As many of you know my husband, Doug, had a triple bypass and aorta replacement last month. His recuperation is going well, but he still has a long road ahead for a full recovery. I have decided to step down as the administrative assistant at Faith Des Peres at the end of this month to spend more time with him and the rest of my family. It has been my pleasure to serve FDP the last 2 1/2 years. I will still see you Sundays in worship!
Friday Foodies is a new group starting up for members and friends of all ages to get together to have fun and get to know one another better. Sponsored by the Church Life group, Friday Foodies will be a quarterly get-together at a local restaurant, and childcare at the church will be provided free of charge.
The first Friday Foodie is February 17 at 7:00 pm at Sugo’s Restaurant, 10419 Clayton Rd. Childcare is available starting at 6:30 pm, dinner at Sugo’s at is at 7 pm. Let Kathy or Cat know if you’re coming. We hope you can join us!
The Centering Prayer Group, a small group of Faith Des Peres members and friends, meets every 3rd Sunday of the month at 5 p.m. in 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. You are welcome to join us!
If so, does parachute jumping count?
The answer to the first question is, some do. And as to the second question, it only counts if you do it! But why do people give up stuff during Lent? What’s the reason behind that? To find out the answers, Worship Arts has something special planned for February 26 to answer all of your burning questions about Lent (you do have burning questions, don’t you?!) and to help YOU have a more spiritually fulfilling Lent season. Worship at 10:30, pancakes at 11:30. RSVP for the pancake brunch in the Gathering Space today!
“Waking Up White and Finding Myself in the Story of Race”
White privilege. We’ve all heard the phrase by now, a phrase that may repel you, puzzle you, guilt you, or own you. Either way, it’s time to talk about it.
During Lent, the Faith Formation Center is hosting a conversation around white privilege – what it looks like, how to be aware of it in our own lives, and how to overcome it in the service of mutuality and fairness.
The discussion will be centered on the book, “Waking Up White” by Debby Irving.
So we invite you to join the conversation. Conversations will take place after church March 12, April 2 and April 9. You can pick-up the book on Amazon or at your local library.
We are excited to again be traveling to Trout Lodge for an all church overnight, April 29-30. Activities being planned are a pontoon ride Saturday afternoon, art activity, happy hour, and brief worship Sunday morning. Optional participant pay (some are actually free) activities include horseback riding, archery, mini golf, zip line, and much more. See Trout Lodge's website for more details and costs; sign-up in advance to guarantee your spot. Saturday night’s stay includes Saturday dinner, Sunday breakfast, and Sunday lunch. You may purchase additional meals and/or a Friday night stay if you’d like to extend your time at the lodge. Please make your room reservation online at http://www.ymcaoftheozarks.org/ as soon as possible. We have not reserved a block of rooms as in years past, so it’s first come, first serve.
This Sunday is the Super Bowl, as if I need to remind you! Maybe you’re planning on watching the game for the game, or maybe for the commercials, but either way, I thought I’d share with you some alarming statistics:
Last year, people consumed during the Super Bowl. . .1.3 billion chicken wings, 11.2 million pounds of chips, and 14 million slices of pizza (from Domino’s and Pizza Hut alone). That’s a lot of food. While 45 million Americans depended on food stamps.
The current going rate for a suite at the Super Bowl is $325,000. The average cost of a new home is $193,000.
The average price of a re-sale ticket for the Super Bowl is $5,101. The average weekly salary in the United States is $849.
The average cost of a 30-second ad is . . . $5 million dollars. The estimated total ad revenue for the Super Bowl is $385 million dollars. The cost of a 30 second Super Bowl could educate 53,000 kids in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Have I spoiled your good time?
Look, I don’t mean to be a Debby-Downer, but where we place our money says a lot about what our values are. Or as Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.”
You know that our vision at Faith Des Peres is to challenge the present to change the future to make Christ known, and one way we’re doing that this Sunday is by packing 50 kits to distribute to people who are homeless in downtown St. Louis. When the Membership Expansion Center first discussed this idea, there were a couple of concerns about doing it on Super Bowl Sunday knowing that some people watch the big game. But then we thought, what better day to do it than Super Bowl Sunday, when the discrepancy between the haves and the have-nots is so apparent? Plus, we’ll be done long before the game starts.
So if you want to put your faith into action, come on Sunday. We need your help. If you've signed-up to donate something for the kits, don't forget to bring it Sunday!
You can also bring in food for Feeding the Flock which is this Sunday. Like, a lot of food. A SUPER amount of food. Because not everyone can afford to consume wings, chips, and pizza by the millions, but all of us can donate food and, in our own small way, make Christ known.
See you Sunday.
Annie
Thank you to all who helped us plan and organize the Freeze Out for Homelessness! Last Saturday we had 13 campers who slept out in front of the church to experience the challenges the homeless face each day. If you were here last Sunday you heard testimonies from some of the campers, 2 of whom braved the Freeze Out without tents. Although our experience was challenging and uncomfortable at times, it does not compare to the challenges of those who live on the streets every day.
Our work is not done...phase two of the Freeze Out is our opportunity to make Christ known. We are collecting items for care kits that we will deliver directly to the homeless on February 5th. We have been blessed with many generous donations from our friends and families of FDP for supplies for these care kits. We also received a huge donation of food from Twigs, a nonprofit organization in Granite City IL that provides free lunches to children in need. It is such a blessing to have support throughout the bi-state community for our forgotten brothers and sister in need. If you have supplies for our care kits please bring them this Sunday to worship. If you want to contribute your time, we still need volunteers to pack the care kits after worship this Sunday and deliver them downtown directly to the homeless. We are also asking our volunteers to wear their FDP t-shirts this Sunday as we go out and make Christ known.
The book study, led by Ron Scott, will conclude this Sunday. Please meet in the Adult Room upstairs around noon. A light lunch will be provided.
Friday Foodies is a new group starting up for members and friends of all ages to get together to have fun and get to know one another better. Sponsored by the Church Life group, Friday Foodies will be a quarterly get-together at a local restaurant, and childcare at the church will be provided free of charge.
The first Friday Foodie is February 17 at 7:00 pm at Sugo’s Restaurant, 10419 Clayton Rd. Childcare is available starting at 6:30 pm, dinner at Sugo’s at is at 7 pm. Let Kathy or Cat know if you’re coming so we can make a reservation. We hope you can join us!
Is there just a really good sale at Schnucks?
The answer to the second question is no, and to find out the answer to the first question, you need to come to worship on February 26! This is the last Sunday before Lent begins, and Worship Arts has something special planned to answer all of your burning questions about Lent. Trivia buffs, this is for you. Worship at 10:30, pancakes at 11:30. RSVP for the pancake brunch in the Gathering Space today!
“Waking Up White and Finding Myself in the Story of Race”
Have you ever felt frustrated and struck when it comes to racism? You’re not alone! Racism taps into our deepest fears and longings – but understanding how it works is the key to breaking down barriers that interfere with best intentions. White people may have learned not to talk about race. People of color may be puzzled how their white colleagues just don’t get it. Perhaps the answers lie not so much in our heads as in our hearts.
The season of Lent is a time for reflection, and we will be exploring racism on a “heart” level with the All-Church Book Study of Debby Irving’s “Waking Up White”.
Look for more details about when discussions will take place, but plan on joining the
conversation. You can pick-up the book on Amazon or at your local library.
We are excited to again be traveling to Trout Lodge for an all church overnight, April 29-30. Activities being planned are a pontoon ride Saturday afternoon, art activity, happy hour, and brief worship Sunday morning. Optional participant pay (some are actually free) activities include horseback riding, archery, mini golf, zip line, and much more. See Trout Lodge's website for more details and costs; sign-up in advance to guarantee your spot. Saturday night’s stay includes Saturday dinner, Sunday breakfast, and Sunday lunch. You may purchase additional meals and/or a Friday night stay if you’d like to extend your time at the lodge. Please make your room reservation online at http://www.ymcaoftheozarks.org/ as soon as possible. We have not reserved a block of rooms as in years past, so it’s first come, first serve.
Bobby and Laura Mortimer welcomed their son, Jack Douglas, on January 26. He weighed 9lbs 5oz. and is 22 inches long. Big brother Cy is very excited! Congratulations to grandparents Yolanda & Doug Mortimer as well as to Uncle Danny.
Dear Faith Des Peres Friends,
Julia, Helen, Margaret and I had an amazing time at the Women’s March in Washington, DC. What an incredible experience it was to gather with ½ million people in our nation’s capital to speak out for women’s rights. One of my favorite rally chants was one group shouting, “Tell me what democracy looks like?” and another shouting back “This is what democracy looks like”. And indeed it does. We are blessed to live in a country that allows us to march, chant, vote, debate, and have our voices heard.
The big question after the march is, “Now what?” I’ll admit that I’ve felt overwhelmed this week with the number of calls to action I’ve received through emails, text messages and Facebook. They all seem so urgent, and all of them are important. But realistically, I can’t respond to all of them – time, money, and mental health constraints don’t allow for it! But I can choose one action that is important to me and do something about that. And so can you! No matter where you fall on the political divide, we’re called to act because we’re people of faith. We’re called, as the great prophet Micah said, to be people who “love kindness, do justice, and walk humbly with the Lord”.
This Saturday night, about 15 of us from the church are putting our faith into action by sleeping outside to raise awareness about homelessness. How can you help if you’re not sleeping outside? By showing up Sunday morning to support those of who did by listening to us talk about our experience. Show up! You can also take your action a step further and help assemble kits for the homeless after church on February 5, and you can help distribute them, too. Sign-up here.
Edward Hale once said, “I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything; but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”
DO SOMETHING. Take action. SHOW UP. Be present. Listen. Learn. Help.
All of us can do that.
On behalf of those of us sleeping outside, I ask for your prayers for safety, good weather and comfort. We’re starting at 8pm. Stop by and say “hi”. Join us for a bit. We’d love your company!
I’ll see you in church, right? Right!
Blessings,
Annie
Better late than never, as the saying goes! Julia and Charlotte will be selling Girl Scout cookies in the Gathering Space on Sunday, after church. Most boxes are $4 and everything supports their local troops. If you don’t want a box yourself, consider donating a box to troops overseas (Girl Scouts handles the logistics for you) or to fellowship time after church. Thank you for your support!
The book study, led by Ron Scott, will continue this week and next in the Adult Room upstairs after church (about noon). A light lunch will be provided.
Friday Foodies is a new group starting up for members and friends of all ages to get together to have fun and get to know one another better. Sponsored by the Church Life group, Friday Foodies will be a quarterly get-together at a local restaurant, and childcare at the church will be provided free of charge.
The first Friday Foodie is February 17 at 7:00 pm at Sugo’s Restaurant, 10419 Clayton Rd. Childcare is available starting at 6:30 pm, dinner at Sugo’s at is at 7 pm. Let Kathy or Cat know if you’re coming so we can make a reservation. We hope you can join us!
Wait, what is Shrove Tuesday?
Worship Arts is planning something special for February 26 and we need YOU to take part! February 26 is the last Sunday before Lent begins, so we’re going old-school with a pancake brunch after church. Why? Well, to find out the answer to why we eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, you’ll need to come to worship on February 26. Worship at 10:30, pancakes at 11:30. RSVP for the pancake brunch in the Gathering Space today!
“Waking Up White and Finding Myself in the Story of Race”
The Faith Formation Center is hosting an all church book study during Lent of the book “Waking Up White and Finding Myself in the Story of Race”.
In the book, Debby Irving, author, tells how she stumbled into troubling and even shocking revelations about racial inequities after what she describes as “a blissfully sheltered, upper-middle-class suburban childhood.”
Irving believed herself to be a good person and even tried to use her career to help people of color. But the book describes her gradual discovery of her own “white privilege,” which led to the realization that good intentions alone cannot overcome centuries of racial injustice. It’s a story likely to resonate with Presbyterians.
Look for more details about when discussions will take place, but plan on joining the conversation. You can pick-up the book on Amazon or at your local library.