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E-Connections |
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March 2010
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This is an archive of emails sent
in March 2010 to the members and friends of the Missouri
Mid-South Conference.
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1.
March 2010 Parish Paper
March 2, 2010
The March 2010 issue of The Parish Paper, a two page newsletter
edited by Herb Miller, Lyle Schaller, and Cynthia Woolever, is now
available
here. Each edition will discuss issues, share ideas, or offer
insights on an area of parish ministry. The topic for the March
issue is: “New Trends in Belonging.”
Didn’t get the previous issues? Don’t know what The Parish Paper is?
A statement from Jeff Whitman, Conference Minister can be found at
www.mmsucc.org/resources/parishpaper.asp along with past issues.
Below are some additional instructions on the use of The Parish
Paper:
Our organization’s purchase of a subscription to The Parish Paper
INCLUDES:
1. Permission to provide copies to our staff and to the
congregations within our jurisdiction in any of the following ways:
E-mail, Postal, newspaper, newsletter, meetings, training events,
and our Web site.
2. Permission for each congregation within our jurisdiction to (a)
photocopy or electronically distribute for local use as many copies
as it needs, (b) post them on its Web site, and (c) quote sentences
and paragraphs.
Your OCWM donations help to fund this conference-wide communication
tool.
If you do not wish to receive E-Connections please reply to this
email with a request and your name and email address. All
E-Connections communications will be posted on the website at:
www.mmsucc.org/communication/e-connections.asp.
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2. Updates on Habakkuk
Project
March 25, 2010
Dear Friends:
In October of 2009 the delegates to the Biennial Meeting of the
Missouri Mid-South Conference approved the recommendations of the
Habakkuk project for the restructuring of our Conference. Currently
our conference structure involves 11 ministries who provide guidance
and support to our conference ministry. Our new structure will
include a Conference Council of 24 people who will empower
covenanted ministries and task forces to lead our conference
ministry. The hope is that this new structure will allow us to make
strategic decisions regarding our conference ministry and to engage
in prayerful discernment about who God is calling us to be in our
time.
As we look toward our next Conference Annual Gathering, June 11-13
at Drury University in Springfield, MO, we are writing to ask your
help in identifying potential candidates to serve on the first
Conference Council. Our goal is ensure that the council will reflect
the diversity of our conference so we hoping to identify 8 clergy, 8
lay women, and 8 lay men to serve on the council. We are also
committed to having no less than 7 representatives from each
association and to honor the diversity that is a rich part of the
culture of the Missouri Mid-South Conference. As you might suspect
we have quite a task before us and we need your help in identifying
potential candidates.
Attached to this letter is a copy of the Nominating form we are
using to identify nominees for the Conference Council. If you or a
member of your church has gifts and skills they are willing to share
as a member of the Conference Council please talk with them about
sharing their gifts with us and after obtaining their permission
complete the nominating form and return it to the Conference Office
by April 30. The Conference Nominating Committee will meet in early
June and use these nomination forms to identify those we will
nominate to serve on the Conference Council. These candidates will
be elected at our Conference Annual Gathering in June and begin
their service on July 1.
We plan to nominate 8 people to serve a one year term, 8 to serve a
2 year term, and 8 to serve a 3 year term. Council members can serve
two consecutive terms. In future years we will only elect 8 nominees
to a three year term. We anticipate the council will meet 4 times a
year on a Saturday but this is all new territory for us and we are
all living into this new way of engaging in ministry together. Each
Council member will serve on one of 4 working committees of the
Council – Local Church, Wider Church, Administrating, and Leadership
Development.
Thank you for your assistance in identifying individuals with the
passion, gifts, and skills we need to respond faithfully to God’s
call to vital and prophetic ministry as the Missouri Mid-South
Conference. Please direct questions to Rev. Jeffrey Whitman,
Conference Minister or Jeff Mignerone chair of the Conference
Nominating committee.
Thanks,
Rev. Jeffrey Whitman
Conference Minister |
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3. Rev. Nelson Parnell
funeral
March 25, 2010
Rev. Nelson Parnell, retired UCC minister from Springfield, died
Tuesday, March 23rd. Visitation will be at Gorman Scharpf Funeral
Home, Springfield, 6 - 8 p.m. Friday, March 26th. A service
celebrating his life will be held Saturday, March 27th, 11 a.m. at
Community Christian Church, 4806 East Cherry, Springfield. |
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4.
Camp Mo-Val and Outdoor Ministries Update
March 26, 2010
Greetings to you, the Missouri Mid-South Conference of the United
Church of Christ,
From the Interim Board for Outdoor Ministries and Camp Mo-Val
It is our pleasure to serve you in this interim time as we discern
the possibilities for Outdoor Ministries together. We understand
that the transition time which our Conference is currently
navigating has brought anxiety to some concerning the direction of
our Camp Programming; to alleviate any anxiety and to maintain
communications, we wish to keep you all abreast on work we are doing
involving this vital mission and ministry we share.
A few words about who we are… This 15-member Interim Board consists
of six clergy and nine lay members; 6 male and 9 female; five
representatives from each Association in the Missouri Mid-South
Conference; two representatives under 30 years old; summer session
directors, counselors, camper parents, folks who are “seasoned” and
folks who are new to Camp Mo-Val. We have been charged with
maintaining and enhancing our Outdoor Ministries Program,
specifically through our facilities at Camp Mo-Val, during this
Interim time in our Conference, as we move from one structure to
another.
This Interim Board was commissioned and authorized by the
Administrating Ministry of the Missouri Mid-South Conference. We
began meeting on January 16th of this year, and have hit the ground
running. With the resignation of Shirley Asmussen, our faithful and
dedicated Director of Outdoor Ministries for 15 years, our Board was
met with immediate challenges to ensure the implementation of our
fast-approaching summer program. We have been blessed to work with
Rev. Don Bizer, the Interim Director of Outdoor Ministries, and are
pleased to say that this summer’s programming is on track. The
summer schedule is posted on the Conference website, and
registration packets will be in the mail later this week.
This Interim Board is providing the bridge between the Conference
Structure that was, and the new structure we are living into based
on the implementation of the Habakkuk Project Proposals. Under the
previous structure, direction for Camp Mo-Val was under the guidance
of many “teams” with various acronyms—COMIT, MPIT, etc; and several
“ministry teams”. There was no “Board” to coordinate the passions of
these different “teams”; and the only guidance these teams had was
whatever direction our previous Director of Outdoor Ministries could
give them. Our Interim Board has assumed the duties of these
previous “teams” as we try to enhance the ministry we share.
That is not to say that we are going to try to do everything
ourselves. Neither is our Interim Director of Outdoor Ministries!
Empowerment and delegation are the keys to success in this shared
ministry. We have seen evidence in the past few months that Camp
Mo-Val has a huge following of devoted ministry partners who are
anxious to help; they just need direction. We hope to empower these
“Friends of Mo-Val” to channel their efforts into enhancing our
program where possible; and provide direction and guidance as
needed. The volunteer base that has worked so hard for so many years
at Mo-Val is essential to ensuring its future of our mutual mission
and ministry. We hope to help these volunteers feel even more
empowered to future service at Camp Mo-Val, and provide them the
tools and direction they need to more effectively continue to serve.
We also hope to pave the way for new ministries at Camp Mo-Val. We
are ambitious to seek more involvement with other ministry partners,
such as Shannondale Community Center, Rickman Center, and Camp
Aurora in Windyville, MO. We are also very committed to offering new
opportunities and outreach to our Western Association churches for
greater involvement at Camp Mo-Val. There are many ideas in the
works for more involvement with our Western Association churches. We
hope to build bridges in our Outdoor Ministries Program that invite
all to full inclusion and service.
This is an Interim Board, serving to help bridge the gap while our
Conference structure is in transition. We have agreed to serve only
until June, 2011 at the latest. We are serving in this capacity only
until our new Conference structure is in place, and until those who
are a part of that structure commission and authorize a permanent
system of oversight for Camp Mo-Val. We are serving in an advisory
capacity only, under the authority of the Administrating Ministry
and eventual Conference Council; until we are eventually replaced.
(You can be a part of forming this new Conference Structure by
participating in our Annual Conference Gathering June 11-13 at Drury
College in Springfield, MO…)
In the meantime, though we have our challenges as an Interim Board
that go far beyond just “keeping the lights on” before the next
structure is implemented. We are charged with discerning a new
vision for Mo-Val, charting a course toward fiscal responsibility
and sustainability, gathering and empowering a base of Mo-Val
supporters, and laying the foundation for the next structure to
build upon.
To that end, we need your help. We cannot, and will not try to, do
everything ourselves. This is your camp and we need your passion to
continue the important mission and ministry of Camp Mo-Val. There
are several things you can do, so we can all join together in
ministry:
• Pray for enhanced ministries in our Conference, including the
Outdoor Ministries Program. Pray for our Conference Staff, including
our staff at Camp Mo-Val and Shannondale Community Center. Pray for
our Conference, which is not some faceless “other,” but is each and
every person in each and every pew in each and every church in our
common union- including you!
• Participate in Camp Mo-Val. Send your children to camp this
summer! Fill the camps! Set a goal for how many campers your church
will send, then WORK to achieve that goal. Send adults to Family
Camp and over-50s camp. Send adults to work as counselors, nurses,
session directors and summer staff. Be involved!
• Spend some time at camp- Mo-Val is available all year long for
bookings. Your Church Youth Group, Confirmation Class, Women’s
Fellowship group, Men’s Brotherhood and others are anxious for
retreat; come to Mo-Val! How about an all-church family camp?
• Promote camp to outside groups- In order to maintain an
economically viable facility for our ministry, promoting usage from
outside groups is vital. Many school groups use Mo-Val’s facilities
for retreat purposes, as well as other groups looking for a
team-building environment. Promoting usage of Mo-Val among groups
“outside” the church will help maintain our facility for ministry
programs. What about a booking Mo-Val for your next family reunion?
The other challenge we face where we need the most help from you,
the Conference, is in fiscal matters. Camp Mo-Val operates on an
annual budget of roughly $400,000. Income is derived from many
sources, but one major income source is your gifts to Our Church’s
Wider Mission. When you give to Our Church’s Wider Mission, 78% of
that gift stays right here in Missouri, for ministries all over our
Conference; Mo-Val and Shannondale included. Mo-Val’s annual income
draw from Our Church’s Wider Mission in the past three years has
been as high as $121,115 (2008). With church remittances to Our
Church’s Wider Mission dwindling over the past twenty years or so,
these funds are just not there for Mo-Val to draw upon. This year
(2010) our budgeted allocation from Our Church’s Wider Mission is
$77,098; and that will probably decrease next year, if church
remittances to Our Church’s Wider Mission continue to decrease.
To that end, this Board is faced with the responsibility of finding
roughly $40,000 annually in additional income sources. Many avenues
for increased revenue are being explored; but paramount among these
are Mo-Val fundraisers, which you will hear about from time to time;
and Mo-Val Sunday, coming up this fall.
We have had one very successful event so far this year, which netted
us almost $3000; keep your eyes open for more. However, these fund
raisers will not be entirely run by this Board; we are counting on
your support to pull these fundraisers together. We are going to be
trying to empower you to organize fundraisers for Mo-Val support;
but these cannot work without your help. Plans are in the works for
a Mo-Val dinner/auction in October, and a few more fundraisers this
spring. Would you like to host a fundraiser for Mo-Val? Let us know!
We are also counting on your congregation to participate in Mo-Val
Sunday this fall. We will be generating bulletin inserts and
printing envelopes; we are also talking about putting together a DVD
for churches to show if they wish. We are asking your congregation
to set a goal of $3/member for this special offering; but whatever
your congregation raises will be welcome. Maybe you have a Mission
Committee, Fellowship Group, or other organization willing to
contribute from their funds to help your church reach its goal of
$3/member?
Individuals can also contribute financial gifts to help support
Mo-Val; you may do so by sending a check to the Conference Office,
designating it “Friends of Mo-Val”. (Remit all checks to “MMS-UCC”)
With your help, we will reach our annual goal of $40,000, and ensure
the economic viability of Camp Mo-Val.
If you have any questions about Camp Mo-Val, or would like to
receive emails about upcoming events at Mo-Val, send an email to
Interim Board for Outdoor Ministries and Camp Mo-Val Chair Rev. Rick
Oberle: rick@bemchurch.com. You can also direct questions to Interim
Director of Outdoor Ministries Rev. Don Bizer at Camp Mo-Val:
moval2@mmsucc.org.
Great things are happening at Camp Mo-Val, and while we may be
steering the ship for a time, you are the power and presence that
makes this journey in faith possible. You are the vital part of the
mission and ministry that Mo-Val achieves; you are the Missouri
Mid-South Conference.
Yours in Christ’s Service,
Denny Hotle; Wendy Gustofson; Julie Bales; Rev. Karen Aitkens; Gary
Tebbenkamp;
Rev. Rick Oberle; Rev. Polly McWilliams; Rev. Paul Koch; Heidel
Tuveson; Leigh Kolb;
Rev. Sue Leary; Rev. Randy Orwig; Don Hubatka; Laura Mignerone;
Marsha Peek
The Interim Board for Outdoor Ministries and Camp Mo-Val
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5.
Directory Updates
March 31, 2010
Dear Friends,
Please make the following changes in your Missouri Mid-South
Conference 2010 directories. Since there are quite a few changes
from the last few months, we apologize for missing any and hope
you’ll let us know if further changes need to be made.
Thank you.
*****
Add to In-Care List, page 16
Aaron Ban (St. Louis)
Church Email Address Update, page 25
Arnold – St. Mark UCC
stmark@stmarkucc.org
Church Pastor Update, page 25
Augusta, Ebenezer
Remove Krista Betz
Add Heather Arcovitch, Licensed Minister
Church Pastor Update, page 26
Chamois—St. Johns UCC
Remove Denise Walker
Church Address/Phone/Pastor Updates, page 27
Grand Pass – St. Luke UCC
Church Address: 2007 Baskins
Grand Pass, MO 65339
Andrea Mockridge, Supply Pastor
660-493-2598
(mail should not be sent to the above address; church has no
mailbox)
St. Luke UCC
c/o 11634 N. Saline 65 Hwy.
Grand Pass, MO 65339
-OR-
St. Luke UCC
c/o Christy Windmeyer
4014 3rd St.
Grand Pass, MO 65339
(mail for St. Luke can be sent to either address above)
Church Address Update, page 27
Fulton - UCC of Fulton
405 Jefferson
Fulton, MO 65251
Church Pastor Update, page 28
Leslie—St. John UCC (Casco)
Add John Allen, Licensed Minister
Church Address Update, page 28
Oakfield - Zion UCC
Church Address: PO Box 55/425 W. Old Manchester Rd
Pacific, MO 63069
(the St. Louis address listed in the directory is for Gene Becker,
Co-Pastor; all mail should go to him)
Church Address Update, page 28
Owensville – St. James (Charlotte)
Church Address: 2800 Charlotte Church Rd.
Owensville, MO 65066
(this church has no mailbox; all mail goes to Glenn Hollander’s home
address, as listed in the directory)
-OR-
Financial Secretary, Bobbi Berger
809 Hillcrest Dr.
Owensville, MO 65066
(financial info can be sent to Bobbi)
Church Email Address Update, page 28
Kansas City – Bethel UCC
bethelucckc@gmail.com
Church Pastor Update, page 29
St. Louis—Christ Church (Maplewood)
Remove Frank Proctor
Add Rick Meyer
Church Pastor Update, page 30
St. Louis—St. Johns Evangelical (Mehlville)
Remove Douglas Turner
Church Pastor Update, page 31
Washington—St. Johns UCC (Mantels)
Add John Allen, Licensed Minister
Church Emails/Website Updates, page 31
Washington –St. Peter’s UCC
Paul Koch, pastorpaul@stpeters-ucc.org (page 38)
Leah Atkinson Bilinski, pastorleah@stpeters-ucc.org (page 35)
Church, office@stpeters-ucc.org
Website, www.stpeters-washington.org
Church Pastor Update, page 31
Memphis—Holy Trinity UCC
remove Timothy Meadows
add Kenneth Leishner, Interim Pastor
Family and Phone Update, page 35
Benne, Arron & Tina
636-398-5181
Email Address Update, page 35
Barnes, Roger & Janice
Jan.barnes@live.com
Email Address Update, page 35
Aitkens, Karen
pkbethelucc@gmail.com
Person Addition, page 25
Ban, Aaron
47 N. Bompart Avenue S26, St. Louis, MO 63119
314-918-2700, aaronban@gmail.com
Email Address Addition, page 36
Cantrell, Robert & Ruth
rtrell@sbcglobal.net
Email Address Update, page 36
Dollgener, Dwayne
dollgenerc@charter.net
carldollgener@yahoo.com – to reach him at church
Person Addition, page 37
Happel, Betsy and Rick
1525 Dougherty Ferry Road, Kirkwood, MO 63122
314-909-1647, bhapppel@sbcglobal.net
Person Addition, page 37
Add Wayne Hoffman
63 Huntington Parkway, St. Charles, MO 63301
636-946-7291, waynehoffman2@hotmail.com
Email Address Update, page 37
Horn, Roger
Revrhorn@yahoo.com
Email Address Update, page 37
Kaufman, Doug
torahdude5@gmail.com
Address Update, page 38
Tim Meadows
31 Church Road
Wavertree
Liverpool, England L159ED
Address Update, page 39
Rahmoeller, Lois
2900 S. Jefferson, Apt. 304
Springfield, MO 65807
Email Address Update, page 39
Rinne, Ruth
rrinne@yhti.net |
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