While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word.

                                                            Acts 10:44

Dear Friends and Partners in the Gospel,

               The Holy Spirit didn't even let him finish his sermon! I wonder if Peter kept on preaching when the gathered crowd was moved by the word to experience the joyful exuberance of the Spirit, even before Peter's own words were out of his mouth. Maybe he realized at that moment that not all the words he had prepared for his sermon were necessary, even though he probably felt that preacher's tug of wanting to say them all anyway, having spent some time preparing them.

               Perhaps it is just as well that Peter was interrupted, since the part of his sermon that he got to preach is, as it stands, a clear, simple statement of the message of salvation for all people. You can read it for yourself in verses 34 to 43, beginning with the words, "I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him."

               What excites me about this story is that the transformational message of the Gospel came as much from the congregation as from the preacher. They were the ones whose spiritual exuberance became a response to God's compassion, and caused astonishment among Peter's companions, giving new insight, breadth and depth to the church in its early days of formation.

               The Gospel should always surprise us, even while we're preaching it. It should resonate with people we didn't think could hear it. It should open our hearts to people we did not appreciate or understand before. It should turn relationships around and call us to listen just when we thought we were called to speak.

               May the gift of the Spirit continue to astonish us.

Dear Friends,

Celebrate with the Open and Affirming Coalition as we welcome this new Fellowship ONA church, Glory to Glory Christian Church UCC, as of May 5, 2015.  The ONA Church number indicates the position of this church in the chronology of all ONA churches listed since 1985.  This church is dually affiliated with the Fellowship of Affirming Ministries and the United Church of Christ.  We honor the affirming ministry they have been living and welcome them into the ONA family.  Spread the good news!

Thanks and blessings,

 Kathie Carpenter

National ONA Registrar and Consultant

Open and Affirming Coalition 

     of the United Church of Christ

ONA Church #1274

Jeff and Laurie Fulk will be honored as they complete their 20th year at Shannondale.  We plan to hold a dedication and celebration at Shannondale on Labor Day weekend with a "memory campfire" on Saturday evening (Sept. 5th) and dedication at Sunday worship (Sept. 6th) followed by a free picnic lunch of sloppy joe, beans, chips, etc.  There will be no charge for overnight stays that weekend but all will be responsible for their own food and their own cleanup of the facility they use.  Reservations will be accepted as received.

Meet Camp MoVal's New Program Director

Camp MoVal welcomes Mariah Newell, our new Program Director. Mariah is a recent graduate of Texas Christian University and has been a life-long camper, a member of camp staff and a leader working with children and youth in the church setting.  

Mariah will join us at the end of May as we start our 2015 Summer Camp Season.  Please join us in wishing Mariah the best of luck in her new role at Camp MoVal!

Summer Camp 2015

There is still plenty of time to sign up for summer camp this year at MoVal, but camps are filling up quickly. This year campers are exploring the spirit and how the spirit can "Power Up" us to go out and do good for others. It is also important for us all to take get away and trying something different, no technology, being away with friends, playing in the outdoors, go swimming or boating, or just relaxing. Camp provides something different, but something very necessary to all of us. Come and join us, we offer programs for everyone, and it will change your life.  Call us at 636-583-2730 for further information. 

St. Paul's UCC (Oakville) in St. Louis rolled out a new Lenten program this year called "Working Together Through Lent".  Soup Suppers are normally added to the schedule of regular Tuesday night Worship during Lent. Various organizations within the church put together a different menu of soups each Tuesday, bringing together members for worship and fellowship.  

This year, St. Paul's wanted to go a step further and add a program for after services, "Working Together Through Lent", which consisted of building 8 adirondack chairs for Shannondale's property. Several members of the church met each Tuesday after worship and worked on building and painting the chairs, which turned out beautifully.

-submitted by St. Paul's (Oakville), St. Louis

By now I'm sure you are all aware of the devastating earthquake in Nepal. I wanted to send you a quick update on the UCC response as you may receive calls or e-mail inquiries from our congregations and members. UCC Disaster Ministries has a broad network of trusted and reliable partners that we work with throughout the year with capacity and local presence in hundreds of countries. Through these partnerships we are able to effectively and efficiently respond to both immediate and long-term needs following disasters.  

Since the quake our partnership through the ACT Alliance has been responding and working hard to help stabilize the situation through provisions of food, water, medicine and temporary shelter.  UCC Disaster Ministries is requesting financial contributions to the International Emergency Relief fund to support these essential on-the-ground efforts. Donors can designate their gift by noting it is for Nepal Earthquake relief.  

To give online visit https://unitedchurchofchrist.nationbuilder.com/international_emergency_relief_fund

Thank you for your continued prayers for the survivors, rescue teams and relief workers.  If individuals are seeking more information I can be reached at wolgemuthz@ucc.org or 410-259-6194.    

The Governor's Faith-Based and Community Service Partnership for Disaster Recovery invites faith organization leaders, emergency management directors, local public health agency (LPHA) representatives and Community Organizations Active in Disasters (COAD) members to attend one of the nine regional workshops in May and June. 

Because faith-based organizations face unique challenges in helping their communities prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters, The Partnership, along with the Public Health Emergency Preparedness program has put together a program that will provide insightful and practical advice to help with that mission. We hope you can participate.

UPDATE:  Please see revised flyer which now lists all dates and locations.  Registration is recommended and may be completed using the following link:  http://training.dps.mo.gov/sematraining.nsf/TrainingSchedule.

These events are provided free of cost to participants. All events are from 1-5 p.m. The dates and locations of each regional workshop are listed on the above flyer.  Please feel free to distribute this information widely.

In 1995, Duane Meyer, pastor of St. Peter's UCC challenged the churches of the St. Louis Association to build affordable housing through Habitat for Humanity. More than 20 churches responded with dollars and labor to build the first house. As we begin our twentieth year, we have an amazing story to celebrate.

Once again, we join together to raise the dollars and provide nearly a thousand hours of labor to build affordable housing. The group, in cooperation with Habitat for Humanity, has designated a house to build in a north City of St. Louis neighborhood. Though a date to begin has not been determined, 19 congregations gathered to set the course for 2015 on Easter Monday.

The churches contribute money in numerous ways from fundraisers to budgeted giving and special offerings. They provide Saturday work crews from individual churches and Wednesday and Friday crews to work under the direction of Habitat and crew leaders. Some of these workers have been a part of the projects from the beginning.

-submitted by Rev. Keith Karau 

The Raised Hands Puppet Team Ministry from Immanuel UCC in Ferguson visited Grace UCC in O'Fallon on April 12 for Camp Sunday.  The Team brought to life the Bunny song, "The Old Rugged Cross", and "God is Not Dead" with their imaginative interpretation through the puppets.  Young and not so young enjoyed the team's energy and passion for interpreting the Gospel in such a unique way.  

Ms. Kathy Kalkbrenner and Mr. Isaiah Jackson-Post are the directors of this ministry. They thanked Grace UCC for inviting them saying: 'Pass the word, we are willing to share this ministry with churches in our Conference."   

If your church would like to have the Raised Hands Puppet Team Ministry visit your church just call Immanuel's church office at 314-521-7324.  Your church members will find worship excitement in a whole new way!

-submitted by Rev. Polly McWilliams