GA#223 - 10 Days Away

Blog Post by the Rev. Carol DeVaughan

Co-Moderator of Committee on Local Arrangements (COLA)

      

In case you aren’t aware – the General Assembly of PCUSA meets in St. Louis in about 10 days. I really hope this is not news to any of you, because you, as members of the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy are part of the hosts for this gathering. For more than two years those of us who are part of the planning team have been working on the myriad details of our hosting responsibilities.

Continue here to read on. 

We Want Your Help

Volunteering at GA? Share your story! We would love to hear your thoughts and see through your eyes! Throughout the week of General Assembly #223, Friday, June 15 through Saturday, June 23, text or iMessege photos to:

(573) 578-3960, or email them to: [email protected].

Be sure to send your name for the photo credit.

We look forward to seeing your vision of GA#223!

PLEASE NOTE: The Oaks Conference Room (Oaks) and St. Andrews Conference Room (St. Andrews) are both located at the new Presbytery office, 1001 Craig Rd., Suite 170, St. Louis, MO 63146.

(Oaks) is on the first floor (St. Andrews) is on the second floor

Directions can be found here.

Beware of meeting schedule changes for General Assembly. Most Ministry Teams will not meet June 11-25, so members can volunteer and participate in GA#223 activities. Staff will still be accessing email and voice mail, however with delayed response.

General inquiries can be sent here.

Want to Attend Some GA#223 Events?

Please see this Schedule of Events.

"Draw the Welcome Circle Wider"

COLA has commissioned Mary Louise Bringle to write a hymn text for General Assembly 223. The new hymn “Draw the Welcome Circle Wider” incorporates the GA’s theme “Renewing the Vision: Kindom Building for the Twenty-first Century” with biblical metaphors, social justice themes, and even a surprising nod to the GA’s location in St. Louis. The hymn will be sung to the pentatonic shape-note tune BEACH SPRING.

Presbyterians from around the country are well acquainted with Mel Bringle through her hymns, her teaching at conferences and her service as chair of the Presbyterian Committee on Congregational Song.

For more information about the hymn, and download, click here.

Hands and Feet Celebration

featuring Kirk Whalum

Be sure to purchase your tickets to be part of the Hands and Feet Celebration featuring Grammy Award winning artist Kirk Whalum for Thursday evening, June 21, at the 223 ^rd Meeting of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Tickets are $15 and can be purchased as a part of General Assembly Registration . For more information, continue here.

Active Shooter Training Offered

During General Assembly

The Insurance Board is offering an Active Shooter Response Training Workshop at the General Assembly. The training is scheduled for Tuesday, June 19th beginning at 1:30 p.m. and will end at 3:00 p.m. at the Marriott Grand (across from the convention center). This is FREE, but you must register online. You do not need to register for the GA to attend the workshop. Save the date, and we will have the link to register in next week's newsletter.

The “125 ^th Anniversary Celebration” of Gibson Heights Presbyterian Church

We’re celebrating an anniversary, 125 years no less. The congregation of Gibson Heights Presbyterian Church would like to invite you to our 125th Anniversary Celebration. Gibson Heights has ministered and sustained a continuous presence in the Grove Neighborhood in the city of St. Louis for 125 years. To celebrate this historic occasion, please join us Friday evening, June 22, at 7:00 PM when A Call to Conscience will present “ I’ve Been to the Mountain Top,” an interactive interpretation of the last speech given by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to the striking sanitation workers of Memphis at Mason’s Temple Church of God in Christ on April 3, 1968. The production will also feature the Voices of Young Christian Servants gospel choir from our associated congregation, Everlasting Light Church. Refreshments and conversation with the cast will follow the celebration in the adjacent Fellowship Hall. Directions can be found here.

Families’ Together Camp - July 6-8

Escape to the hills and river for a replenishing weekend designed with you and your family in mind. This overnight camp is presented retreat style. All generations will enjoy the mix of rest and recreation we have planned as we fellowship, play, worship together and share our ‘stories.’ Individuals, groups and families (*whoever is family to you is family to us!) are welcome as Together we enjoy a weekend around the campfire, skipping stones, hiking, canoeing, swimming, practicing yoga on the beach and simply being in the spectacular Missouri treasure which is Mound Ridge! To register, click here.

Kaleidoscope Scholarships Available

The Stewardship Team approved ten $100 scholarships to the 2018 Kaleidoscope Conference.   Priority will be given to lay leaders. Names and contact information should be sent to Liz Rolf Kanerva [email protected] no later than July 1st. 

Kaleidoscope will be held in St. Louis this year, and full details of the conference can be found here.

Church Financial Literacy

and Leadership

Part of the Lilly Endowment Inc.’s National Initiative to Address Economic Challenges Facing Pastoral Leaders, helps to equip and train pastors and church leaders in their financial management and leadership for congregations. The opening for the acceptance of grant applications and the subsequent deadlines will be listed here.

These resources help pastors navigate the changing cultural context they face as they seek to strengthen the financial vitality of their congregations. Grants for finance-related educational activities are available, through Lilly Endowment Inc., as seen in the link above.

Museum Tour Available

The Interfaith Partnership will have a tour of the St. Louis Holocaust Museum on Sunday, June 24 at 2 p.m. This museum is at 12 Millstone Campus Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63146 . Directions can be found here .  Please email David Oughton for further details at [email protected] .

UKirk - St. Louis

Are you a college student spending the summer in the St. Louis area? UKirk (the Presbyterian Campus Ministry in St. Louis) hosts fellowship gatherings for college students like you! E-mail Pastor Miriam ( [email protected] ) to get on our contact list about planned events. (A June pool party is in the works!) Our last gathering for this summer is on July 31 from 7-9 p.m. at Trinity Presbyterian Church; we'll meet for dinner and an information session about the Montreat College Conference (January 1-5, 2019). 

Leadership in Ministry (LIM) Workshop

 

The workshop will be held in Kansas City, and is a fall and spring commitment, be held October 22 - 24, 2018 and March 11-13, 2019, and is intended for pastors, rabbis, other congregational staff members, interim pastors, chaplains, lay leaders, denominational workers, pastoral counselors, public school counselors and early childhood educators.

The Leadership in Ministry workshops will apply Bowen Family Systems Theory as further developed by Edwin Friedman, author of Generation to Generation and A Failure of Nerve, to ministerial and organizational leadership. The majority of time is spent in small group case studies led by participants and facilitated by experienced faculty coaches. As such, participants work to apply the theory to the “real world” realities of their ministry context. More information can be found here.

AMEN Saint Louis – Seeking a Director

 AMEN Saint Louis is a Ministry Embracing the Neighborhood. They are a mission of Oak Hill Presbyterian Church, a small, urban church, located in South St. Louis, Missouri. They provide mission experiences and housing for church groups, youth groups, college groups, activists, and others seeking to serve in the city. Groups of all kinds stay in our AMEN House and head out on daily service projects with a variety of local agencies, and the AMEN St. Louis Director will coordinate all activities of the AMEN St. Louis ministry. More information can be found here.

Seeking Part-Time Custodian

The Second Presbyterian Church, located at 4501 Westminster Pl, St. Louis, MO 63108, is currently seeking a part-time custodian to work approximately 15 hours per week. If you, or anyone you know, might be interested, please email [email protected] , or call them at is 314-367-0366. 

Seeking Musicians

We provide worship services for several area nursing homes. Most of these people have been involved in worship all their lives, now they find themselves in nursing homes and unable to worship. So we are currently seeking a guitar player, a piano player, any instrument that the old folks can sing to!!! We are not fussy.

We have these opportunities to serve:

Tuesday at 2 p.m. in West country; Wednesday at 2:15 p.m. in DesPeres; the first and third Sundays in Kirkwood at 3:30pm.

If you find God calling you to use your skills in this very needed service, please call Jeanne Zimmerman at 314-707-4003.

Part-Time Administrative Assistant

Pacific Presbyterian Church in Pacific, MO, is requesting applications for the part time position of Administrative Assistant. The purpose of the position is to provide administrative and secretarial services to the pastor and other church staff. Continue here for more information .