daughter, Lily, that door opened. God told him it was time to go and he and his family moved back to California. He is now on staff as a sound technician and even leads worship from time to time. Gabe has a huge heart for teenagers and leads a high school life group alongside his wife. He feels called to train and disciple the next generation of worship leaders.

When asked if there was anything random or quirky he had to share about himself, it turned to hair, or rather the faux-hawk. Between the hair style and the glasses, Gabe says that not a day goes by that he isn’t confused as one on Nate’s brothers or as Nate himself.