Hanging of the Greens: Decorating PUCC Sanctuary and Grounds

Join the Sanctuary Team at 9:30am on Saturday, December 2, to decorate our beautiful sanctuary for Advent and Christmas. We will decorate the tree with ornaments and hang garlands and wreaths throughout the sanctuary. Some tasks include climbing on ladders.

A group will be needed to carry out the metal creche for the front yard. It is a joyous morning, and more hands make the task light.

Questions? Donna Fauss ~ [email protected]; (314) 650-2607

Worship with Us on Sunday at 10am

First Sunday of Advent: Hope.... we watch for hope

We will begin with a brief worship service in the Sanctuary - including the lighting of the first candle of the Advent Wreath and the reading of Mark 13 with its emphasis on preparing and staying awake and alert.

Then we will continue worship on the move -- A Journey to Bethlehem in the Fellowship Hall. Adults will have all of their senses engaged and will ponder some of the mystery and love of the season. Children will be given a passport to visit Mary and Joseph, angels, and spend time in the stable. We will be invited to the Bethlehem Market to taste some of the foods of the era, visit some farm animals, and make a final visit with The Wisemen.

This worship experience is a great way for adults and children of all ages to start the season of Advent.

There will be tables in the middle with more activities: God's Eyes, Festive Paper Chains, Ornaments, and Writing Poetry.

The worship bulletin can be found here:

https://parkwayucc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/12-03-23-bulletin-FINAL.pdf

As the children and youth make their way to and through Bethlehem, we know that adults will enjoy watching them and finding ways to support and appreciate them.

Please visit Kevin in the middle of the room and pick up any/all of the nine story stones you see below – though you will need to color them in as desired.

There will be a sheet of paper that asks you some thought-provoking questions and encourages you to take your own mind and spirit journey to Bethlehem.

You may even want to share this sheet with others later in the day and throughout this season.

Thank you for coming to participate in this meaningful and memorable experience.

Please participate in worship virtually via our livestream on Facebook if that is convenient for you and/or if you have health concerns. Masks are available and respected here.

FROM GABRIEL REQUADT ~

OUR CHRISTIAN EDUCATION & YOUTH DIRECTOR!

Friends, get ready! Next month starting January 2024, we will be fully rolling out our new Sunday School curriculum for Parkway UCC: Living the Word. This approach to the Bible is really quite swell, as it's structured as a narrative lectionary of Bible readings, recognizing that the Bible is one big story of God's love for creation, and the continual redemption that permeates through those pages of everlasting grace and hope. It's very approachable for children and teens, and I think it will be much appreciated for adults, too. It's scalable to age groups, so it will be able to reach a person no matter where they are in their walk with Christ.

How this is going to look is that in all of our main ministries of Children's Ministry, Youth Ministry, and even Adult Worship, we will all be following the same narrative lectionary. Right now, we've been trying it with our Youth Ministry, and it has been quite fruitful. The reason we're introducing this new experience is so that way we are more able to worship in unity even when we're not all in the same room. The big picture is about us further honoring our commitment to covenant as a united church of Christ. 

We will be doing our One Family Worship Service on the first Sundays of the month, where everyone will be attending church in the sanctuary, so that way we will all be able to take part in communion, so that all may be welcome to the table. Our first service implementing these changes will be on January 7, 2024. For our first week of Epiphany we'll begin focusing on the Gospel of Mark for the next few months, starting with our story of how Jesus' Ministry Begins. If you're curious to learn about what we'll be offering going forward next year, please get in touch with me and we will explore those thoughts together. 

I do hope all of you will be able to join us for this new special adventure!

[email protected]

TAD ~ Tuesday Afternoon Dialogue… Zoom with us!

All are welcome to join us on Zoom on Tuesday, December 5 at 2pm as we work with The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michelle Richardson. Related to current issues of book accessibility in libraries, this book is historical fiction but based on true stories about the women librarians in Kentucky back in the 1930’s who rode on horseback into the mountains to deliver books and newspapers. The main character has a genetic condition causing her to be shunned by her community. This adds an important component to the story about how isolation impacts the human spirit and how education and acceptance can overcome ignorance to allow understanding and kindness.

Come 15 minutes early if you want to chat and build community before we start the book discussion…

Zoom…https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83670617428?pwd=bUxPZEdDMlU4ay9oNndTWW4yZUYwUT09

(312) 626-6799; Meeting ID: 836 7061 7428; Passcode: 480007

Questions? Contact Jackie Eiffert, [email protected]; (661) 378-6781   

Hope, Peace, Joy and Love in the Prayer Corner of the Sanctuary: Come for conversation and prayer

Join Kevin in the Prayer Corner of the Sanctuary anytime during these open hours for individual conversation and prayer about hope, peace, joy and love. If none of these dates work for you or you just prefer it, we can settle on a time for a phone call or Zoom during this season of Advent.

If you arrive and the Prayer Corner is occupied, feel free to wait a few minutes in the Gathering Space and text so Kevin knows you are waiting (314-330-0629)



Wednesday, December 6 between 10am-12pm

Monday, December 11 between 7-9pm

Tuesday, December 19 between 3-5pm

Praying through Advent

Thursdays, December 7, 14, 21 at 2:30pm CT on Zoom

This four-week series from our UCC Nurture the Soul will bring us deep into the Advent story, from escaping the violence of Herod, to journeying through the desert, to being left outside to give birth. Hosted by Rev. Tracy Howe and featuring guests from across the National Setting of the United Church of Christ and Local Church pastors around the country, we will consider how these stories are still unfolding in the forms of repression, migration and the housing crisis. We will join in fervent prayer, that we may be part of God’s unfolding love in this world. The final episode, on December 21st, will feature a music filled virtual worship event, featuring beloved music collective, The Many, which local churches can then download and share.

Parkway Adventurers - Open to All!

Thursday, December 7 | 9:15am |Magic Chef Mansion

Join us for a tour of the mansion --- it will last an hour and fifteen minutes. We’ll meet at church by 9:15am to carpool or meet at the mansion before 10am. There is a $20 per person fee (15 person minimum) for the tour with the money to be paid the day of the tour. 

RSVP to Kent Tallyn (314-303-5606; [email protected]) or Diane Tallyn (314-910-2032) no later than Thursday, November 30. Lunch to be determined. Please wear only flat-sole shoes as no small-tipped heels are permitted. 

* It may not be too late to attend .... Reach out to the Tallyns if you are interested. Either way, the group would love to see you for lunch at noon at Rigazzi's on The Hill. Contact Kent about that too.

The Magic Chef Mansion was built for Charles Stockstrom (1852-1935), the founder of the Quick Meal Stove Company, later renamed Magic Chef. The largest stove maker in the world at one time, the St. Louis plant alone sprawled over 600,000 square feet and employed 2,000 people.

After his death, Stockstrom’s daughter Adda Ohmeyer resided in the mansion until her death. Shortly thereafter, all of the original furnishings and some of the fixtures were sold at a week-long public auction prior to the house's sale in the fall of 1990 to the current owner. The new family moved in four months later and began restoration. Over the next twenty years, some of the original items were tracked down, repurchased and returned to the house. The mansion has been painstakingly restored to its turn-of-the-century elegance, including original lighting fixtures and period furnishings. We will see uncovered original murals in the parlor, an original and operating Magic Chef oven in the kitchen, and a bowling alley in the basement. Hopefully, it will be decorated for Christmas.

http://magicchefmansion.com/

Parkway Adventurers is open to all!

Past events have included the Chihuly Exhibit at the amazing Missouri Botanical Garden and the intense and informative Holocaust Museum in Creve Coeur. For more info on this relatively new group, please contact Jackie Eiffert [email protected], 661-378-6781 or Carol Cobb [email protected], (314) 640-8166

Join us for a Dutch Brunch & 2024 Planning on

AMOE - Adventurous Men Out Early ~ Friday, December 8 at 9:30am

We are an open group of Parkway men who meet monthly for chatter and coffee in the Heritage Room. No topic is off limits (sort of). All are welcome. Bring a friend.

* We will go back to our regular date of the first Thursday in 2024.

For more info, please contact Richard Scherrer (314) 993-5210;

[email protected]

Christmas Caroling: Share the Spirit of the Season

Help us spread the hope, peace, joy and love of the season to our PUCC friends who can use an infusion of the Spirit right now.

Come to the Gathering Space for a warm-up and then head out for a festive time.

Attend one or both opportunities:

Saturday, December 9 from 1-4pm

Monday, December 18 from 9:30am-12:30pm

Please RSVP to [email protected]; 314-872-9330

An Inside View of the Business of Movies by Barry Albrecht

Sunday, December 10 | 11:15am | Heritage Room or ZOOM

Lifetime St. Louisan, Barry Albrecht is a film executive, who earned his first executive producer credit on the feature film, The Ghost Who Walks, and then the film All Gone Wrong. Most recently, he was the Executive Producer on the acclaimed documentary Miracle in the Mountains, which tells the remarkable underdog story of how Squaw Valley California became the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics with the help of Walt Disney and changed the Olympics forever.

In 2019, Barry started Propulsion Films, an independent film production company. Barry is active in the non-profit sector and is currently on the Cinema St. Louis Board of Directors and the Washington University Alumni Board of Governors.

Zoom ~ https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84691476997?pwd=aEM2ZURYWURLNmkwd0EzV0VHV1IyQT09#success

Meeting ID: 8469147 6997 | Passcode: 181565 | Dial (312) 626-6799

Richard Scherrer: [email protected] | (314) 993-5210

TED ~ Tuesday Evening Dialogue

First a very special thank you to Florence Simonson who led last Tuesday’s discussion about the role of Mary in the Bible. It was a very enlightening talk and provided lots of food for thought on how Mary has been presented in the different books of the Bible and her relationship with Jesus. In addition, we learned about how Mary has been depicted over time as different Christian churches developed. Well done, Florence!

Our next TED will be on Tuesday, December 12. Since that will be our only meeting in December, we thought we’d make it a special evening to share some Christmas moments. Please bring your favorite short Christmas readings, poems, songs, memories to share.

Pot Luck Dinner at 6pm. Discussion starts at 7pm.

We will also be choosing our next book so bring ideas for that too!

Helen Race 314-401-4382; [email protected]

SECOND MILE ADVENT GIFTS

We continue to receive your gifts for 2nd Mile Advent—an opportunity to stretch our hope, peace, joy and love across the area and the wider church. All gifts are shared evenly among the three mission partners below in January. Please clearly mark your financial gift “2nd Mile Advent.” You may want to honor someone in your life with a 2nd Mile Gift—perhaps that person who is hard to buy for and/or who does not have any real needs right now. We - and so many other - are grateful for your generosity.

Circle of Concern

circleofconcern.org/

Each day, Circle of Concern feeds families from the food pantry, shares financial assistance, and distribute school supplies, Thanksgiving turkeys or holiday gifts.

Mission: Circle of Concern feeds the hungry and provides assistance to low-income families living in west St. Louis County.

Our Vision: Improving every life in the community by reducing hunger and poverty

Our Values: integrity in all they do; respecting the innate worth of every Circle stakeholder, including clients, volunteers, donors, staff and community partners, and striving to reflect that respect in every interaction; collaborating with many partners so that the work of Circle is successfully accomplished; being responsible stewards of the time stakeholders donate, the talents they share and the funds they invest; committing to excellence which ensures the highest quality services for clients today and the resources to sustain them in the future.

Emmaus Homes

emmaushomes.org/

Emmaus Homes knows that adults with disabilities want to be independent.

In order to do that, they need a home and a community that embraces their unique abilities. EH believes everyone deserves the resources needed to live independently.

EH understands it’s tough to manage life alone, which is why for over 125 years, as a faith-based organization, they have provided high-quality service caring for the whole person for their whole life – including the individual’s spiritual life.

The Christmas Fund

pbucc.org/index.php/christmas-fund-home

The Christmas Fund has been caring for active and retired clergy and lay employees of the United Church of Christ for over 100 years,

providing emergency grants, supplementation of small annuities and health premiums, and Christmas “Thank You” gift checks each December to our lower-income retirees.

Over the last few years with COVID-19 pandemic and inflations of all kinds, the emergency financial needs of many who serve the church have increased dramatically. In such a time as this, the need for the Christmas Fund is more urgent than ever.

Prayer List Updates as of December 1

Today is World AIDS Day - https://www.cdc.gov/worldaidsday/index.html           

All the acts of kindness, justice and equity near and far.

Seasonal beauty.

Families and individuals preparing to celebrate the holidays together.

Don Wandless, Bill Haack, Mike Rogers - home after recent hospitalizations.

Bill Hilgeman - healing at home after serious injuries on hunting trip.

Marion Pleis - recuperating from another bout with COVID.

Clare Chapman - diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer (Svenson)

Grieving/struggling families or individuals as the holidays unfold.

The continuing war in Ukraine.

War in the Mideast - Israel and Hamas…. Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Yemen

Christmas Eve this year is a Sunday!

We will worship in the morning at 10am as it is the Fourth Sunday of Advent. We will light the fourth candle in the Advent Wreath and continue to prepare ourselves for Christ's birth!

Later we will have our Christmas Eve services:

4:30pm Family Friendly Worship—A lively and spirited service with Nativity scriptures, carols and contemporary reflections. We will sing Silent Night by candlelight as we prepare to go out into this holy night.

7:30pm Candlelight & Communion—This traditional service includes the Christmas Gospel, choir and carols as we ponder what this love story means for us today. We will share Communion at our open table and sing Silent Night by candlelight.

~ All three services will be in the Sanctuary and on Facebook Live ~

Christmas Dinner Pot Luck

Monday, December 25

2-4pm in the Heritage Room

at PUCC

Please join us for a fun, festive Christmas potluck dinner. Ham and rolls provided… together we will do the rest!

Please contact Gerry and Mike Rogers with RSVP, questions and/or comments at [email protected];

314-434-7122 

Ponder

Sandra Day O'Connor Quotes

We don't accomplish anything in this world alone.

Unfortunately civility is hard to codify or legislate, but you know it when you see it. It's possible to disagree without being disagreeable.

We pay a price when we deprive children of the exposure to the values, principles, and education they need to make them good citizens.

Despite the encouraging and wonderful gains and the changes for women which have occurred in my lifetime, there is still room to advance and to promote correction of the remaining deficiencies and imbalances.

I care very much about women and their progress. I didn’t go march in the streets, but when I was in the Arizona Legislature, one of the things that I did was to examine every single statute in the state of Arizona to pick out the ones that discriminated against women and get them changed.

How dare you make my life a felony.

The proper role of the judiciary is one of interpreting and applying the law, not making it.

Your copy should address 3 key questions: Who am I writing for? (Audience) Why should they care? (Benefit) What do I want them to do here? (Call-to-Action)

Create a great offer by adding words like "free" "personalized" "complimentary" or "customized." A sense of urgency often helps readers take an action, so think about inserting phrases like "for a limited time only" or "only 7 remaining"!