Blog Post by Rev. Dr. Chris Keating
Pastor of Woodlawn Chapel Presbyterian
& St. Louis County Police Chaplain
|
|
"The saints teach us lessons about life and remind us of our sacred connections to each other. As the Westminster Confession reminds us, our lives are blessed by the communion of the gifts and graces of all of God’s saints." |
|
Our Presbytery - Our Work |
|
Weekly Prayer Basket
-
Please pray for...please pray for those who mourn and those who need healing from violence of all kinds
-
Please pray for... those exercising their right to vote
-
Please pray for...those in employment transition
|
|
Support Ministry
Help Wanted
|
|
Upcoming Ministry Team Meetings |
|
|
|
Mon., Nov. 7
GLPby Office Closed
Tues., Nov. 8
Wed., Nov. 9
Thurs., Nov. 10
9:30 am - History Team (Southminster)
|
|
GATHERING THIS SATURDAY!!!
Register Today
|
|
Stated Presbytery Gathering
Saturday, November 5
9 am - Opening in Worship
Hybrid - Hosted by the Washington Presbyterian Church
4834 S Point Rd, Washington, MO 63090
|
|
Featured Education Hour
Rev. Dr. Ray Jones III, PC(USA) Director of Theology, Formation and Evangelism, Theology, Formation & Evangelism brings together several ministries that form and transform disciples, leaders, congregations, and new worshiping communities. Our ministries are diverse, but each empowers a unique witness to Jesus Christ.
With a Master of Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry from Columbia Theological Seminary, he has also served the church as a pastor in congregations in Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia.
|
|
PACHAMAMA PONDERING, 2022 |
|
|
|
by Rev. Ellie Stock, HR
Member of Public Witness Team
|
"... black, yellow and white balloons reaching skyward,
tethered to lit candled hands,
flames flickering in the wind,
cascades of wax tears,
dropping to the asphalt covering PACHAMAMA
as she also weeps..."
|
|
From the Presbytery Leader |
|
|
|
Holding Space for Each Other |
"... Holding space means fully acknowledging your burdens shared and your pain carried (to the best of my ability that we can understand)..." |
|
Addressing Gun Violence in Your Community |
|
Gun Violence Prevention:
How Might Congregations Respond?
Thursday Evening Education Event
Thur., Nov. 17 • 6:30 pm
Hear from Rev. Jan Orr-Harter, Moderator of the Gun Violence Prevention Working Group of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, who will share the General Assembly Gun Violence Prevention Policy. They will include specific actions congregations can take. Hear from Rev. Dr. Susan Andrews on gun violence as it affects us - both nationally and locally.
Zoom App Meeting ID: 848 6553 9851
|
|
Tips for Caring for God's Unbelievable Creation:
Change light bulbs to eco-friendly ones in your home, church, and workplace.
When your light bulbs go out (especially the incandescent lights) in your home, church or workplace, please replace with CFL or LED bulbs that emit 25-80% less energy than traditional incandescent ones. Plus they generally last longer!
"TIPS" is brought to you by the Earth Care Work Group of the presbytery. Contact: 314-941-9378 or [email protected].
|
|
Celebrating Lovejoy
In Alton, Illinois this week, they will be celebrating Elijah P. Lovejoy Week. Lovejoy, Presbyterian Minister, pressman, and one of our namesakes, was an abolitionist, fiercely opposed to slavery, who published anti-slavery views in his newspaper, the Alton Observer. He became the first martyr to the Freedom of the Press and is considered by some to be the “first casualty of the Civil War.”
• Thursday, Nov. 3 – Lovejoy Music Festival: 3 p.m. at the Alton High School Gymnasium, 4200 Humbert Road, Alton.
• Wednesday, Nov. 9 – Lovejoy Day: Noon at the Lovejoy Monument at Alton City Cemetery, 1299 E. 5th St., Alton.
• Thursday, Nov. 10 – Lovejoy Memorial Annual Meeting: 6:30 p.m., Alton High School (James M.Bailey Library, 4200 Humbert Road, Alton.
• Saturday, Nov. 13 – Vesper Service: 4 p.m., First Presbyterian Church, E. 4th St. and Alby St., Alton.
|
|
MCRC Remembers - Memorial Service
Monday, November 7th - 7:00 p.m. CT
On November 7, Mercy Conference and Retreat Center will gather for a special memorial service to remember and pray for the faithful departed.
We invite you to honor the life of a loved one who has passed by making a memorial gift to MCRC. When you give any amount, a luminary bearing the name of the deceased will be displayed in our chapel during the Memorial Service.
The service is free and will be held in person and live-streamed. Registration is required for both. Service begins at 7:00 p.m. CT.
Registration is requested by noon on Thursday, November 3, 2022.
|
|
|
|
Election Day - Tues., Nov. 8
Polls Open 6 am to 7 pm
|
For voting questions in your area, please click on your state below:
|
|
St. Mark Presbyterian Church
ChristmasBoutique & Angel Street Café
Tues., Nov. 8 | 10:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m.
Wed., Nov. 9· | 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Christmas Decorations and Ornaments, Handmade Holiday Items Children’s Items, Jewelry, Hand-Painted Folk Art Items, Floral Arrangements, Personalized Items, Jams & Jellies, Fresh-Baked Delicacies, Many More Unique Gift Ideas
Join us for lunch or dinner! It’s a great way to launch the holiday season with family and friends. Enjoy St. Mark’s Famous Chicken Salad, homemade soups, and heavenly desserts.
Located at 601 Claymont Dr, Ballwin, MO 63011.
|
|
Celebrate with First Presbyterian - Perryville
|
|
John Calvin Presbyterian Church
New Building Dedication
Sun., Nov. 13 | 10:30 am
John Calvin Presbyterian Church moved into their new church home, this summer and will officially be dedicating the building on November 13. The church's new location is 12120 Bridgeton Sq Dr, Bridgeton, MO 63044. Directions may be found by clicking here.
|
|
Webster Groves Presbyterian Social Justice Film Club
November 15th | 7:00 pm in the Parlor and Zoom
|
|
All are welcome to join a discussion of the new three-part film, The U.S. and The Holocaust, a film by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein. Ken Burns calls it the most important film he's ever made. "Inspired in part by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's 'Americans and the Holocaust' exhibition and supported by its historical resources, the film examines the rise of Hitler and Nazism in Germany in the context of global antisemitism and racism, the eugenics movement in the United States and race laws in the American south."
The series premiered on PBS this September and is available to stream for free on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS Video app. The first half of the series will be discussed on October 11th and the second half on November 15th.
|
|
Steelville Presbyterian Church
Thursday, November 17
2 pm to 6 pm
If you have the heart to give and will be on the western side of our presbytery, please consider donating this renewable resource. Located at 211 N First St, Steelville, MO. Appointment times can be found by clicking here. Directions to the church can be found here.
|
|
Trinity Presbyterian Church is located at 6800 Washington Ave, St. Louis. Directions found by clicking here.
For more details about this event and Trinity's Troubling the Waters: Exploring Negro Spirituals project, please follow Click Here
|
|
January 25-28, 2023
Birmingham, Alabama
Come – join us for a few days as we gather (online and in person) to grieve the losses we have endured due to illness, fear, convenience, laziness, complacency, workaholism, and comparison. Jesus is calling us to rest – really rest. It is our hope that you will find rest and company during the Annual Event.
|
|
Along the Road
Announcing a new podcast just for you!
Be inspired, hear the stories of others, and practice the tools of faith and leadership through conversations that nourish, enrich, and aid in the formation of leaders in the church. Mid-Council leaders will integrate foundational values with the practice of faith and ministry. Congregational leaders, particularly ruling elders and deacons will experience practices to connect faith to everyday life.
> Nourish: Short episodes for ruling elders and deacons
> Encounter: Longer episodes for church and mid-council leaders
Along the Road has recently launched on your favorite streaming service. The trailer and the first Nourish episode are now available.
> Read more and find links to weekly episodes here as they are published.
|
|
Consider a Retreat
with a Place of Grace
I recently led a women’s retreat in Colorado Springs, Colorado which included a spirituality center with eight prayer stations based on the Luke 10:38-42 passage about the place of grace provided by both Martha and Mary for Jesus and by Jesus for Martha and Mary. Two things happened: first, in order to be adequately prepared, I overprepared, and second, the spirituality centerpiece of the retreat was offered as a Saturday afternoon free time option amidst a number of additional options.
I have supplies to accommodate a spirituality center with faith-booking components for 40 participants ready to go and would love to offer this unique, roughly three-hour opportunity for a group in the presbytery. You provide the location, and I’ll provide the retreat in its entirety. A Place of Grace is offering-based and can be structured for individual offerings or for an offering that covers the group. As the Lectionary Year C draws to a close, I wonder who might like to schedule a November retreat with me? Please call me at 618-410-5060, and we will discuss the details! – Julie Gvillo, Pastor, Founder and Creative Executive Director of A Place of Grace, a validated ministry of the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy
|
|
New Commissioned Pastor Class Forming
A Commissioned Pastor is a ruling elder in the Presbytery who, once training is complete, is eligible for limited pastoral services. Commissioned Pastors may, for example, moderate the session of a congregation to which they are commissioned, administer sacraments, and officiate at marriages where permitted by law.
Many current Commissioned Pastors in the presbytery serve as sole pastors of smaller congregations. Others use their training to strengthen leadership roles in their home churches and throughout the presbytery generally.
Many candidates for the Commissioned Pastor Program complete their training while also employed full-time.
|
|
Federal Student Loan Relief for Pastors
The Synod of Mid-America wants you to know that relief is available! Apply soon because this offer expires on October 31.
More information can be obtained here:
The form is here:
|
|
Called to Serve? We Need You! |
|
Have You Considered Presbytery Service?
There are many ministry team positions available in the coming year, and we just know you would be a good fit for a committee or commission
Please fill out and return the form below.
|
|
Current Support Ministry Position Openings |
|
Worship Musician/Coordinator -Westminster Presbyterian St. Louis, MO
Part-Time Pastor - Rock Presbyterian, Imperial, MO
(PT) Coordinator Christian Education - Southminster Presbyterian, Crestwood, MO
Organist/Accompanist - First Presbyterian - Cape Girardeau, MO
Music Director - Glendale Presbyterian Church, Glendale, MO
Head of Music - First United Presbyterian, Collinsville, IL
|
|
Off Hours Help Needed? Contacts Found Below |
|
Rev. Ryan Landino
Presbytery Leader
314-409-9002
|
|
Rev. Liz Kanerva
Associate
Presbytery Leader
314.779.6809
|
|
Rev. Joy Myers
Stated Clerk
815.501.5522
|
|
Leigh Porter
Office Manager
314.225.9470
|
|
Janice McMillen
Communications Associate
573.578.3960
|
|
Keep Connected
We love to hear about the work of the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy Congregations. Have an event, fundraiser, or concert and want to get the word out? Simply email that information in by 6 p.m. on Monday of the week you want your event published. Help keep us connected by simply emailing your information to [email protected]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
