Broadway CC Shelters the Homeless

For the past eight winters, Room at the Inn has worked with members of the Columbia community to provide for those who have no place to go in the cold winter months.  Broadway Christian Church is one of five Columbia congregations that opens its facility to the homeless for shelter.  Broadway hosted Room at the Inn for the month of January.   Other Columbia congregations, including Fairview UMC, Missouri UMC, First Presbyterian and First Baptist are the other hosts for this ecumenical ministry, for periods of one to three weeks at a time through the first part of March. 

Guy Adams, our Mid-America Moderator, is one of many, many volunteers who help make Room at the Inn work.  Working as a member of a “restoration team,” which cleans the facility every morning, Guy cleaned the men’s restroom among other tasks.  He hopes his actions reflect our Mid-America priority on Mission and Ministry, as well as our denominational Mission First Initiative.

 

 

One evening at the church guests were treated to some selections by harpist Maria Trevor. She plays every Tuesday evening at the church's Harp & Healing service.

 

Story and photos courtesy of Guy Adams.

FCC Dexter Helping Single Mothers

Why should the church be in the rental business? 

This question was a topic of discussion among the board of First Christian Church in Dexter as they considered how they utilize a home that had been donated to the church years ago. In the end they decided that, in fact, they shouldn't be in the rental business; they should be about doing the work of God.

 

The church decided that they should be using the property to help families in need. As several members are involved with the Regional Healthcare Foundation, this seemed like a natural place to start. The group was introduced to their Mother-to-Mother program, which provides mentoring and transitional housing to single, working mothers for up to one year, and a perfect use for the house was found!

After some repairs and sprucing up, the house is ready to serve in this wonderful ministry that will help many families for years to come.

This project was featured last month in an article by the Dexter Daily Statesman. (Please note that Rev. Mike Williams previously served in Delaware, not Maryland as the article states.) Photo by their Noreen Hyslop.

Youth Sleep Out to Raise Awareness and Funds for Street Dependent Youth in our Community

On November 6th, 2015 members of National Avenue Christian Church gathered for the Rare Breed Sleep Out! The Seventh Annual Sleep Out, hosted by the The Kitchen Inc.’s Rare Breed Youth Services, invites youth to sleep outside on a chilly November night.  It's a family-friendly event where participants spend the night in cardboard houses they build to simulate the experience of youth homelessness. There is a cardboard house building competition and prizes for the team and individuals who raise the most money.  

Throughout the night, we were treated to soup, bread, cookies, and hot chocolate as well as games. One of the best parts of the event is that youth who attend the Breed on a regular basis come and spend time in community with those participating in the Sleep Out. We had the opportunity to get to know our neighbors and hear about their experiences.  Our group spent hours constructing a cardboard mansion for our shelter for the night.  Sleeping in the makeshift cardboard shelter in the cold gave us a little insight into what too many of our neighbors experience in our community.  The next morning one parent noted, as he packed up his kids to go home and sleep in his warm bed, the youth from the Breed were loading the bus with an uncertain future ahead. We are grateful for the work of Rare Breed and this experience. We know we have a lot of work to do to make sure everyone has a home in our community! 

Our group was able to raise over $2,000 to support the work at Rare Breed.  To find our more about Rare Breed visit: http://www.thekitcheninc.org/rare-breed-youth-services.html.

 

Story and photos courtesy of
Tulley Beard, NACC Youth Intern

Lord's Acre Dinner & Auction

On Saturday, November 7th 2015, the Jacksonville Cairo Unity Christian Church held  their 14th annual Lord’s Acre Dinner and Auction. This event takes place the first Saturday of November and is a huge outreach fund raiser. Over the past 14 years the event has netted $241,368.00 and has averaged $17, 241.00 per year. This year was our biggest ever when we netted $25,046.

 

The evening includes a full turkey dinner, a live auction and a silent auction. We make the evening fun with door prizes and other games as well to keep people interested. The church normally serves around 400+ meals and brings in guests from not just out of town but out of state as well.

 

The church has been very good at making this an actual church event with very little of the planning or the responsibilities falling on the pastor. The members own this event and they work all year long getting donations, creating new ideas, sending out “Thank You” notes, getting our activity center prepared (the Activity center was one of the first projects paid for by this dinner), and of course getting the food distributed and prepared.

This year, $10,000 was set aside to give to the Northeast County RIV School District, located in Cairo Missouri, to set up a $1000 music scholarship for a choir and band member in honor of Nola Goodrich. Nola was the church's organist and music director who passed away from CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease) in August of 2015. It also made donations to a project at the Jacksonville Veterans Cemetery to put wreaths on all the tomb stones. We have annually used the money to support the Buddy Pack Program, Safe Passage (a local women’s shelter), and to help raise money for kids in our community to go to camp.

Previous Outreach projects have included sending money to the DOC churches in Joplin after the tornado and funding for a better entrance into Cairo from Highway 63. If you have any questions about the event, please contact Rev. Zane Whorton at zanew78@gmail.com.

Story and photos courtesy of Rev. Zane Whorton.

WGCC Wrapping for Heifer

For the last several years now Webster Groves Christian Church has raised at least $5,000 at Advent/Christmas to donate a Gift Ark through Heifer International, and they're working on it again this year.

 

The annual project is spearheaded by the youth who challenge the congregation to meet this goal, and sponsor a number of events towards the project.

 

One unique fund raiser is their gift wrapping service. Youth, parents, and sponsors welcome weary shoppers and wrap, bow, and tag their packages until they're beautifully tree-ready. This year's wrapping event raised well over 20% of the cost of the ark.

 

Many people also contributed to the effort by donating enough for a specific animal in someone's honor. Such donors received presentation cards and information about their selected animal and how it changes lives. 

Until the goal is met the Heifer Ark, which was handmade by a member, will remain in the church ready to receive any donations. The congregation's team page is also available for online contributions. 

FCC Helping to Feed People in St. Joseph

First Christian Church in St. Joseph has been partnering with the Open Door Food Kitchen since its founders asked themselves, "Who will feed the hungry?" Open Door, only a few blocks from the church, has been serving hot lunches to those in need in downtown St. Joseph for over 30 years. The organization was started in 1984 by faith-based groups the city and is supported solely by private donations and the work of volunteers. Many church groups serve at the kitchen and First Christian is responsible for the first Tuesday of every month. On those days, a group of four to five FCC volunteers arrives at Open Door at 9:30 in the morning to begin cooking for an anticipated crowd of 150-200 guests. If our day to serve happens to fall on a school holiday, often youth of the church will show up to lend and hand. The standard meal on Tuesdays is usually ham and beans  or chili and corn bread. In addition to those who cook the meal, other FCC volunteers bring baked goods or drop by with donations of fresh fruit and milk.  Some of the food for the lunch is donated by the local Second Harvest Community Food Bank.  

When it is time to serve at 11:00, four or five more FCC volunteers arrive, don their hair nets and aprons, a prayer is offered, and guests are invited to come through the line and get their lunch. If there is a lull in work, our volunteers often stop to grab a tray and sit and eat with the guests.  On a typical day, guests at the Open Door are all ages, including children and the elderly.  Some guests are homeless but others are simply struggling financially or are out of work. 

In the last two years, we have increased our support of The Open Door by picking up extra dates not covered by other local groups as well as preparing the Sunday sack lunches any time there is a fifth Sunday in a month.  On those Sundays, the church often hosts what we call "Worship Without Walls." We meet in the sanctuary for fifteen minutes of traditional worship and then split up into teams to engage in mission projects in the building and in the neighborhood, including preparing the sack lunches for the Open Door. Much of the work of preparing the lunches on a these Sunday is done by our children who set up an assembly line and fill small paper sacks with sandwiches, fruit, water bottles, chips, and a dessert. They then help deliver the sack lunches to the Open Door in time to distribute them to the guests who have arrived for lunch. When this and other mission projects are done, the congregation then regroups in our Fellowship Hall for communion, lunch (the same sack lunch we prepare for the guests at Open Door), and a sharing of our stories from our time serving the community together. 

Story and photos courtesy of Brian S. Kirk,
Lead Pastor, FCC St. Joseph

Delicious Fundraiser at Brentwood Christian Church

For about 10 years now the Eve Circle women's group at Brentwood Christian Church has been making Cookies in a Jar to support their mission in Nicaragua with The Rainbow Network. The jars contain most of the ingredients for the finished product of cookies, brownies, or soup, layered beautifully to make the perfect Christmas gift for teachers, coworkers, neighbors, and friends. 

This year the project yielded 70 jars of soup mix, 60 jars of double chocolate chip cookie mix, 36 jars of snickerdoodle mix, and 36 jars of brownie mix (which has been described by some grateful neighbors of project organizer Susan Bowen as the best brownie mix you can buy!). 

Church members donate the ingredients and the Circle provides the jars. In years past, the women assembled the mixes themselves over four Tuesday evening meetings. This year, the whole congregation was invited to stay after the October 25th worship service and help with the project. The assembly line strategy got everyone involved, got the work completed in one session, and a good time was had by all!

The jars sell for $9 each and raise just over $1,000 after expenses. 

Affton Christian Church Serves 400 Thanksgiving Dinner

Affton Christian Church served a free turkey dinner on Thanksgiving Day.  What started out as a hope and a dream of a few people seven years ago has turned into a community-wide ministry. 

 

 

 

This year over 400 meals were served or delivered by nearly 100 volunteers, half from the congregation and half from the community.  Though this number is down from last year, it should be noted that 2 other congregations in close proximity of ACC served an additional 300 meals on Thanksgiving Day.

 

 

"It tells me there is a genuine need to connect to one another,” said Rev. David Woodard.  “A guest commented as he was leaving the dinner, ‘It’s just me. I have no one in my life, but thanks to you I don’t feel alone. I feel the Spirit of Christ.’  And that’s why we do this.”   

FCC Serves Eldon

Last night First Christian Church in Eldon hosted a Thanksgiving Community worship service. This special gathering was not only a service of gratitude, but one of generosity as it marked the conclusion of Eldon's Month of Sharing.

 

Serve Eldon is a non-denominational faith based organization that provides practical acts of community service for the people of Eldon, and it has been busy this last month! It seems that everyone from ministerial alliance members to young school students was involved in making the Month of Sharing effort a huge success.

Literally thousands of items have been donated to the local food pantry and Mustang clothing closet. Last night's worship service was the final collection point for the Month of Sharing drive, but donations can still be made directly to these agencies. Learn more about Serve Eldon on their Facebook page.

Wyatt Park CC Participates in St. Joe Serve

The weather was perfect Sunday, September 27th  as nearly 60 members of Wyatt Park Christian Church joined together with servants from 14 other churches for St. Joe Serve. The intention of St. Joe Serve is that “the church will leave the building” and go into the community to serve in Jesus’ name. This year, more than 400 people from 15 congregations participated, doing home repair and clean-up work in an older residential neighborhood in mid-town St. Joseph. The evening before, volunteers joined together at Wyatt Park’s weekly 5PM Saturday service for praise music, prayer, and communion, and then they left the sanctuary to walk the neighborhood and pray for the people who would serve, and for those who would be served.

After the work day was complete, volunteers and their families joined with neighborhood residents for a “block party” in the parking lots of St. Francis Catholic Church. In addition to Disciples, Catholic, Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Assemblies of God, Foursquare, and non-denominational congregations were represented.

Story and photos courtesy of Wyatt Park CC pastor
Rev. Scott Killgore.

Four Springfield Churches Recognized for Mission Work

South Street, Central, Brentwood, and National Avenue Christian Churches received the Council of Churches of the Ozarks' Church Collaboration of the Year award for 2015. This is the second year in a row for South Street to receive the honor, which was announced recently at their annual Celebrate Compassion gathering.

 

 

The churches are being recognized for the Wine into Water evening that they presented in February to raise funds for Week of Compassion's efforts to supply clean drinking water in African communities where it is currently unavailable. 

That event included wine and beer tasting as well as a silent auction and other activities. Read all about it here. It was such a success that planners decided to do it annually, so watch our upcoming events for next year's date!

Youth Scholarship Golf Scramble at FCC Edwardsville

On Sunday, October 4th, the First Christian Church Youth Group of Edwardsville, IL held their fourth annual youth scholarship golf scramble.  We were blessed to once again have the Jack H. Enloe Memorial Foundation as the event sponsor.  With the help of our sponsors, donors, and the many volunteers, we have made this event one that golfers look forward to participating in each year.  The youth of First Christian Church raised $10,300 that will be used to help with scholarships for mission trips, camps and activities throughout the year.  Not every family can afford all of the extra curricular activities and expenses throughout the year and we will not leave any youth behind.  We worship as a group, we travel as a group and we have fun as a group!  

 

 

Story and photos courtesy of Jeff Wrigley,
Youth & Children's Minister.

FCC Maryville Member Organizes Faith Run

Having just graduated high school and wanting to help youth like herself focus on everyday faith into the next phase of their lives, FCC's Angie Meyers organized the Faith Run in Maryville.

As reported by the Maryville Daily Forum, Meyers said, "An idea came to me when I was at a meeting for church camp and the guys at the meeting asked everyone how to keep the youth engaged with church," Meyers said. "I was thinking about the fact that kids like to be active. I wanted to find a way to exercise and grow in our faith at the same time." 

More than 50 youth participated in the event, which took place from 10pm to midnight on August 7th, and began with a prayer circle before the 5K of walking/running.

Members of the church helped out by serving at water stations and as crossing guards and 'sweepers' to make sure all were safe. The Maryville Police Department was also on hand to help navigate the crossing of Main Street.

 

 

There is talk of this perhaps becoming an annual event. Way to go, Angie and the active and faithful youth of Maryville!

Read the full Maryville Daily Forum story here.
Thanks to Lisa Smeltzer and Sue Schenkel
for information and photos.

 

The Intersection of Art and Justice at National Avenue CC, Springfield

On a recent Friday night, the Gallery at National Avenue Christian Church in Springfield, Missouri was filled to the brim with beautiful art, delicious food, and more than 300 people. For the past two years, National Avenue has been hosting the monthly meetings of Studio 55 – an art guild for artists who are over 55.  The Guild’s membership has grown dramatically in the past two years and they credit the beautiful meeting space and the hospitality of National Avenue for much of that growth.

 

Studio 55's second annual art exhibit and silent auction on September 4th was a benefit for two of National Avenue’s justice partners: RareBreed, a Springfield organization providing help to street-dependent teenagers; and Crosslines, a ministry of the Council of Churches of the Ozarks that serves families in crisis situations. All the proceeds from the silent auction and 25% of the art which is sold will go to these two agencies. The sales from last year’s event were a little over $1,000.00. Sales from the event this year are currently over $5,000.00 and the exhibit will remain in the Gallery until the end of September.

The Gallery at National Avenue was created out of a desire to find the intersection of art and the practice of doing justice in the Springfield community. As part of its mission, the space is used throughout the year as it shares distinctive exhibitions of contemporary fine art by local and regional artists working in a broad range of media and styles. This mission is lived out more fully as each event benefits a charitable organization as part of the gallery's commitment to social justice and community outreach.

 

 

Story and photos courtesy of NACC staff.
This event was covered by the Springfield News-Leader here.

A Case for Smiles in Fulton

Ginger Beasley and others at First Christian Church in Fulton are making a difference with an organization called Ryan's Case for Smiles (formerly ConKerr Cancer). The group's purpose is to make pillowcases for children who have a life-changing illness. The cozy, fun, bright designs are made with love and delivered with kindness, bringing moments of comfort to patients and their families.

It started when Ryan Kerr was diagnosed with osteosarcoma at the age of twelve. He endured five recurrences, 30 months of chemotherapy, 15 surgeries, the amputation of his right leg, and more than 150 days of physical therapy before the disease claimed his life. Through it all he kept his own spirits up and continuously inspired those around him. His mother Cindy was a quilter and decided to put her sewing skills to work to bring a little bit of fun, comfort, and hope to kids dealing with such difficult situations.

September is a special month for Smiles folks as they have a case-making drive called Miles of Pillowcase Smiles. During this month, the goal is to create 44,000 pillowcases to be distributed throughout the rest of the year. This number represents the number of children in the U.S. that are treated each year for some type of cancer.

This September is even more special as each chapter (and there are 115 of them in five countries!) will present a uniquely embroidered case to recognize the fact that they have distributed 1 million pillowcases worldwide.

The local chapter out of Columbia holds sewing workshops at First Christian Church and other locations, provides case kits to be assembled and returned, accepts donations of materials, collects contributions at a number of local businesses, works with several hospitals to get cases to kids, and even directs families to support resources. There are also Missouri chapters in St. Louis and near Branson.

Check out the quick fact sheet here.

Florissant Valley Christian Church Makes a Joyful Noise

Florissant Valley Christian Church decided in 2008 that we would take up a special offering once a month. This offering would be our change that we had in our pockets or purses. The first time we did this it was just a surprise. It was not planned but since then we do it on the second Sunday of each month. We take the pads out of our offering plates so that we truly make a Joyful Noise as we drop in our coins. We have had people bring in their change in both large and small containers. We have one gentleman who wants to see the offering trays so heavy that they cannot be carried out by one person. We have come close but haven't succeeded at this goal just yet. 

My normal place to sit is in the back under the balcony. It is such fun to sit and watch the expressions of the congregation as they drop their coins into the plates and hear the noise they make. There is much joy on the faces of everyone as they give this offering each month. It is a blessing to both the giver and the receiver. 

We now plan ahead and have someplace special each month for this offering. Sometimes it is an outreach offering and sometimes we use it for something special we are working on in our church. People save their change or they hand a check or cash to the treasurer. 

From December 2009 until December 2014 we have collected over $7,500 with our change. We didn't keep track of what we collected for the first year or two. We have helped with our Shoebox shipping expenses, Habitat for Humanity, Loaves and Fishes, Faith in Action, Wheels for the World, TEAM, Our Youth Puppet Ministry, the purchase of a new playground, and many other things that have come up during the years.

These are things that are not in our budget. They are over and above what we normally give to.

We have been truly blessed with this offering. 

 

Story and photos courtesy of Carol Mayer.

Brentwood Christian Church Holds Diaper Drive

For about six weeks this summer Brentwood Christian Church held a diaper drive to benefit Crosslines (previously reported as Diaper Bank of the Ozarks in error).

Crosslines is an organization of the Council of Churches of the Ozarks which keeps as its focus and goal:
No One Goes Hungry. Ever.
Fighting the War on Poverty. TOGETHER.

For many years, Brentwood CC has been collecting canned food and other non-perishables that volunteers deliver to Crosslines and distribute to families the first Monday of every month. Additionally, they run a toy drive every December for the Christmas-shopping store that Crosslines runs for low-income families. Then periodically, they participate in other supply drives as needed, such as the recent diaper drive. 

Organized by the congregation's Lydia Circle, the drive focused on newborn size diapers, baby wipes, and gently used 100% cotton T-shirts for recycling into cloth diapers. They also collected monetary donations for the purchase of these items. This is the second such drive that the congregation has held to help the parents and families of their community.

 

 

 

Wyatt Park Christian Church Junior Mission Trip

This  was the 5th year that Wyatt Park Christian Church has taken the 4th-6th graders on a "junior mission trip" during VBS. Each evening they serve in Jesus' name somewhere in St. Joseph. This year, the first 2 nights were spent working with Inter-Serv, doing a variety of tasks at 2 of their facilities. The third night was at the YWCA and then the last night was spent clearing 2 trailer loads of brush and overgrown weeds from around the home of an elderly church member.

At the YWCA they volunteered at the shelter for abused women and children. After another group from the congregation had volunteered there the month before, the church received this letter from the YWCA's Training and Outreach Coordinator:

Dear Wyatt Park Congregation,

Thank you so much for including the YWCA in your outreach for the youth mission work during VBS. The young people that represented your church are outstanding! The children were so excited to have a group come in and "hang out" and just make life simple for them if even for a little while. One of our moms said, "My boys were so excited to be able to hang out with quality men that didn't hit them. It made me realize how important it is for me to continue my process, leaving my situation." I hope your youth realize that they can make a difference with God's love and that your church has touched a family's life!

We thank you for all that you do for the YWCA!!

The congregation also purposely took the VBS program out of the church building and met in local parks with the intention of reaching neighborhood children who don't have a church home.

Thanks to Scott Killgore for the
story and photos.

FCC in Mexico Visits the Heifer Ranch

by Christian Education & Youth Director Sara Bright

We had a great experience at the Heifer Ranch in Perryville, AR.  I had heard about the ranch through another church that has gone in the past.  However, I liked the idea of the ranch because it was something different than our usual mission trips that take us into a city.  Most of our kids are from our small town but do not have much experience with a working farm or ranch so we thought it would be a good chance for them to have a completely new experience. 

We had 17 people total go on the trip,  3 of us were adults while all but one where middle school students.  

We are very lucky in our church that the congregations supports us very well.  We do all of our fundraising in the church building.  We have put on all church dinners, bake sales, and other small events to earn the money for our trips.  We are very lucky.

While we were at the ranch there were times when the youth did not seem to be understanding the purpose of what we were doing.  They just thought of the jobs as tasks that needed to be accomplished and that our global village experience was just a game to win.  When we returned home I was amazed with what they wanted to share with the church.  They had realized that they are very fortunate to have what they have while others have nothing.  They realized how important it is for everyone to work together.  Unfortunately we have not been able to get together yet since our trip to start after trip projects or discussions.  I am hoping we can do that soon and put some of the things that we learned into action.

I would recommend this trip to any group that is thinking about a new experience for a mission trip.  

Wonderful Wednesdays in Kennett

First Christian Church in Kennett invited the First Presbyterian Church and the newly constructed Community Kitchen to partner for five weeks of Wonderful Wednesdays this summer. Children in grades 1-8 have engaged in active games, art activities, cooking nutritious foods, learning about healthy snacks, and harvesting produce at the Community Garden. The idea grew from last summer's afternoon open recreation for children in the church, who suggested to Pastor Doug that the events be expanded to include more children. This year the church partnered with two other groups to expand the activities and to rotate locations between the organizations. Wonderful Wednesdays have tied into the Healthy Schools/Healthy Communities initiative that strives to get kids more active and become aware of what they eat.