Back Bay Mission will open its 2017 Mission Trip Calendar on January 1, 2016. Mission immersion experiences at Back Bay Mission are a great opportunity to serve the poor and marginalized of the Mississippi Gulf Coast while learning about poverty and social justice. They're also a wonderful chance to build relationships within your congregation and with other congregations who are serving at the Mission.

Here's what you need to know: The 2017 Mission Trip Calendar opens on January 1, 2016. Beginning on January 1, you'll be able to request mission dates by emailing our volunteer coordinator. We only accept requests for mission trip dates through email. Email provides us with a timestamp and helps make sure that dates are reserved on a first come, first served basis.

The calendar fills up fast. This is especially true for prime dates during summer vacation and spring break. It's best if you have a couple of dates in mind, just in case the date you would prefer has already been reserved. If none of the dates you would like are available - or if the calendar is completely full when you request a date - we can put you on a waiting list.

Our fees have changed. In order to keep up with rising costs and the high demand on our housing rehabilitation program, we've made a minor adjustment to our mission trip fees. There is now a $200 per group administrative fee, a $75 per person housing fee, and a $100 per person materials fee.

This study will look at Biblical, theological and ethical sources that speak with the Black Lives Matter movement (& other voices for human freedom in our time and place).  Two scholars/Eden Theological Seminary professors/Christian ministers will offer their insights on what theological issues are at stake in this movement & how protest (to address institutional racism and structural injustice) connects with their understandings of Christian faith and practice.  On January 3 we will hear from Rev. Dr. Deborah Krause, Academic Dean & Professor of New Testament at Eden Theological Seminary, who also has participated extensively in various protests & acts of civil disobedience in the past year. On January 10 & 17 we host Ben Sanders, Assistant Professor of Theology and Ethics at Eden.  This course will help us to better understand the Black Lives Matter movement, its basis in our faith & why local church leaders are so involved.  Free childcare available.  314-822-2240 for more information.

 

The purpose for the group is to gather like-minded UCC folk to educate and inform ourselves and our communities about race, racism, and privilege, and to serve as a resource and a catalyst for churches and communities in embracing and proclaiming the diversity of God's people as sacred.We discern together where God is calling us, month to month.  Meet at Eden Seminary Library Conference Room.  

Illegal immigration continues to be a topic of much discussion and controversy in the daily news.  How do we respond to this issue in a faithful and compassionate way?  One solution is to learn as much as possible so we can respond to others from a position of understanding and not just the 'sound-bites' that we hear so often.  To this end, our first book study in 2016 will be of Enrique's Journey, an astonishing story that puts a human face on the ongoing debate about immigration reform in the United States.

Enrique's Journey recounts the unforgettable quest of a Honduran boy looking for his mother, eleven years after she is forced to leave her starving family to find work in the United States. Braving unimaginable peril, often clinging to the sides and tops of freight trains, Enrique travels through hostile worlds full of thugs, bandits, and corrupt cops.  But he pushes forward, relying on his wit, courage, hope, and the kindness of strangers.  "This is a twenty-first-century Odyssey."

Join us in the Adult Education room for a discussion of this compelling book and topic.  The book is readily available online in print & electronic forms.  www.kirkwooducc.org or call 314-822-2240 for more information.

The content & practices of funerals have changed significantly during the past 100 years, & that evolution appears to be continuing as we move into the 21st century.  A wide variety of factors are influencing this, but how is it impacting our hearts & souls?  During the first session we will learn about how funeral practices have changed in the United States over time.  our second session will focus on how to plan one's own memorializing service- a task that many people would like to avoid, but it especially helpful to the loved ones who are left behind.  Kirkwood UCC's Pastor Betsy Happel will lead these discussions.  Joins us as we explore this topic that will be so helpful to all of us & our loved ones.  Free childcare.  314-822-2240 for more information.

During the month of February, we will be discussing how we can find theological images of God in secular films.  We will be watching the film, Pleasantville, starring Tobey Maguire, Reese Witherspoon and Jeff Daniels.  in this film, two 1990s teenagers find themselves in a 1950s sitcom where their influence begins to profoundly change that complacent world.  We will be viewing a portion of the film each week while discussing different theological topics such as the church, God, Christ and the Holy Spirit.  Kirkwood UCC Student Pastor Stephen Stark will lead this 4-week series in the KUCC theater.  Childcare available.  314-822-2240 for more information.

 

More details to follow.