Kirkwood United Church of Christ

Transcription

1 KUCC Newsletter May 2014 Page 1 Kirkwood United Church of Christ Our Welcoming Statement Kirkwood United Church of Christ is called by God to be an open, diverse and caring community of Jesus disciples. In following Christ s commandment to love one another, we welcome all who wish to share in fellowship, membership, leadership, worship, ministry, sacraments, rites, responsibilities and blessings of our faith community. As we affirm every person is a child of God, no one is excluded, regardless of race, ethnic or socio-economic background, marital status, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental ability, nationality or faith background. We are an Open and Affirming congregation. A Word from the Pastor...for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me... -Matthew 25:35 We are graced with many gifts at Kirkwood UCC praise be to God! - and one of those is visitors on Sunday mornings. On Easter Sunday morning there were 215 worshippers in our modest worship space. Praise be to God! It s hard to understand how we fit so many of God s children into that space for over an hour, but with all the babies on laps and the choral ensemble on the chancel up front, and the Holy Spirit working in and through us, we made it do, and we did so with joy. A Sunday morning does not go by when we do not welcome at least one visitor to our sanctuary. Some of the visitors are entering our sanctuary for the first time; others are returning for their second, third, or sixth visit. Those who have been longer-term members or regular attendees of our community might wonder: Is this face that seems new to me, new to KUCC? Should I recognize this face? Should I know their name? What if I ve already met them and I can t recall? Will I hurt their feelings? Believe me when I say that I experience each of these moments on a regular basis: they are an important, and quite humbling, part of the call to ministry, and over the years I have found it necessary to put my pride aside and admit my confusion or error when necessary. Perhaps you have overheard me say, I don t think I know you, or, Have we met before? I say it a lot, but always follow up with a comment of my sincere joy that they have visited us, and the hope they will visit again. It takes great courage to walk into a new church for the first time. Each of us has experienced this...play a movie in your mind of the first time you walked up to KUCC s doors, not knowing what to expect. The very last thing I would desire for a stranger in our midst is feelings of anxiety, awkwardness, or loneliness. Our visitors cannot remove those initial feelings from their experience, but we can. If you aren t sure you recognize someone as a visitor, you have an opportunity! Let your curiosity take over, just say hi, or engage in conversation. You may be talking with a new acquaintance, a future fellow member, a new friend, or even a new BFF. Who knows? Well, the Holy Spirit knows. So, follow the spirit, as you follow our Christ... God s peace, Betsy...I was a stranger and you welcomed me......

2 KUCC Newsletter May 2014 Page 2 MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Hello and happy Easter season to all of our congregants. I want to take this opportunity to inform you of a team that has been commissioned by the Council for a very specific task or need. I have been calling it the Pastoral Needs Response Commission. Sounds important, doesn't it? It sounds important because this commission has one very important task - responding to and meeting the needs of Pastor Betsy while she and her family deal with the current medical issues. The church council commissioned this team so that a response can happen quickly and not wait for a council meeting. This team consists of one person from the personnel committee (Carrie Mershon), one person from the worship and music team (Jackie Wheelehan), one ordained person from our congregation (Gerry Procter) and one person from the pastoral relations team (Michelle Tomlin). Understandably there was much concern this past week for Betsy and Rick and I want to thank everyone for sharing this concern with me. This commission has met with Betsy and Sonya and created a plan in the event that Betsy needs to be off any amount of time. We have a plan for covering worship services and a plan for taking care of the pastoral needs of our congregation. Betsy knows that we encourage her to take time when she needs it and we will meet as often as needed. We will also create a plan for longer term needs when Rick is placed on the transplant list. One of the wonderful blessings we have currently is our student pastor, Sonya Vann. She has been an incredible source of support for Betsy this semester and will continue to serve our congregation this summer as a support for Betsy and for us as a congregation. Please feel free to talk to me if you have any questions or concerns. I welcome the communication. Yours In Service, Carrie Mershon

3 KUCC Newsletter May 2014 Page 3 The Wisdom of KUCC May 4 Our Adult Education series is featuring "elder" members of KUCC sharing the stories of their key life experiences and what they've learned from them. Discover what it was like for them growing up, how their lives have evolved, how changes have impacted them, and what advice they have to offer to younger generations today. People of all ages are welcome to hear some precious memories and "words of wisdom" from our own long time members. This series will conclude on May 4 with Judy Lane sharing her wisdom. No Adult Education Classes May 11 (Mother s Day), May 18 (Congregational Meeting) May 25 (Memorial Day Weekend) Painting the Stars: Science, Religion and an Evolving Faith June 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 When I have a terrible need of dare I say, 'religion'? then I go outside at night and paint the stars." -- Vincent Van Gogh Mystery is a condition of awe, of resting precisely in an unknowing, long enough for the silence to have its way with us. The goal of this curriculum is to create some space for us to inhabit this mystery more deeply, and explore the relationship between science, particularly evolution, and religion. Celebrating the communion of science and faith, Painting the Stars explores the promise of evolutionary Christian spirituality. This sevensession DVD-based program features over a dozen leading theologians and progressive thinkers, and is part of the Living the Questions curriculum which KUCC has enjoyed in the past. During June & early July, we will view & discuss this intriguing curriculum in the KUCC Theatre. Join us! COFFEE HOUR HOSTS NEEDED We are in need of Coffee Hour Hosts to prepare coffee, set out treats and clean up afterward. This is a fun way to serve the church and meet new people! There is a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board in the Gathering Area. Thank you to all our volunteers.

4 KUCC Newsletter May 2014 Page 4 Our Church s Local Mission Offering collection: Sunday, May 11 th Our Church s Local Mission offering collection will be divided between 3 organizations: Eden Theological Seminary s Scholarship program, the United Church of Christ St. Louis Association, and KirkCare. Eden Theological Seminary Scholarship Program: Eden Theological Seminary is a graduate school preparing women and men for ordained Christian ministry. One of the seven seminaries of the United Church of Christ, Eden is a community that seeks God s justice and peace in the world. Eden is welcoming, inclusive and ecumenically diverse. (From the Eden website: United Church of Christ St. Louis Association: There are 50 Missouri Mid-South Conference United Church of Christ congregations in the St. Louis Association. Our churches include urban, suburban, small town and even rural settings in the Association. Along with congregations in the St. Louis metropolitan area, we also have churches in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee, who are part of the St. Louis Association. Our congregations offer a variety of worship styles, reflecting the approach and tradition of each church. Our history is rich and varied, with churches from the German Evangelical and the Congregational traditions, along with newer churches that have joined us in recent years. Even with these many differences, the United Church of Christ churches in the St. Louis Association unite to reach out to people in need. Some of the outreach ministries supported by the Association include Neighborhood Houses, St. John s Community Services, Isaiah 58 Ministries, Joint Neighborhood Ministries, Union Communion Ministries, and Lydia s House. We also work ecumenically through groups such as Habitat for Humanity. (From the association website: ) KirkCare: Kirk Care is a non-profit organization formed by the Kirkwood Ministerial Alliance. Its mission is to help the needy who live within the boundary of the Kirkwood R-7 school district. It is directed and staffed by lay people from the churches within the R-7 school district. Churches, schools, individuals, and many civic organizations in the area contribute to Kirk Care with food and/or money. Kirk Care members take an active role in providing services to those in need for the communities of Kirkwood, Glendale, Warson Woods, Oakland and Des Peres. Kirk Care offers the community and congregations within the Kirkwood R-7 school district a proven process for helping our neighbors in need. (From the KirkCare website: Please consider giving generously on Sunday, May 11 th!

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6 KUCC Newsletter May 2014 Page 6 "INNER JAZZ" Update In March, 2013, KUCC embarked on a new, multi-faith adventure under the direction of Rev. Cliff Aerie: "Inner Jazz," which blends improvisational jazz with storytelling, poetry, visual arts and meditation was born. Since then, monthly Inner Jazz events have hosted a wide variety of extremely talented jazz musicians and vocalists, and have inspired over 400 guests. Attendees have consistently left our sanctuary filled with the Spirit and ready to take on the week ahead of them. During the past year, KUCC has faithfully served as a wonderful incubator in which the Inner Jazz seedling might sprout and grow. The time has come, however, for Inner Jazz to branch out to a more centrally-located and focused venue, one that might bring it the wider exposure it deserves. And so, beginning in the fall, monthly Inner Jazz events will no longer take place at KUCC. The new location is yet to be determined, but we will keep you informed as the summer progresses. Cliff has established a strong following of Inner Jazz enthusiasts, and we hope that many of you will continue your support. We especially want to thank Cliff for his creative visioning, and for sharing his own talents, as well as the talents of so many jazz musicians, with us during Inner Jazz experiences. We invite you to experience the final Inner Jazz to be held in our sanctuary on May 11th! It will be a very special edition, with terrific music and a special guest. See the flier in this month's newsletter for more details. CALLING ALL SINGERS! Make a joyful noise, all the earth! The choral ensemble that sings during Sunday morning worship is always looking for new faces. Rehearsals are held on Thursdays from 7:30-9:00 pm. Please see our Director of Music, Doug Potts, dougbpotts@aol.com, if you have questions or an interest.

7 KUCC Newsletter May 2014 Page 7 KIRKWOOD UCC CONGREGATIONAL MEETING MAY 18, 2014 FOLLOWING 9:30 a.m. WORSHIP SERVICE All are encouraged to attend this opportunity to review reports of the past year s activities and ministries, and hear an update from our facilities visioning team (the elevator project). VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL July It s time to start thinking about Vacation Bible School coming up this July! There are many ways you can help...contact Cory Letchworth (letchfamily@gmail.com) to see all of the ways you can help. The dates this year are July 14-18, 2014 from 9:00amnoon each day. Once again we will be teaming up with Trinity Lutheran Church. GENTLY-USED SUMMER CLOTHES FOR ST. PHILLIPS SURROUNDING COMMUNITY It's spring cleaning time! With the start of that process of thinning out closets, KUCC will be collecting donations of any of your gently-used SPRING/SUMMER clothes. A collection box will be available in the Gathering Area through June 1st. Thank you! HABITAT FOR HUMANITY AWARD Every house that Habitat builds or renovates has a house leader. The house leader is a volunteer who provides guidance and oversight for the volunteers on that house's build site -- they ensure that volunteers do the work correctly and that all of the work gets done according to schedule. They are present every Saturday and every blitz work day for the entire build on their assigned house. It is a significant responsibility and time commitment. For many years, Jim Kennedy and John Behl have been co-house leaders for the UCC house and they were recently named co-recipients of Habitat's 2014 Joe F. Castagno Construction Leadership Award. Our Council participated in their nomination. This award shows appreciation and thanks to the dedicated construction leaders who help make the Habitat build successful each year. Leaders are rated on their leadership skills, site management, volunteer mentoring, dedication to the role and organization, and on being an Ambassador for Habitat. The UCC congregations are lucky to have had Jim and John leading our builds for so many years, and we look forward to their leadership for many more years to come!

8 KUCC Newsletter May 2014 Page 8 WOMEN S FELLOWSHIP Learn About and Help Lydia s House For our Women s Fellowship May meeting we will hear from Carolyn Held about Lydia's House, an organization which provides support services and transitional housing to women and children that have experienced domestic violence. We ll meet at 11:30 on Wednesday, May 14 at KUCC for the program and then follow with a pot-luck lunch. We will also be collecting items for the women who are supported by Lydia s House. In honor of Mother's Day, women's toiletries would be a wonderful donation but a Wish List is also listed below. All are welcome to attend and hear about this important ministry. However, if you can t attend but would like to donate something, please look for the basket labeled Lydia s House in the gathering area. Wish List For Lydia's House SCHOOL SUPPLIES Folders Folders with brads in the middle Wide ruled notebooks College ruled notebooks Wide ruled loose-leaf paper College ruled loose-leaf paper Elmers glue- NO glue sticks Pencil sharpeners Backpacks (larger size) NO crayons, pens or pencils Household Needs: Cookie sheets/pizza pans (new only) 13 gallon trash cans Small Dish Drainers Kitchen Fire Extinguishers Kitchen towels and washcloths Bath Towel Sets (face, hand, body) new only, neutral colors please Telephones (no cordless) Digital TV converter boxes TV/Antennas (less than 25 lbs.) Irons, new covers for ironing boards Twin-size sheet sets (new only) and standardsized pillows (new only) Mattress covers (zippered plastic) twin or crib only Heavy duty flashlights Toasters (10 needed) new Cleaning Supplies: Dish soap Vacuum cleaners (new) Kitchen mops and buckets (rag style only) Laundry detergent Pine-sol Paper towels Fume free oven cleaner Toiletries: Hair Conditioner Body Wash Toilet paper Feminine Hygiene Products Deodorant Children s Needs: Children s bedspreads and comforters (especially boys) Baby Sheets (neutral colors, new only) Diapers (sizes 4,5) Pull-Ups (all sizes) Baby Wipes Community Supplies: Paper plates, Plastic forks, Gallon storage bags Gift cards: Schnuck s or Shop n Save, Target or Walmart Home Depot or Lowe s Gardening Supplies: Hedge Shears (2 pairs) Pruner Shears (large and small 2 pairs of each) Loppers (2 pairs)

9 KUCC Newsletter May 2014 Page 9 Conference Covenanted Ministry for Peace and Justice Advocacy This is an from Rev. Dr. Allen Fluent, Acting Conference Minister of the Missouri Mid-South Conference UCC. It was sent to a few members of KUCC as well as members of other churches in the area. The Mission & Outreach Ministry Team wanted to make this opportunity available to anyone in the congregation that might be interested. If you are interested in becoming involved in this Ministry for Peace and Justice Advocacy, please contact Allen at: allen@mmsucc.org. You are receiving this message because I know that each of you has an interest in some of the topics and issues that would ordinarily be on the agenda of a Conference Covenanted Ministry Team. As you are probably aware, this ministry team is one of those on the Missouri Mid-South Conference structure that has fallen into inactivity within the past few years. I believe that it is important for us to re-activate this covenanted ministry, so that such issues can be appropriately placed on the agenda of the Conference for various kinds of consideration and action. Currently, there is an active committee of Eastern Association dealing with social concerns, but no corresponding group in St Louis or Western. I m not suggesting that we have a regular Conference-wide monthly meeting more like initiating gathered groups in each association that correspond by with one another, possibly with an occasional gathering or conference call to recommend conference-wide action when it is needed. Issues currently surfacing among some of you are the State of Missouri Budget, expansion of Medicare, issues related to carbon emissions and health care coverage for transgendered persons. I am also aware of two major issues that are likely to come before General Synod in 2015, for which Conference endorsements are currently being sought. They are the mass incarceration of young African American males in America and the environmental effects of fracking. At this point, I m just hoping that each of you will communicate with one another by your interest (or lack of interest) in being involved in the reestablishment of the Conference Covenanted Ministry for Peace and Justice Advocacy, and then continue in a group conversation about how you think it would best be organized. Here s one suggestion: We might gather a group in Western and St Louis Associations to work under the auspices of each association, elect a chair person in each association group, and schedule a first meeting or conference call involving 2 or 3 persons from each association to discuss the best way to bring advocacy concerns to the attention of the Conference either through resolutions sent to CAG or through a network of advocacy efforts or educational programming. So, if this interests you, please talk to one another on , add interested friends to the list, give each other your ideas for organization and your thoughts about issue priorities. Thanks for your interest. Allen

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15 KUCC Newsletter May 2014 Page 15 Kirkwood United Church of Christ 1603 Dougherty Ferry Road Kirkwood, MO Visit us at Postmaster: Please deliver promptly (time-dated material May Newsletter 2014 No matter who you are or where you are on life s journey, you are welcome here! KUCC STAFF Betsy Happel, Pastor (betsy@kirkwooducc.org) Doug Potts, Director of Music (dougbpotts@aol.com) Donna Bay, Administrative Assistant (donna@kirkwooducc.org) Sonya Vann, Student Minister (sonyav@charter.net) MINISTERS - The Whole Congregation JOIN US FOR WORSHIP Sunday Worship & Sunday School at 9:30 a.m. (No Sunday School the first Sunday of the month) Adult Education at 10:45 a.m. (Sundays) CONTACT US Kirkwood United Church of Christ 1603 Dougherty Ferry Road Kirkwood, MO Website Phone (314) Fax ( All articles for the next Newsletter are due to the church office at donna@kirkwooducc.org no later than May 16th. Facebook us