August 2023

Dearest NoCo Friends & Family,

It is such a blessing to be writing to you all again, especially with so much to share. We have a lot of content in this newsletter, but you’ll want to read through to the end so you will have a full picture of everything happening at The COVE Art Center up to November! God is so good, & we are excited to continue making His name great in Pittsburgh as He equips & empowers us.

“Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever! Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord, or declare all His praise?”

Psalms 106:1-2

Surf City Summer Camp 2023

If you have ever been to summer camp, you no doubt have some stories to tell. It’s quite a unique experience for a child to leave home for a week & fill each day with wild activities they’re unlikely to participate in anywhere else, while surrounded by dozens of other excited kids. This year, The Novelty Collective team was able to take nine students to Surf City camp in Silver Lake, Michigan, alongside several other church & parachurch groups from Pittsburgh. Surf City is run by the Pittsburgh Kids Foundation, & there isn’t another camp in the world like it! Popular land activities included biking, pickle ball, basketball, & nine square, but a lot of the fun happened on the lake with opportunities for waverunning, tubing, kayaking, & “The Blob!” There were plenty of outrageous team competitions, as well, like the Regatta Race, Dune Wars, a real-life MarioKart race, & a lip-sync contest!

While all these activities made for some fantastic memories, the most impactful side of Surf City was the intentionality of its staff & trip leaders to point their students to Jesus. Morning Bible studies & evening worship services are a sacred part of Surf City, & several church leaders expressed that this year’s were some of the best yet. We are so thrilled to report that five of our students made the decision to give their lives to Christ by the end of camp. It’s a joint effort between camp staff, church leaders, the parents of each child, & supporters like yourself that make all of this possible every year. We are eternally grateful for your prayers.

We would like to say a special thank you to all who supported our fundraising campaign over the summer. Your generosity made it possible for us to bus our students all the way to western Michigan & back. We cannot do what we do without you. We believe & expect God to generously bless those who sow into His Kingdom by faith!

Check out the highlight video from Surf City 2023 to get a peek at the action!

The COVE: Afterschool

Summer is swiftly coming to an end, & our students will be back to school again. This year, The COVE will be celebrating year EIGHT of ministry! We have grown & learned so much since we began. We have it figured out a little better each year, honing what we do well & trimming the fat. Please be praying for us as we continue caring for our regular attendees & take on new students. There will always be new challenges, oftentimes before we’ve completely resolved the former ones. The Novelty Collective team is hoping for big things & expecting God to work miracles as He has faithfully done from the start.

A new season of The COVE: Afterschool means a new deep-dive study into the Word of God! As always, Program Director Brittany Hartman has spent a lot of time in prayer to determine the direction we are headed this year. With that said, we are so excited to announce that we’ll be taking our students through the book of Psalms! We are building curriculum, purchasing special Bibles, & planning art projects to make this chapter of Afterschool great. Look out for more newsletters & follow us on social media for future updates on our studies.

Due to a certain wedding happening Labor Day weekend, critical members of the team will be out of office until September 12th, which means there will be a delay to the start of Afterschool programming. Prayerfully, our first day of Afterschool will be Monday, September 18th.

NoCo: Open Studios

With the return of Afterschool, NoCo: Open Studios will be back every fourth Saturday, starting September 23rd. We are as eager to invite our adult artist community back to The COVE Art Center as we are our beloved students. For those of you looking to start new routines moving into the autumn months, it’s the perfect time to prioritize art in your schedule. If you don’t consider yourself an artist or feel very creative, we have news for you—creativity is an innate & essential component to your very DNA! You are made in the image of a creative God, & we believe He wants to partner with you in the holy act of creating art. So we challenge you to come try it out in one of our dynamic art studios, designed for artists by artists, to equip & inspire people like you. At the very least, we’d love you to join our community. See you soon!

The Novelty Collective Music & Arts Festival 2023

Don’t miss it—our most anticipated event of the year is just around the corner. The Novelty Collective Music & Arts Festival is a two-day event featuring singer-songwriters & bands from Pittsburgh & across the Midwest, an art market full of highly skilled artisans & makers selling their unique creations, & a doorway into the community we are so very passionate about. The mission & purpose of The Novelty Collective is to make art accessible, to generate greater value for the arts, & to honor the artist. NoCo Fest is the epitome of that cause. Consider how you can be a part of it, & don’t forget to invite your friends & family. Help us make this year’s fest our very best.

NoCo Fest will take place on November 3rd & 4th. Keep up to date on the latest information by following us on social media. Links to our website, Instagram, & FaceBook can all be found at the bottom of this newsletter.

Help Wanted

Our ministry has experienced so much growth & success over the past two years. This has easily been the most beautiful & rewarding chapter of The Novelty Collective, & much of that is due to having an awesome team of dedicated leaders & volunteers. They sacrificed countless hours & overcame great challenges to faithfully serve the community we are called to, & we cannot possibly thank or praise them enough. Sadly, we have had to say goodbye to most of our leaders since The COVE: Afterschool ended in June, as they are moving into new chapters in their personal lives. We are so thankful for their friendship, their continued support, & the amazing life of art ministry we had the immense privilege of sharing with them.

While some of them may return in the future, we are looking at a deficit for volunteers, specifically for Afterschool, & September 18th is rapidly approaching. We are still full of hope & expectation, as God always provides what we need according to His perfect will, in His perfect timing! All that being said, we are currently looking for people who are interested in serving middle school & high school students once per week at The COVE. If you know God has called you to serve kids, & you are looking for the right opportunity, this could be it! Whether or not you consider yourself an artist, we encourage you to reach out. There is an interview process, but nothing too daunting. Please pray & ask that God would send us the right ministry team for this upcoming season, & ask if that might mean someone like you!

Supplies Needed

You may not be in a position to lend a helping hand on-site, but there are still other ways you can help! A new season of ministry means we will need new tools, materials, & supplies for each of our art studios, snacks for our kiddos, & much more. God continues to bless us with chances to serve hundreds of children & adults every year. The Novelty Collective is a nonprofit ministry of the Church, & our mission is to make art accessible & affordable for everyone, so almost everything we have to offer is free. Please pray & ask the Lord how you might contribute to keep it that way! He has been so faithful to provide. Here are links to two easy access points to helping us at any time:

Givebutter: This link will take you directly to our fundraising platform, where you will have options to give a one-time gift or reoccurring donations, with the option to fund more specific projects you might find you are passionate about!
Amazon: This link will take you to our Amazon Wish List! Ordering from here will send supplies directly to our doorstep. We regularly update the list, so you can keep checking back to find out what we may need next.

If you have questions (or suggestions) about either one of these platforms, please send us a message. Thank you for your consideration in partnering with us to share the love of God in our beautiful community!

hand in hand

We cannot say thank you enough for continuing on this creative journey with us. Your prayers, your generosity, & your involvement have made it possible for The Novelty Collective to serve so many people; we hope you have been blessed by this connection, as well. We are a community built on serving one another. Never hesitate to reach out with questions, prayer requests, or even practical needs. We will do our very best to meet you there! Until next time, find us on social media with all the links below. Blessings!

In His Service,

The NoCo Team

Article Written by Jordan A. King

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