Let's Talk About Our Relationship 

Think for a moment of a time when someone important to you...someone with whom you had a very close relationship...approached you and said, "We need to talk about our relationship."  Do you remember what feelings came up for you?

I suspect that those feelings were closer to dread than to joy.  We are not elated that this important person cares so much about the relationship we construct together to want to speak to us about it.  Instead we feel a sort of terror that there is something wrong, or that we are wrong, and the relationship is about to go south. 

That we have this response is both understandable and regrettable.  It makes sense because most often we don't talk about our relationships until they are in trouble.  And regrettable because we can't really nurture something to which we don't give consistent conscious attention. 

Sometimes when we use the word "church" we are referring to a building ("I drove by a church").  Sometimes we mean a group of people ("Good morning, Church!").  Sometimes we  are talking about an event ("The Council will meet in the Conference Room after church").   But at the core, a church is a set of relationships.  Indeed, the central relationship is the one that Jesus invites us into with a God who enters into human experience in order to be in relationship with each of us.

But, for the most part, the only time we talk about the relationships we form with each other in our local congregations is when the are "in conflict."  What if the purpose of "church" was to create and deepen our capacity to be in relationship?  What if we made it our mission to learn how to be in deep relationship with each other... to be present to each other?

Central to the purpose of the Peacemaker Fellowship is to learn a set of skills such that we become comfortable and confident as we address the significant relationships that arise as we seek to be the Body of Christ.

The 2015 Outdoor Ministry theme is "Power Up, Living in the Spirit". Campers will learn more about how to live as a follower of Christ powered by the Holy Spirit. Camp MoVal continues to provide quality Christian education and faith formation alongside with many camp activities, outdoor education, and faith building all in a safe and caring environment.  Click here to see the schedule. 

New programs for the 2015 program season are a camp for college students and young adults during the summer season along with a winter camp experience for junior and middle school age campers. MoVal continues to develop programs to meet the needs of all and if there is something you would like to see added to our program schedule, please let us know.

Camp MoVal is an accredited camp of the American Camp Association. This means Camp MoVal maintains the highest level in camping standards and deliver a very high quality program and ministry in a safe and sacred space. For more information, please contact the camp office at 636-583-2730. You can also visit our website www.campmoval.org, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. 

Please keep the following churches and clergy in your prayers during this upcoming week:  

Prayers for November 23-November 29, 2014

Churches

Church of the Master - Florissant, MO

Hope UCC - DeSoto, MO

Valley Center UCC - Deepwater, MO

Ivy Chapel UCC - Chesterfield, MO

First Congregational UCC - Grandin, MO

California UCC - California, MO

St Johns UCC (Bem) - Owensville, MO

Ebenezer UCC - Augusta, MO

Retired Clergy

Rev. William Schwab

Rev. Thomas Tupper

Does your church have a significant anniversary coming up next year? If so, someone may need to create or update a written history of your church. Here is an excerpt from the UCC Leaders Box listing items to include in a written history for a church.

• Founding date, organizers and how they went about founding the church.
• Setting (rural area, town, Indian reservation) and any changes.
• Names of organizations to which is has belonged (conference, synod).
• Relationship to the denomination and any specific aid received from the denomination.
• Dates of buildings and other acquisitions, such as cemetery, housing for the elderly or parsonage.
• Covenant, catechism or statement of faith.
• Liturgical changes, such as moving from common cup to individual cups for communion, moving from a pulpit-centered to an altar-centered sanctuary or the use of banners.
• Official actions and reactions to denominational changes, such as union.
• Description of organizations within the church.
• Participation in community activities, such as scouting, day care and ecumenical organizations.
• Participation in wider church settings (conference, association).

Watch in future eCourier articles for more information helpful to church historians.

-submitted by Joy Dressel 

The Eden Theological Seminary Choir will present its Christmas Concert on December 3, 2014 in Wehrli Chapel in the Press Building at 10:00 am. The Eden Choir, "Voices of Eden", will share a variety of seasonal music.

The choir will process into the chapel singing the carol, "O Come, O Come Emmanuel". The processional itself will be done in a rather unusual fashion which promises to open the concert in an interesting and unique way.  

One highlight of the concert will be Felix Mendelssohn's "Behold a Star from Jacob Shining" from his final oratorio, "Christus", based on Numbers 24:17. Other musical selections for the concert include: "Do You Hear What I Hear", "We Three Kings", and a calypso lullaby from the West Indies. Small vocal ensembles and instrumental groups will be featured as well.

Concert attendees may notice a theme of "stars" running through many of the musical selections. As Donita Bauer, Director of Music at Eden, was developing the program, it became evident that "stars" was becoming a central theme for the concert. So we will be following some of those stars!

Continuing with long-standing tradition, Eden alumni will be invited to join with the choir in singing the Christmas spiritual, "Jesus, Jesus, What a Wonderful Child".

The annual concert is an opportunity for students, faculty, staff, and friends of Eden to gather together to celebrate the joys of Christmas as a community. All are invited to the reception following the concert. We hope you will come and join in the festivities!