Our Neighborhood

Blog Post by the Rev. Dr. Craig M. Howard

Transitional Leader of

Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy

      

I remember 1968 very well. Dr. King was assassinated in April, and later that year, 50 years ago this month, Robert Kennedy was assassinated. I still remember the newscast that morning as I was preparing for school. In that momentous and devastating year, something else happened—something big that would give us hope for the future: A children’s show, Mr. Rodger’s Neighborhood, aired for the first time on PBS. A recent documentary has been produced about the making of the TV series. Won’t You Be My Neighbor? is a documentary about Fred Rodger and Mr. Rodger’s Neighborhood . Rodgers was an ordained Presbyterian minister who did a children’s show on PBS from 1968 to around 2001.  Continue here to read on.

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.

Nicaragua Mission Trip Postponed

Every year since 2000, our presbytery has sent a delegation to visit with our partners in Plan Grande #2 Nicaragua. Members from many of our GLPby congregations have participated. Along with the community of PG2, we’ve eagerly anticipated our annual July “reunion” when we can share our lives, faith and cultures with each other. It is with great sadness that our annual mission trip has been postponed until the violent civil unrest in that country subsides. Continue here.

Presbyterian Youth Triennium 2019

Presbyterian Youth Triennium is a gathering for high school age youth from the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church that occurs every three years. The 2019 event is July 16-20, 2019 at Purdue University, with the theme for the event as “Here’s My Heart”.

If you have High School youth in your congregation, save the date and start the conversation about Triennium. More information can be found here.

The Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy Education and Youth Team will release more information in the near future.

Dare to Prepare Camp

Sun July 8 to Wed July 11 -or- Sun July 8 to Sat July 14 (Children ages 6-12)

Our overnight camp for children has been a Mound Ridge favorite for generations! Children will enjoy the camp experience while learning of God’s abundant love. They will learn, play and worship outdoors as they participate in service projects for the community. Our campers will explore spirituality and faith practices in preparation for a lifelong relationship with God and neighbor. Children are invited to “dare to prepare” for a joyful experience of service and compassion. click here.

Last Week to Apply for Scholarships

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.

UKirk - St. Louis

Are you a college student spending the summer in the St. Louis area? UKirk 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). Email Pastor Miriam at ( [email protected] )

2018 Evangelism Conference: Sabbath Rest, Holy Surrender, Full Life

This year's conference is set for October 15-19, in Lake Tahoe, and we’ll be inviting participants to consider what it really means to bear witness to Christ’s reconciliation by transforming our ministries into Sabbath Communities. Make no mistake, this is no ordinary conference. Every part of the gathering is intentionally designed to both challenge our thinking about Sabbath and invite us to participate in Sabbath practices together. More information can be found here.

Alaska Mission Adventurers Needed

The Presbytery Executive, Curt Karns, from the Presbytery of the Yukon, is looking for adventure seeking workers to support an ongoing mission in Gambel, Alaska after some work teams just backed out of coming this summer to help finish the Church/Community Center. This project is very important to the Yukon Presbytery and they were already short-handed to get it done this summer. They are asking for individuals to join their team leaders to form the teams to get this done. Do you know people from our presbytery or synod, of individuals who might be able to pay their way to Gambell, Alaska for an adventure?  

These are several weeks in the summer available if you are interested. Please contact the Presbytery of the Yukon by email at [email protected], by phone at (907) 350-3969, or by contacting Danna Larson at First Presbyterian Church of Anchorage at (907) 272-6411. More information available here.

Part-Time Treasurer Needed

Cote Brilliante Presbyterian Church is seeking a part-time treasurer. The Church Treasurer, as needed, shall have access to all income and expense reporting, payroll data, and other pertinent financial data of the church to help carry out their purpose. The ideal candidate will need to be knowledgeable and comfortable working with budgets, and adhere to confidentiality. The full description of the position can be found here. Interested parties, please contact Elder Joyce Wilks-Love [email protected]

Connections Coordinator Needed at WGPC

We are currently searching for an outgoing, friendly person to fill the position of Connections Coordinator at WGPC! It is a part time position (about 25 hours per week), responsible for social media, newsletter communications, and website maintenance, as well as welcoming visitors and members to worship and other church activities, and connecting visitors and new members to current members, events and mission opportunities. If you know someone who might be interested in this type of work, please advise them to email their resume to Carrie Rao at [email protected] .  WGPC members are not eligible for this position.

Seeking Interim Children's/Youth Director

Trinity Presbyterian Church in University City is looking for an Interim Youth Minister for a four month period. Our permanent youth minister will be taking a leave of absence, beginning July 21 through November.  

This is a part-time position, handling elementary through high school programming, including Sunday morning Children's Worship, Confirmation class and youth groups. If interested, please contact Rev. Johanna Wagner at (314) 725-3840.

Seeking Musicians

We provide worship services for several area nursing homes. If you find God calling you to use your skills in this very needed service, please call Jeanne Zimmerman at 314-707-4003.

Volunteers Needed This Week!

YIKES! Our volunteers have left the property, due to work on the coast!! We need kitchen help (cooking, cleaning, serving) June 25-29 and cleaning help (turning cabins around) June 28-29. Our resources are slimmer than ever but camp is especially breathtaking this year so…COME ON OUT!! Please let us know when to expect you, your youth group or team ( no lodging available ) www.moundridge.org 1-573-265-3098.

AMEN Saint Louis – Seeking a Director

( application deadline extended to July 6 , due to GA223)

 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.