Kirkwood United Church of Christ

KUCC Newsletter January 2019 Page 1 Kirkwood United Church of Christ Our Welcoming Covenant 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, gender identity, gender expression, age, physical or mental ability, nationality or faith background. We are an Open and Affirming and an Immigrant Welcoming congregation. All are welcome here! A Word from the Pastor January 2019 Then Jesus brought a little child into their midst and, putting his arm around the child, said to them, Whoever welcomes a child such as this for my sake welcomes me. And whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the One who sent me. - Mark 9:36-37 Inclusive Bible I ve been thinking about children and youth a lot lately. Contributing factors to this: The Advent and Christmas seasons inherently focus my heart onto children: think, the hanging of ornaments and lighting of the Christmas tree on the first Sunday of Advent; the Children s Christmas pageant on December 16; and KUCC s early Christmas Eve service, which was very fluid and quite precious because of that. Wonder and joy prevailed! Three teens have needed extra emotional, spiritual and material care during the past month, and my heart has broken for them on more than one occasion. The angels who have nurtured them, cried with them, buoyed them up, have been an inspiration to behold. The treatment of children of immigrants at our Southern border has been disturbing, jaw-dropping, and heart-wrenching. Every child who arrived at our border did so innocently; every teen who arrived at our border did so either innocently, or because an adult advised them or manipulated them into believing it was the right thing to do. With disruption of family systems, evidence of concentration-camp-style conditions and two deaths behind us, it is clear we have lost our way. Robin Grille, a psychologist and author of Parenting for a Peaceful World, has said that a society s destiny rests on how it treats its children. I believe this from all perspectives -intellectual, physical, emotional and spiritual. This philosophy touches food and clean water; healthcare and environment; education and gun violence. Who ARE we? More importantly who could we be? For our part at KUCC, I am grateful to members of the Nurture & Education and Worship & Music teams who have made recent commitments to be more intentional in considering children, youth and families in the life of our congregation. It will be fun to see these ministries grow during the coming year! In fact, if you would like to become more involved in these ministries and their presence with our younger worshippers, we d love to hear from you. Truly. Let me know, or contact the leaders of those ministry teams. Children are not our future. Children are our now. God s blessings and peace upon your coming year, Betsy

KUCC Newsletter January 2019 Page 2 Congratulations to KUCC's 2019 Church Leaders, and thank you for your service! President Rick Bender Vice President Mike Amsler Treasurer Carol Bender Secretary Chris Lucas Ministry Teams Council Representatives Team Coordinators Building & Grounds Ken Heuermann Vi Hennen Mission & Outreach Kari Adams Judy Kamper Stewardship & Finance Barb Harris Carrie Mershon Worship & Music John Blaser Lea Wendling Nurture & Ed Marie Andel open Denominational Liaison Rev. Dr. Lev Reynolds Financial Secretary Asst. Financial Secy Endowment Council Personnel Committee Nominating Committee Vicki Short Rose Brockhouse Clint Bauer, Wayne Enderling, Richard Losciale Rick Bender, Kari Adams, Beth Heuermann, Gerry Proctor Mike Amsler, Larry Willman, Lisa Bradley, Sharon Danyluck *italicized names are newly elected or appointed THANK YOU FOR YOUR FAITHFUL YEARS OF SERVICE We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the following volunteers who are coming off positions of lay leadership at KUCC: Karen Kaul - Vice-President Barb Black - Denominational Liaison Jenny Pratt - Mission & Outreach Team Council Rep Deb Humphrey - Nurture & Ed Team Coordinator Tonya Mershon - Endowment Council Ken Heuermann - Personnel Committee Karen Kaul - Chair Nominating Committee Lynne Piening - Nominating Committee Jeanine Schoemaker - Nominating Committee Earline Stewart - Nominating Committee

KUCC Newsletter January 2019 Page 3 Upcoming Sunday Morning Adult Education Classes: Elements of Worship January 6, 13, 23, 30 Our January Adult Education series focuses on the Elements of Worship, where congregational vitality begins. As we discover in our discussion, life of a vital congregation begins in worship, however it does not end there. As we journey in worship, we discover how we each view and take part in worship individually and yet as a whole congregation. We have an exciting group of leaders to help us understand worship: January 6 Rev. Betsy Happel, who will discuss why worship is important to KUCC; involving all generations, including children and youth, in worship; how the Worship & Music team plans worship, why certain elements are included, and the challenges we face in worship planning. January 13 - Rev. Dr. Christopher Grundy, Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship at Eden Theological Seminary, who will discuss the history and theology of worship. January 20 - Scott Kinworthy, KUCC Director of Music Ministry, who will help us understand the role of music in worship. January 27 Rev. Dr. Christopher Grundy, who will discuss some current trends in worship. Each of these leaders provides a unique perspective on how we understand the importance of worship in our lives. Classes will be held in the North Classroom Upcoming Evening Book Discussion: Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult February 24 at 6:30pm With incredible empathy, intelligence, and candor, Jodi Picoult tackles race, privilege, prejudice, justice, and compassion, and doesn t offer easy answers. Small Great Things is a novel published in 2016, and is a remarkable achievement from a writer at the top of her game. It challenges readers to meditate on their own beliefs and actions along with the book s characters. This #1 New York Times bestseller, Indie Next pick, with 1 million copies sold, is now also available in paperback & e-reader. Our discussion will be on Sunday evening, February 24, at 6:30PM, in the North Classroom.

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KUCC Newsletter January 2019 MEN S PRAYER LUNCH Down Under, 1141 Colonnade Center, Des Pres, 63131. Our Next Meeting will be January 11. Page 5

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KUCC Newsletter January 2019 Page 7 Christmas Gift Program Thank you Once again, Kirkwood United Church of Christ supported God's Helping Hands and St. John s Community ministries through our Christmas Gift Program. As always, the request for your support was a big one and once again, you did not disappoint! In fact, we had people disappointed because they did not get a tag which allowed us to provide some extra love to a couple teenagers close to the congregation. As I said on the day we dedicated the gifts in worship, I believe we made God smile through your never-ending generosity. I know for a fact we made lots and lots of kids smile! What a joy it is to bring a feeling of being loved and cared for to children. Please accept this huge Thank You from the Mission and Outreach Team for your enthusiastic participation in our church's ministries.

KUCC Newsletter January 2019 Page 8 WELCOMING CHILDREN IN WORSHIP December 2, the First Sunday of Advent, we began intentionally including all ages of worshipers in our service on the first Sunday of each month. Congregants have expressed the JOY of the sights and sounds of children in worship those planned and unplanned! We are grateful for the faith transformation that is happening in these children s lives simply being by present in the liturgy with the rest of their church family. Not necessarily participating in it like mini-adults but simply being present and doing what is right for them in the moment. From starting conversations based on the sermon (during which it may seem they are not paying attention ), to the giggles and whispers of the littles at their prayground in the back of the sanctuary, we believe these stories are truly what it looks like for the church to be church, especially when it takes a little more commitment to doing what we know is right. We recognize that the way we separate children out in faith settings has not improved their lifelong faith formation and that we can do better. The church has a future with HOPE in these little ones and the leaders they will become! We are grateful for your support as we navigate the months ahead in our intentionality of including the children and your commitment for the extra it takes on your part to guide them through the worship and hopefully continue the theological conversations throughout the week. As we include the children in our worship each month in our service that includes Communion, we invite you to join with us on Sunday, January 13 th from 11:00-12:30 in a Family Communion Workshop (Parent/Grandparent/Caregiver and children) as we explore the sacrament and ways to explain it to children. We trust you to decide with your children when they are prepared to receive Communion. Our hope is that our brief exploration of the sacrament together will help you to discern what is best for your child/ children. To adequately prepare, please email or text Linda Reynolds by January 9 if you are planning to attend: Name and how many to lindareyno@aol.com or text at 507-254-7630.

KUCC Newsletter January 2019 Page 9 The Missing Hat A gentleman called the office who attends one of the groups here at KUCC asking if his hat had been turned into the office. I replied no, but let me go to the room you were attending and see if I can find it. I looked around and couldn t find it. The man told me the hat said Coolest Grandpa Ever. I replied I can tell this is a very special hat of yours and I will look around and keep my eyes open for it. Several days later, he called back asking if his hat had been found. I replied again, I haven t seen it and I was so sorry and again if it showed up I would call him. When I hung up the phone, I headed to the sanctuary (in the dark) and on top of the coat rack saw something that looked like a hat. As I got closer to it I realized it was a hat and it was his. I immediately went back to the office to call him and explained what happened. He was so thrilled and excited and said he would be up by noon to get his hat. I explained to Betsy what had happened and how much joy it brought to not only him but me because I knew this was very special to him. Betsy s response was Oh my gosh, I saw that hat outside under the buzzer by the door this past week. She didn t want to bring it in in case someone was coming back for it. With the weather we were getting that week, someone must of have brought it in to avoid the rain. When the gentleman, and I mean gentle man came in to get his hat he reached out his hands to me and said Thank you so much, I am so grateful. I replied, your hat found its way back to you. Hmm A God Thing!!! It s things like this that impact people s lives by caring and helping each other and people we don t even know. (written by Donna Bay, one of the reasons I enjoy my job so much!!!) If you find/hear of a story for this column, please email it to Barb Thompson @ pamin2@att.net.

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KUCC Newsletter January 2019 Page 11 KUCC INCLEMENT WEATHER With the possibility of inclement weather looming ahead of us, just a reminder that KUCC cancellations are always posted on KMOV TV www.kmov.com and KSDK www.ksdk.com The KUCC Facebook page will also provide this information. It seems like there have been a lot of "misses" in storm forecasting in recent years, so Betsy will not make a hasty decision about canceling worship. With that said, the most important thing is the safety of our congregants. God's blessings upon you!

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KUCC Newsletter January 2019 Page 14 THANK YOU! NOVEMBER GIVING/ EXPENDITURE INFORMATION Each month KUCC's Church Council will report on our church's basic giving and expenditures from the previous month. Following is the information for November, 2018: Nov Actual YTD Actual YTD Budget INCOME $17,412 $217,806 $211,750 EXPENSES $19,167 $218,096 $218,068 Because of your generosity, during the month of November, KUCC was able to: Send middle school youth to the Conference Middle School Event at Camp MoVal; provide resources and care for high school youths in need; and experiment with new ways of using technology during worship. Thank you!!

KUCC Newsletter January 2019 Page 15 Kirkwood United Church of Christ 1603 Dougherty Ferry Road Kirkwood, MO 63122 Visit us at www.kirkwooducc.org Postmaster: Please deliver promptly (time-dated material) January Newsletter 2019 No matter who you are or where you are on life s journey, you are welcome here! JOIN US FOR WORSHIP Sunday Worship & Sunday School at 9:30 a.m. Adult Education at 11:00 a.m. (Sundays) KUCC STAFF Betsy Happel, Pastor (betsy@kirkwooducc.org) Phillip Harris, Student Pastor pharris@eden.edu Scott Kinworthy, Director of Music Ministry (kinworthy.scott@yahoo.com) Ron Bryant, Accompanist (bigfaye1965@yahoo.com) Donna Bay, Administrative Assistant (donna@kirkwooducc.org) All articles for the next Newsletter are due to the church office at donna@kirkwooducc.org no later than January 15. CONTACT US Kirkwood United Church of Christ 1603 Dougherty Ferry Road Kirkwood, MO 63122 Website www.kirkwooducc.org Phone (314)822-2240 Fax (314)822-3955 Facebook us