Newsletter
June / 9/ 2020
Next Steps for Change
"This is how it starts as one voice becomes a chorus of change"
Social Action Reflections
To Ignore or Look Up
by Elder Jo Lena Johnson

Our Presbytery - Our Work
Weekly Prayer Basket

  • Please pray for... Joyce Wilks Love, Mission and Outreach Moderator and family in the sudden passing of her brother in law, Ronald Ollie
  • Please pray ... for racial equality
  • Please pray...for an end to violence, at home and abroad.
  • Please pray for... for those ill and those vulnerable to COVID-19, the departed, and all essential workers
PC(USA)
Quick Connect
Support Ministry
Help Wanted
Parish Paper

Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy
Upcoming Team Meetings
NOTE: In light of the Covid-19 Pandemic, meetings will be restricted to Zoom or conference call. If you are unsure how to participate, please contact your team moderator, or call the office 314-772-2395, and select Leigh Porter, Office Manager.
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Presbytery Upcoming Virtual Meetings
Wed., June 10
12pm - Clerks of Session - Click Here
1:30pm - PTCC - Click Here
7pm - Zoom Gathering Training (Look Below)
Thurs., June 11
12pm - Zoom Gathering Training (Look Below)
Sat., June 13
9am - Final Zoom Gathering Training (Look Below)
2pm - Presbytery Gathering (Look Below)
Mon., June 15
12pm - Presbytery Pastors since 2015 - Click Here
Wed., June 17
12pm - Interim/Transitional Pastors - Click Here
Thurs., June 18
12pm - All Pastors - Click Here
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Reminders will be sent the evening before, with Zoom link and call-in information. We look forward to seeing you!
Presbytery - Called to Gather
Saturday, June 13 | 2 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.

Details can be found here - All Welcome
Zoom Virtual Gathering Training Options
This is the Presbytery's first Gathering Virtual Experience, and we anticipate that there will be some questions on how to participate. We want to make it easier to communicate, so we hope that you can join us at one of the three Pre-Gathering Training Sessions.

Wednesday, June 10 at 7 p.m. -    Click Here
Thursday, June 11 at 12 p.m. -    Click Here
Saturday, June 13 at 9 a.m. -    Click Here

If you will be attending a training session by phone, please call
312-626-6799, when prompted enter the meeting number
8598 9048 465 followed by the # sign.
Becoming Matthew 25
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How Do We Engage Socially Distancing and still participate in Mission & Ministry?
Peaceful Protest
On Friday, June 5, members of Faith Des Peres were joined by neighbors and members of some other churches in our Presbytery to support the marchers in the protest organized by young people that started at the St. Louis County Library on Lindbergh and marched west on Clayton Road about 7 miles to Woods Mill Road. We gathered along the road in front of our church, waved our signs, chanted with the marchers and offered them water and snacks. Find the video of events and worship, reflecting this powerful message. Click Here
Send us your stories of how your congregation is maintaining congregational vitality during this pandemic. Send stories to Office Manager, Leigh Porter at lporter@glpby.org
News & Activities
De-Escalation Training
Thurs., June 11 at 5 p.m.
First is a De-Escalation training on Thursday, hosted by MCU and Faith for Justice. This is especially for clergy who plan to participate in protests and public actions here in the St. Louis area. It is in-person, with careful social distancing, but in person so we can practice the techniques being taught.  Learn more here
Virtual Screening - 13th
For High School & College Students
High school and college students are invited to join AMEN St. Louis and UKirk St. Louis for a virtual screening of the Netflix original movie 13th directly followed by a facilitated discussion on Thursday at 7pm CST. The facilitated discussion will be led by AMEN staff using select questions from a guide created by Amy Williams at Youth Specialties. To join you need to have the Google chrome extension Netflix Party and Zoom.
Response To Congregation Challenge
by the Earth Care Team
This garden photo comes from the front yard of Carleton and Ellie Stock's home (retired Presbyterian Clergy) in Dellwood, MO. The project was in response to the challenge to presbytery congregation members by the Earth Care Team to Beautify and Plant New Life in their yard or community or at the church during June. The garden is for beautification and the sign for joining the call of the recent protests to respect the lives of people of color, especially African-Americans. Please send a photo of your project to your church's publications and/or to the presbytery e-newsletter. Thank you.
For more info on how your congregation can become a certified Earth Care Congregation in the Presbyterian Church (USA), contact: carletonstock@aol.com or (314) 941-9378.
2020 St. Louis Crop Hunger Walk
Save the Date and Start Now!
The 2020 St. Louis CROP Hunger Walk and Concert is scheduled for Sunday, October 25, at Eden Seminary in Webster Groves, if public gatherings are permissible and advisable. But the Walk this year may have to be virtual, so you can start now! For details, go to:
Here you can register, create a team, and/or donate. CROP is the hunger-fighting wing of Church World Service (CWS), of which the PCUSA is a vital part. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need, internationally as well as locally, and CROP/CWS is helping. Questions? Email Clint McCann at cmccann@eden.edu or call at 314-619-0599.
Acts 2: Coming of the Holy Spirit,
Pentecost Video
Inspired to nurture creativity, serve with imagination, and bring some light and joy to the malaise of the pandemic, Light for the Darkness has created a Pentecost video  on Vimeo or dropbox, including a selected reading of Acts 2. If you would like to share our video with your congregation, it would be amazing if you would support our artist, composer, and videographer. However, if you like the video and have already committed those funds to feeding other hungry folks, please go ahead and share the video.
To support Light for the Darkness, send a check, with the memo:
Light, to:Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy, 1001 Craig Rd, Ste 170, St. Louis, MO 63146. 
Peace, joy, and health be with you,
Thirza Sayers, Light for the Darkness, servant leader, Hillside Presbyterian, pastor
Technology Grants Now Available

We need technology now more than ever. There are grants available to help your congregation in acquiring what you need to get your congregation on the technology track    
Summer 2020
Mission &
Outreach Team
Grant Applications
DEADLINE EXTENDED

You can find the application and details about the grants    Click here.
More details will be found in this Friday's newsletter.
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Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy
Emergency Relief Plan
Purpose: To provide emergency support for congregations experiencing proven financial hardship due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Finance Team has been authorized to approve emergency grants up to $10,000. Find more information by  c licking here.
2020 Mission Opportunities
Mission Team at Woodlawn Chapel
Seeking Coupons
The Coupon Club shops each week for a local food pantry, Circle of Concern in Valley Park, Missouri, by combining church donations, coupons and grocery sales to stretch our dollars. With the Covid-19 shutdown, our coupon donations are way down -- normally our members drop these off each week at church. Can you help?
We shop each week to meet pantry needs, but normally we focus on non-perishable food items:
Cereal • Pasta Sauce • Pasta • Jelly • Peanut Butter • Canned Pasta • Canned Fruit • Dinner Helpers • Mac & Cheese • Snacks, i.e., fruit snacks, granola bars, Pop Tarts, crackers, chips • Laundry Detergent
If you have any of these coupons at home, please mail them to: Coupon Club, Woodlawn Chapel, 16520 Clayton Rd., Wildwood, MO 63011.
Current Support Ministry Position Openings
Interim Pastor - John Calvin Presbyterian

Executive Director of Child-Care Center

Called Pastor - Faith DesPeres Presbyterian