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Ginny's Gems
"
5 pearls of wisdom for those preparing to be ordained"
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As graduations abound, I reflect on what I would offer those who are graduating from seminary and/or completing their path toward ordination and beginning vocational ministry. I share
5 pearls of wisdom for those preparing to be ordained.
They are:
- Savor this moment of academic reading, reflection, and deep theological conversations;
- Revel in your first ministry setting where you offer your passion for ministry and your ministry setting helps to shape how you will become a minister
- You are enough AND you will never be enough
- Be aware of who has your back
- Make sure you and your family have a pastor
I am thankful for all whom God has called and is calling into authorized ministry in the United Church of Christ. May God’s love dance with us as we seek to serve God’s creation.
Blessings, Ginny
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Ginny's Weekly Schedule
May 14-16,
Work in Conference Office
May 17,
Sabbath Day
May 19,
Worship at St. Thomas UCC, Chesterfield, MO
May 19,
Officiate Memorial Service for the Rev. Paul Porter
May 20,
Work in Conference Office
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Staff Schedule for May 19, 2019
Cindy Birkner,
Rite of Confirmation Service, Frieden’s UCC, St. Charles, MO
Cindy Birkner,
Worship, St. John UCC, St. Charles, MO
Courtney Chandler,
St. Peter's, Ferguson, MO
Tyler Connoley
, Preaching, Ebenezer Stone Church, Augusta, MO
Nathan Fulk,
Shannondale Men's Retreat, Shannon County, MO
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The Conference Office will be closed Memorial Day weekend, May 25- 27, 2019.
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One. Day. Left. For early-bird rates!
Register by TOMORROW for $195 CAG tickets! Rate goes up to $250 May 16.
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Missouri Mid-South
Conference Annual Gathering (CAG)
June 6-8, 2019
Holiday Inn Executive Center
2200 I-70 Drive SW
Columbia, MO 65203
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The MID registration discount is only available through May 15. Please contact the MMS office at 314-918-2602 with any questions
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CAG Keynote Speaker: Darrell Goodwin
Rev. Darrell Goodwin joins the 2019 Conference Annual Gatherig as our keynote speaker. He was recently called as the Associate Conference Minister of the Tri-Conference. Rev. Goodwin’s pronouns are he/him/his.
Download Rev. Goodwin's bio here.
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Presentation - "Changing Landscape of the United States"
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At CAG 2019, John Bracke and Donna Pupillo, will lead 3 sessions on 20/20 strategic initiatives for the conference.
Download
"Changing Landscape of the United States: a Brief Summary" by John Bracke
here
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CAG Standing Rules
& New Business
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Boundary Awareness Training at CAG
Columbia UCC
June 5
2-9 p.m.
(with one hour break for dinner)
BAT Trainers: Sue Williams
& Mark Robinson
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Steeplejacking: How the Christian Right is Hijacking Mainstream Religion
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Conference Staff Pearls of Wisdom for Church Leaders
Conference Office Happenings
By Kathleen Rainey, MMS Office Manager
As you know, our Conference Annual Gathering is right around the corner and we’re already busy in the office preparing the event for your participation! CAG will be held June 6 – 8 this year at the Holiday Inn Executive Center in Columbia, Missouri. Registration is open and there are links to the registration site in both the eCourier and on our website,
www.mmsucc.org
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Here in the office we have also started to work on our updated 2019-2020 Conference Directory. If you have noted any discrepancies, or have anything you would like added to the updated directory, please let me know so that I can incorporate those changes.
My office hours are 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. If there is anything I can assist you with, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me and I will do my best to address your concerns/needs. My direct office number is 314-918-2602.
Thank you!
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Sign up for one of our summer mission trips yet?
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Register for the May 23-26 Shannondale Mission Trip
HERE.
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Learn about summer youth mission trips
HERE.
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Register for BAT Sessions
here
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Click links for more info
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2019 MMS Conference Annual Gathering
June 6-8
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Paul Porter
Visitation
Eden UCC
in Affton
4-7 p.m.
May 18
Paul Porter
Memorial Service
Eden UCC
in Affton
2 p.m.
Clergy are invited to robe.
May 19
Reverends Stephen and Karen Redman
Farewell
Western Association
Indiana
May 21
Shannondale Mission Trip
May 23-26
James Ross Installation
Pilgrim
Congregational
Church UCC
June 9
Confirmation
D
iscussion
St. John UCC
Aug. 1
Eastern
Assoc
iation Fall BAT
Oct. 3
Western
Assoc
iation
Fall
BAT
St. Paul UCC
Oct. 11
Western Association Fall Gathering
St. Paul UCC
Oct. 12
Oct. 19
Memphis
Oct. 26
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Rev. Dr. Stephen and Rev. Karen Redman Farewell
May 21, 2019
Address: 408 E 7th St.
North Manchester, IN 46962
Rev.'s Redman will move to Indiana to live in North Manchester. They have been pastors in the Missouri Conference for 15 years and have served on several Boards. Rev. Stephen was Disaster Relief Coordinator for 11 years. They are retiring to a home near their family. June 9 marks their 45th anniversary as clergy in the UCC serving in Illinois, Indiana and at Levasy, MO.
We wish them well as they begin this new chapter of their life!
Contact: Stephen Redman
816-427-5848
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Do you ever wonder what curriculum other pastors and youth leaders use for Confirmation? What works? What doesn’t work? Are we engaging youth in a way that helps them stay connected to the church? Are we doing enough for those with learning disabilities?
These are just a few of the topics that we will be covering in our discussion. We will meet
10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Aug. 1 at St. John UCC, St. Charles, Mo.
, located at 405 South 5
th
Street. If you are unable to join us in person, you are welcome to join us via a ZOOM meeting.
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26 Men Come Together for Yearly
Shannondale Mens Fellowship Retreat
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2019 Eden Theological Seminary Commencement
May 17, 2019
7:30 - 9:30 pm
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Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ
826 Union Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63108
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Strengthen the Church Offering
Pentecost Sunday, June 9
Each Pentecost, we celebrate the church as we have known it, the church we are, and the church that we can be, together. We lean on the story of connecting across difference and listen to the languages of hope spoken in the name of God. We are so grateful to be connected with your church in covenant, each of us seeking to build a just world for all, leaning closer to the world that God imagines for our communities. One of the ways our covenant is lived out tangibly is through the
Strengthen the Church offering
!
Your past support of the Strengthen the Church offering is greatly appreciated. Through this offering, your congregation contributed to the continued expansion and revitalization of the United Church of Christ. As called for by the General Synod,
50 percent of your offering stays in your local conference
, and 50 percent is sent to the national work of strengthening the church universal: through grants towards new church starts, inspiring youth and young adults into leadership, and equipping pastors for ministry in the 21st century.
Please join us in common mission, vision, and purpose by taking up the Strengthen the Church offering on June 9, 2019!
Resources can be ordered through UCC Resources and found at
www.ucc.org/stc
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General Synod 32 — June 21-25
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Keynote Speaker Matthew Desmond
ALL CHURCH READ of
"Evicted: Poverty and Profit
in the American City"
Saturday, June 22
MacArthur Genius Matthew Desmond’s New York Times bestselling book "Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City" draws on years of embedded fieldwork and painstakingly gathered data. Evicted won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize, the National Books Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, among others.
This landmark work of scholarship and reportage takes us into the poorest neighborhoods of Milwaukee to tell the story of eight families on the edge. Arleen is a single mother trying to raise her two sons on the $20 a month she has left after paying for their rundown apartment. Scott is a gentle nurse consumed by a heroin addiction. Lamar, a man with no legs and a neighborhood full of boys to look after, tries to work his way out of debt. Vanetta participates in a botched stickup after her hours are cut. All are spending almost everything they have on rent, and all have fallen behind.
The fates of these families are in the hands of two landlords: Sherrena Tarver, a former schoolteacher turned inner-city entrepreneur, and Tobin Charney, who runs one of the worst trailer parks in Milwaukee. They loathe some of their tenants and are fond of others, but as Sherrena puts it, “Love don’t pay the bills.” She moves to evict Arleen and her boys a few days before Christmas.
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Celebrating Shared Ministry Among Our Churches!
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Installations and Ordinations
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Installation of:
Rev. James D. Ross
II
3 p.m., Sunday, June 9
Pilgrim Congregational Church UCC
826 Union Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63108
Clergy are invited to wear red stoles in celebration of Pentecost and all that God is birthing anew within God’s church. An offering will be received. A reception will follow the service.
Download James Ross Installation Bio here
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We send our thanks and congratulations to clergy celebrating milestone anniversaries of their ordinations
in the month of May!
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Rev. Judith Fiocco 10 years
Rev. Betsy Happel 15 years
Rev. Dr. Keith Herron 35 years
Rev. Melinda Kiepe 25 years
Rev. Dr. Frank Proctor 55 years
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I
mportant Information for Churches
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MMS Staff Sabbath &
Day Off Schedules
Monday - Lorraine
(off)
Tuesday - Tyler
(Sabbath)
Wednesday - Courtney
(Sabbath)
Thursday - Kathie
(off)
Friday - Ginny
(Sabbath)
, Lorraine and Kathie
(off)
Remote (variable 15 hours) - Tiffany
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MMS General Information
Click links for more info
Financial Reports
Download OCWM contribution forms
here.
Financial Remittance Forms
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Contact numbers for MMSC Personnel
Cindy Birkner - 314-575-1951
Courtney Chandler - 770-654-9488
Douglas Anders - 314-546-6772
Ginny Brown Daniel - 314-918-2604
Jane Fisler-Hoffman - 626-382-6064
Jeremy Force - 636-583-2730
Kathleen Rainey - 314-918-2602
Lorraine Brooks - 314-918-2606
Nathan Fulk - 573-858-3284
Tiffany Hudson - 314-312-6243
Tyler Connoley - 575-956-3316
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The 2019 Strengthen the Church offering will be collected on June 9.
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2019 Eden Seminary
Commencement
May 17
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Do you have an event to publish or a story to share?
Learn how to submit to eHappenings
& eCourier
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