Office hours:
8am - 4:30 pm
Monday through Friday The Conference Office will be closed Monday, September 6, for
Labor Day.
Above: Slideshow of images from
the Conference Annual Gathering in Springfield, MO, in June
2010.
News from the
MMSUCC
Emmaus Homes Seeks Chaplain
The Emmaus Homes, Marthasville
Campus, is searching for an Interim Chaplin. The job description
for this full time position includes:
• Provide pastoral care and advocacy support to residents.
• Facilitate support from the wider church community for our
off-campus homes.
• Provide pastoral care to staff.
• Maintain relationships with the United Church of Christ and
within the wider church community and be a spiritual presence
for everyone in the organization.
A complete job description
is
available here. If you would be interested in applying for
the position please contact Rev. Jeffrey Whitman Conference
Minister.
Additional Boundary Training Dates
Boundary Training is a
requirement to maintain ministerial standing with the
Associations of the Missouri Mid-South Conference and must be
completed every three years. New dates have been added to
the calendar for your convenience. The following are the
remaining opportunities to fulfill Boundary Training in 2010.
Western Association - Dates just added! Thursday, September 9, 2010 - St. Johns UCC Billingsville in
Boonville. 9am-4:30pm. 14191 Billingsville Road,
Boonville, MO 65233. 660-838-6396.
Thursday, October 14, 2010 - Bethel UCC in Concordia, MO.
9am-4:30pm. 710 South Gordon, Concordia, MO 64020. 660-463-7500.
St. Louis Association Saturday, October 2, 2010 - Parkway UCC in St. louis, MO.
9am-4:30pm. 2841 N. Ballas Road, St. Louis, MO 63131.
314-872-9330.
Eastern Association Tuesday, October 5, 2010 - Zion UCC in Union, MO.
9am-4:30pm. 115 South Washington, Avenue, Union, MO 63084.
636-583-2714.
Pool Party & BBQ -
See full flier here!
Sunday, August 29th from noon to 5pm, Camp Mo-Val is the place
to be for a fun-filled time with your Conference Family. There
will be many activities available including swimming, canoeing,
paddle-boating, volleyball, wagon rides, nature hikes,
picnicking and fishing. PLUS food! Activities are free; food
(BBQ, Sides and Drink) will be available for purchase! Come
spend a fun day at Mo-Val and celebrate the end of summer with
us! Questions? Email Rick Oberle at
rick@bemchurch.com or
Don Bizer at
moval2@mmsucc.org.
Mo-Val Benefit Concert: This is a concert you won’t want
to miss. Sheltered Reality will be playing a benefit concert for
Camp Mo-Val on Sunday, September 26 at 6:30 p.m. The concert
will take place at the Kirkwood Park Amphitheater, 111 S. Geyer,
Kirkwood, MO. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children 12
and under. For tickets to the concert or posters to publicize
the concerts call 314-607-5026 or go to
http://kirkwooducc.org/moval. In addition to the concert
there will be a raffle with some great prizes including a free
week of camp at Mo-Val and a Best Buy gift card. Attendance
prizes will also be given. Enjoy an evening of music and support
Camp Mo-Val by coming to the concert!
See the gorgeous
flyer here!
Jamaica Partnership & Trip
COME
TO JAMAICA . . . and feel all right! The Jamaica-Missouri
Partnership Group of the Missouri Mid-South Conference and the
United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands is planning a
mission trip to Jamaica, October 6-13, 2010. The group is
limited to ten people and we have room for four more
participants. Tentative plans include visiting a children’s
home, participating in a work project and attending Sunday
morning worship service. The cost is approximately $520 for
airfare. There will be additional food and lodging expenses.
Appropriate passports are necessary. No immunizations are
required. For more information, please contact Chuck Adams,
573-764-3963 or ca6853@fidnet.com.
The Missouri Mid-South Conference and the North Middlesex Area
Council of the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands
formed a partnership in 1992. Recent reorganization of the area
in Jamaica has changed the title to North-Eastern Regional
Council. Over these nearly 20 years, folks from Jamaica have
visited us and we in turn have had mission trips there. Most
recently, Rev. Jeff Whitman was the featured preacher at the Ash
Wednesday service at Boscobel Cathedral in February 2009 and
four Jamaican delegates visited us in June of this year and
attended the Conference Annual Gathering. Rev. Norbert Stephens,
Deputy Director, presented the keynote address at Saturday's
lunch.
This partnership is exciting and vibrant. Please join us. We are
interested in people joining in the Partnership Group from
Western and St. Louis Associations.
"Reggae Sunsplash"
Robller Winery, New Haven, MO, is holding its annual Reggae
Sunsplash August 21-22. The Jamaica-Missouri Partnership Group
will be there both days (12pm-6pm) selling Jamaican sweets as a
fundraiser. We will sell Grater Cake, Coconut Totoes, Coconut
Gizzada and Coconut Drops, Fruit Cakes and Rum Cakes and more.
All delicious and a fun taste of Jamaican delicacies. There will
also be live music 2-6pm and Jamaican cuisine to purchase
through the winery. There is a $3 cover charge.
Volunteer in Florida
Are you looking for a way to
help with disaster recovery? Volunteers are needed for
Volunteer Disaster Recovery Week of the Florida Conference UCC,
September 12-18, 2010. Join a group of UCC Disaster Ministry
volunteers to help repair homes damaged by storms in 2009.
Read more here.
Quarterly Bulletin Insert
We are pleased to present the
second issue of our Quarterly Bulletin Inserts! We ask for
churches to please distribute these inserts in their Sunday
worship bulletins, in their paper newsletters, or to their email
lists. Click here
to view/download.
Keeping our congregations in touch with the wider church is both
easier than ever, with the widespread use of e-newsletters and
internet access, and more difficult, because of the elimination
of our paper newsletters. Please help us stay in touch by
offering these bulletins to your congregations, as well as
reminding church members that they can sign up for the eCourier
by emailing mms@mmsucc.org.
Fourth Annual St. Louis CROP Walk
This
year will be the 4th Annual St. Louis Metro CROP Hunger Walk to
help stop hunger and poverty in St. Louis and around the globe.
With over 1 billion people suffering from hunger and poverty
globally and over 350,000 living in poverty in the metro St.
Louis area, the problem often seems daunting. Yet individual
actions can go a very long way in providing compassionate
assistance to those in need.
For the past three years, hundreds of individuals representing
various faith and community groups in the St. Louis metro area
have come together to walk and take a stand against hunger and
poverty in their community and worldwide. Of the funds
raised by the St. Louis Metro CROP Hunger Walk, 25% is earmarked
for local hunger relief, which has resulted in over $45,000
being donated to Operation Food Search.
The Fourth Annual CROP Hunger Walk is being expanded to three
locations and dates for one great cause. Your congregation
can choose its opportunity to help stop hunger by joining one of
the following walks:
South Walk - Clydesdale County Park 9426 Green Park Road
October 3, 2010
Contact: Jon Hicks hless03@att.net
Central/West Walk - Forest Park Upper Muny Parking Lot
October 24, 2010
Contact: Sharon Hyde slh1059@live.com
If your congregation is unable to participate in one of the
three walks, but would like to help, please contact Kari
Davidson at Church World Services at (314) 252-3298.
Introducing Rev. Dr. Marc Wessels, our new Associate Conference
Minister
We
are pleased to introduce Rev. Dr. Marc Wessels, who we have
called as our new Associate Conference Minister! He will join us
in mid July to begin work, and we were blessed to have him with
us this weekend for the Conference Annual Gathering.
The Rev. Dr. Marc A. Wessels was born a Connecticut Yankee, but
was raised along the Mason-Dixon line in Maryland. He graduated
from Coker College in South Carolina, then founded the Space
Exploration Archive (SEA), a nonprofit educational organization
whose purpose is to encourage the peaceful use of Outer Space
through an awareness, appreciation and understanding of the
human endeavor in space flight. Wessels is a double graduate of
Lancaster Theological Seminary with specialized studies in
ethics and theology. He was ordained in the United Church of
Christ in 1981 and began his ministry serving six years with the
Uniting Church in Australia as an Associate of the UCBWM. He has
served UCC churches in Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Kentucky, and
maintains dual standing in the UCC and the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ). Wessels has served as a Chaplain with the
Kentucky Department of Corrections and as a full-time member of
the Kentucky Parole Board.
Marc is married to Elizabeth, a licensed clinical social worker
who has served leadership roles at the UCC-related Brooklawn
Child and Family Services and Sunrise Children Services, where
she is the Vice President of Foster Care & Community Based
Services. Their family includes two children, Taylor Bell and
Meredith.
News from the Conference Annual Gathering
This past weekend, delegates
and members from around the Missouri Mid-South Conference met in
Springfield, MO, to vote on Conference business and worship,
fellowship and commune together.
Results from Business Session:
• We approved changes to the MMSUCC bylaws.
• We approved changes to the UCC Constitution.
• We voted to affirm our partnership with the Bokungu Region of
the Community of the Disciples of Christ of the Congo.
• We elected Conference Council, including officers, and General
Synod delegates.
• We elected representatives to boards.
• We approved the 2011 budget as presented.
We welcomed:
• Rev. Dr. David Greenhaw, president of Eden Theological
Seminary
• Rev. Dr. Kris Tenny-Brittian, Northeast Area Minister of the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
• Rev. G. Mike Weinman, Ozark Area Minister of the Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ)
• Rev. Norbert Stephens and delegates from the United Church of
Jamaica
• Performer “Rod Stewart” (Don Audette)
We celebrated:
• The calling of our new Associate Conference Minister, Rev. Dr.
Marc Wessels
• Clergy celebrating significant anniversaries
• Those who served on ministry teams and Habakkuk
• The newly elected Conference Council and General Synod
delegates
• Churches celebrating significant anniversaries
• The 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis Nollau,
significant founder of the UCC
• Outgoing Conference officers
• The ministry of Rev. Dr. Jack Seville
Are you interested in ordering CDs or DVDs of the business
sessions and keynotes from the Conference Annual Gathering?
Florian Audio Visual recorded the event and you can buy
copies through their website.
Above: the newly elected Conference Council.
Photo courtesy of Mark Robinson.
Widening the Welcome: Inclusion for All
On September 23-25, the UCC
Disabilities and the UCC Mental Illness Network will be meeting
in St. Louis for the first national Widen the Welcome event.
During the 3-day event, there will be keynote presentations and
workshops on ways that we can make our churches more accessible
and welcoming to all of God’s children.
The organizers are asking for our help in two ways. First, some
of the participants have asked for sign language interpreters.
If there are members of your church who can sign and would be
willing to share their gift as part of this event, please
contact Rev. Jeffrey Whitman in the conference office and I will
pass name and contact information along to the event organizers.
The second request involves Sunday morning. The organizers of
the event are hoping that some of the participants will be
available on Sunday morning to lead an adult education class,
offer a mission moment during worship, or even preach. If you
would be willing to have someone from the conference join you on
Sunday, September 26, to talk about the issues of accessibility
in one of these ways, please contact
Rev. Whitman at the conference office.
COME
TO JAMAICA . . . and feel all right! The Jamaica-Missouri
Partnership Group of the Missouri Mid-South Conference and the
United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands is planning a
mission trip to Jamaica, October 6-13, 2010. The group is
limited to ten people and we have room for four more
participants. Tentative plans include visiting a children’s
home, participating in a work project and attending Sunday
morning worship service. The cost is approximately $520 for
airfare. There will be additional food and lodging expenses.
Appropriate passports are necessary. No immunizations are
required. For more information, please contact Chuck Adams,
573-764-3963 or ca6853@fidnet.com. 
This
year will be the 4th Annual St. Louis Metro CROP Hunger Walk to
help stop hunger and poverty in St. Louis and around the globe.
With over 1 billion people suffering from hunger and poverty
globally and over 350,000 living in poverty in the metro St.
Louis area, the problem often seems daunting. Yet individual
actions can go a very long way in providing compassionate
assistance to those in need.
We
are pleased to introduce Rev. Dr. Marc Wessels, who we have
called as our new Associate Conference Minister! He will join us
in mid July to begin work, and we were blessed to have him with
us this weekend for the Conference Annual Gathering.
