Dear Faith Des Peres Church Family,
A big THANK YOU! to the 20 people who helped us pack meals during the St. Louis World Food Day last Friday. With our help 440,370 meals were packed that day to feed hungry people here in St. Louis and Tanzania. Our two tables packed over 450 meals. Way to go!
A reminder that everyone is invited to attend the Presbytery Gathering this Saturday, November 9 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Presbyterian Church of Washington. Faith Des Peres will be among 44 churches in the Presbytery who will be honored as either a PCUSA Certified or Covenanting Hunger Action Congregation. The preacher and guest presenter will be the Rev. Dr. Diane Moffett, President and Executive Director for the Presbyterian Mission Agency. She will particularly be sharing about the new Matthew 25 initiative.
I hope you’re planning to bring your young children and join us at 9:15 a.m. this Sunday for our first Family Fellowship of story time, crafts and light refreshments being led by Angie Hiner. Meet other families and fill your heart with a child friendly message. For those who stay for worship at 10:30 a.m. childcare will be provided by Beth Willock in our recently spiffed up Nursery.
This Sunday we will observe Veterans Sunday during worship with a special time to thank anyone who has served or is serving in one of the branches of the military. My sermon message will be “Being Joyful in Our Commitments” from Luke 19:1-10. This is the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus.
Also this Sunday please look for a list of items we’ll be collecting for our next “A Little Touch from Home” for our deployed troops. We will dedicate what we’ve collected during our Thanksgiving worship on Sunday, November 24.
Our next Buddy Packing will follow worship this Sunday. So far this school year we’ve delivered 484 buddy packs containing 1,900 weekend meals for University City children.
Faith Formation will host a discussion of Barbara Brown Taylor’s Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others over lunch following worship Sunday, November 17. Please sign up in the Gathering Space so we know how many to plan for lunch. Hope you’ll join us!
Looking further ahead, we’ll kick off our Christmas Giving Tree project during a special hospitality time after worship Sunday, November 24.
Keep watching our weekly blogs, emails and bulletins for more information about these and other upcoming events and activities being planned by the Faith Formation, Mission and Ministry, and Worship Arts centers for November.
I look forward to seeing you in and around our church as we share in mission and ministry together!
Shalom in Christ Jesus,
Pastor Marilyn