Posts tagged ‘Week of Compassion’

Aug 19

Collecting for Hygiene Kits

As part of our “Month of Mission”, we are collecting items for Church World Service (CWS) hygiene kits. When people are forced to abruptly leave their homes because of emergencies, they may not have time to pack the things they use on a daily basis like toothbrushes or soap. But after a few days without these items, they definitely miss them. Your hygiene kits offer a refreshing daily boost for someone when supplies are hard to come by.

Here is what we need:

One hand towel measuring approximately 15″ x 28″ to 16″ x 32″ (no fingertip, bath, dish towel or micro-fiber)
One washcloth
One wide-tooth comb removed from the package
- Must be sturdy with at least 6 inches of teeth
- No pocket combs or picks
- Rattail and combs without handles are acceptable
One fingernail or toenail clipper removed from the package (either one is acceptable)
One bath-size bar of soap in the original package
One toothbrush in the original package
Ten standard size Band-Aids

Toothpaste is not needed. A tube of extended expiration date toothpaste will be added to each hygiene kit just prior to its final journey.

There are collection baskets in the hallway outside of the sanctuary.

Mar 5

March/Lent Newsletter – Volume 70, No. 3

“Compton Oneing”

Julian of Norwich said, “The love of God creates in us a ‘oneing’ that when it is truly seen, no person can
separate themselves from another person” (Julian of Norwich, Showings, 65.)

The love of God has “oned” us together at Compton Heights Christian Church where ALL are welcome!
And so, similar to the Compton Rising process several years ago, Compton Oneing is a new name we have chosen for the journey of our interim ministry together, where over the next 12-18 months, we will
engage our Heritage, Leadership, Mission, Connections and Future as a congregation.

Compton Oneing is everything we do in the interim period to build up and strengthen CHCC. It’s an
invitation for everyone to dream, imagine, and create, in a variety of ways and formats.

As we are returning to in-person worship this month, we would also like to come together (in-person) for
a Compton Oneing event! We want to spend a little time together enjoying one another’s company and
engaging with our interim ministry. Steve will facilitate some fun and meaningful activities focused on intentionally naming and celebrating the core values that serve as the underlying passion and spirit of our mission and ministry together.

WHEN: Saturday, March 26
TIME: 9:00am – 11:30am
WHERE: Fellowship Hall at Church
FOOD: ☺ Breakfast: Fruit, Bagels & Cream Cheese, Donuts, Coffee, Tea, Juice
Lunch: Going out for those who can

We hope everyone can come. Everyone is needed. God’s love makes us One. See you on Sundays and see you on Saturday, March 26! Steve

Mid-Week Lenten Worship

Dear Church,
Once again, we are entering into the season of Lent. It is the season of journeying with Jesus to the cross, and therefore, it is the season of not
“sweeping under the carpet” his suffering, our own suffering and the suffering of the world. It is the season of drawing near to God and to the mystery of faith: Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ comes again.

We enter this season in humble reverence because we know that the inevitable journey to and
through the cross is holy, sacred, life-changing, world-changing. So, as we journey together during this season, in addition to Sunday worship, let’s come together for midweek worship too! Let’s meet on Zoom on Wednesday evenings at 7:00pm.

Worship will be reflective and conversational, offering an additional touchstone with the Spirit
and with one another each week.

To center our worship each week, we will use the Daily Lectionary Gospel Texts and Eugene Peterson’s interpretation of the Bible: The Message. (See information on The Message below)

Here are the assigned scripture passages and some conversation starters for each week:
March 9 – Luke 21:34-22:6 “Don’t Fall Asleep at the Wheel”
March 16 – Luke 13:22-31 “Strangers to Grace”
March 23 – Luke 13:18-21 “How Can We Picture God’s Kingdom?
March 30 – Luke 9:10-17 “Graciously Welcomed”
April 6 – Luke 18:31-34 “What Didn’t They Get?”
See you on Sundays AND Wednesdays during Lent!
Grace & Peace, Steve

A little about The Message…
“While I was teaching a class on Galatians, I began to realize that the adults in my class weren’t
feeling the vitality and directness that I sensed as I read and studied the New Testament in its
original Greek. Writing straight from the original text, I began to attempt to bring into English the
rhythms and idioms of the original language. I knew that the early readers of the New Testament
were captured and engaged by these writings and I wanted my congregation to be impacted in the
same way. I hoped to bring the New Testament to life for two different types of people: those who
hadn’t read the Bible because it seemed too distant and irrelevant and those who had read the Bible
so much that it had become ‘old hat.’ [My] primary goal was to capture the tone of the text and the
original conversational feel of the Greek, in contemporary English.” -Eugene H. Peterson

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Worship Notes

NOTE! CHCC is returning to in-person Worship on Sunday, March 6

Volunteers are needed for in-person worship: Streaming Tech, Greeter, Elders, Deacons, and Liturgist. Elders and Deacons are asked to enter the dates they are serving on line and to arrange for a substitute if they cannot serve on their selected dates. Click here to go to SignUp Genius.

If you want to volunteer but need help with the online signup, let Kathy Mead know and she will walk you through the process.

Serving Schedule

March Home Communion: Elder: Judi Linville; Alt. Rev. Millie Slack; Deacon: Heather Stout
March 6: Liturgist: Nancy Obermiller; Communion: Diane Richardson; Stewardship: Carolyn Harry;
Deacons: Kathy Mead and Liz Vollmar
March 13: Liturgist: Susan Miller; Communion: Judi Linville; Stewardship: Nancy Obermiller; Deacons TBA
March 20: Liturgist: Brenda Booth; Communion: Rev. Millie Slack; Stewardship: Joan James; Deacons TBA
March 27: Liturgist: Madeline Haraway; Communion: Leslie Latham; Stewardship: Marsha McGuire;
Deacons TBA.

Please hold in prayer: Audrey and Walt T., Karen P., Howard M.,
Katherine K., Cathy H., Shannon W., Diane R., Ryan O. (husband of Steve R.’s niece.)
We Also pray for: An end to violence as Russia invades Ukraine. All who
have been killed, injured and driven from their homes to refuge in other countries. Those who are affected by extreme weather events. Everyone who is struggling with loneliness, depression and isolation. All who have lost family to Covid-19 and other illnesses. Workers facing burnout; exhausted medical workers and teachers. Anyone who experiences pain and alienation from past experiences: may you know that God loves ALL of us. May we find hope and choose to build healthy relationships within ourselves, with others, and with creation itself.

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Congratulations To former pastoral intern Rob Van Ness (2009-2010), who has accepted a call to be Senior Pastor at Pilgrim United Church of Christ in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Rob has been Senior Pastor of Holy Trinity Community Church (UCC) in Memphis, TN since 2016. He and his husband, Nicky Banks, (and their two cats) will be relocating at the end of April. Rob concluded his announcement on FaceBook with this quote: “You never really leave a place you love; you take a part of it with you…and leave a part of you behind.” So true for all of our Pastoral Interns at CHCC!

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Thank you to everyone who answered the call on Saturday, March 5 to transform the Sanctuary for Lent
(by taking down the last of the Advent/Christmas decorations) and prepare the building for our return to in-person Worship on March 6.

Happy Birthday!

MARCH

16 David F

18 Courtney H.

19 Bob M.

22 Dave M.

APRIL

20 Leslie L.

25 DebE M.

26 Karen P.

29 Madison P.

Upcoming Events

Sunday, March 6, Morning Worship, 11 am
Monday, March 7, Board of Ministry, 7 pm on Zoom
Wednesday, March 9, Lenten Worship, 7 pm on Zoom
Saturday, March 12, Book Circle, 1pm on Zoom
Sunday, March 13, Morning Worship, 11am
- Deacons meet after worship
Wednesday, March 16, Lenten Worship, 7 pm on Zoom
Sunday, March 20, Morning Worship, 11 am
Tuesday, March 22, Elders Circle, 7 pm on Zoom
Wednesday, March 23, Lenten Worship, 7 pm on Zoom
Saturday, March 26, Compton Oneing Event, 9 – 11:30 am
Sunday, March 27 Morning Worship, 11 am
Monday, March 28, Cabinet Meeting, 7 pm on Zoom

If you are not on the church email list and need Zoom link information, fill out the form below with information on which event you want to attend and we will send you the link.

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Calling All Deacons

Please plan to meet briefly after church on March 13. The Deacons need to choose a chair and discuss scheduling and responsibilities.

Book Club News

The CHCC Book Club will meet Saturday, March 12 at 1 pm on Zoom. We are reading “The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness” by Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu.

In-person Worship Protocol

We will continue to wear masks and observe social distancing in the pews as we return to worship
in the sanctuary. Please sign the Greeter’s register as you enter and pick up a bulletin and
communion elements.

Mission Notes

Wider Church Opportunities

Disciples Women in Mid-America will hold their regular monthly gathering on Saturday, March 26 at 9 a.m. Grab a cup of coffee and learn about missions in other churches of the region. For a zoom link, visit Click here for Zoom link information.
Restoring Nature: What People of Faith Can Do to Heal the Earth is a Webinar jointly sponsored
by the Christian Church DOC and the United Church of Christ on March 23 at Noon Central Time.
Here is a description:
Douglas Tallamy’s books have awakened thousands to the problem of wildlife decline and the solution that resides in habitat restoration. This is a solution of which you and your faith community can be a part. The solution can be as close as your backyard or the property surrounding your place of worship. In this webinar, Tallamy will outline the crisis faced and what we can do in response. The green teams and green thumbs of faith communities will learn not only about cultivating native plants in the landscapes around them, but also what can be done to create a transformative movement full of actions ordinary people everywhere can take. To care for God’s creation, we can start by simply stepping outside the doors of where we gather for
worship to make the most of our sacred places. In this webinar, Tallamy will raise our awareness and equip us to make a difference in our world. Click here to register.

Response in Ukraine

Week of Compassion is already there! Our partners, through ACT Alliance, have already responded to the immediate needs by shipping 28 tons of food in the first days of the conflict to support those fleeing to Hungary, and staff have been working with refugees at the Ukraine/ Hungary border. Shipments of canned food, flour, sugar, oil, rice, pasta, biscuits, long-life milk, tea and hygiene products are arriving at centers for families forced to flee their homes. Shelter capacities are being scaled up, and humanitarian information points are being established to help those arriving to the border and awaiting entry. WOC also has connected with International Ministries of the American Baptist Church and their work through the European Baptist Federation in Poland and Hungary.
Note: We have received $460 so far in the February special offering. Contributions for Week of Compassion can be given at any time and are still being received in the current appeal. Checks may be made to the church and designated for WOC or click here to donate through Givelify or click here to donate through PayPal

Marty Renner-Hughes, our financial secretary, is still receiving estimates of giving for 2022. If you have not yet returned your estimate form, you may simply email her with your giving intentions for 2022. We hope to have a good report of Giving at the March 7th Board Meeting.

Feb 12

Week of Compassion 2022 Special Offering

Week of Compassion is the relief, refugee, and development mission fund of the Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ). Your gifts to Week of Compassion bring hope out of despair,
find blessings amid devastation, and help transform loss into new life. Your contributions
bring tangible relief and change the course of lives.

Click here to see how Week of Compassion is responding in Ukraine

When you give, you help rebuild communities recovering from disaster. You also empower
farmers to grow new kinds of crops in a changing climate; you support refugees; you
empower youth through education, and empower women through vocational opportunities.
In so many different ways, your gifts of love have the power to transform lives.
Love is shelter. Love is a listening ear. Love is community. Love is a hopeful future. Love is
a path forward. When all else seems lost, love remains.

Click Here for Link to Givelify

Hood River Valley Christian Church; Pallet shelters help provide cold weather housing for unhoused neighbors in Hood River Valley, OR.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:13

Nicaragua, Hawkey; food security program in Nicaragua.

Miami Valley Longterm Recovery; Tornado recovery, Dayton, OH.

CWS, Hawkey; Relief from Hurricanes Eta & Iota is ongoing in Honduras.

Jul 31

Six Weeks of Compassion 2021: Let Love Flow

For several years, Compton Heights Christian Church has dedicated six weeks in the summer to concentrate on several
outreach missions, and to learn more about some of the organizations we are supporting. This year, with Rev. Jacque’s
upcoming retirement we have divided the activities into four weeks in August ( 1,8,15, 22) and two in September (12,19.)
In August, we will learn about how our Week of Compassion Offering collected in the winter is helping in disaster
response and long-term recovery, as well as aid to refugees in camps around the world. We also will learn about our
ongoing relationship with a local ministry, Isaiah 58, and a global ministry site, Family Village Farm in India. We will
continue to bring our highlighters (not yellow) for Isaiah 58 along with any other special request they have for August.
We will receive donations for our support of children at Family Village Farm or King’s Matriculation School in India, and
during the break, we will prayerfully consider an additional gift to Week of Compassion.
In September, we will learn about the work of Church World Service and receive items for hygiene kits. We also will
learn about the unique Missouri Festival of Sharing that is an umbrella not only for Church World Service, but many
organizations helping in our state. For those who like to start shopping, below is the list of items for the hygiene kits.
We will start to receive them starting September 5. If you want to purchase all of the items for a kit, please put them
inside a gallon-size zip top plastic bag. (Toothpaste is added before shipping by WOC, so don’t include any in your kits.)
All loose items will be assembled into kits after September 19; volunteers to do this are welcome!

1 washcloth
1 toothbrush (in original package)
1 bar of soap (bath size in package)
10 standard size Band-Aids

1 nail clippers (remove packaging)
1 hand towel 15×28 in to 16x32in
(no fingertip, bath or microfiber towels)
1 wide-tooth comb (remove packaging)

Jun 3

Sanctuary in the City: June – July 2019 (Vol. 67 No. 2)

AWAKE TO THE SPIRIT: Advocate, Comforter, Breath
In these last Sundays of Easter, we have heard Christ’s promise of Presence in powerful ways. Two Sundays before Pentcost Sunday, we read in John 14:23-29: “We (Christ and God the Creator) will come to them and make our home with them.” “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit . . . will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.”
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.” “I am going away, and I am coming to you.” Oh how we need the assurance of God’s Presence in these days! And the gift is that God’s Spirit is present:

As Advocate for God’s people – for ALL who forget how to love ourselves, forget who we are, forget that we are One People throughout the earth! The Advocate stands with and reminds us of the call to wholeness!
As Comforter for ALL who feel that we have been left alone, abandoned. For all who grieve and feel lost and confused.
As Breath, that we may live fully as one people – no longer separated by language, or race, or gender. or orientation, or nation, or religion. We are ‘God-Breathed’ for the wholeness in which we were created!

Sunday, June 9 is PENTECOST – 50 days after Easter when, as the story is told in Acts, the Spirit came like the rush of a mighty wind, and like flames
touching each one gathered. And they
heard and understood each other across
the barriers of nation and language.

As we enter this season of Pentecost, I pray that we may truly hear and speak so that understanding grows. May the harm caused by our unwillingness to see and respect each other as fully human, be revealed and healed. May women, children, people of color, people of every nation be respected in body and spirit.

Jacque

Compton Uplift Concert

We invite all CHCC members and friends to help make this a great concert, a celebration of
community, AND a great fundraiser for the COMPTON UPLIFT accessibility project!!

Please sell tickets, invite friends in person and on Facebook, help put together a basket for raffle, help with food for the evening, make goodies for the bake sale, volunteer to help with set up, greeting, tending tables, etc.

. . . . And most of ALL, COME! ENJOY! CELEBRATE! HAVE FUN!
Let Madeline Haraway and Diane Richardson know what you would like to do!

GA 2019: Abide in Me We are excited that 10 CHCC members are going to the General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciple of Christ) in Des Moines. Laypersons:
Judi Linville – voting delegate
Leslie Latham – voting delegate

Marcia Hendrix (alternate voting delegate)
Madeline Haraway
Dave Boger
Marsha McGuire
Kathy Mead

Clergy: Jacque Foster, Brenda Booth, Becky
Klemme-Eliceiri (Clergy also have vote)

Isaiah 58 Ministries

Bag of Blessings

JUNE JULY
Food Item:

Hot Chocolate Oats
Canned Fruit Dried Beans
Tea

Pantry Essential:

Cooking Oil Flour
(canola, olive, (1 or 2 lbs)
vegetable)

Personal Care:

Shampoo Body Lotion
Conditioner Lip Balm

Cleaning Supplies:

SOS Pads Laundry Soap
Sponges

You are invited to bring any of these items to place in the ISAIAH 58 Offering Basket on Sunday mornings at Compton Heights CC!

We hold each other and our wider community, nation, and world in prayer. It is more than a turn of phrase to say that we “pray without ceasing.” This is a community grounded and centered in prayer in such a way that we hold each other and those we do not know in God’s Restorative Light day and night.

Please pray for:

Janet Utley’s brother-in-law Neil Alfred (healing prayers)
Audrey and Walt Tarde Those who are unemployed
Cathy Hutcherson Those who grieve over time
Karen and John Pitt Those who suffer hatred and violence
Joyce Cole All who suffer with illness
Sharon Clayton Immigrants: children and adults
Diane Richardson Those who have suffered damage, injury, and loss in recent storms and tornados
Congratulations Graduates!
Congratulations to Jacob and Ty Woodard who graduated from Bayless High School! Ty plans to attend UMSL and Jacob plans to attend Meremac Community College. Congratulations also to proud Mom, Charlsi Lewis Lee!

Congratulations to Lisa Pettis, who has completed the coursework for her M.Div. at Eden Theological Seminary. Lisa is not quite to the point of graduation, but only needs to complete her unit of Clinical Pastoral Education.

Congratulations to Lewis Family!
We celebrate with Bob and Linda Lewis at the birth of a new grandson! Declan Andre Lewis was born to Robby and Amelia Lewis on May 9. He entered the world at 7 lb, 6 oz , 20 3⁄4 inches long. Bob and Linda were able to be there for the birth. He joins his big sister Aarilyn. God bless this new addition to the family!

Expecting New Life!
Congratulations to Kim and Tom Litton who are expecting a new little Litton in late November/early December! Xavier will get to be a big brother! God’s blessings each and every day of the journey!

Blessing to Petri Family in their Move!
It is always hard to see beloved CHCC members move away to new places! Yet we bless them on their way and know that they will always be a part of those who make Compton Heights Christian Church the community of Christ.
Sunday, June 9 will be the last Sunday for the Petri family to be with us in worship before their move to Omaha, Nebraska. We will miss Susan, Roland, Willow, Matthew, Sienna, Jackson, Marcus, and Cory! What a blessing they are to this congregation and will be to a congregation in Omaha! The good news, of course, is that with parents/grandparents Walt and Audrey Tarde here in St. Louis and at Compton Heights CC, we will see them when they visit!

Compton Heights CC Book Group
Next meeting: Saturday, June 1 at 1:00 pm at the church
We are reading and discussing:
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

What Else Are We Reading?
The Book Group is not the only group reading in our congregation!
The Elders are almost always reading a book or articles. In 2018, the Elders read Prophetic Lament which was a focus on Lamentations in the context of our world at this time. The author began it after the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson.

At this time, the Elders are reading Where the Cross Meets the Streets by Noel Castellanos. “Castellanos shows the strengths and limitations of a narrowly focused church, and he broadens our imaginations to embrace a gospel that proclaims Christ and that forms disciples while demonstrating compassion, confronting injustice and restoring individuals and communities to wholeness. This is the whole work of the cross; this is the privilege of those who follow the the Word made flesh.”

At least three of us, Madeline Haraway, Becky Klemme Eliceri, and Jacque Foster are reading: Honoring the Body: Meditations on a Christian Practice by Stephanie Paulsell. “Here is a book we have needed for a long time, a book that will help Christians – who affirm that ‘the Word became flesh’ – overcome their baffling historic aversion to the body and learn to honor it. Stephanie Paulsell is a wise and compassionate guide, and she has given us the most compelling treatment of this topic I’ve ever read. May her insights be received, and embodied by many.” – Parker Palmer, author, Let your Life Speak and The Courage to Teach.

How Is the Pentecost Offering Used?
To help our new church movement continue
to take root! Each year, half of this offering
stays in the local Region or Area where it’s
collected to start and uphold new churches.
The other half is used across the United States and Canada by New Church Ministry to support the recruiting, assessing, training and coaching of new church leaders at events like Leadership Academy. Our church planters remain committed to answering God’s call . . . to serve their neighbors, spread the gospel, and make more Disciples. But they need the nurturing and generous support of people like you. Please help our new church movement continue to take root, bear fruit . . . and grow more Disciples every day!

Please note that at Compton Heights CC, we will receive the 2019 Pentecost Offering on June 9 and 16.

SUMMER SUNDAY SANDWICH-MAKING FOR THOSE WHO ARE UN-HOUSED AND HUNGRY
Our Outreach Ministry Group and Cabinet said “YES!” when asked if our congregation could help Winter/Summer Outreach this summer by making sandwiches which will be a part of meals provided on Sunday evenings for those who are un-housed and in
need of food. NOW, having said “YES” we ALL have an opportunity to help!

After worship on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each summer month, we will make 125 sandwiches (not the whole meal as we did in a previous summer). We will then take the sandwiches to Mokabe’s Coffee House after 2 pm, where they will be put together
with other meal items donated by different churches/organizations. Winter/Summer Outreach Volunteers will then deliver the meals to those in need of them.

We will purchase the sandwich bread, sandwich meat (NO pork, NO peanut butter), and sliced cheese, and sandwich baggies to make and pack 125 sandwiches on each of these 6 Sundays. This year Winter/Summer Outreach has the resources to reimburse
us for the cost of the items. What they really need is for us to make and deliver the sandwiches to them! We will need people to help put together sandwiches following worship! With sandwich-making assembly lines, we are fast and it’s fun!

Our Sundays to make sandwiches are JUNE 9th and 23rd , JULY 14th and 28th , AUGUST 11th and 25th.

PRIDEFEST PLANNING
PrideFest is June 28 and 29! Participation in PrideFest is an important part of our Open and Affirming Ministry. Our Booth Planning is underway! Once again this year, we will be part of a joint Disciples of Christ Booth at the downtown Pridefest site. There will also be a Disciples of Christ group in the Pride Parade.

In addition, our congregation will have a booth at Tower Grove Pride on Saturday. Last year was our first year at Tower Grove Pride and it was wonderful!

We will want to have CHCC representatives in the Downtown booth and the Tower Grove booth. Kathy Mead has made arrangements for our Tower Grove booth space. Kathy, Leslie Latham, and Jacque are in conversation with the group from other congregations planning the downtown booth. If you would like to help with either or both booths, or
the parade, please let Kathy know asap.

“SIX WEEKS OF COMPASSION”
On the first Sunday of August, we will begin our “Six Weeks of Compassion.” During this summer mission emphasis, we will, once again, prepare Emergency Clean-Up Buckets for use in natural disasters such as flooding, tornado, hurricane clean-up. We will create needed mission kits for Church World Service. We will emphasize giving to our Disciples “Week of Compassion” ministry which is our disaster relief ministry. And we will support Isaiah 58 Ministries, for our local community outreach.

In light of recent storms and tornados, you are invited to begin saving for the Week of Compassion offering to be taken in August, OR if you would like to give now, your gifts will be welcomed and sent. Week of Compassion has responded immediately to Community Christian Church, Jefferson City, which took a direct hit by a tornado at the end of May.