Many of our clergy receive The Christian Century a biweekly Christian magazine that has been published for more than 100 years. In the August 23 edition a photo appears on the last page of two men trying to pull a camel through the eye of a needle. The photo is of a piece of baked clay artwork but the artist, theologian, and former member of Justice and Witness Ministries of the UCC, Rev. Charles McCollough. McCollough writes this about the artwork that he has called, A Camel through the Eye of a Needle, The men are "dressed like rich men in a Monopoly game. They are  caricatures of our stubborn drive to hold on to possessions and power - even while we attempt to show ourselves to be faithful. It's as true of nations and individuals now as it was in Jesus' day. Of course, the camel is leery of the project of getting pulled and pushed through the needle's eye. Perhaps this is the part of us that knows our allegiances are divided."

Rev. McCollough will be the leader for this year's Person's in Ministry Retreat at Port Arrowhead, Lake of the Ozarks July 17-19. During our three days together Charles will use artwork such as this to lead us on a study and reflection on the Wisdom teachings of Jesus. In four workshop sessions we will focus on Jesus' Wisdom on Blessings; Jesus' Wisdom on Non-violence; and Jesus' Wisdom for Daily Life. In addition to the workshop sessions, Tuesday afternoon and evening attendees are free to be on retreat with colleagues and friends from the UCC and the Disciples of Christ.  

Registration material was sent to pastors and council presidents in July and is available on our conference website.   

I just received an e-mail from Port Arrowhead informing us that they will only honor our special group rate of $86 per room per night through August 23!!!  After the 23rd they will release the rooms that have not been reserved and will only honor the $86 group rate if rooms remain available. People registering after the 23rd may be asked to pay $96 a room. This is the first year that Port Arrowhead has informed us of this. If you have been putting off registering for PIM please do so by August 23rd to assure that you will receive he discounted room rate.  

I hope to see you at PIM in September.

Rev. Jeffrey Whitman

Conference Minister 

Dr. Marc A. Wessels, Associate Conference Minister

"So let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up, or quit." - Galatians 6.9 (The Message)

"You will be children of God without fault in a sinful and evil world. Among the people of the world you shine like stars in the heavens. 16 You shine as you hold out to them the word of life." - Philippians 2:14-15 (New International Readers Version)

It is easy to become distracted and dissatisfied in our time. Just because we proclaim ourselves to be Christians we do not find ourselves to be immune from the daily rigors of life. The challenges of day to day drudgeries and the disasters which come our way can lead us to a place where our spirits are fatigued. Facing such times, we find the words of the apostle Paul addressed to the churches in Galatia encouraging and refreshing to our spirits. His advice is for Christians to keep on doing that which is good even in the midst of our exhaustion. And he notes that in time, at the right time, a harvest of a good crop will be made evident if we but persist in our proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ.

Paul's encouragement is simply to stick to our task, to plant good seed and not give up or quit. Paul didn't have time for quitters in the faith. He believed that folks like those in the region of Galatia and his disciples such as his protégé, Timothy, needed to hunker down in their faith, do good deeds even in the midst of opposition and frustrating initial results. Stick to it, Paul preached. And Paul demonstrated in his own life the depth of commitment of sticking to the message. Paul's preaching led him to personal suffering, persecution, prison and his eventual death, traditionally understood to have been by his being beheaded on the Ostian Road.

As I am pondering Paul's words, I think of the banana corporation, Chiquita of all things. That's right, Chiquita, the international company the leading distributor of bananas in the United States, a part of American culture and diet. The Chiquita brand developed from the historic United Fruit Company whose ships plied the Caribbean bringing bananas to the United States since the 1890's and neocolonialism to Central and South America. Those old enough to remember may recall that the original character associated with the Chiquita brand was an animated banana which wore a woman's dress and nice shapely dancer legs. The Chiquita logo was based loosely on a character in a film from the 1940's in which the actress Carmen Miranda, a Brazilian samba singer, wore a hat overloaded with fruit, including bananas.

Over time the logo of a banana with a fruit hat was changed into a woman in 1987. Since the 1960s' when I was a child, Chiquita started to place peel-off stickers with their logo on every bunch of bananas. At first they used the same designed sticker. Now there are many designs with different slogans and catchy messages. From the beginning until today each one of these stickers has been placed by hand on the banana bunch in order to ensure that the fruit is not bruised. 

Click here to continue reading Rev. Wessel's message on the Conference website.  

Let's Move! Faith and Communities Sign-On 

Two years ago the United Church of Christ joined the national movement to help end childhood obesity and to increase awareness among adults about the chronic diseases associated with weight gain (i.e. diabetes, heart disease, high blood cancer and cancer). 

The United Church of Christ, along with other mainline denominations continues to work with the Campaign for Health Kids project (CHK) and Faith United to End Childhood Obesity to help First Lady Michelle Obama to expand grassroots participation in the Let's Move Faith initiative to end childhood obesity.  

The Let's Move initiative wants to identify and organize over 1,000 faith leaders from a number of diverse faith congregations nationwide to be partners in the Let's Move Faith and Communities movement. 

You can help by encouraging your UCC conferences, associations, local churches, clergy, pastors and lay leaders to sign on to the  Let's Move! Faith and Communities website at http://www.letsmove.gov/join-lets-move-faith-communities.

When you sign on be sure to list "United Church of Christ" as the denomination.  Also, please put "Faith United to End Childhood Obesity" in the comments section.  Will you please take 5 minutes and sign on now? Signing makes you an official partner in a growing movement that believes that any differences that exist among us pale in comparison to our common commitment and mission to protect and promote the health of children.

Please take a moment to check out the Let's Move! Toolkit http://www.hhs.gov/partnerships/resources/Pubs/lets_move_toolkit.pdf
In it you'll find creative ways to address the childhood obesity issue in your congregation and community, including how to establish health councils and implement the five pillars of Let's Move! 

Free Books Looking For a Home

Responsive readings from The Living Bible Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois

1971

Sections include:

1. The Life of Our Lord
2. Jesus Teachings
3. The Christian Life
4. Significant Church Days
5. National Days
6. Unison Readings
7. Important Bible Subjects

Please call Diane at St. Johns Evangelical UCC at 892-0848 for more information.

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.

African American Women in Ministry Conference 2012

October 11-13, 2012 

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

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    

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!

Mark Your Calendars - September 30, 2012 

The Mission & Social Concerns Committee invites you to:

Deepening the Conversation: A Moderated Panel on Bullying, September 30 at 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