Thanksgiving service

We had a great time at the joint service at Westminster this morning.  Here are some pictures from the event.

Thanksgiving 2011

Baptism and Confirmation

We celebrated big with Baptism, Confirmation, and Communion. As someone said, "We had everything but a wedding. Pictures are here.

Baptism and Confirmation

Accessing Pilgrim Sites

All of the Pilgrim online assets are available from the main page of our site at http://www.pilgrimucc-stl.org/.  Just go there and look to the box on the right side.  If you don’t see it, just scroll down.

If you want to know more about a story on the web site, just click on the title or, if there is a picture, on the picture.

There is a calendar of Pilgrim events and links to more information.

Save the Pilgrim web address (called an URL) in the favorites folder of your browser so you can easily go there to find more information about Pilgrim events.

Rev. Dori Hudson preaching

Tomorrow, Sunday May 28, Pilgrim welcomes Dori Hudson to our pulpit. Rev. Hudson is chaplain at Shalom House and graced our pulpit almost exactly a year ago.  Pastor Tom will return from his travels this coming week to be here for the Annual Meeting on June fifth.  If you have not yet signed up for the dinner, please do so tomorrow or call the church office Tuesday.  It will be closed Memorial Day.

Our hearts continue to go out to the victims of the tornado in Joplin as well as many other recent disasters.  Donations to support the victims can be made out to Pilgrim with the notation “storm” on the memo line.  These can be placed in the offering or sent to the church office.

You are invited to stay after worship tomorrow for Sacred Soup.  After a simple lunch of soup and bread we will share in a service of meditation, chant, and reflection on the scripture and our lives.  The service will end by 2:00.

Peace

Mother's Day

Following a great breakfast prepared by Fred E with assistance by Leroy, Aaron, Tom B, Mark B and Mark R., we worshiped and fellowshipped.

Mother's Day 2011

Sacred Soup

This Sunday, May 1, marks the first gathering of Sacred Soup.

Sacred Soup is a contemplative celebration of conscious connection in Christ which meets most Sunday afternoons in Danforth Chapel. 

Following a simple meal of bread and soup we will gather for silent prayer, chant, and guided meditation.  We will consider how we are hearing God’s Word through scripture and the current circumstances of our lives.  We will offer strength and wisdom to the service of God’s creation and share blessings and benediction.

For more about Sacred Soup you can check out our blog on Blogspot, see resources on Tumblr, our page on Facebook, or pictures on Picasa.

You are invited to join us shortly after noon for soup.  We will begin to sit in silence about 1:00 and will complete the service by 2:00. 

On May 15^th, the theme for the Confirmation class is the nature and action of the Holy Spirit.  The text for the class urges the class to sit in contemplative prayer as a way of experiencing the Spirit and to engage in conversation about how we are bound to each other in covenant in the Spirit.  As these are central features of the Sacred Soup experience we are going to fold together the class and the worship into one event.

While we welcome you to join us every Sunday, the gathering on May 15 will be an especially good time for you to check us out.  Because of the presence of the Confirmands, we will be going into a bit more detail about what we are doing, why we are doing it, and how to do it so as to have the richest possible experience.  You may find this guidance helpful to you.  Additionally, the confirmands will have a richer experience the more they are surrounded by their family and other Pilgrims and friends.  We hope you will be a part of this worship on their behalf as well as your own.

Easter Breakfast and Resurrection Celebration

Here are some pictures from the Easter Gathering at Pilgrim. We had many guests and returning youth... including Bea.

Easter 2011

African Dinner and kora by Papa Susso

What a great celebration of African culture.  We had our worship enriched by the virtuoso playing of Papa Susso on the kora and then had a great meal of African foods prepared under the guidance of Ablawa Reine and Wendy Hymes.  For pictures and video (including Jill’s time with the children about hope and bones), follow the link.

https://picasaweb.google.com/PilgrimUCC.Stl/20110410AfricanDinner#

Pilgrimage to Memphis

Over the weekend of March 26-27, six Pilgrims traveled to Memphis to observe and explore the ways that First Congregational Church [1st Congo] transformed from a struggling church with a handful of members 23 years ago into the vibrant and vital church it is today.

The six of us met for lunch on Saturday at the restaurant in the same shop that Elvis’ mom used to get her hair done.  It was literally a stone’s throw from the church.  We were Mark Barnett, Sarah Coffin, Larry Gaines, Jenny Heim, Carol Moakley and Mark Robinson.  Mark B and Sarah got a head start on the weekend by attending a presentation about the emergent church also held that weekend in Memphis.


After lunch we met with Rev. Cheryl Cornish.  She went to Memphis 23 years ago after serving our church in Augusta, MO.  She spoke to us about the early struggles with the dying church and the decision to move to their present location.


We met with her for three hours asking her about history and process and getting a tour of the church building they now occupy.


One of the occupants of their building is the Global Goods Store which is much like Plowsharing Crafts.  They house a counseling service, a team of midwives who work mostly with immigrant populations, and dozens of other organizations.  The part of the building we stayed in [in the hostel] also housed a bicycle repair and renovation shop.  For more about the programs at the church you can review their web site.


On Sunday morning before worship this space was crowded with a diverse collection of members and visitors drinking coffee, eating baked goods, and listening to live music.  The sound of drumming called everyone together into the renovated sanctuary.



This used to be a theater with theater seating [still extant in the balcony] but a substantial loan from the national UCC helped them clear out the space and add the new floor which includes a labyrinth.



We found the members to be eager to talk to us.  This couple stood in the cold and chatted with us about their history with the congregation and what it means to them to be a part of it.



We will be working to present a consensus report on what we found and what we recommend for Pilgrim.

eNewsletter

Dear Pilgrims:

The Ministry of Communication and Evangelism with the support of the Pilgrim Council has been working on revamping how we communicate to take better advantage of the tools we have through the Internet.

You will begin to get an eNewsletter each Thursday with information about what has been happening and what is about to happen at Pilgrim.  There will be links for more information as the email will be very short with just the basics presented.

Valerie will be publishing this using the information that we have given her and that she will already have posted on our web site.  She will be guided by Pastor Tom about priorities, but she can’t post what you haven’t written, so be sure to get information to her.  This is a way we can all communicate with all of us in a timely and detailed way.

You have already seen a sample of what we are working on as I accidentally broadcast it to everyone.  If you explored it, you know that not all the links work yet.

You may have ideas about what you would like to see in the weekly newsletter.  If so, please let Valerie know and we will look for a way to incorporate it.

Mark Lee Robinson

ML King Sunday at Pilgrim

Tomorrow is a very big day a Pilgrim.  Be sure to be there.

Joint service with Westminster and Union Avenue with

• great preaching from Leah Gunning Francis, Assistant Professor of Christian Education at Eden Theological Seminary
• great music from the combined choirs and full band with both organ and piano on a splendid rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,”
• followed by a Soul Food Buffet luncheon.

There are some things we would like you to do as part of the event.

• Be there early to put on your name tag and greet others as they arrive and be sure they can find their way and feel at home.
• Help with the luncheon by gathering donations, helping people find their way, and be seated, and
• by aiding in the cleanup washing dishes, putting away silverware, and packing up leftover food for Soup Kitchen.

Remember, this party is at our home.  We are the hosts.