Parkway United Church of Christ  E-news
March 2, 2018
AWOL (Adventurous Women Out Late)
Icy rain foiled our Philadelphia Story outing, so maybe we're more suited for a Phantom Thread tonight, March 2 at Plaza Frontenac 6:40pm. Meet in the lobby by 6:30pm! RSVP to Carmen Bumgarner:  [email protected]

 
Jazz for the Journey
Oîkos Ensemble performs a free concert TONIGHT at Eden Seminary with a keynote address by Rev Geoffrey Black.  Details...

Open &Affirming: Living Openly - A Public & Visible Church
Gateway ONA's Seventh Annual Convocation
Saturday, Mar 3 | 9:00am-4:00pm (registration 8:00am) | Parkway UCC

Come be in conversation with others, learn what it means to be Open and Affirming and how to fully express extravagant welcome to all God's children. New workshops and new leaders this year!   Registration forms with more info...

 
Worship with Us this Sunday!
 
Join us this weekend on the third Sunday of Lent at 9:30am Traditional Worship and/or 11:00am Informal Worship where our scripture lessons will be Exodus 20:1-17 and John 2:13-22 with a sermon entitled From Lovers to Fools with Our Hands. The ten commandments guide us and challenge us as we live more faithfully with the Holy and with one another. How we use our hands is just one way to measure our effectiveness. What was going through Jesus' heart and mind when he flipped over the table in the Temple that day? Do you ever feel that way? What do you do then?
 
We will extinguish another Lenten candle as we move further into Lent and closer to the (temporary but deep) darkness of the tomb.
 
Gather at our open table for the sacred and simple meal of communion. 

We will hear more about our mission partners this 2nd Mile Lent/Easter .... Unleashing Potential (formerly Neighborhood Houses), Heifer Project, Lydia's House and Eden Seminary.

Please remember to bring your gifts of non-perishable food items for hungry individuals and families in St Louis as this is a Give-A-Meal Sunday.

Sunday is our annual Chili/Brownie Cook-off a fter each service.
The annual Chili/Brownie cook-off smackdown is here! Bring a crockpot of your best chili and/or a plate of brownies. Will last year's winners be knocked off their thrones? Taste and pick your favorite. Donations will benefit our youth summer mission trip.

 
 
Adult Education
9:30 & 11:00am in the Heritage Room
The Missouri Coalition for the Right to Counsel
Significant problems in the American justice system include: (i) the challenge to find jury trials for young lawyers and (ii) overworked and underpaid public defenders.  
 
To jointly address these two concerns, a number of senior lawyers in the St. Louis Area, including Richard Scherrer, founded The Missouri Coalition for the Right to Counsel. The Coalition's mission is to enroll private sector law firms in a program, wherein the firms commit to assigning younger lawyers to represent indigent defendants currently represented by the Missouri State Public Defender. At Adult Ed on March 4, 2018, Richard will speak about the work of the Coalition and the state of the public defender system in Missouri.



 
Prayer List Updates
New Members: Jo Grove and Molly Grisham! WELCOME!
Family & Friends of Lucille Arft - celebrated her life here on 2/28.

Polly Rutherford - preparing for back surgery on March 2.

Andrea Barnes - in conversation with legislators about MO Statute of Limitations on child sex abuse.

Cherie Stolze - healing from complications after recent surgery.

Mary - recent cancer diagnosis; biopsy now (sister of Pinky Wilcoxen & Ruth Peace). She'd be blessed and buoyed by cards... Mary Whitney - Stonebridge Room 252; 2963 Doddridge Ave., Maryland Hts, MO 63043.

Philip- healing from corneal transplant (Tom Maxeiner).

Robert Cameron - grieving and giving thanks for his wife, Brenda.

StL UCC Covenant Partner of Week: Eden UCC, Affton




 
Announcements




PUCC Easter Candy Parkway's children are looking forward to the annual church Easter egg hunt on Sunday, April 1 after both Worship Services. 
Donations of individually wrapped candy will be gratefully accepted in the Gathering Area until Palm Sunday, March 25. Thanks for supporting a beloved tradition!
 
The Sustainability Seekers will sell their Fair Trade chocolate and coffee throughout this month.
Consider buying some plastic Easter eggs filled with Fair Trade mini-chocolates. Funds raised will be used for a dishwasher and mugs for the Fellowship time.
 
The sign-up sheets are now in the Gathering Space for
Easter lilies and fern baskets.
The lilies are $9.50 and the ferns are $13.30.
We must turn in the order by March 12, so please order soon.
Thank you from the Sanctuary Committee.
 
Youth Night March 7: Balloon Bonanza
Wednesdays | Middle High 6-7pm | Sr High 7-8pm | Fellowship Hall
Snacks | Games | Door Prizes
Contact Barb Kuhlmann: [email protected] | 314-872-9330

CANstruction "field trip" 3/11
Sunday, March 11 * 2:00 * Saint Louis Science Center * Questions or carpooling interest? ask Lisa Mason ( [email protected] )

CANstruction is a mural created with canned goods to create an image of interfaith cooperation. This mural is assembled by local high school teens (including some PUCCers) representing, Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Hindu faiths. Youth rotate through stations that include mural assembly, team building skills (led by Saint Louis Science Center's YES teens), and interfaith interaction. As part of the interfaith interaction, teens are asked to bring quotes from their sacred text around shared values concepts. 
 
"Beyond Ourselves" is the theme for this year's CANstruction, drawing inspiration from a new statue outside of the Planetarium of a figure of a person looking up, inspiring us to think of what is beyond. This year will mark the fifth year of a partnership between The Saint Louis Science Center,
 
The Center for Indian Cultural Education- Bal Vihar, and Interfaith Quest to create an interfaith CANstruction. 
 
Teens will lead us through exploring what the represented sacred texts say about thinking "Beyond Ourselves," and how they were impacted in the sharing of each others sacred texts. The CANstruction will be on display through the month of March, then all canned goods used in the mural will be donated to Operation Food Search. 
 
PUCC is taking a "field trip" to see the completed CANstruction mural and a video about the collaborative process. On Sunday, March 11, we will meet at the bridge of the Saint Louis Science Center at 2:00pm for our interfaith tour. Enter on the Planetarium side. The tour will be led by Beth Damsgaard-Rodriguez of Interfaith Quest. 
 
As always, you are encouraged to bring friends and neighbors! Please let Lisa Mason know if you plan to attend, and whether you are interested in carpooling from PUCC.

Pizza! Pizza! Pizza
Sat, Mar 17, 3:30pm | CiCi's 9745 Manchester
Please join us at to celebrate Christopher Haack's birthday. This is an annual Parkway tradition that is fun for all ages. Cici's all-you-can-eat buffet has pizza, salad bar, pastas, soup and dessert. The cost is +/- $5.99. RSVP is helpful, but not required: [email protected] | 314-344-8580

Community Easter Egg Hunt
Saturday, March 24 | Rain or Shine! | Doors open at 9:00am
Bring your little ones out to enjoy refreshments, crafts, a fun egg hunt with three age divisions, and to meet the Easter Bunny! For any questions or if you would like to volunteer, contact Cassie Rosenberger: (314) 323-6781 or [email protected] .



Further reading...





 
Community
The Return of John Wimberly! Please mark your calendar for Sunday, April 8 when John Wimberly will be back again to help us prioritize the strategies (well over 100) that we have all been generating to help us live into the goals from the refreshed purpose statement we all created.
 
Save some room on your calendar for John Pavlovitz the first weekend of June when he comes to be with us at PUCC.  Join Kevin after Easter for a couple of conversations about John's latest book - A Bigger Table: Building Messy, Authentic and Hopeful Spiritual Community.




Dear Friends,
 
We are elated to announce that Isaiah 58 Ministries has been selected to be a part of the exciting and innovative Schnucks - Bags 4 My Cause program, which is specially designed to support local causes and hunger relief organizations.
 
For every Schnucks reusable Hunger bag purchased at the Schnucks located at 1060 Woods Mill Road, Ballwin, MO during the month of March, $1 is donated to our organization. And with $1 = 4 meals, this program has the potential to truly make a large impact!
 
We continually appreciate all the support you give, which has allowed Isaiah 58 Ministries to maintain the work we do in our community.  The Schnucks - Bags 4 My Cause program is a simple and fun way to continue this support!
 
Please visit the Schnucks store located at 1060 Woods Mill Road, Ballwin, MO during the month of March and buy the specially designed bag with the message "Every Bag Feeds a Neighbor in Need."  With a longstanding history of nourishing peoples' lives, Schnucks takes pride in their commitment to community and hunger relief giving more than $13 million dollars annually to area food banks and pantries!
 
Imagine if every one of our supporters purchases just ONE bag! What if everyone bought TWO! Purchasing these beautiful Schnucks reusable Hunger bags will support us while also helping to eliminate paper/plastic use!
 
Please pass this exciting news on to your friends and family. Let them know that the Hunger bags are located on the specially designed reusable bag rack.
 
Thank you so much for your continued support of Isaiah 58 Ministries.
 
Blessings,
 
Rev. Brenda Booth
Executive Director
Isaiah 58 Ministries



Humor
What is the favorite month of many UCCers?
March!
 
 
Inspiration 
Don't live with a closed fist but with an open hand. Be all about the openhanded kindness of Christ. ~John Pavlovitz

Video
When this school realized many kids wouldn't have anyone to attend a breakfast with dad event, a local pastor stepped in to help. He never imagined how...