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Wednesday, October 23, 2013
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The next eHappenings will be shared on Thursday, October 31st. 
Around Your Conference

There's Still Time to Celebrate MOVAL SUNDAY!

Did your church celebrate Camp MoVal last Sunday?  If not, what about celebrating THIS Sunday?!  Camp MoVal is more than just collection of buildings and fun activities; it is an extension of our work, our mission and our ministry in the local church. It is Holy Ground where people have the opportunity and support to experience God in new ways, to grow in their faith, and to strengthen their commitment to sharing God's love with others.  It is a springboard for future clergy; it is a place for faith development and nurture; it is a place where laborers in God's mission field first take root.

 

Camp MoVal Sunday is being celebrated this October all across the Missouri Mid-South Conference.  In the summer program alone, 500+ campers were taught to experience God in a new way; and many adult leaders were able to develop their faith as well.  The camp season this past year focused on the theme, "All Things New;" leading our campers through Bible stories illustrating how God is continually doing new things in Creation.  It was a great summer!

 

Worship and liturgical materials for Camp MoVal Sunday were mailed to each congregation in late August; they are also available on the Camp MoVal website or by calling Jeremy Force, OMD at Camp MoVal, 636.583.2730.

 

Camp MoVal continues to grow and become even more focused on its mission in God's world.  We are beginning a strategic planning process that will focus and refine the work of Camp MoVal, and lead it into the future on sound and defined footing. 

 

This is a great time for Camp MoVal!  Your prayers and encouragement are always welcome; as well as financial support.  While Camp MoVal receives support from Our Church's Wider Mission, additional support is a necessary part of our program.  Donations designated to Camp MoVal are always welcome; as is your faithful support of Our Church's Wider Mission.  Thank you for keeping us in your prayers!  

 

To assist your church in preparing for MoVal Sunday, please click on the following items:

And send us your photo's of your church's celebration of MoVal Sunday.  Let's see your UCC Camp Pride! 

We've a Story to Tell the Nations

I love Fall, partly because it is the season for fairs of all kinds - harvest fairs, apple butter fests, quilt shows, pumpkin and corn maze festivals. I think the energizing, cooler breezes, the vibrant colors of the leaves, and the knowledge that soon it will not be so pleasant to spend time outside, entices us to join in community to enjoy the outdoors and share the fruits of ours and others' labors.

 

The Festival of Sharing which was just held at the fairgrounds in Sedalia, is to me, the best model of all festivals. This 30 year old annual interfaith event, involves thousands of church members of all ages, including many of our own conference churches. These generous workers and givers contribute nearly $1 million each year to do something very tangible to address local and global hunger, poverty, human crisis, and injustice needs. So many members of so many churches work all year long for this one weekend gathering, to celebrate how much we have to give. What a Gospel story, what a ministry vision!

 

I think there is so much that we have to celebrate. I am hearing of things everyday from you, as you share with me your views and thoughts about the conference. I am convinced that we could - and should- tell these inspiring stories. You recognize this too. Nearly every person I speak to mentions the importance of communication to keep all of us connected. Relationships begin with communication, don't they?

 

Better and more transparent communication is one of the priorities of the conference. Won't you tell me how you want to share and receive communication? Be sure to share your stories of celebrating mission ministry with us too. Harvest blessings,

 

Jan Aerie, [email protected], 314.918.2601

Ordination of Zayna Hart Thompson
Ordination
The Missouri Mid-South Conference and the Eastern Association invite you to the ordination of Zayna Hart Thompson on October 27, at 4 pm at First Congregational Church UCC in Platteville, WI. 

Clergy are invited to gather and robe in red at 3:45 pm.  Please click here to see the formal invitation.


Congratulations to Zayna on this upcoming and truly joyous accomplishment!
SLA Bylaws Meeting
 
A Special Meeting of the St. Louis Association has been called by the Association Council. The purpose of the meeting is to consider and act upon on the Proposed Association Bylaws and, if approved, to elect persons to service in positions created by their adoption.  A formal call to the meeting with the actions to be taken and registration forms will be emailed to all churches, authorized ministers, and members of the Association Council before November 1.  The meeting will be held on November 23 at St. Lucas United Church of Christ.  Registration will begin at 9:00 a.m. and the meeting will end at 11:00 a.m. 

Neighborhood Houses - 100 Years of New Beginnings  NH logo

 

Neighborhood Houses is celebrating 100 years of strengthening children and families! 100 years of faces, stories, families, and dreams -

100 years of new beginnings

  

The weekend of November 1st-3rd is the culmination of a year-long celebration, so please join us!

 

Friday, November 1, 2013

Centennial Forum:  Raising Up:  New Answers for Preparing Our Future WorkforceModerator:  Rev. Dr. David Greenhaw (Eden Seminary).  Panelists:  Dr. Susan Stepleton (Brown School of Social Work at Washington University), Mr. Rich Patton (Vision for Children at Risk), and Teresa Katubig, CEO, Extra Help Inc.

Time:  7:30 - 9:00 a.m.

Location:  Wehrli Chapel in the Samuel D. Press Education Center at Eden Seminary

Free and open to the public

 

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Centennial Celebration Gala

Time:  6:00 - 11:00 p.m.

Location:  The Four Seasons Hotel 

Tickets start at $175 per person.  Click here to buy tickets now!  

Honorary Chairs and Presenting Sponsor:  Ward and Carol Klein (members at First Congregational in Clayton)

Gala Chairs:  Jim and Sheila Schnurbusch (Jim and Sheila are both long-time volunteers)

 

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Centennial Closing Worship Service

Time:  3:00 - 4:30 p.m.

Location:  Wehrli Chapel in the Samuel D. Press Education Center at Eden Seminary

Open to everyone!

 

For questions about any of the Centennial Events, please contact Ellen Reed-Fox, Vice President of Development, at [email protected] or 314-383-1733, ext. 15. 
2013-2014 Clergy Compensation - REVISED

Back in August the clergy compensation information for 2013-2014 was posted on our conference website.  Thanks to the careful eyes of a few of you out there errors were discovered.  I contacted Nylin Bathke, who was present at the Covenanted Committee on Ministry meeting where the compensation discussion/vote took place, and he confirmed a 2% salary increase was passed. The original document which was received by our conference and subsequently posted on our site unfortunately did not reflect this increase.  So thanks to Lorraine, our bookkeeper, she changed the figures which now include the 2% increase.  To see the corrected version (also available on our website) click here

A big thank you to Nylin and Lorraine for taking the time to proofread and make the necessary changes so the correct figures could be shared with our conference.  Our clergy are worth every penny and the increase is definitely deserved! 

Renee
Healthy Relationships, Healthy Kids and Healthy Churches

The Missouri School of Religion is offering a specialized boundary training* session for those who work primarily with youth.  It is recommended for youth ministers, Sunday school teachers, child care workers or anyone involved with young people at their church.  The session will also cover developing a safe church policy, which every congregation should have in place.  The primary goal of this workshop is to provide participants with the information and tools necessary to ensure the protection of children, youth and adult caregivers in our church ministries.

The event will be held on October 26 at First Christian Church in Columbia, MO, and hosted by Brian Kirk, pastor of the church.  Click here to print a flyer for this event, or here for the website to register online.  The cost is $35 per attendee. 

*Please note that the MMSUCC will not recognize this specialized youth session as a fulfillment of the 3 year boundary training requirement, per Conference guidelines.  This is an extra opportunity focusing on youth only and does not cover all necessary topics for clergy.

Annual Interfaith Dinner & Celebration    

 

Interfaith Partnership of Greater St. Louis is delighted to announce this year's Annual Interfaith Dinner & Celebration will be held on Wednesday, November 6th, at the St. Louis Marriott West, near Maryville University. Each year, a different faith group takes the reins and plans the dinner, and in 2013, the Muslim Community of St. Louis is putting together a magnificent evening of celebration, support and honoring our interfaith relationships, old and new. The program will be:
  • Invocation by Archbishop Robert Carlson, Archdiocese of St. Louis
  • Keynote speaker Michael Wolfe, on how Islam has partnered with other faiths historically
  • Presentation of award to Bishop Howard Nelson, for his service to the interfaith community
  • Staff presentation
  • Interfaith trivia
  • Display tables about many faiths
  • Full sit-down dinner including kosher and halal meal choices

Tickets cost $75 each ($35 for students) and are available at  www.interfaithstl.org or by calling Interfaith Partnership at 314-918-2541. Please register by October 31, which is next week.

Michael Wolfe, Keynote Speaker

Michael Wolfe, an author and filmmaker, is President and Executive Producer of Unity Productions Foundation, a nonprofit documentary and media organization. UPF has produced nine award-winning television documentaries on Muslim themes, mostly broadcast on PBS. Wolfe's work as a journalist with Ted Koppel's ABC Nightline and with CNN International has been nominated for Peabody, Emmy, George Polk, and National Press Club Awards and has won awards from the Society for American Travel Writers and the Wilbur Prize for Best Book on a Religious Theme.

Bishop Howard Nelson, Honoree

Bishop Howard Nelson, a lawyer who worked 32 years at Ralston Purina Company, has been a leader in St. Louis' interfaith community for over three decades. He has been Secretary-Treasurer of the Ferguson Ministerial Alliance (1982-present), a board member of IP (1991-2010, Secretary 1992-2008, President 2009-2010), and Secretary of the Cabinet (1992-present). He now practices law pro bono, and spends time with his wife of 52 years, 13 children, 56 grandchildren, and 9 great-grandchildren.

Small Miracles?!

 

When we are so busy, it is easy to fly through an entire day barely connecting with our surroundings. In that context, some miracles may seem so small we may not even notice them.

 

What connotes a "small miracle"?  Our Church's Wider Mission (OCWM) offering recently made some "small" miracles occur.  

 

For instance:

  • MoVal staff led more than 500 young campers in experiencing God in new ways this summer.
  • Awareness was increased during Congo Week when churches and individuals used resources and participated in educational events about the situation in that country.
  • The database containing each profile of pastors in search of a call, and each church searching for pastors, makes connecting pastor-to-church and church-to-pastor possible.

We each helped to make these miracles happen through our giving.  Our Church Works Miracles!  OCWM: creating miracles every day. 

Installation of Rev. Dr. Tommy Faris UCC logo

The Western Association of the Missouri Mid-South Conference United Church of Christ and Salem UCC in Higginsville, MO will install as pastor the Rev. Dr. Tommy L. Faris on November 17th at 3:00 pm.  Click here for a printable invite. 

Your friends and colleagues of the UCC wish Tommy and Salem UCC peace and joy! 
It's Time for the Conference Middle School Event!

 

This year's awesome retreat will be November 22 - 23.  CMSE is a tool for enhancing Middle School youth ministry in local congregations by helping youth connect with their peers from around the Missouri Mid-South Conference.  The retreat will be full of games, discussion groups, hang time, an awesome guest speaker, and all the great camp activities MoVal has to offer.  Check in will start at 7 pm on Friday, November 22 and the event will end at approximately 5:00 pm on Saturday, November 23.  Get your registration forms in now!

Youth currently in grades 6, 7, & 8 and their adult advisors are all invited to this life changing event.  The cost is $60 per youth or adult.  Scholarships are available.  Here is the event flyer, registration information, disclosure and release form, MoVal background formYou do not want to miss out!!!

And the next Youth Ministry Convenanted Ministry Team meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 26 at 6:30 pm at Zion UCC in Troy, MO.    
The United Church of Christ: A Statistical Profile

On behalf of the Center for Analytics, Research and Data (CARD) department of the UCC, the following document provides an interesting statistical profile of UCC churches across the United States.  Click here to see the profile in its entirety.  A few interesting facts to share:
  • Did you know that at the end of 2012, there were 5,154 active UCC congregations with a total of 998,906 members?   
  • Did you know as of August 31, 2013, there were 7,578 active, authorized ministers in the UCC?   
  • Did you know the number of active, ordained female ministers increased significantly over the last decade from 27.1% in 2002 to 46.3% in 2012 (way to go, ladies!)

We hope you find the statistics not only interesting but informative as well.  And most importantly, the information is drawn primarily from the data reported to the national offices annually for the production of the UCC Yearbook.  So if your church doesn't participate in the annual yearbook reporting, this is a perfect reason to start.  Stand up and be counted - show your UCC pride!  The yearbook data you provide to our conference, which is then shared with Cleveland, is vital and relevant to such statistics. And if your church does complete the annual yearbook forms, thank you!  You'll be hearing from us soon regarding the church yearbook reports, so now is a great time to start thinking about where your reports from last year are located, who will handle which portion of the forms, what facts and figures do you, the council president or treasurer need to gather, etc?  Some forecasting now will help you later in November.   

Upcoming International Partners in Mission Events 

 

Being the Church in a Globalized Age: A Continuing Education Course

Saturday, October 26 and November 2, 10:00-3:00, Eden Seminary

What does it mean to be the church, the Body of Christ, in a pluralistic, interconnected world?  During this two-part course we will approach this question and explore topics such as mission, salvation, and liberation theology. The class will be lead by the following: 

Rev. Dr. Damayanthi Niles, Acting Dean, Eden Seminary

Rev. Dr. J. Clinton McCann, Evangelical Professor of Biblical Interpretation, Eden Seminary 

Rev. Dr. Joseph Cistone, Executive Director, IPM (International Partners in Mission)

Erika Murcia, Regional Director of Latin America and the Caribbean, IPM (International Partners in Mission), El Salvador

There will also be an opportunity to interact with some of IPM's St Louis Project Partners. Participants will each earn one Continuing Education Credit for completing the course.  For more information, please contact Eric Moeller at 314-252-8489 or [email protected]

Harvest of Empire Screening - Wednesday, October 30, 7:00pm 

Webster University's Library Conference Room.

Open to the public and free of charge!  

Harvest of Empire is a documentary based on the book by Juan Gonzalez.  The film explores the direct connection between US foreign policy and intervention in Latin America and the immigration issue we now face in the US, as well as the latino experience as an immigrant.  The film will be followed by a panel discussion with IPM's Regional Director of Latin America & the Caribbean, Erika Murcia, SLU Professors Joel Jennings and On�simo Sandoval, and others. 

 

Share the Impact!

Friday, November 1,6:00-8:30

The Mead Center at Christ Lutheran Church,17 Selma, Webster Groves, MO.

Share the Impact is an opportunity for past Immersion Participants and friends of IPM, new and old,to come together for ethnic food, music,and time together to hear about wha tIPM is doing in the world, share their own stories of how their Immersion experience impacted them,and also to continue the impact by helping to support IPM and, more importantly, our partners.  The cost is $40 per couple, $25 per individual, and $10 for students. Please buy tickets or RSVP by October 28.

 

 

 

 

November St. Louis Ministerium Meeting and Future Meeting Dates

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The SLA Ministerium is a group for all St. Louis UCC clergy who are licensed, commissioned or ordained and serving in the local church or elsewhere.  Whether you are active or retired,  you are always welcome at the SLA Ministerium.


Join us on Wednesday, November 13 from 6-8:30pm for dinner, worship and program hosted by Deaconess Parish Nurse Ministries. Please RSVP today!

We will gather in the Commons at Eden Seminary.

Dinner will be at 6 pm. Worship 6:45 pm. Program at 7 pm.

Jeanette Mott Oxford, Executive Director of Missouri Association for Social Welfare, will be presenting the program - on Medicaid and the State of Missouri Health care needs.

Please RSVP for dinner to Donna Pupillo by November 8th - 314-918-2596 or [email protected]. Please let her know of any dietary needs (gluten free or vegan or vegetarian).

Spouses/partners are invited!

 

Deaconess Parish Nurse Ministries is the heart of parish nursing movement, acting locally and inspiring globally. We seek to foster physical, emotional, spiritual, and social harmony leading to healthy and healing relationships with God, family, faith communities, culture and creation. The mission is accomplished in two ways: in the United States and abroad, through education, consultation, and research to support the growth and development of parish nursing and in the St Louis area, through support of high quality parish nurse ministries.

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Future SLA Ministerium meetings... please put these Wednesday's from 10-11:30am on your calendar:

December 11 - Emmaus Homes, St Charles (host: Cindy Bumb)

January 8 - Faith Aloud, Christ Church UCC (host: Becky Turner)

February 12 - 'Love's Moral Framework', Prince of Peace UCC (host: Lois Yatzeck)

March 12 - Every Child's Hope (host: Julie Jennings)

April 9 - Joint Neighborhood Ministries, Epiphany UCC(host:Mary Albert)

May 14 (evening) - Neighborhood Houses at Caroline Mission (host: Darlene Sowell)

June 11 - St John's Community Services (host: Johnniest Henry) 

July 9 - Isaiah 58 (host: Brenda Booth)

August 13 - Lydia's House (host: Carolyn Held) 

MMSUCC Conference Council Moderator's Report

Friends - I had the honor of attending the Eastern and Western Association fall meetings over these past few weekends.  It was uplifting to connect with so many of you and get a true sense of our Conference from many different perspectives.  Due to the timing of the St. Louis Association fall meeting, which overlapped with the Conference Council meeting during the first weekend of October, I was unable to attend the SLA meeting in person.  I shared the following report at the EA and WA meetings, and provided a paper copy to the SLA in my absence, but felt it was important to share this information with our entire Conference and not just those at the fall meetings.  Thank you,

Blessings and Peace,
Wesley Hurt, Conference Moderator

Congratulations to Rev. Clairnel Nervik

The Missouri Mid-South Conference is pleased to announce Rev. Clairnel Nervik was selected as the recipient of the annual John Bennett Award for Ministry, as presented by The Missouri School of Religion.  Clairnel is the pastor at Peace UCC in Hartsburg, MO within our conference's western association.  This award recognizes persons like Clairnel who have:
  • have contributed to the revitalization and renewal of congregations 
  • have exhibited moral courage in addressing critical issues
  • exhibited compassion and care in congregation and community ministry
  • who have started new and innovative ministries
  • committed their time, talents, gifts or service to a local ministry
  • given visionary leadership in congregational ministry
The award will be presented to Clairnel at the Missouri School of Religion Annual Dinner, which will be held this year on November 8th at Rickman Center, Jefferson City, Missouri.  Congratulations to Clairnel on this wonderful, well-deserved and prestigious honor - we are very proud!!! 

"Follow That Star: A Jazz Nativity"   

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Follow That Star: A Jazz Nativity returns this December for its third season with  an  all-new  production. Reimagining the Christmas story through the artistry of jazz and the magic of storytelling, this year's program will feature new jazz arrangements of Christmas music and dramatic twists that will creatively bring an ancient story to life for today's audience.

 

The O�kos Ensemble under the direction of saxophonist, Rev.Cliff Aerie, will return as our musical hosts.This year we welcome one of St. Louis' great jazz vocalists, Ms. Kim Fuller, as our special guest artist.

 

Three United Church of Christ congregations will be hosting this year's Jazz Nativity:

  • Saturday, December 7th at First Congregational UCC, Webster Groves -7:00pm  
  • Sunday, December 8th at Parkway UCC, St.Louis County - 2:00pm  
  • Saturday, December 14th at St.Peter's UCC, Washington - 7:00 pm
Please print and share this poster with your congregation, friends, family and coworkers.  Jazz Nativity is pleased to announce its partnership with the Deaconess FoundationProviding support to many local organizations, the Deaconess Foundation helps to ensure essential services to children and youth in need. Through the generous support of Deaconess and the financial sponsorship of our three host churches, all performances of Follow That Star: A Jazz Nativity are free to the publicAn offering will be received to benefit local charities.  Keep watching the eCourier, the Conference website and Facebook for further updates.  We hope you will attend one of the performances and please spread the word among your congregation about this fabulous, free musical journey!
Pastors Can Dream

 

Last week I posted the below list on our conference Facebook page just for fun and it received over 410 hits, which is amazing!  So I thought I'd share this in the eCourier since not all of you follow us on Facebook (but you really should!).  Be sure to LIKE us on Facebook, and hopefully this will make you smile or chuckle today. 


Pastors Can Dream
Here are some things that a Pastor dreams of hearing (or overhearing) in his/her church.

1. Hey! It's my turn to sit in the front pew. 
2. I was so enthralled, I never noticed your sermon went 25 minutes over time. 
3. Personally I find working at the Sunday spaghetti luncheon much more enjoyable than golf. 
4. I've decided to give our church the $500 a month I normally spend on
buying figurines from QVC.
5. I volunteer to be the permanent teacher for the Junior High Sunday School class.
6. Forget the denominational minimum salary, let's pay our pastor so he/she can live like we do.
7. I love it when we sing hymns I've never heard before!
8. Since we're all here, let's start the service early.
9. Pastor, we'd like to send you to this Bible seminar in the Bahamas on the church's dime.
10. Nothing inspires me and strengthens my commitment like our annual stewardship campaign!
11. I couldn't find space to park outside. Praise God!

This Sunday please tell your Pastor how much they are appreciated, and try sitting in the front pew for a change.

Renee 

"Get Real, Finding Your True Self in Jesus" at Camp MoVal 

   
The theme for the 2014 Outdoor Ministry season at Camp MoVal is "Get Real, Finding Your True Self in Jesus". Campers and participants will explore the teachings of Jesus and how this impacts each of us as individuals, and as a community of Christ.

A few changes will be happening at Camp MoVal for the upcoming 2014 camping season. The first is our age group bracketing and age relevance for attending programs. Moving forward in 2014 and beyond, the grade level requirement will be the grade campers will be entering. We know that for many years this has been a confusing issue and we want to use a standard approach to grade levels. There will also be a transition in the summer of 2014 for high school seniors as we create new programs for college students and young adults.  

 

The second new item for Camp MoVal is that during the summer of 2014, Camp MoVal will be going through the accreditation process with the American Camp Association. This means for all of us is that Camp MoVal will be recognized and accredited to the highest camping standard, which translates to a very high-quality program and ministry. Preview the 2014 camp schedule here!  

 

If you would like to have a presence from Camp MoVal visit your church and share our ministry, or if you have any questions please call the office 636-583-2730.  Be sure to check us out at www.campmoval.org or on our Facebook page.  We are already looking forward to a great 2014 season at Camp MoVal! 

LIFE Retreat at Eden

Join Eden's upcoming LIFE retreat November 15-16! LIFE provides opportunities for enrichment and growth to clergy and lay women and men through participation in this two-day retreat. Return to your own congregations ready to begin the Advent season refreshed and renewed after a weekend of learning and interacting together.

 

Choose between two compelling courses taught by Eden faculty members. Dr. Leah Gunning Francis, Assistant Professor of Christian Education will teach the certificate course titled "What Is the Church". This course offering may be particularly appealing to clergy as Dr. Gunning Francis explores this timeless topic. Rev. Dr. Kristen Leslie, Professor of Pastoral Theology and Care will teach the elective course titled "Living and Thriving in Life's Transitions".

 

Please note that online registration is no longer available at this time. You may register by downloading the registration form at www.lifeateden.com. Or you may contact Jill Schantz by email at [email protected] or by phone at 314-853-4865.

Quotes for your Week - Being Open to Change   

 

You change your life by changing your heart.
- Max Lucado

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.
- Leo Tolstoy

When you are through changing, you are through.
- Bruce Barton

Thinkers do not accept the inevitable; they turn their efforts toward changing it.
- Paramahansa Yogananda
 

Employment Opportunities
 
Employment postings will run for one month, unless otherwise specified. 

Administrative Assistant - part time, Eden Theological Seminary (10/2/13)

Eden Theological Seminary is seeking a part-time (10-20 hrs) administrative assistant who will report to the Executive Assistant to the President.  The seminary is flexible regarding the weekly work schedule.  A high level of professionalism, attention to detail, and confidentiality is crucial to this role.  Interested applicants may send inquiries to [email protected].

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Office Manager - full time, St. Paul's UCC, Oakville (10/2/13)

St. Paul's United Church of Christ is seeking a full time Monday-Friday Office Manager. Interpersonal skills: Friendly, reliable, professional image, excellent communication and phone skills, open to transition and change; and a team player. Technical skills: Ability to implement and manage Church Integrated Software (experience in Shelby preferred); Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, Outlook and in calendar/meeting management. Accounting Experience: handling payroll, invoicing, accounts payable/receivable and receipts. We are located on 5508 Telegraph Road in St. Louis (Oakville), MO. The deadline for resumes is Tuesday, October 15. Email resumes to [email protected].  

Conference Quick Links
 
Contact Us

Missouri Mid-South Conference United Church of Christ  314-962-8740 or 877-877-5884  
 
Email [email protected] to submit information for a future issue.  Not all submissions may be used in future eCouriers.