The St. Louis Association of the Missouri Mid-South Conference of the

United Church of Christ and St. Philip's United Church of Christ

Invite you to a service of worship marking the installation of the

Rev. Lois Wilson as pastor and teacher Sunday, June 23, 2013 at 7:00 PM

St. Philip's United Church of Christ

10708 Lavinia Drive

Saint Louis, Missouri 63123-6029

314-843-5100

Clergy are asked to arrive between 6:30 - 6:55 p.m.

and are invited to robe with red stoles.

A dessert reception is planned after the installation.

There will be wonderful sweet food and fellowship to share!

All are welcome.

Dear Friends in Christ,

I am pleased to share with you that the 143rd Annual Meeting of the South Dakota Conference of the United Church of Christ gathered at Custer Community Church UCC elected me as their Conference Minister on Saturday June 8, 2013 confirming the selection of the Search Committee and the Board of Directors. The theme of the gathering was, "That They May All Be One" - Mitakuye Oyasin--We are all one was based upon John 17.22.

As I accepted the call to ministry within the South Dakota Conference, I shared my passion with the congregation for the land of the Plains and Black Mountains and my eagerness to travel throughout the vast and beautiful geography. The open land, the clear night sky, the struggle for justice and reconciliation between the peoples of the Dakota region, and ministry in remote settings - on Native American reservations, in small towns and cities stir my senses and intellect, and bring forth the artist and theologian within. In my assessment I see that there are many similarities in landscape, social justice issues and challenges to productive and meaningful ministry in my first and formative ministry in Australia and this new call.

During my acceptance comments I shared the story of one of America's first astronauts, Gus Grissom who died with Ed White and Roger Chaffee aboard an Apollo spacecraft during an all plugs out launch pad test on January 27, 1967 at Cape Canaveral. Grissom was a leader in the early astronaut corps who took spaceflight and safety issues seriously. Grissom was the second American to orbit the earth and commanded the first Gemini mission and was the commander of the first manned mission of the U.S. Apollo manned lunar landing program.

One of the tasks of those first NASA astronauts was public relations - selling the American public on the space program. Like many of the other astronauts who were geared more towards technology and flying technique, Grissom abhorred the PR role of public speaking which came with the job of the Original 7 astronauts. The story is told that on one occasion Grissom and some other astronauts were touring one of the rocket manufacturing facilities to see the rockets which would orbit them into space. At that time there were numerous fiery explosive failures of rockets as they reached for the sky. Of course this was disturbing to all - but especially to those like Grissom who would be sitting atop of those rockets.

At the end of the visit, in front of a large gathering of workers, Grissom was invited to speak in order to motivate and relate to the audience who had come to see the astronauts. Grissom, somewhat taken by surprise that he was expected to speak without preparation looked at the crowd and uttered three simple words, "Do good work." The crowd roared in approval at the concise speech. They got the point. Grissom and his peers would be riding the rockets they would be manufacturing... and it was Grissom's and the other astronaut's lives that would be in the balance between success and failure.

The response of the workers was so enthusiastic that they demanded that a large banner with Grissom's injunction be hung over the work bay where the rockets were assembled. And it was so. A large banner which read DO GOOD WORK was hung over their heads as a reminder of Grissom, the other astronauts, and the national goal to reach the Moon before the Soviet Union.

The challenge that we have as the Body of Christ wherever we find ourselves is to do good work in our ministry - to strive to be faithful disciples of Jesus and to live out the reality of his prayer that the church be one. His call reminds us of God's vision that all of creation, all humanity on this planet, indeed the whole of the universe is connected.

I have appreciated the connections which I have made here and the relationships and opportunities for ministry that we have done within the Missouri Mid-South Conference of the United Church of Christ. I have enjoyed traveling and discovering the diversity of our congregations from Memphis, Tennessee to Little Rock, Arkansas, from St Louis to St Joseph, Missouri. I am thankful for the hospitality and grace which I have received from clergy and laity alike as well as the collegiality of the MMSC staff and our Disciple of Christ partners in ministry. I want to thank you for your support as I have attempted to serve Christ through the MMSC in our congregations, in all three of our associations and in the wider church.

I look forward to working with you until July 31st, when I will leave the MMSC to undertake my new responsibilities in South Dakota. Until then I will be pleased to continue to work with you all in my various roles in numerous congregational and associational settings. Thank you for your kind letters and notes of support and encouragement as I make this professional and personal transition. May we be reminded of the reality that we are called to be one in Christ and may we encourage and support one another so that the Reign of our Living, Loving God may be realized.

National Church Leadership Institute

August 6-9, 2013

Pre-Conference Intensives, August 6

Atlanta, GA