Friends:

I want to share with you a statement from Interfaith Partnership/Faith Beyond Walls about the recent attack on the Sikh temple in Wisconsin, and the burning of the Islamic Center in Joplin, Missouri. Faith beyond walls is an interfaith organization in St. Louis that includes members from 30 different faith traditions in St. Louis.   Interfaith Partnership/Faith Beyond Walls sponsors a variety of activities, lectures, and educational events throughout the year that bring people from different faith communities together to work on common concerns and to help us to understand and respect different faith communities. As our motto states As communities of faith, we agree to differ, promise to love, and unite to serve.   I encourage you to lift up in prayer our Sikh sisters and brothers in Wisconsin, our Islamic brothers and sisters in Joplin, and the work of the Interfaith Partnership/Faith Beyond Walls.    

Rev. Jeffrey Whitman

Conference Minister 

To the editors:

We, the Cabinet of Interfaith Partnership/Faith Beyond Walls, condemn the morally reprehensible attack on the Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. With great compassion we support the victims and their families. They are in our prayers. We mourn with them.

We also grieve the burning of the Islamic Center in Joplin and send our support and prayers to the Joplin Muslim community.  

Our members share the conviction that violence never serves the cause of truth or faith. Each faith community has the right to worship in peace and safety. We honor the rich religious diversity that enhances our life together. We believe the best antidote to hatred, and the violence it creates, is living the values that uphold a democratic society which include respect, peaceful means of resolving differences and responsiveness to those in need.

We work to educate the St. Louis community regarding the different faith traditions and encourage dialogue and working together in the community. Interfaith Partnership welcomes the general public to join us in learning about the basics of Sikhism on Tuesday, September 18, at 7pm, at Eden Theological Seminary, 475 E. Lockwood Ave. in Webster Groves.

Interfaith Partnership includes over 30 different faith traditions in the St. Louis area. Our motto:  "As communities of faith, we agree to differ, promise to love, and unite to serve."

Maryl Walters, CSB

Chair of the Cabinet

Dr. Marc A. Wessels, Associate Conference Minister

No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself

and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.

- Nathaniel Hawthorne

The juxtaposition of the two signs caught my eye and I did a double-take  with laughter. I was standing on the street of a little town where a local Moose lodge is located. The sign clearly said MOOSE - but straddled over the sign was an inflated pink flamingo. Being familiar with the fraternal organization formed in the 1880s and still functioning, I was bemused by the incongruity of the two things side by side: MOOSE - pink flamingo.  

In my youth I was oftentimes fascinated with the signage of Moose lodges I had seen. Many of them had great pictures or carved drawings of the great beast above the doorways of their lodges. Living in an area without the animals, I was curious to see moose adorning buildings which seemed to me to make the buildings, and therefore the activities within them, somehow mysterious. Perhaps the most impressive example was a larger than life sized bust sculpture of a moose which sat proudly raised above the entrance of the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania lodge on a narrow tree-lined street just down from the state capitol building. The Moose were quite intimidating and had a special presence about them. So much so that when I was older and had the occasion to pass through Harrisburg I would make a detour to visit the Moose to see how they were holding up.

I have discovered that the Moose organization began with humble beginnings when a small number of men gathered together in the parlor of the home of Dr. John Henry Wilson, a physician in Louisville, Kentucky. Out of that handful of men grew what is known as the Loyal Order of Moose. Today Moose International has developed beyond being merely a men's social club to a service organization with nearly one million men in roughly 2,400 Lodges in every state in the United States as well as in Canada, Great Britain and Bermuda. Yet, with changing times, and social disintegration the Moose organization, like all fraternal and other social organizations, including the mainline Protestant tradition of which we are a part, has struggled to maintain its membership and programs.

This raises for me the question of identity for the church in times of societal transition and demographic change. How does an organization such as a Moose lodge or a local United Church of Christ congregation maintain its identity and purpose? What are the core values which make us unique? How do we live intentionally with integrity the faith we proclaim with our lips, so that our lives witness to the Truth as it has been revealed to us through scripture, our historic creeds and Statement of Faith? What must we do in order to live with integrity so that our identity is maintained as a people of faith who not only profess that God is still speaking, but that we are listening and responding to the voice of God?

Listening and responding to God is not the same as listening to the social norms or noise. As H. Richard Niebuhr noted in his classic book, Christ and Culture (1951) Christians are in a struggle to define themselves by their responses to the proclamation of the Good News of Jesus. There is a struggle for believers to grow in grace and to not become entangled with concepts which are contrary to the teachings of Christ in order to become popular and mainstream. Christian thought calls us beyond the siren call of cultural normative thinking and behaviors. Christian theology reminds us to whom we ultimately belong and challenges us to decide how we will live and for whom.

The social philosopher and psychoanalyst, Eric Fromm observed that, "Integrity simple means not violating one's own identity." As Christians we are called to claim the identity of Christ as our own. We are to be one with his identity and not to pollute it with that which is not Christ-like. We are encouraged by the scripture to have minds that have been transformed in our thinking, which is not like that of the world around us. Christian identity has an integrity based on the life, witness, death and resurrection of Christ.

As the Apostle Paul declared in his second letter to the Corinthians (10.5), "The world is unprincipled. It's dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn't fight fair. But we don't live or fight our battles that way-never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren't for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ." (The Message)

As I recall that pink flamingo hanging over the Moose lodge sign I wonder if at times if the church isn't also sending mixed messages about its identity and how it understands itself today. Wanting to be liked, popular or trendy for the sake of acceptance is not what the church is called to be. Rather we are called to become transformational people - the light of the world, the salt of the earth, the leaven in the dough. In order to do that our hearts and minds have their integrity based on our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our struggle to not give mixed messages about our identity as Christians is not a new one. Paul addressed this in his theological treatise in the Letter to the Romans (12.2) when he encouraged our ancestors in the faith, "Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you." (The Message)

Looking for an affordable mission opportunity for your church, youth or campus ministry? Want to go on a mission trip but don't have the time to find a place to stay or line up all the volunteer projects?

Why not consider a trip to the inner city for an urban mission experience? Union Avenue Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in metropolitan St. Louis congregation hosts its own Urban Mission Inn -- dedicated space within our inner city church which is designed to house up to 25 people (youth/adults/college students, etc.) who have come to the inner city for mission work (or those groups who are passing through St. Louis on their way to do mission elsewhere and need a "port in the storm").

We provide:

• separate sleeping rooms for males and females (or however you would choose to divide the group)
• bunk beds and inflatable mattresses (to save you a little packing space in the van)
• private bathrooms for your groups
• 3 onsite showers
• kitchen space for preparing meals and storing food
• a community lounge area perfect for group worship or discussion time.

But wait! There's more! In addition to providing space, we also offer help in planning your urban experience by assisting you, if needed, in scheduling up to four days of volunteer opportunities at local food pantries, homeless shelters, programs for inner city children, nursing homes, and other ministries and outreach organizations that might suit your groups' gifts. Groups are invited to stay for anywhere from a week to just a weekend. Your only cost to stay in the Urban Mission Inn is a suggested deposit/donation of $100  per group to help support the ministry.

Here's what some of our 2012 visiting groups have had to say about their time at the Urban Mission Inn:

"This was a great experience.  We are so grateful that we could serve in so many capacities!  We learned so much and experienced so much in a short time. This was truly a great time of connecting with God and with others. You all are doing something wonderful creating a place of justice and ministry that touches some many lives." First Christian, Greeley, CO 

"We felt so at home and welcomed by the church.  Thank you for the awesome hospitality." Calvary United Methodist, Wichita, KS

For more information or to contact us about reserving a date, please go here   or contact Rev. Brian Kirk at bkirkuacc@yahoo.com

Lodge of Understanding

Greetings fellow Christians in Disciples and UCC congregations,  

In light of current attacks on people - UNDERSTANDING is needed more than ANYTHING else! Dover Place Christian Church INVITES YOU to this event called the Lodge of Understanding! Come and learn about the most contemporary social justice issue in the United States today.  

On August 20 at 7pm, the session is entitled, "Genealogy and BLOOD QUOTUM" to answer the question:"Why do so many people believe their grandfather/grandmother was Cherokee?"   

Dover Place Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) 

701 Dover Place, Saint Louis, Missouri 63111-2343

Everyone interested but who cannot attend will also be able to catch up with previous classes by visiting Facebook for Dover Place Christian Church. (The August 13 session, "Good Indian-Bad Indian" reflected on native people who "make the news" now and in the past.) 

For more information click here to visit the Dover Place Christian Church on Facebook.

Keep the Date

Exploring worship

Make advent an adventure

A time of awakening and acclamation

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Kirkwood United Church of Christ

9:30am- 3:30pm 

Registration $50 per congregation - $10 individuals.
Please register by September 25.

Register online or by check to MMSC "Come & See II" to: Ms. Laura Errante

Creative Faith Project - Missouri Mid-South Conference United Church of Christ.

Our Church's Wider Mission (OCWM)

It Is Who We Are. . .It Is What We Do!"

The Conference Covenanted Ministry for Our Church Wider Mission, Missouri Mid-South Conference

Invites you to participate in a day with Tracy Carnes

Minister for Church's Wider Mission (OCWM), Cleveland, Ohio   

Wednesday, August 22nd, 9:30 am - 3:30 pm

At Columbia United Church of Christ,
3201 I-70 Drive NW, Columbia, MO 65202 

Our time together will include worship, a presentation on strengthening

Our Church' Wider Mission giving in local churches and the Conference, best practices for churches and conferences, resources for promoting and interpreting Our Church's Wider Mission.

All are welcome to attend - a special invitation is extended to those who were members of the former "Giving Ministry" teams!

Please contact Dale Parson at (816) 257-9826 fdparson@sbcglobal.net 

or Don Frandsen at (314) 849-8806 donald.frandsen@sbcglobal.net for more information and to let us know of your plans to attend.

Be a Part of the Oral History Project      

The Heritage Committee would like people from all areas of the conference to participate in the Missouri Mid-South Conference Oral History Project that will help us celebrate the 50th anniversary of the conference. We invite you to video record interviews with people from your area to make sure your corner of the conference is represented. Whether you have been active with the Missouri Mid-South Conference for 5 days or the entire 50 years, you ARE a part of this Conference and we want to hear from you!  Click here for more information.

African American Women in Ministry Conference 2012

October 11-13, 2012 

Stages, Phases & Places
Connecting Our Call to God's Plan for Our Lives

Dear Colleagues,

Please share within your conferences this invitation to all African American women who are in authorized ministry, in seminary, in discernment for ministry, who have received privilege of call within the UCC, or are licensed.  Some scholarship assistance will be available to help with registration and travel costs, especially for seminarians, those in-care, and younger women.

Some of you have done this already, and some of you may be contacted by a member of the planning team for this conference.  The direct link to the info and to register is:  http://www.ucc.org/franklinton-center/aawim.html    

Many thanks!  The planning team is making a special effort to extend this invitation throughout the UCC.

Opening Gates, Opening Hearts:

Christian responses to offender reentry 

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Mark your calendars for the 2012 Conference Middle School Event!

This year's awesome retreat will be September 28th - 29th. CMSE is a tool for enhancing Middle School youth ministry in local congregations by helping youth connect with their peers from around the Conference. Music, worship, theme presentations, play times, discussion groups, and "hang time" are all part of the weekend. Check in will start at 7 pm on Friday, September 28th and the event will end at approximately 8:00 pm on Saturday, September 29th. And we won't be alone...our event will end by combining with the Eastern Association's Revival held over at TAMBO. It's like getting two great events for the price of one!

Youth currently in grades 6th, 7th, & 8th and their adult advisors are all invited to this life changing event. The cost is $50 per youth or adult with a special deal designed for groups coming from the Western Association.
Go to the MMS website for more details and registration information. 
You do not want to miss out!

Got plans this Sunday afternoon?

This Sunday, August 19 at 4pm, the Mission & Social Concerns Committee is gathering for an informal viewing and discussion of Academy Award Winning film Trevor (1994 Best Live Action Short), and we would love to have you join us for the short film, thoughtful conversation about youth bullying, and (of course!) refreshments.

"Set in 1981, TREVOR is a timeless coming-of-age story about love, loss, and learning to be yourself." --The Trevor Project

"This remarkable film is not just about what it's like to grow up gay..it's about anyone who has ever felt different." --USA Today

Trevor is not rated, but is appropriate for adults and youth of middle school age and up.

We would love to have you join us!

Sunday, August 19 at 4pm

Emmaus Homes Marthasville Campus

1900 Emmaus Drive * Marthasville, MO 63357

(follow the signs to Fellowship Hall) 

Mark Your Calendars... 

The Mission & Social Concerns Committee invites you to:

Deepening the Conversation: A Moderated Panel on Bullying

3pm, in the sanctuary of St. Peters UCC, 20 East Fifth Street, Washington (refreshments to follow)

The American Association of Suicidality lists suicide as one of the top three causes of death among 15-24 year olds in our country. For every completed suicide by youth, it is estimated that 100-200 attempts are made (2003 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey).  

Bullying is a prime cause of youth despair and is epidemic in our country. 33% of youth report being bullied 1-3 times per week, and bullying among adults in the workplace, political arena, and in families and friendships is becoming a troubling American cultural norm.

Join our panel in learning about the implications of bullying in youth and adults and reflecting together on spiritual and social responses we may engage as members of the United Church of Christ. 

A Call to Meeting for all Covenant Partners in the Eastern Association of the Missouri Mid-South Conference

You are invited and called to participate in the Annual Fall Gathering of the Eastern Association of the Missouri Mid South Conference of the United Church of Christ!

The Eastern Association Fall Gathering will begin on Sunday, September 23; 2:00pm at St. John's, Bem United Church of Christ, Owensville.  Registration and display set up will begin at 1:00pm.  Supper will be served at 5:00pm.

As a member of one of the 55 congregations that make up the United Church of Christ in Eastern Missouri, it is your privilege and pleasure to gather together with your partners in ministry for this annual event.  We hope you will avail yourself of this opportunity for education, worship, fellowship and food!

To register: fill out the registration form on the Conference website. Send your registration form, along with a check for $8.00/person to St. John's, Bem United Church of Christ at the address on the registration form.  (Make checks payable to St. John's, Bem UCC)

Click here for registration and meeting materials available on the Conference website. 

Questions may be directed to Rev. Rick Oberle, Eastern Association Council President at 573.437.3698 or rick@bemchurch.com.  We hope to see you on September 23!

Additional materials will be mailed to churches in early August.  Churches should start receiving them around August 15.

Yours in Christ's Ministry,

The Eastern Association Council

Rev. Rick Oberle; Wendy Jaine Summers; Judy Kemp; Charlene Klein;

Pastor Darryl Deeker; Rev. Genie Althen; Gloria Ridder; Carole Dotson;

Rev. Devin Jones; Rev. Wayne Hoffman; Eric Moeller; Karen Watson;

Alvyne Rethemeyer; Nylin Bathke; Pastor Heather Arcovitch;

Rev. Michael Kasevitch

Jammin' for Joplin - Free Benefit Concert for Joplin Recovery

Please join us on August 26 at 7pm for a free benefit concert at Faith United Church of Christ in Wentzville. You are invited to come enjoy an evening of music featuring Larry Darnell, Folk/Acoustic Musician, and the Sunday Picnic Sweet Adelines Quartet. The evening will begin with an audience sing-a-long and music by the Faith Praise Band. There will be something for everyone. Not only will you hear a wide variety of musical
styles but there will be a few laughs throughout the evening as well.

Larry Darnell is a local musician specializing in acoustic instruments. He plays dulcimer and guitar as he brings to life some of the great folk music from our past.

Sunday Picnic features four talented members from the Region 5 Championship Barbershop Chorus -- City Voices. The quartet includes Peggy Leon - Tenor, Peggy Bess - Lead, Chris Roth - Baritone & Susan Singer - Bass. Their excellent harmony and mad cap comedy will round out the evening's concert.

Donations will be collected for the United Church of Christ Disaster Recovery in Joplin, Missouri. All donations will go to support the long-term recovery in Joplin through work crews, supplies and other services.

Faith United Church of Christ is located at 106 Kent Drive in Wentzville. For more information contact the church office at 636-327-4795 or visit www.faithucc.net. This benefit concert is presented by the Heritage Cluster of UCC Churches. Members of the cluster include Bethany, Schluersburg; Ebenezer, Augusta; Faith, Wentzville; Femme Osage, Femme Osage; Friedens Peace, New Melle; St. John's, Cappeln and St. Paul's, Defiance.