Again this year, we will decorate the sanctuary with a variety of blooming flowers (6” pots). Cost per plant will be $10. See the sign-up sheet in the Gathering Space to place your order or you can email Yolanda at adminasst@faithdesperes.org. Make checks payable to Faith Des Peres and note that the funds are for Easter flowers. Thanks!
Through abundant and generous gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS), Presbyterians have faithfully heeded God’s call to serve people seeking to reclaim and restore their lives. Your gift to OGHS is a gift of hope. The programs supported by OGHS depend on continued and increased support from congregations like ours. See the insert for more information. We will collect the OGHS offering on Easter Sunday March 27.
GO Sunday will be on April 3. There will be a brief breakfast available in the Gathering Space at 9:30am, followed by a brief service from 9:45-10:00am. We will then GO and serve the following organizations! You can sign up on the attached signupgenius accounts or in the Gathering Space. Childcare will be available until 1:30. It will be a great day working together to improve our community and help the groups/organizations that we support!
FOOD COLLECTION
Organization - Circle of Concern
Location - Frontenac Schnucks
Circle of Concern is a food panty that serves west St. Louis County. We will need 2-3 volunteers to collect food outside of Schnucks from 10am-1pm. Volunteers will set up a table outside of the store. They will hand out a list of needed items to customers and collect purchased food.
www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4aaba922a5fd0-food1
GARDENING
Organization - Lydia's House
Location - Downtown (address withheld for safety reasons)
Lydia's House provides safe, affordable housing for victims of domestic abuse.
We will need 2-3 volunteers to plant approximately one dozen potted plants for the porches of the women and families living there.
www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4aaba922a5fd0-gardening
BLANKET MAKING
Organization - Soldiers Angels
Location - Faith Des Peres Gathering Space
Soldier's Angels delivers blankets to soldiers in military hospitals here in the United States. We will need 5-10 volunteers to make no-sew fleece blankets for the soldiers.
www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4aaba922a5fd0-blanket
GARDENING
Organization - Doorways
Location - 4385 Maryland Avenue (Central West End)
Doorways is an interfaith organization that provides housing for people living with HIV/AIDS. We will need 5-10 volunteers to help clean up the community's gardens.
www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4aaba922a5fd0-gardening1
INDOOR CLEAN UP/PAINTING/GARDENING
Organization - Southampton Presbyterian Church
Location - 4716 Macklind Avenue (near Tower Grove)
Southampton Presbyterian Church is a new church development in our Presbytery and the first Presbyterian church started in the city in over 60 years. We will need 15-20 volunteers for painting, carpentry, yard clean-up, and trash clean-up. There will also be jobs available for children.
www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4aaba922a5fd0-painting
SANDWICH MAKING
We will also need volunteers to make sandwiches/lunches for everyone!
Do you spend more time keeping up with friends and family – near and far – on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, etc., than talking with people in your own living room? Then we need you. The newly forming Faith Des Peres Social Media Team is looking for two or three social media enthusiasts (Facebookers, Tweeters, Snapchatters, Instragramers, etc.) to help the Membership Expansion Committee spread the word about Faith Des Peres, our vision, mission, values and all the great things we have to offer. In addition to using these tools to promote our church, we need your ideas about the content we should be posting – from information about our worship services to links on today’s hot topics – in each of these forums. Time commitment is minimal – maybe a meeting or two initially to get the group up and running. And then a couple emails each month to generate content ideas and plan the social media posting calendar for the coming weeks. Please contact Erica Abbett or Annie Epling if you’re interested in joining the team!
The Centering Prayer Group, a small group of Faith Des Peres members and friends, will meet March 20, 2016 at 5 pm at the Gathering Space. Often referred to as Christian meditation, Centering Prayer is a method of contemplative prayer that places emphasis on inner silence. It offers a way to grow in intimacy with God, moving beyond conversation to communion. We meet every third Sunday of the month. Everyone is welcome.
We've walked 7.9 million steps! Well done everyone. But, we have a long way to go to reach 12,000,000 by Easter. If you haven't turned in your steps email Annie or leave your count on the table in the Gathering Space. And remember, 20 minutes of any activity equals 2000 steps. Don’t leave us stranded.
Thank you to everyone for your donations. We are still collecting cell phones to benefit Lydia's House. These phones are sent to a recycling company in Florida which then sends a check to Lydia's House for each phone received. A box to collect the cell phones is still on the table in the Gathering Space. No smart phones please.
A memorial service celebrating the life of Dorcas Case will be held on Saturday, April 9 at 1:00 pm here at Faith Des Peres.
Dear Faith Des Peres Community,
Join us on Sunday, March 27 for Easter worship! It’s only two weeks away. Easter is about hope, the promise of a new life, and love conquering hate. Does this sound like a message you need to hear, or someone you know needs to hear? I have a favor to ask. One of my hopes is that Easter is a time of invitation. One easy way to invite others is through social media. Take a moment and share an invitation on your Facebook page here. You never know what your simple invitation can do in the life of another.
There are many other events leading up to Easter that I hope you’ll check out, namely the egg hunt we are hosting for Southampton Presbyterian Church and Maundy Thursday worship. We are still really in need of nut-free candy for the hunt (this is the last Sunday to bring it in). And I hope you’ll consider attending on Maundy Thursday. Gathering for a simple meal while hearing the story of Jesus’ last hours has become a meaningful tradition for us at Faith Des Peres.
See you Sunday.
Annie
Easter Egg Hunt, March 19WE NEED CANDY (NUT-FREE PLEASE)
To better serve our vision and mission, the Congregational Life Center made changes in the annual Children's Easter Egg Hunt. This year, we’re moving the egg hunt to Southampton Presbyterian Church, a new church start on the corner of Macklind Avenue and Nottingham Avenue in the Southampton neighborhood of St. Louis. The church is just getting started and wants to be an active part of their community, and what better way to do that than to hold an egg hunt for kids there? So, we’re going there to live into our mission to reflect and live God’s love, accept and affirm all and inspire a passion to do God’s work.
The hunt will start at 11 am at the Southampton Church, located at 4716 Macklind Avenue, and will be open to the children of the surrounding neighborhood as well as our own. We are hoping some of our older youth and adults will come with us at 9:00 am on Saturday morning March 19th to help hide eggs and organize the hunt for the younger children. After the hunt, we’ll grab a bite to eat at Russell’s Café across the street from the church.
This will be a good opportunity for our children to have fun and for all of us to show our support for the Southampton Church.
Mark your calendar for Tuesday, March 15, 11:30am for lunch at J. Greene’s Pub on Manchester in Warson Woods. This is a monthly lunch group that meets every third Tuesday for anyone who just wants to have lunch. Everyone is welcome to attend. Please sign up in the Gathering Space or let Annie or Yolanda know you are coming.
The Centering Prayer Group, a small group of Faith Des Peres members and friends meets March 20, 2016 at 5 p.m at the Gathering Space. Often referred to as Christian meditation, Centering Prayer is a method of contemplative prayer that places emphasis on inner silence. It offers a way to grow in intimacy with God, moving beyond conversation to communion. Everyone is welcome.
Make Easter even more meaningful by participating in Maundy Thursday worship. We are offering a service on Maundy Thursday at 7:00 pm with experiential elements that will teach more of our faith story. We invite you to come experience the hospitality of Christ with food and song, prayers and communion. This is an all ages worship service. Sign-ups are needed by Tuesday, March 22, so please let us know you are coming by e-mailing Yolanda at adminasst@faithdesperes.org, post to Facebook, text Annie, sign up in the Gathering Space or you can indicate on the friendship pad that you are coming.
Again this year, we will decorate the sanctuary with a variety of blooming flowers (6” pots). Cost per plant will be $10. See the sign-up sheet in the Gathering Space to place your order or you can email Yolanda at adminasst@faithdesperes.org. Make checks payable to Faith Des Peres and note that the funds are for Easter flowers. Thanks!
GO Sunday will be on April 3. There will be a brief breakfast available in the Gathering Space at 9:30am, followed by a brief service from 9:45-10:00am. We will then GO and serve the following organizations! You can sign up on the attached signupgenius accounts or in the Gathering Space. Childcare will be available until 1:30. It will be a great day working together to improve our community and help the groups/organizations that we support!
FOOD COLLECTION
Organization - Circle of Concern
Location - Frontenac Schnucks
Circle of Concern is a food panty that serves west St. Louis County. We will need 2-3 volunteers to collect food outside of Schnucks from 10am-1pm. Volunteers will set up a table outside of the store. They will hand out a list of needed items to customers and collect purchased food.
www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4aaba922a5fd0-food1
GARDENING
Organization - Lydia's House
Location - Downtown (address withheld for safety reasons)
Lydia's House provides safe, affordable housing for victims of domestic abuse.
We will need 2-3 volunteers to plant approximately one dozen potted plants for the porches of the women and families living there.
www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4aaba922a5fd0-gardening
BLANKET MAKING
Organization - Soldiers Angels
Location - Faith Des Peres Gathering Space
Soldier's Angels delivers blankets to soldiers in military hospitals here in the United States. We will need 5-10 volunteers to make no-sew fleece blankets for the soldiers.
www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4aaba922a5fd0-blanket
GARDENING
Organization - Doorways
Location - 4385 Maryland Avenue (Central West End)
Doorways is an interfaith organization that provides housing for people living with HIV/AIDS. We will need 5-10 volunteers to help clean up the community's gardens.
www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4aaba922a5fd0-gardening1
INDOOR CLEAN UP/PAINTING/GARDENING
Organization - Southampton Presbyterian Church
Location - 4716 Macklind Avenue (near Tower Grove)
Southampton Presbyterian Church is a new church development in our Presbytery and the first Presbyterian church started in the city in over 60 years. We will need 15-20 volunteers for painting, carpentry, yard clean-up, and trash clean-up. There will also be jobs available for children.
www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4aaba922a5fd0-painting
SANDWICH MAKING
We will also need volunteers to make sandwiches/lunches for everyone!
Do you spend more time keeping up with friends and family – near and far – on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, etc., than talking with people in your own living room? Then we need you. The newly forming Faith Des Peres Social Media Team is looking for two or three social media enthusiasts (Facebookers, Tweeters, Snapchatters, Instragramers, etc.) to help the Membership Expansion Committee spread the word about Faith Des Peres, our vision, mission, values and all the great things we have to offer. In addition to using these tools to promote our church, we need your ideas about the content we should be posting – from information about our worship services to links on today’s hot topics – in each of these forums. Time commitment is minimal – maybe a meeting or two initially to get the group up and running. And then a couple emails each month to generate content ideas and plan the social media posting calendar for the coming weeks. Please contact Erica Abbett or Annie Epling if you’re interested in joining the team!
We've walked 5,500,000 steps! Well done everyone. But, we have a long way to go to reach 12,000,000 by Easter. If you haven't turned in your steps email Annie or leave your count on the table in the Gathering Space. And remember, 20 minutes of any activity equals 2000 steps. Don’t leave us stranded.
Congratulations to our newest member, Mark Antunes, for winning first prize in our Chili Cook-off. You can find a copy of Mark’s winning recipe below.
· 2 medium yellow onions, coarsely chopped
· 1 medium bell pepper, coarsely chopped
· 6 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
· 1 tsp chili powder
· 1 package chili seasoning
· 1/2 tsp ground chipotle pepper
· 1 tablespoon ground cumin
· 2 pounds lean ground beef
· 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
· 1 (14-ounce) can tomato sauce
· 2 (15-ounce) cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
· 1/4 cup coarsely chopped pickled jalapeños or green chiles, drained
· 1/4 cup salsa
· A pinch of dried oregano
· A smaller pinch of cayenne pepper
Cook the ground beef in a frying pan. Sprinkle some chili powder on top while it's cooking. Drain off the fat. Cook peppers and onions in frying pan a little bit (optional). Then put all ingredients in a crock pot on low for 8-10 hours.
Best served with shredded cheddar and/or sour cream.
Collecting Old Cell Phones
Thank you to everyone for your donations. We are still collecting cell phones to benefit Lydia's House. These phones are sent to a recycling company in Florida which then sends a check to Lydia's House for each phone received. A box to collect the cell phones is still on the table in the Gathering Space. No smart phones please.
Buddy Pack Volunteers Needed
The buddy packs program is still in need of more volunteers. Please consider helping this important cause that provides weekend meals for 12 students at Tillman Elementary school. See Clarissa with any questions. Sign up using the links below.
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4aaba922a5fd0-buddy
Dear Faith Des Peres Community,
It’s hard to believe, but Easter is less than a month away. We’re planning a wonderful worship service that I hope you’ll invite family and friends to attend. To make it easy for you to do that, I hope you will take a moment to share the event via social media here. Sharing this with your friends and family on Facebook is one of the easiest ways to invite people to come to church. At the Membership Expansion Center meeting this week, we were talking about our goal to grow the church and were reminded that all but 1 person at out November focus group first attended Faith Des Peres because someone invited them. I know some of you struggle with inviting people, but if all of us invited just one person, think of the impact it could have. And don’t get discouraged if you invite someone and they don’t come. Studies show that it takes 5-6 invitations before someone attends. Studies also show that people are looking for meaning in their lives and a sense of community, and we offer both. So please, take some time to prayerfully consider who you can invite this Easter.
This Sunday I’ll continue my sermon series “Breaking Boundaries” with a look at the story of the prodigal son. Where we locate ourselves in this story says a lot about the meaning we’ll find it. Are you the younger son, older son, or father?
This Sunday is communion and Feeding the Flock. Don’t forget your food!
Blessings,
Anni