OCWM Second Quarter Statements

Pastors and church treasurers please note that second quarter statements for Our Church's Wider Mission (OCWM) revenue will be mailed shortly from the Conference office. Thank you for taking time to review these report and sharing them with members of your official church boards. Your monthly support of OCWM will strengthen our ability to continue the work in our local congregations and in the wider mission of the church.

Imagine! UCC National Youth Event 

This week over forty youth and youth advisors from the Missouri Mid-South Conference will travel to Perdue University in Indiana to participate in the UCC National Youth Event. Every four years nearly 3000 UCC youth and advisors gather for 4 days of spiritual renewal, workshops, networking, and fun at the NYE. The theme for this year's event is Imagine and the theme scripture passage is from Isaiah 43:19 I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?   Keynote speakers will include JR Martinez - war hero and dancing with the stars champion, and Marcia McFee. Our youth will have the opportunity to participate in workshops ranging from Be a Global Mission Youth Group to Extravagant Welcome by Youth to Ending Global Hunger to I learned from the dog whisperer. There are dozens of workshop to choose from each day. Most of all our youth will have the opportunity to experience the breadth and depth of the UCC in all of its diversity and beauty as they talk with UCC youth from across the country.  

Please keep our youth and advisors in your prayers as they travel to Indiana this week and look for stories and articles by our youth in upcoming e-couriers.  

Just Imagine!!

Dr. Marc A. Wessels, Associate Conference Minister and Jackie Wheelehan, a member of Kirkwood UCC, attended the annual Worship Renewal Grants Program Colloquium held at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI. The Missouri Mid-South Conference received a year-long grant through the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. The poster represents the grant project recently completed which allowed 12 churches from all three of our Associations to intentionally reflect upon and experience creative worship in workshops over the past year. Over 40 other congregations participated in two "Come & See" events held at Central UCC in Jefferson City and Columbia UCC.

Over three days Calvin Grant recipients past and present shared their experiences and participated in workshops and worship. Creative movement, powerful music, and visual interpretation of the scripture developed strangers into a community of faith gathered for a moment in an atmosphere of joyful celebration and reflection.

As Dr Wessels noted, "The experience of creativity, meaningful worship, educational workshops, and gathering of hundreds of participants from across the United States and Canada was uplifting and Spirit-filled. We are thankful to the Calvin Institute for the opportunity to encourage our congregations to remember the centrality of worship in the Christian faith."

September 8 Boundary Training - Location Change 

Please note that the September 8 Boundary Training originally scheduled to be held at St. Johns EUCC will now be held at Parkway UCC, 2841 N. Ballas Rd, St. Louis, MO 6131   

Click here for a complete 2012 Boundary Training
schedule and registration information.  

150 days to the next Jazz Nativity!  

December 8 & 9 in Saint Louis

December 15 & 16 in Kansas City

The years 2011 and 2012 brought many challenges to communities in the form of tornadoes, severe storms and flooding.  Thousands of volunteers have formed work groups across multiple denominations to assist these communities in recovery to rebuild/repair homes. Your continuing commitment to serving communities in need is inspiring and greatly appreciated.

Locations ready to help you serve
in disaster recovery can be found at this link.

 www.ucc.org/volunteer/disaster-recovery-volunteers/  

For five days in June, 15 youth and adults from St. John's, Bem United Church of Christ immersed themselves in a Mission Work Opportunity with the Appalachian community of Pleasant Hill, Tennessee. This immersion experience was designed to heighten their awareness of the ways they can make a difference in God's world; bringing light into the lives of others, working for Justice, Righteousness and Shalom.

The twelve youth and three adults; led by Rev. Rick Oberle, Pastor of St. John's, Bem United Church of Christ; were commissioned in worship on June 24, and left for Tennessee after worship. While in Tennessee, they stayed at Pleasant Hill United Church of Christ, working with several mission agencies under their service umbrella.

Perhaps the most intensive service project they performed was to prepare and paint a house that was to become their new food pantry, move shelving and supplies from the old food pantry to the new location, and stock the shelves in the new location. They completed this project well ahead of schedule, and the food pantry was able to open for distribution the last day of their trip.

The Youth and Leaders also spent afternoons working with the Pastor of Pleasant Hill United Church of Christ as he led worship for residents of their community nursing home. The youth spent time visiting with the residents there, including some free time when they chose, of their own volition, to spend it visiting with residents.

The Bem Church Youth also worked at the community thrift store, which supplies gently used clothing to the citizens of Pleasant Hill at very low prices; and helped with landscaping projects in the community. Evenings, they worked with the children of the church, leading the recreation component of their Vacation Bible School program.

Besides work projects, the youth spent quality time together learning and playing. Each morning began with a time of reflection; and each evening ended with a vesper service. The youth had two fellowship outings during the course of the event; a trip to "the world's largest tree house" in Crossville, Tennessee on Monday afternoon, and a trip to Fall Creek Falls State Park (swimming hole) for cooling off on Wednesday.

The youth shared their experiences with the Congregation of St. John's, Bem United Church of Christ in worship on July 8. In worship, each of the youth presented a testimony of how they saw God working in the world through their experiences in Tennessee; and they offered a PowerPoint presentation of pictures from their trip.  

Click here to read Joey's account of the weekend.  

Pastor Rick book-ended the presentations with a discussion about how we can create loving communities reflective of God's will when we work to help others. "As Christians fulfilling Christ's call to be servant leaders, often the words from our mouths and the works of our hands are the only evidence of God's presence some people ever see," commented Pastor Rick Oberle. "The youth of Bem Church were pleased to help live out that call for a few days in Tennessee. Hopefully, the work we have done will inspire our youth and others to continue leading lives dedicated to pointing others towards God' presence."

Pleasant Hill United Church of Christ works in partnership with Neighbors Together, a mission agency located in Pleasant Hill, Tennessee; and Uplands Village Retirement Community, a mission agency of the United Church of Christ and a member of the United Church of Christ Council for Health and Human Services.  Uplands Village Retirement Community features a "continuum of care" model of retirement, providing continuous services for each stage of an individual's retirement journey; from independent living, to assisted living, to nursing home care.    

 Come Celebrate! Camp Mo-Val 50th Anniversary Event  

 

 Camp Mo-Val Walk-a-Thon 50th Anniversary Event 

It is time to register for the Camp Mo-Val Walk-a-thon! The Walk-a-thon will be held on September 15, 2012. The Camp Mo-Val Covenanted Ministry is pre-registering people for the walk this year; registration fee is $10/person. Everyone who registers will receive a specially-designed 50th anniversary t-shirt and a "Walk-a-thon" envelope to solicit donors. We are asking folks to set a goal of at least $200 in donations collected in their walk-a-thon envelope. 

There will be two main walks this year: at Grant's Trail in South St. Louis County and on the Washington Riverfront; however, there are people organizing walks in other areas of the Conference as well. Walkers will gather at 8:00am on the day of the walk and, after a short devotional, begin walking for Camp Mo-Val. This will be a great time of Christian Fellowship, collegiality and communion as we walk and talk together.

If you can't make it to one of the walk sites, consider doing a walk in your own area. Register for the Walk-a-thon, and you can organize your own walk in home town, or at your own church. Aren't up to walking? Then how about a rock-a-thon! You can spend time in your favorite rocker on September 15, raising funds by rocking for Camp Mo-Val!

Registration forms can be found on the Outdoor Ministries tab of the Missouri Mid South Conference website (click here for a registration form). The form will instruct you to send a check ($10/walker, made out to MMS-UCC) to Camp Mo-Val; 2659 Camp Mo-Val Road; Union, MO 63084. Please write "Camp Walk" on the memo line of your check. All funds received will go towards the 2012 operating budget for Camp Mo-Val. Thank you for participating in this 50th anniversary event!

On Monday, August 6 at 6pm, Christ United Church of Christ, Bruno at Bellevue St, in Maplewood, MO will host our global mission partner Dr. Anil Henry. Dr. Henry and his wife Therese are serving in India. He is home in the states to renew his contacts with Disciple and UCC congregations and to fulfill family obligations. A potluck dinner is planned. Come hear his update on the work being done there.  

VBS at Ivy Chapel UCC 

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