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Around Town...

School’s Out…
Mission and Ministry is sponsoring a school supply drive this summer in coordination with the Circle of Concern, running from June 29th – August 3rd.  Please help give children a good start to the school year with your donation of school supplies. If you cannot bring items on a Sunday, please drop them off when the church is open. Click here for a list of needed items.  A labeled bin will be in the Gathering Space for school items.

Don’t Take a Break from Making a Difference!
Summer is break time, but not for contributions...  Use your Schnucks e-scrip card (or pick up one in the Gathering Space). It costs you nothing, but Schnucks contributes a percentage of your purchase to Faith Des Peres every time you swipe it at the checkout. The contributions you generate simply by shopping at Schnucks (which you do anyway) helps build a stronger church and allows us to do more for others. Enjoy your summer and be sure to keep up the good work – use your red Schnucks Community or Customer Card every time you shop. Need more information? Contact the church office or visit www.schnucks.com. The FDP Group ID # is 164503349. 

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Around the World...

We Didn’t Lose Flat Jesus – Did You?
Have you lost your Flat Jesus?  Click here to download another one. The Worship Arts Committee introduced Flat Jesus in an effort to remind all of us that Jesus is with us EVERYWHERE! We want to see where Jesus is, so keep him with you at all times (purse, backpack and car) and snap photos of you with him. Help us spread the message!  For new pics, visit our “Where in the World is Flat Jesus?” page on the website, or see the photos in the Gathering Space. (See if you can find the new ones!)

Faith Des Peres is Going Social
That’s right, we’re Facebook-bound. The address is www.facebook.com/faithdesperes. Our main objective at this time will be to post events and important announcements and hopefully some of our Flat Jesus adventures, etc. Please let Marie in the office know if you do NOT want any photos of you or your family posted on Facebook. (Even when using photos on the website, no last names - especially of children - are ever used.)  “Like” us . . . let’s be “friends!” 

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Dear Faith Des Peres Community:

Julia and I have had a great time at Montreat! We've spent lots of time learning and worshipping and having fun.

This week I'll continue my Summer Sermon Series on "Spiritual Practices in Everyday Life". Sunday we’ll be looking at the practice of “Shaping Our Communities.” This couldn't be more timely in light of major decisions the General Assembly made last week. I'll talk about two of them (marriage and the Middle East) and how we shape our community when we don't all agree. I hope to see you in church!

Blessings,
Annie

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Around Church…

Have you Remembered Your 2013-2014 Pledge?
June 30 will mark the end of our current fiscal year.  Are you current with your pledge payments for stewardship and the Gathering Space loan reduction?  If not, please make an effort to submit your final payments before the end of the month.  The gifts we pledge to the church help meet many of our day-to-day operating expenses.  If you have questions about the status of your pledges, please contact FDP's treasurer, Kathy Sherrick, or the church's bookkeeper, Cathy Luetkemeyer, who is in the church office (314-432-8029) on Tuesdays from 9 to 11 a.m.

Worship & Feeding the Flock at the Old Church on July 6th
Even though we’ll be at the Old Church on communion Sundays in July and August, Feeding the Flock will still be collecting school and food items for Circle of Concern. Please bring items with you on July 6th. If you won’t be at the Old Church, please drop off items any time the church is open (Clayton Road). Current needed food items for Circle of Concern: dry dinners, cereal, peanut butter, jelly, canned pasta, toilet paper.

Are you Ready for a Float Trip?
Kathy Sherrick is organizing this fun day on August 16th. More information and registration is on the website.

Items Left at FDP
As a reminder, we no longer collect items such as empty food containers or bags of clothing for soup kitchens or charities, unless we specifically ask for them. Thank you.

Lost & Found
In the Lost & Found we have a brown winter coat (small, short, Nine West), a set of Usborne Spanish children’s books and a black/gray/white dress scarf. Contact Marie if they belong to you. 

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Around Town…

School’s Out…
Mission and Ministry will be sponsoring a school supply drive this summer in coordination with the Circle of Concern, running from June 29th – August 3rd.  Please help give children a good start to the school year with your donation of school supplies. If you cannot bring items on a Sunday, please drop them off when the church is open. Click here for a list of needed items.  A labeled bin is in the Gathering Space for school items.

Don’t Take a Break from Making a Difference!
Summer is break time, but not for contributions...  Use your Schnucks eScrip card (or pick up one in the Gathering Space). It costs you nothing, but Schnucks contributes a percentage of your purchase to Faith Des Peres every time you swipe it at the checkout. The contributions you generate simply by shopping at Schnucks (which you do anyway) helps build a stronger church and allows us to do more for others. Enjoy your summer and be sure to keep up the good work – use your red Schnucks Community or Customer Card every time you shop. Need more information? Contact the church office or visit www.schnucks.com. The FDP Group ID # is 164503349. 

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Around the World…

We Didn’t Lose Flat Jesus – Did You?
Have you lost your Flat Jesus?  Click here to download another one. The Worship Arts Committee introduced Flat Jesus in an effort to remind all of us that Jesus is with us EVERYWHERE! We want to see where Jesus is, so keep him with you at all times (purse, backpack and car) and snap photos of you with him. Help us spread the message!  For new pics, visit our “Where in the World is Flat Jesus?” page on the website, or see the photos in the Gathering Space. (See if you can find the new ones!)

A Note to the Congregation from Gay:

“Friends,

Several of you asked me about Montreat. The theme of the conference was “Rise, O Church, Like Christ Arisen,” which is a hymn in our new hymnal. Each day, worship was based upon a phrase of this hymn. Preaching, liturgy, music, visual arts, and other components were united to make meaningful worship experiences each day.

I attended two choir rehearsals each day. The director was Chris Aspaas, who is a faculty member at St. Olaf College in Minnesota. Imagine the glorious sound of 500 voices singing the hymn “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling.” Truly it was a foretaste of the heavenly choir. Katy and I attended handbell class and rang bells side-by-side. We had a great time making music together. Susan Cherwien, who wrote the text of “Rise, O Church, Like Christ Arisen,” was the Routley hymn lecturer. I attended her class as well as a Bible class taught by Paul Westermeyer, author and emeritus professor at Luther Seminary. Both classes were compelling.

Thank you for the financial assistance to attend the conference. I hope to share something of what I gained at the conference with you in the coming year.

Here’s a photo of the lake and mist hovering over the mountain in the morning. Beautiful!”
— Gay

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Dear Faith Des Peres Friends & Family:

This Sunday Rev. Joe Marting will be preaching and leading worship while Julia and I attend the Worship and Music Conference at Montreat.  We attended this conference last year and thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was a time of refreshment, learning, and fun!  Plus, the worship is outstanding.  

Speaking of Montreat, last Saturday the General Assembly elected a new moderator, Heath Rada, a ruling elder from Montreat.  You can read more about Moderator Rada here.  If you have questions about the General Assembly, or read things in the newspaper that pique your interest, feel free to talk to me about them. Terry is also a great resource since he was there and served as a parliamentarian. 

I hope to see you in church.

Blessings,
Annie

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School Supply Drive & Feeding the Flock

School's Out... 
Mission and Ministry will be sponsoring a school supply drive this summer in coordination with the Circle of Concern, running from June 29th – August 3rd.  Please help give children a good start to the school year with your donation of school supplies. If you cannot bring items on a Sunday, please drop them off when the church is open.  Supplies needed: sturdy backpacks, folders, pencil boxes, washable markers (wide line), pink erasers (Pink Pet), highlighters, Fiskar scissors, dry-erase markers, colored pencils, 3x5 index cards, #2 pencils, 3-ring binders (1”, 1.5” or 2” – please, no used binders or binders with printing), glue sticks, glue bottles, post-it notes, wood rulers, scientific calculators, flash drives, spiral notebooks (wide- and college-ruled), filler paper (wide- and college-ruled), composition notebooks (wide- and college-ruled). A labeled bin will be in the Gathering Space for school items.

Feeding the Flock at the Old Church on July 6th
Even though we’ll be at the Old Church on communion Sundays in July and August, Feeding the Flock will still be collecting food and school items for Circle of Concern. Please bring items with you on July 6th. If you won’t be at the Old Church, please drop off items any time the church is open (Clayton Road). Current needed food items for Circle of Concern: dry dinners, cereal, peanut butter, jelly, canned pasta, toilet paper. 

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Around Church … Around Town … Around the World

A Reminder about 2014 Pledges
June 30 will mark the end of our current fiscal year.  Are you current with your pledge payments for stewardship and the Gathering Space loan reduction?  If not, please make an effort to submit your final payments before the end of the month.  The gifts we pledge to the church help meet many of our day-to-day operating expenses.  If you have questions about the status of your pledges, please contact FDP's treasurer, Kathy Sherrick, or the church's bookkeeper, Cathy Luetkemeyer, who is in the church office (314-432-8029) on Tuesdays from 9 to 11 a.m.

A Gardener’s Delight
Faith Des Peres’ Community Garden is really beginning to flourish.  Click here to see some of the new growth. One of our gardeners sent the office this email:

“I ate the turnips last night. It’s too bad they don’t taste better; they are so easy to grow. We will try a different recipe for turnips next time. Terry likes them - they are good for me and I can tolerate them.

[After describing how he’d fixed spots in the chicken wire fence… ] I have new sympathy for Mr. McGregor in his battle with Peter Rabbit and his family.”
— Jim Baker

We Didn’t Lose Flat Jesus – Did You?
Have you lost your Flat Jesus?  Click here to download another one. The Worship Arts Committee introduced Flat Jesus in an effort to remind all of us that Jesus is with us EVERYWHERE! We want to see where Jesus is, so keep him with you at all times (purse, backpack and car) and snap photos of you with him. Help us spread the message!  For new pics, visit our “Where in the World is Flat Jesus?” page on the website, or see the photos in the Gathering Space. (See if you can find the new ones!)

Items left at FDP
As a gentle reminder, we no longer collect items such as empty food containers or bags of clothing for soup kitchens or charities, unless we specifically ask for them. Thank you.

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Dear Faith Des Peres Community:

On June 14, the 221st General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) will convene in Detroit.  For those of you who are new to the PC(USA), the General Assembly (GA) meets biennially in even-numbered years. It consists of commissioners elected by each of its 173 presbyteries. The GA is full of activities: business sessions, committee meetings, an exhibit hall, daily worship services, and mission tours sponsored by the Committee on Local Arrangements. 

The assembly acts on hundreds of items of business, which it receives through the reports and recommendations of various assembly entities, and through overtures from synods and presbyteries.  Two issues coming to this GA that will receive national attention are matters pertaining to the Middle East and civil union and marriage.  Our own Terry Epling is serving as Parliamentarian for the Civil Union and Marriage Committee.

As the General Assembly meets, please keep the commissioners and attendees in your prayers.  The business the GA attends to matters, and the days can be long and sometimes contentious.  They need our support!  If you would like more information about the General Assembly, the PC(USA) website provides up to date information.   

Blessings,
Annie

PS: I’ll continue my summer sermon series on spiritual practices.  This week it is the practice of saying thank you.  See you in church!

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Around the World with Flat Jesus

Flat Jesus is Trekking…
Flat Jesus made trips this week to the County Library bounce house with the Willocks, hung out with nine kids at FDP’s Parents’ Night Out while their parents had an evening off, AND went to Ireland with Sam Stout! View pictures here. Keep Flat Jesus with you – in your purse, in your car, in a backpack – to remind you that Jesus is with you everywhere!  Please send in your photos of you with Flat Jesus so we can post them and add them to the GS bulletin board. 

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Church News

Short Term Mission Project Coordinator Needed
Mission and Ministry plans to sponsor a school supply drive this summer in coordination with Circle of Concern. The drive will start on Sunday, June 29th and end on Sunday, August 3rd.  We have the information needed to get this started, and are looking for a person who would enjoy organizing and running this short term project. If you are interested please contact Elizabeth Pribor at efpribor@gmail.com or 314-630-4417.

We Dared to Dream . . .
Since last Sunday when we celebrated the success of our Dare to Dream for Today and Tomorrow campaigns a few more pledges have been received.  As of Thursday, June 5 pledges received total approximately $103,000 for stewardship (Today's Dream) and $256,000 for Gathering Space loan reduction (Tomorrow's Dream).  The generosity of Faith Des Peres' members and friends is overwhelming and we thank you so much for your dedication to our mission and ministry.  Special thanks to the committee members who helped to make our dreams become realities: Dare to Dream for Today -- Daniel Mortimer, Will Ridley, Samantha Stout, Clarissa Schuller-Meyer.  Dare to Dream for Tomorrow -- Bernie & Leila Davis, Jim & Joanna Gerst, Erica Abbett, Terry Baker.  Thank you so much for all you do for FDP!
~ Kathy Sherrick, Dare to Dream for Today Chair and Barbara Abbett, Dare to Dream for Tomorrow Chair

A Reminder About 2014 Pledges
June 30 will mark the end of our current fiscal year.  Are you current with your pledge payments for stewardship and the Gathering Space loan reduction?  If not, please make an effort to submit your final payments before the end of the month.  The gifts we pledge to the church help meet many of our day-to-day operating expenses.  If you have questions about the status of your pledges, please contact FDP's treasurer, Kathy Sherrick, or the church's bookkeeper, Cathy Luetkemeyer, who is in the church office (314-432-8029) on Tuesdays from 9 to 11 a.m.

Summer Sermon Series at Faith Des Peres
What does faith look like?  How does it manifest itself in your daily life?  In this summer sermon series, "Practice Makes Perfect?,” we'll look at different faith practices that we can incorporate into our daily lives that nourish us and sustain us. Topics include keeping sabbath, forgiveness, worshiping well, saying thank you, and shaping our communities, among others.

The Year of the Bible Continues . . .
There is a small group of Faith Des Peres members who are reading the Bible in a year.  They meet (almost) monthly to talk about what they’ve read and encourage one another to keep going.  If you’d like to join them, you can do so anytime.  If you’d just like to know what they’re reading, we can e-mail it to you.  Make the Bible your summer beach read! Email Annie to let her know you’re interested.

Annual Report
For those that missed the annual congregational meeting last Sunday, the FDP Annual Report has been posted on the home page of the website (scroll to the links at the bottom of the page).

Items Left at FDP
As a gentle reminder, we no longer collect items such as empty food containers or bags of clothing for soup kitchens or charities, unless we specifically ask for them. Thank you.

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Dear Family & Friends of Faith Des Peres:

 

This Sunday is Pentecost.  Wear RED!  Pentecost is the day we celebrate the birth of the church.  Speaking of the church, we will have our annual congregational meeting this Sunday following worship.  We will elect elders, the 2014-2015 church wide Nominating Committee, hear reports from our committees, and hear a recommendation from the Session pertaining to the size of the Session.  I hope you’ll be here for worship and the meeting.

See you in church!
~ Annie

PS: I’ll continue my summer sermon series on spiritual practices.  This week it is the practice of listening well.  

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This Sunday, June 8th

Pentecost and Annual Meeting of the Congregation, June 8
​The Annual Meeting of the congregation will take place on Pentecost Sunday, June 8th, after worship. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend this short but important meeting.

Summer Sermon Series at Faith Des Peres
​What does faith look like?  How does it manifest itself in your daily life?  In this summer sermon series, "Practice Makes Perfect?,” we'll look at different faith practices that we can incorporate into our daily lives that nourish us and sustain us. Topics include keeping sabbath, forgiveness, worshiping well, saying thank you, and shaping our communities, among others.

The Year of the Bible Continues . . .
There is a small group of Faith Des Peres members who are reading the Bible in a year.  They meet (almost) monthly to talk about what they’ve read and encourage one another to keep going.  If you’d like to join them, you can do so anytime.  If you’d just like to know what they’re reading, we can e-mail it to you.  Make the Bible your summer beach read! Email Annie to let her know you’re interested.

Annual Report
The FDP Annual Report will be posted to the website Friday afternoon. A link will be posted on the home page when it is available. This will be used for the annual meeting on Sunday, so please take a few minutes to review it before the meeting so you can ask questions. 

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Around Church & Around Town…

We're Missing Our Flat Jesus Photos!   
We need MORE photos of you with Flat Jesus!! Keep Flat Jesus with you – in your purse, in your car, in a backpack – to remind you that Jesus is with you everywhere!  Send in your photos of you with Flat Jesus so we can post them and add them to the GS bulletin board. 

Flat Jesus enjoying Boogie Night at the Zoo with Kathy.

Can you Bring Flowers this Summer?
We currently have many holes in our summer flower schedule, so please use the sign-up sheet in the Gathering Space, email Marie, or register online. Thank you (in advance) for offering to bring flowers. They will adorn our communion table and your home beautifully!

Books
A nice set of children's Usborne Spanish books was found in the Sanctuary a few weeks ago. If these are yours, or if a basket full of ribbon and yarn belong to you, please contact Marie.  

 

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Dear Faith Des Peres Community:

Who likes Ted Drewes?  I do.  Do you?  We are CELEBRATING this Sunday in a big with way Ted Drewes after church.  Yum!  What are we celebrating, you might ask?  So much . . .successful Dare to Dream for Today and Tomorrow campaigns, Elias Klein and Lennon Benben receiving their first Bibles, and an overall great programmatic year at Faith Des Peres.  I hope you will be here to celebrate!  And don’t forget, this Sunday is FEEDING The FLOCK.  Bring your food for Circle of Concern.  Food pantries need well stocked cupboards in the summer when kids are home from school and go without a free or subsidized breakfast or lunch.

See you in church!
~Annie

PS: Is Flat Jesus travelling with you?  Don’t forget to e-mail your pictures to Marie.  

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Interview at the Downtown Rally

Bring Back Our Girls Rally
Many of you know that Tola Olayefun is the President of the Egbe Omo Yoruba of Greater St. Louis. He was interviewed at the “Bring Back Our Girls” Rally on Friday, May 16th, at the Central Library downtown. Click on the interview and share it.  And remember: Jesus is everywhere!

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This Week and Next…

Feeding the Flock, June 1
The children of FDP will be gathering non-perishable food items for Circle of Concern. Current needs for Feeding the Flock are posted in the Gathering Space weekly and now include: peanut butter, jelly, cereal, tomato products (whole, sauce, diced), canned pasta, toilet paper. Any donations are welcome!  Drop off items any time in the wagons in the closet between the Gathering Space and the Sanctuary.

It's Not Too Late to be Part of the FDP Dream!
If you have not had a chance to turn in your pledge cards for the Dare to Dream for Today and Tomorrow campaigns, there's still time.  On Sunday we'll celebrate the success of the campaigns when we gather on the lawn after church for an ice cream social.  We're getting very close to 100 percent participation in the annual stewardship campaign, and pledges to the 3-year Gathering Space loan reduction campaign have been extremely generous.  There's still time to mail your pledge cards, drop them by the church or bring them with you Sunday morning.  And be sure to join us for ice cream, cupcakes and other goodies after church. (Donations of cupcakes will be appreciated.  Email Terry Baker (terrylvb@live.com) to let her know you will bring a dozen cupcakes to church that morning.) Thank you so, so much for your pledges and for all you do for Faith Des Peres!

Pentecost and Annual Meeting of the Congregation, June 8
The Annual Meeting of the congregation will take place on Pentecost Sunday, June 8th, after worship. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend.

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