November/Advent 2024 News – Volume 72, No. 8

Dear church: I assigned myself a two- fold task: to come up with the right words for coping with post-election anxiety AND preparing for Advent. I went back to this piece I wrote for Kirkwood Baptist Church’s Advent book in 2020 and adapted it slightly. It says everything I really wanted to say to you as an early home-made gift from me:

Pastor Jody

“As a seminary student, I’d often realize that I hadn’t remembered a Scripture passage. However, I didn’t usually feel as if I had never heard the passage at all- until one morning in chapel during Advent.

The reading was from Luke’s account of John the Baptist. I almost wasn’t listening, because I was so convinced I knew what the passage said. I heard: ‘the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.’ (Luke 3:2b) I always thought each Gospel said John the Baptist spoke from the wilderness. Now, the passage told me God spoke to John in the wilderness. If that’s the case, the wilderness isn’t just a place of desolation. It’s a place where God still speaks to us.

I will never be romantic about wilderness, particularly since my idea of camping is a night at Motel 6! I won’t lessen this fact, either: all of us will spend some time in a wilderness. It’s a place between a promise given and a promise fulfilled. It’s the place of uncertainty or anxiety or cancelled plans or dashed hopes where we never expected to go. We don’t know what will happen to us or what we’ll see on the other side. We only know we’re not there yet.

Into this wilderness for Israel, God still spoke- and into our wildernesses, God still speaks. Perhaps we can only hear these words from God when there is nothing in ourselves to give or from the world we can take that will turn the situation around. We hear God saying the wilderness is not our new permanent address, but neither is it merely a place we’ll eventually leave. Even in the wilderness, we have a future, a hope, and also work to do: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make God’s paths straight’ (Luke 3: 4).

We don’t need to pretend the wilderness really isn’t that difficult or rough for us. Yet, the wilderness can also be a place where we come to know what Wendell Berry describes as coming ‘into the peace of wild things.’ Maybe this Advent, you’ll know something like this peace in the wilderness, where God’s presence comes to you in words of hope you can only hear in the wilderness’s silence. Perhaps you also get a glimpse of light waiting to break through, and it’s a ray of hope not even the wilderness can overcome.”

Life of Compton Community

Prayer Requests

Please hold in prayer: Millie S, Walt T, Howard M, Celia P’s sister; Nancy O’s mother and her neighbor Stacy; George H, Joan J on the death of her aunt Adeline; Diane R’s mother, her cousin Mona, and her uncle Jimmy; DebE M’s friend Sheila. We continue to pray the recovery of those in the path of hurricanes Helene and Milton, including the Kreugers, the Witten-Taylor family, Courtney H and Joan J’s cousin Gary K (who worshipped with us on zoom during Covid.) We Also pray for: The United States and its future; An end to fighting and suffering in Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon and Israel; solutions to gun violence in the USA; all refugees from war, violence, or economic injustice; everyone affected by natural disasters. All people experiencing loneliness, depression, isolation and grief. All of our LGBTQ family and friends. Anyone experiencing pain and alienation:may you know that God loves ALL of us.

Calendar of Events

• Sunday Worship is at 11 a.m. in person and live stream on Facebook
• Compton 130th Anniversary Celebration, Sunday, November 17
  • “We Love to Tell the Story” lunch and program Nov. 17, 12:30-2:30 p.m.
• Spirit Bloom on Zoom: Mondays at 7 p.m.
• Transgender Day of Remembrance: Wednesday Nov. 20
• Isaiah 58 Thanksgiving Community Meal – Friday, Nov. 22nd – noon
• Decorating sanctuary for Advent – Sunday, November 24th – immediately following worship
• First Sunday of Advent: December 1
• Yarn Craft Circle/Prayer Shawls: Thursday, January 2 at 7 p.m. at Marty & Darrell Hughes’ home
• Book Club: Saturday, January 11 at 1p.m.Be a Genius!

Let our Pastor and Worship Team know That You can help on Sunday mornings! Liturgists , Elders and Deacons have been scheduled. If you cannot serve, please trade with someone!

Use SignUp Genius to sign up to participate as: Streaming Tech, Greeter, Liturgist, Elder, Deacon, Nursery, Coffee Hour.

Opportunities to Connect

Coffee/Fellowship Hour is a Vital Ministry!

Fellowship Hour after worship is a great time to connect, and also to get to know our new transitional pastor, Rev. Jody Clegg, better! Please volunteer to host or help with refreshments; see the sign up sheet on the library doors. You can simply bring a few snacks, or set out juice and make coffee, or both. Napkins, plates and cups are provided. Coffee Fellowship Hour signup is also available on SignUp Genius. Many open dates in November, & December!

Spirit Bloom: Weekly Reflections

Spirit Bloom on Zoom is open to anyone with questions about spiritual development, or who would like to study scripture or spiritual questions for an hour and reflect with others. The group is viewing and discussing the video series, “Dream.Think.Be.Do” and will switch to an Advent theme on December 2. Join us at 7 p.m. on Mondays.

Open Mic Night: Music, Poetry, Humor, Fellowship

If you have been planning to come “Sometime,” why not come to the next Open Mic Night? Do you sing, play, recite poetry? Whatever your talent, we invite you to participate in this event for all ages. Advance registration is appreciated, but not required. Contact Diane R to sign up to share your talent.The next Open Mic Night will be announced in the weekly bulletin e-mail and on the “What’s New This Season” page on our website. Watch for it!

Calling All Readers: Compton Heights Book Club

CHCC Book Club is open to all readers, and we meet every other month usually on the second Saturday of the month from 1-2 p.m. Our next meeting will be on Saturday, January 11. We are reading The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim. We are meeting at Have a Cow – 2742 Lafayette Ave, St. Louis, MO 63104

Recycling Stewardship: Cans and Ink Cartridges

Two simple ways to contribute to CHCC:We collect aluminum cans (empty and rinsed, please!) as a general fund raiser. Bring them to worship and either give them to Bud Obermiller or place them in a marked collection space in the kitchenette. We also collect empty ink cartridges which give us points to buy office supplies. A box is on the shelf outside the library.

November

• Peter R – 11/9
• Joan J – 11/11
• Linda L – 11/14
• Arlene A – 11/27

December

• Brenda B – 12/4
• Persephone L – 12/4
• Susan M – 12/7
• Liam S – 12/14
• Nick S – 12/24
• Kathy M – 12/31

Opportunities to Show Up and Serve Others

Prayer Shawl Circle – January 2

Each month, a small group meets to create shawls, blankets and more for our Prayer Shawl ministry. In January we will meet at Marty H’s home. If you knit or crochet (or you would like to learn) come join us. Or enjoy a time for refreshments and fellowship; you are welcome too.

We have received a lovely thank-you note from a recent recipient of a shawl. Look for it on the bulletin board in the hallway next to the kitchenette.

Isaiah 58 Ministries

• November Bag of Blessings: Canned Chicken, Rice; Coffee, Hot Chocolate; Toothbrush, Toothpaste; Dish Soap. Bring items to the bins at the back of the sanctuary.
• December Bag of Blessings: Tuna, Canned Ravioli with Meat; Pancake Mix, Syrup; Diapers sizes 5,6,4T,5T, Baby Wipes; Paper Towels. Bring items to bins at back of sanctuary. Also bring Plastic Grocery bags and egg cartons.
• Buy a Bird/When Pigs Fly: Isaiah 58 Ministries offers the chance to contribute cash to buy turkey or ham to complete a meal for their guests during the holidays. The suggested donation is $40, but any amount can be placed in an envelope marked for that purpose, or check made out to Isaiah 58. Look for the little turkey basket in the Thanksgiving display at the front of the Sanctuary to leave your spare bills and change. The ministry expects to serve 600 families!
• Isaiah 58 Thanksgiving Community Meal – Friday, Nov. 22nd – noon – bring a side dish to share. I58 is looking for volunteers to help with main dishes – Turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing – if you are willing to supply one of those dishes – contact Brenda at brenda@I58ministries.org The meal is a chance to fellowship with guests of Isaiah 58 Ministries and other neighbors in our community.

Thanksgiving Special Offering

This special offering will be received in worship on November 17, 24 and December 1.

The Thanksgiving Offering benefits the Colleges, Universities, Seminaries, and Divinity Houses affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Higher education has been an important focus for Disciples since the very beginning of the movement. Throughout our history, Disciples have founded institutions of higher learning to educate students and form leaders to make a difference in the world. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is still committed to higher education. Your gift to the Thanksgiving Offering helps support the education of thousands of students at our fifteen colleges and universities as well as our seven seminaries and divinity houses.

Telling the Story: Compton Heights Christian Church is 130 years young!

April 2024 marked the 130th Anniversary of the founding of Compton Heights Christian Church. Our year- long celebration continues with a potluck lunch and program on Sunday, November 17. Special guests include members of Epiphany United Church of Christ, with whom we have been in dialogue about our mutual transitions. In keeping with the Church Narrative Project of the DOC, we are encouraging everyone to tell or write a story about your experience as a member, friend, or visitor at CHCC, and how your spiritual development or your life was changed. Stories can be submitted via e-mail to comptonheights.com or postal mail at 2149 S.Grand Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63104. Please send them by the end of November if possible. Photos are also welcome.

The following condensed summary of our history is based on the book written by Agnes J Sierat-Taylor in 1994. (Limited copies are available to borrow for those interested.)

On April 1 1894, 162 people signed the charter document and dedicated a small chapel at the Corner of California and St Vincent Avenues near Lafayette Park. In the next two years, the new church grew rapidly, but tragedy struck on May 27, 1896 when a tornado devastated a large swath of South St. Louis and severely damaged the building. Although the congregation was barely able to pay the interest payments on its first loan, they managed to rebuild the chapel and continue ministry with a consolidated loan from Board of Church Extension in 1900. By 1903, they had merged with Fifth Christian Church and dedicated a new, larger building on that site that served them for 30 more years.

By the early 1920s, they began a search for a more central location, where they could build a new and larger church. Relocation to Flora Place was approved in March, 1925, but local covenants prevented the construction for decades. After about 15 years as renters at a Jewish synagogue, the congregation moved into the renovated mansion on Flora Place in 1944, in time for its 50th Anniversary. In 1949, plans were drawn up to finance a new church sanctuary to be built on the south side of the mansion. Ground was broken in 1950 and the new sanctuary was dedicated on July 1, 1951. The new education building was dedicated on June 2, 1963.

Over the years, Compton Heights CC has been known for its generosity and community outreach. There were multiple celebrations when mortgages on the buildings or loans were paid off, often ahead of time. Students from Eden Seminary were employed as religious education directors or youth directors and eventually as pastoral interns.

In 1970, four churches including CHCC established the non-profit agency known today as Isaiah 58 Ministries. A Day Care Center, Helping Hands, was started by a group of churches in 1969, and originally located at CHCC. It eventually became Cornerstone Center for Early Childhood Learning, located at 39th and Russell in the Shaw neighborhood.

As neighborhood demographics changed, church attendance and membership declined. People moved to the suburbs, and demographics showed more diversity in race, customs and ethnic origin. In the midst of it all, Compton made a conscious decision to remain as the Sanctuary in the City. The Rev. Hugh Wilson in 1961 observed that although the membership was no longer confined tothe neighborhood, but spread over the entire Metropolitan area, this challenge was also an opportunity.

“Here is a place where people from suburbs and apartments, from all social and economic levels, from all age groups come together. We can be a living demonstration that Christian love can bind people of different backgrounds and interests together.”

On April 15, 2001, Compton Heights Christian Church became one of the first congregations in theMid-America region to declare itself Open and Affirming to the LGBTQ community. During the next two decades members would go on mission trips to India, and serve as a safe church during Black Lives Matterprotests. Two accessibility projects were completed. COVID saw the congregation continuing to worship remotely on Zoom and find ways to support Isaiah 58, which stayed open throughout the epidemic.

Earlier this year, facing some $300,000 in estimates for roofing, heating and restored windows, and dwindling membership, we voted to put our buildings up for sale, and continue discerning our mission.

As we celebrate 130 years of service in 2024, we will continue with God’s help to “tell the story” of God’s unconditional love for all people and all of Creation.