Parkway United Church of Christ  E-news
March 3, 2017

 
Worship with Us this Weekend!

Our apologies that this is such a late edition of the weekly e-news. We were without internet most of the day and this is our first opportunity to send this. Thank you for your understanding.

When the sun went down tonight, it became the Sabbath for our Jewish sisters and brothers. Light a candle with them and pray a prayer as they seek peace amidst the varied anti-Semitic things happening around the US. Shalom.

Join us this Sunday for our 9:30am Traditional Worship Service and/or Informal Worship Service at 11:00am. 

It's the first Sunday of Lent. Our scripture passages are Psalm 32 and Matthew 4:1-11 with a sermon entitled Great is Thy Faithfulness. God instructs us and leads us in the ways to go (Psalm). Jesus was tempted to show power, authority, miracle (Gospel) but did not give in for show. How do we realize our limitations and use our abilities wisely?
 
We will light our Lenten Candles of courage, vulnerability, patience, flexibility, receptivity, advocacy, generosity and extinguish one each time we worship this season - to darkness on Good Friday. We will light them all again on the morning
of halleluiahs - Easter!
 
We will gather at our open table for the sacrament of communion, knowing that we need nurture and strength for this Lenten journey.
 
 
2nd Mile Lent & Easter 2017 - Go the 2nd Mile with us !
The Christian Services Commission is pleased to announce that Parkway will again support four worthy organizations with its Second Mile Giving for Lent and Easter. We believe this blend of support will help Parkway create a local, national and international impact with its gifts. Please remember that Second Mile Giving is over and beyond the Operational Budget and donations will be divided evenly among the organizations listed below. Please be generous as these organizations depend on our gifts.
 
Lydia's House in St. Louis
Lydia's House works in faith to end domestic violence by being a place of healing and a voice of hope for abused women and their children. The agency provides safe, confidentially-located furnished apartments for up to two years, assists women in creating and implementing goal plans that will help them live independently, and increases community awareness of domestic violence. For more information, please visit lydiashouse.org
 
Neighborhood Houses
For more than 100 years, Neighborhood Houses has loved children in St Louis. Currently, there are three main facets to their mission:
 
Early Childhood Education - Caroline Mission is a licensed and accredited Early Childhood facility operated by Neighborhood Houses. Our Mission is to provide quality affordable child care for children from 6 weeks to 5 years of age. Caroline Mission is a "home away from home."
 
Girls' Night Out: Neighborhood Houses and Parents as Teachers collaborated together in the design and execution of a program dedicated to supporting and assisting young mothers, ages 13-22.Girls Night Out  is designed to promote healthy individuals and families.
 
After School Programs : Neighborhood Houses is the #1 provider of after school programming with the St Louis Public Schools ... fun & creative activities,   homework assistance, character education, cultural awareness, health & fitness focus, arts & crafts, supervised recreation, and much more! For more information, please visit neighborhoodhouses.org
 
Heifer International
Heifer International does so much more than put food in the mouths of hungry people. Heifer helps people to feed themselves. The goal of every Heifer project is sustainability - project partners achieving self-reliance. And year after year, as partner families "pass on the gift" of knowledge and one or more of their animals' offspring to others in need, they become links in a network of hope, dignity and self-reliance that helps hundreds of others care for themselves. For more information, please visit heifer.org
 
Eden Seminary
Eden Theological Seminary is a graduate school preparing women and men for ordained Christian ministry. One of the six seminaries of the United Church of Christ, Eden is a community that seeks God's justice and peace in the world. Eden is welcoming, inclusive and ecumenically diverse.
Eden was established in the summer of 1850 at Marthasville, Missouri. It was established because a European education was not adequate to prepare pastors for Evangelical churches on the North American frontier. From its beginning, Eden has embodied an ecumenical spirit. Its first graduating class included six Evangelicals as well as a Methodist and a Mennonite. 
 
Eden admitted its first African American student in 1933. In 1965, the late Joseph Cardinal Ritter of the Saint Louis Archdiocese became the first Roman Catholic Cardinal to address a graduating class in a Protestant seminary.
 
Today, students from many different denominations are engaged in theological education at Eden. Eden remains committed to educating faithful and effective leaders for church and society. The seminary counts among its distinguished graduates Reinhold and H. Richard Niebuhr and Walter Brueggemann.
 
Eden Theological Seminary is committed to the study of theology in the context of the ecumenical Christian community and the contemporary world.
For more information, please visit eden.edu.
Please be sure to clearly mark your 2nd Mile gifts throughout the season of Lent/Easter. Thank you!

Inclement Weather Policy
If we need to cancel church on a Sunday morning due to wintry weather, we will communicate with you in a variety of ways:
  • Church wide email.
  • Facebook/Twitter post.
  • KSDK.com listing.
  • Voicemail at church.
Judgment whether to come to church rests with the individual. If you feel it is unsafe to drive, please don't risk it. Stay safe. Stay home.

 

Adult Education
Sundays | 9:30am & 11am | Heritage Room

March 5: 
Sermon Talk Back
Have you ever wanted to shout out, disagree, ask a question or demand a real life example in the middle of a sermon? Here's your chance to talk through what you might say (9:30am session prior to 11am Informal Worship) or wish you had said (11am session after 9:30am Traditional Worship). Bring your worship bulletin and pick up a sermon outline/notes in the Heritage Room. Engage in dialogue with other adults and then plan to follow-up with Kevin via email, phone or visit.



Prayer Updates
Caroline Mangus baptized here last Sunday - parents Jessica/Scott and big brother Benjamin.
Stephanie, Eddy and Luis DeLong as she was Installed as Pastor of St Peter's UCC, Owensville last Sunday afternoon.
Mike Comens & family as they grieve/give thanks for his mother, Ruth.
Jim and Karen - as he continues testing after discovery of brain tumor and as she deals with Alzheimer's (Peggy Mohl's brother and sister-in-law).
Family/Friends of Brian Murray including wife and 3 young kids as they grieve/give thanks for him (Mangus).
Bob - struggling with Parkinson's (McKenzie).
Evelyn Null as she struggles with several diseases and a great deal of pain.




Into the Mystic is the Rev. John C. Dorhauer's weekly podcast on UCC.org. 



Announcements
 
Birthday Party at CiCi's Pizza Buffet March 4
Sat, Mar 4 | 12:30pm | CiCi's Pizza Buffet 9745 Manchester | Dutch Treat
Come one, come all to Christopher Haack's annual birthday party. Puzzles and coloring pages for all ages.
RSVP if convenient to billhaack@aol.com | 314-344-8580

Youth Night March 8, Super Hero
Wednesdays | 6:30-7:30| Fellowship Hall | Snacks & Door Prize
Who would you like to be? There will be plenty of materials to become that super hero you have been dreaming to be. Contact Barb Kuhlmann:
barbk@parkwayucc.org | 314-872-9330


Friendship Dinner Time
Enjoy a gourmet meal and a wonderful social evening with Parkway folks. Sign up in the Gathering Space for the Fun Filled Friendship Dinners to be held in March. Make new friends, greet old friends and share an evening of fellowship with other Parkway Members. We welcome those who would like to host and you will only be in charge of beverages and the main dish. Everyone else brings just one dish. When 6 or 8 people gather together it makes for a delicious meal. The hostess will call you and pick an agreeable date for all in her group. It's simple, inexpensive and a fun way to spend a
beautiful March evening. 
Sign up today in the Gathering Space or contact Joyce Ruiz:   joyceruiz7@gmail.com |
314-494-8979.


Community

Gateway ONA Convocation Here at Parkway March 4!
Download the details: Gateway ONA Flyer and Registration


Film Screening and Panel Discussion
Date and Time: March 6, 2017 at 6:30-8:30pm
Washington University in St. Louis




Please consider speaking your faith
on issues that matter to you! Reach out to our government as they use their power and influence...Text your zip code to 520-200-2223. You'll get an immediate text back with the phone numbers of your US Senators and Representative and your State Senator and Representatives. Call them to thank them for their service and to give them a piece of your mind, heart and spirit.
 
Read our Missouri Mid-South Conference publications to find out what is happening around the Conference:



VIDEO of the Week
Watch this ordinary miracle as a seed does its thing - with help from the Creator!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-iPp6yn0hw




 
Joke 

Why did the bicycle fall over?

Because it was two tired.


Inspiration 
If we would talk less and pray more about them, things would be better than they are in the world: at least, we should be better enabled to bear them. -John Owen