A publication of First St. Charles United Methodist Church 801 First Capitol Drive | St. Charles, MO 63301

636-947-0066 | www.fumcstcharles.org

The Spire Volume 46 Number 17 September 13, 2017

Friends,

See the article below from Pastor Peter. Please know that I’m excited by this development

in our shared ministry, and look for it to be a great step forward for all of us.

Blessings,

Bart

……………………..

Hello First St. Charles United Methodist Church,

This summer I asked to become the youth pastor. This

came after a period of discernment and prayer, both for

me and for our pastoral team!

I’m really looking forward to working directly with the

youth, their families, and youth leaders to create an

exciting youth program that will intentionally them

through the discipleship process, preparing them for a

lifetime of faith.

Katharine and I really love this church and we hope to

be here for several years to come.

Right off the bat, I’m really looking forward to confirmation class. We will be beginning in

October. If you are a youth or parent of a confirmation-age youth, please contact me

directly if you are interested in this opportunity to grow in faith.

I’m excited to working with you all to develop the next generation of Christians.

Pastor Peter Norton

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Staff Rev. Bart Hildreth, Ph.D.

Rev. Debby Bartley Rev. Peter Norton Rev. Diane Pence

Rev. Dr. Ken Gottman Margaret Love

Jack McCormick

Carolie Owens Larry Ruebling Lindsey Willard Sharon Byers Karla Curry Anne Brown

Sarite Christison Sally Jacobsen Kerri Johnson Jim Nichols

Stacey Davis Patti Adams Pat Williams

Brielle Ketcherside

September 16—Mount

Carmel service September 16-24—SAM

trip to Maine September 24—UMW Fund

Raiser at Raising Cane’s

October 8—Flu Shots October 19-22—Kairos #15

A Look Ahead

Staying Connected

The Spire is published on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month. Articles for the September 27, 2017, Spire are due in the church office by Sept. 20, 2017. You may email them to fumc_stcharles@sbcglobal.net with the

word Spire as the subject.

Worship at Mount Carmel

on Saturday, September 16th

Please join us as we worship with our friends at Mount

Carmel Retirement Center on Saturday, September 16th.

Our own Barbara Kryvko’s message will be “Love Without

Limits” based on Matthew 5:40-44. We will gather in the

Mount Carmel lobby about 9:30 a.m. to “walk and roll”

residents to their chapel.

Please join us as we sing, pray, celebrate communion and

share the Good News! We expect to have our friends

back to their rooms about 10:30 a.m. Email Joan

Crenshaw at joancren71@gmail.com or call 636-699-8764

so we know to count on you!

A memorial service for Maxine and Al Kerschen,

parents of Joel (Ellen) Kerschen and

grandparents of James Kerschen, will be held at First St. Charles United

Methodist Church on Saturday, September 23.

Visitation will be from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. with the service starting at

10:30. A graveside service will follow

Eat at Raising Cane’s Chicken, 1840 1st Capitol Dr., on Sunday, September 24, from 11 am to closing. Please mention First St. Charles UMC and 15% of the

proceeds will be donated to UMW to be used for their various mission projects.

Flu Shots

You can get your flu shot here at First St. Charles. Visiting Nurses Association will be

giving the shots on Sunday, October 8. Stay tuned for details and sign up information.

Operation Christmas Child

It’s time to pick up your OCC shoebox

in the church atrium. Take a brochure

off the Christmas tree and follow the

instructions. Boxes must be returned to

the church by October 29.

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HURRICANE DISASTER RELIEF — MULTIPLE WAYS TO HELP

1. DONATE A HYGIENE KIT Hygiene kits provide basic necessities to those who have been forced to leave their homes. Please bring

complete hygiene kits to church and place in the white baskets in the atrium.

Hygiene Kit Materials

Assembly Directions Lay out the hand towel flat on a table. Lay the washcloth flat in the center of the hand towel. Place all

remaining items on top of the washcloth. Fold over the sides of the hand towel to cover all of the items. Fold

over one end of the hand towel so that it covers all of the items. Grasp the bundle of items tightly and roll

over the remainder of the hand towel tightly. Place the tightly rolled bundle in the plastic bag. Put the $1.00

in the plastic bag on the outside of the rolled towel. Remove as much air as possible and seal the bag.

Important Notes

All items must be new.

Do not wash any of the items as they will be considered used.

Please remove all packaging, unless otherwise specified.

All emergency kits are carefully planned to make them usable in the greatest number of situations. Due

to the fact that strict rules often govern product entry into international countries, it is important that kits

contain only the requested items, nothing more.

Do not include any personal notes, money, or additional material in the kits. These things must be

painstakingly removed and will delay the shipment.

UMCOR is now purchasing toothpaste in bulk to be added to Hygiene Kits before shipping to ensure that

the product does not expire before they are sent.

2. DONATE MONEY OPTIONS Donate money through First St. Charles UMC. Make your check payable to First St Charles UMC. Put

Hurricane Relief in the memo line and either place in the offering plate on Sunday or mail it to the church

office.

Donate money to UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) directly. Visit UMCOR.org and click on

the donate button. Click on US Disaster Response, Advance #901670. You will be directed through the

rest of the process.

Donate through the office of the Missouri Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Make your

check payable to Missouri Annual Conference and write Disaster Response on the memo line. Mail to

Missouri Annual Conference, 3601 Amron Ct., Columbia, MO 65202.

1 hand towel 15 x 25 inches to 17 x 27 inches NO kitchen, cleaning, or microfiber towels

1 washcloth

1 comb Sturdy comb, longer than 6 inches;

rattail combs and combs without

handles are acceptable with a

minimum of 6 inches of teeth

NO pocket combs or picks

1 metal nail file or

nail clippers

NO emery boards

1 bath-size soap 3 oz. and larger sizes only NO Ivory or Jergens soap

DO NOT remove original packaging

1 toothbrush Adult-size only DO NOT remove original packaging

6 adhesive

bandages

¾ inch to 1 inch-size, common

household Band-Aids

1 plastic bag One-gallon size sealable bag only

$1.00 to purchase

toothpaste

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Kairo's Prison Ministry

God calls us to visit those in prison and Kairos Prison Ministry is a well-established and

well-organized answer to this calling. Kairos #15 at the Potosi Correctional Center will be held October 19-22, 2017. For more information and/or to make a donation, please

call Dave Raposo at 636-284-9328. For more detailed information, see www.kairosprisonministry.org or www.missourikairos.org.

A New School Year for Operation Backpack

Operation Backpack is up and running again to help feed

the children in need at Lincoln and Monroe Elementary

Schools. We have increased the number of children we serve to 78 children each week.

We are in need of many food items each week. We also need extra help at the end of

September and the beginning of October with delivery to the schools. Please contact

Kathy Avery at 636-724-6647.

Items needed this week

chicken noodle soup beef ramen noodles breakfast bars

individual fruit cups canned peas or carrots individual snack chips or pretzels

If you think you might be interested in attending an adult Sunday

school class which would meet Sundays from 11:00 am to 12:00 noon,

join us in room 302 at 11:00 on Sunday, September 24th for an

informational meeting. We would like to share some of the beginning

plans for this new class, and would like you to share your hopes and

needs for this undertaking. We welcome your input in the future

direction of this new ministry

The class begins on October 1st with the series, The Case for Christ by

Lee Strobel at 11:00 am in room 302. The class facilitators are George Garrison, Marty

Flentge, Trudy McCormick, Kevin McGaughey, and Karen DeSain.

Please contact Trudy McCormick with any questions or comments. 636-447-9082

THE JOURNEY Class

The Journey small group is starting up again. We will meet in room 304

starting on Sunday, September 24 at 11:00 a.m. We will study the book,

“What Makes You Happy?” by Andy Stanley. See Nevada Smith with

questions.

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Festival of Sharing First St. Charles UMC has a long-standing tradition of

providing kits for the Festival of Sharing, an ecumenical event that takes place in October. The Festival of Sharing is

an interfaith, state-wide, gathering event held on Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia, MO. It is a cooperative

response to hunger, poverty and injustice, and seeks to raise awareness of these issues.

Our Youth are overseeing the collection of our items. Here are

the two kits we will collect. More information and lists can be

found in the Atrium on the metal donation shelves located under

the MISSION CONNECT banner. Donations will be accepted

through Sunday, October 8th. Please place donations in the

baskets located under the MISSION CONNECT banner.

As the Festival of Sharing brochure states, “When people of

faith come together, our Sharing makes a positive and powerful

difference in the lives of people in need. Join us to experience the

joy of Sharing!”

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KIDS AGAINST HUNGER 2017

We did it! We fed 10,000 people last Sunday

during our Kids Against Hunger Event. Way to

go, First St. Charles!!! In just under four hours,

200 servants—of all ages—packed ingredients

for nutritious meals which will be distributed

“around the world and around the corner.”

And a special thank you to Mary Sheets for coordinating the morning, and for

the Thursday evening “Small Group” (yes, that’s their official name) which

helped set-up, clean-up and offer assistance throughout the morning.

Hopefully, you also took advantage of the opportunity to visit the Comparison

Tables in the Catherine Collier Room. A special shout-out to Margaret Love,

Children’s Ministry, the Preschool and Stepping Stones Club Sunday morning

groups, the Worship Team, the Wynkoop Family, and Missions for sponsoring

the tables.

The funding for Kids Against Hunger comes from First St. Charles’ operating

budget. This year we budgeted $2,500. If you do the math, that’s $.25 per

person served. This event is just one example of how our gifts and tithes can

change lives, and perhaps even save lives. May we continue to share God’s

grace with others through serving in the name of Jesus. Let’s Go for Christ!