Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy

Current Guidelines on the Coronavirus

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., May 13

1:30pm - PTCC Click Here

Thur., May 14

3pm - Gather Planning Click Here

Mon., May 18

11am - Dynamic Leader Team - Moderator Sending Link

12pm - Rural Pastors - Click Here

Tues., May 19

12pm - Interim/Transitional Pastors- Click Here

Thurs., May 21

11am - Social Witness - Click Here

12pm - All Pastors - Click Here

4pm - Vision Team - 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!

The Florissant Presbyterian Church with donations and the Hunger Action Committee Grant, we were able to present a check for $1227 to TEAM this morning to support them in this time of increased community need.

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The mission of The Emergency Assistance Ministry (TEAM) is to serve the residents in need from Hazelwood and Florissant and give out USDA commodities to St. Louis County residents. TEAM, a volunteer organization providing supplemental food and basic household items to needy families, is based in Florissant, Missouri and supported by 36 area churches.

Place of Grace Virtually

Celebrating 4 Years of Ministry & Mission

You are cordially invited to join A Place of Grace for an anniversary celebration Thursday, May 14th, at 6:30 p.m. on Facebook Live, A Place of Grace Page. Program will recognize Business Partners, Mission Partners, and Mission Workers. Their Facebook page can be found here.

Pentecost Offering Taken Until May 31

Nurturing the faith of those who are the church to come

A gift to the Pentecost Offering helps the church encourage, develop, and support its young people, and also address the needs of at-risk children. 40% of the Pentecost offering can be retained by individual congregations wanting to make an impact in the lives of young people within their own community. The remaining 60% is used to support children-at-risk, youth, and young adults through ministries of the Presbyterian Mission Agency.

Consider giving if you are able - Click here for details

Day of Pentecost Bell Ringing

The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri invite their Presbyterian siblings to join with their congregations in ringing church bells on Sunday, May 31 at 12 p.m. (Noon) in honor of those who have died from COVID-19 and in thanksgiving for the essential workers who have kept things going during this time.

Presbyterian Heritage Sunday

Sunday, May 17

Every year, Presbyterians celebrate Heritage Sunday, a day to reflect upon and learn more about the long and rich history of the Presbyterian church in America.

Heritage Sunday always falls on the Sunday closest to May 21, the opening date of the first General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America in 1789. Click here to learn more.

Festival of Homiletics (FREE)

Preaching a New Earth: Climate and Creation. 

May 18 to May 22

The Festival of Homiletics is a week-long conference that brings together a wide variety of outstanding preachers and professors of homiletics to inspire a discourse about preaching, worship and culture. Our goal is to engage theologically the practices of preaching and worship, as well as issues related to congregations in the 21st century. Individual preachers are invited to consider various styles and methodologies of preaching in the hopes that they will renew their faith and refresh their spirits through engaging worship, lectures and workshops. Throughout the week we aim to inspire preachers in their roles of proclaiming the gospel.  Learn more here.

Sermon Support from Synod

We, at the Synod of Mid-America, know you are worn slick right now. You have been doing an AMAZING job in the last 5-6 weeks providing a faithful worship experience for those you serve. Truly, you need to believe it when we tell you: You are doing an amazing job. We’d like to help.

 For the foreseeable future, I am going to produce a sermon video you may use for your worship services. These will be for the fourth Sunday of the month, and I will have them ready to go by the preceding Wednesday. I will send you a link via email on that day where you can view and/or download the video to use as you see fit. 

The first sermon will be for May 24, and will be ready on Wednesday, May 20. To receive the sermon, please subscribe to the Synod Newsletter by clicking here.

DRAP Team Welcomes Your Video Message

The Sierra Club Initiative Petition Team has gathered over 7,800 signatures to help put the Medicaid Expansion petition on the ballot in November! Even though signature collecting and in-person events are suspended, we still need your help talking to voters. Currently, we're recording short video messages on why we're supporting Medicaid expansion. Every video will help us spread our message across Missouri and win healthcare coverage for 230,000 Missourians. If you have exciting news that you would like to share with the team, please email us at  [email protected]   .  Include the information to be sent along with any pictures.

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    

Click Here

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.

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.

Remote Faith Formation for the Long Haul

Compilation list of resources that could be helpful for you during the current COVID-19 situation and that may be helpful in developing sustainable remote faith formation for your community. In this list you will find resources to deal with the current crisis, studies for Christian education, blogs and ideas. This is your toolbox. We will update this list periodically over the coming weeks. Download here

Light for the Darkness

Feeling anxious or depressed, or know someone who is? Light for the Darkness has started a virtual group for anyone struggling with mental health to connect with others who understand and explore where God may be in the midst. Sundays at 4:30pm. Please connect with Thirza Sayers, who is intimately aware of these struggles, if you have any questions at  [email protected]   or 404.313.4549

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.

Our Presbytery Addresses Hunger in our Communities But there are Challenges During the Pandemic

Hunger is a serious challenge, even as our attention is focused on the health crisis at hand, and in many ways, it may get worse. What can we do to ensure that the virus that has brought so much of daily life to a grinding halt does not do the same to our work to end hunger? Read more here.