Spice up your February! Ivy Chapel Chili Supper Feb. 20

Suffering from cabin fever? Wishing for warmth? Ivy Chapel has the cure!

Warm up with spicy red or white chili at our Chili Supper, Feb. 20 from 4-7:30 p.m. Bring your family and friends and eat in Fellowship hall, or pick up some chili for the whole gang!

$8 for adults and $4 for kids includes all you can eat chili, veggies, chips, crackers, beverages and homemade desserts… plus hot dogs for the kids! Childcare will be available.

Proceeds will benefit Ivy Chapel outreach activities.

Plus… take a chance on our special raffle to support a special youth mission trip to Honduras this summer!

Want to help spread the word?

Download the flyer here, print it out and post it all around town! (Or e-mail it to your friends…)

Ivy brightens Christmas for area families

A big thank you to all of the member of Ivy Chapel who gave gifts, money and grocery bags that were given to Joint Neighborhood Ministry for the annual “Adopt a Family” program. This year, our congregation adopted five families, a total of nineteen people. On Sunday, December 13, we loaded three vans packed with gifts and groceries – including four bikes and a tricycle.

The pink grocery bag fundraisers also netted a check to JNM for $81.

The mitten tree — an Ivy tradition — overflowed this year with mittens, hats and scarves, which were divided between JNM and Circle of Concern. Both of these organizations said how much these items were needed, especially this year.

Your generosity made Christmas brighter for many families in our area! Thank you!

Celebrate the Christmas season with Ivy Chapel

The Christmas season is an exciting, joyful, faithful journey at Ivy Chapel United Church of Christ for adults and children alike. We have a lot of opportunities for you to celebrate with us. Everyone is welcome! Check the calendar page for complete details on all of the upcoming events at Ivy Chapel. If you have any questions or would like more information you can contact us via e-mail or at (314) 434-4991.

Sunday, November 29: First Sunday in Advent

Sunday, December 6: Second Sunday in Advent, Hanging of the Greens and Santa’s Workshop

Sunday, December 13: Third Sunday in Advent, Worship with Cantata by the Chancel Choir. 6:30 p.m. Advent Storytelling

Sunday, December 20: Children’s Christmas Pageant

Thursday, December 24: 6:30 p.m. Family worship, 11 p.m. Candlelight service

From all of us at Ivy Chapel, may the blessings of the season be upon you. We hope you’ll join us in anticipation as we celebrate the coming birth of Jesus Christ.

Christmas resources from the UCC

Advent is an exciting season in the church as we prepare for the celebration of the birth of Christ. The United Church of Christ has a a variety resources to help you and your family experience the true spirit of the season.

• Free Advent Guide

• Christmas Kit

Follow this link for an even wider variety of Advent resources.

Starting November 28 and extending throughout Advent, visit the UCC’s Feed Your Spirit page, filled with reflections on the season and a virtual prayer chapel.

Undie Sunday brings warmth & comfort

Ivy Chapel’s Ark Youth Group (7th & 8th Graders) called upon the congregation for help… and we responded! The youth collected 291 pairs of underwear, 19 pairs of socks and six baby t-shirts for our annual Undie Sunday. The items will be donated to Joint Neighborhood Ministry, who will pass them along to children in need. Thank you to all who reached out to help.

Saluting the great people who helped with Ivy Chapel’s HarvestFest…

Another long list of thank yous from Ivy Chapel!

Thank you to the following people who took the lead as members of the HarvestFest planning committee:
Diane Droege
Debbie Glenn
Donna Grote
Sue Hoffman
Kay Kreder
Julie McAllister
Diann Sheahan
Debbie Washburn
Sandy Wilkins
Pat Winship
Carolyn Wolff

And to the following people, without whom HarvestFest would not have been possible:
Ruth Huston
Ivy Chapel Christian Action Bd.
Ivy Chapel Christian Ed Bd.
Ivy Chapel Deacons
Ivy Chapel Trustees
Anita Jones
Tom Kelley
Helen Kersten
Kay Kreder
Gary and Sue Lindhorst
Tamara Litvin
Nancy Litzinger
Linda Lowry
Nancy Marston
Julie McAllister
Nelie McNeal
Madeline McTague
Jack and Ann Molyneaux
Jo Ann Moody
Ebello and Norma Pasia
Elaine Pieper
Charlie and Lynn Potts
Frank and Carole Purviance
Jane Puttman
Carl and Marsha Ramey
Amy Sheahan Ray
Stacey Reynolds
Annie Sampath
Vince Santangelo
Marilyn Salzman
Suzie Serkes
Jim and Diann Sheahan
Mary Lou Spellmeyer
Evelyn Stecher
Cleo Steffens
Lambda Stephens
Dan Suereth
Tami’s Trousseau
Ted Drewes
Gail Thoele
Don Thompson
Mike and Celeste Tichy
Kim Truka
Debbie and Russ Washburn
James Wehrenbrecht
Jim and Joan Wendt
Glenn and Nancy Wintrode
Jim and Sandy Wilkins
Dan and Sue Wilson
Bill and Jan Wirtz
Don and Carolyn Wolff
Scott Worley
Larry Zablin
Mariya Abramovich
Bob Archer
Todd and Norma Armstrong
Jane Arneson
Wendy Ballard
Jeanny Barbata
Ray and Rosalie Buente
Lisa Busekist
Gene Bryant
Donnagail Carr
Rich and Emily Collup
Bob and Diane Droege
Shannon Farrell
Cindy Foster
Nancy Gerdes
Tom and Debbie Glenn
Robert Govero
Beverly Govreau
Mike and Donna Grote
Gulf Shores Restaurant
Irene Gulovsen
Lee Headrick
Rich and Sarah Heend
Paul Hertenstein
Rod and Judy Hertenstein
Phil and Sue Hoffman

HarvestFest 2009 raises over $10,000!

Breaking news from HarvestFest Chair Debbie Washburn: The results have been tallied and HarvestFest 2009 at Ivy Chapel was a huge success! Thanks to everyone who donated their time to make it a fun evening…  to everyone who donated items for the auctions… and of course to everyone who came to the event and gave so generously to support Circle of Concern and Joint Neighborhood Ministry. We had a great turnout, and the bidding was busy.   Please send any suggestions for the next HF (in 2011) to Deb Washburn.

Watch this space for more thank yous and, by request — recipes from the great food served at the event.

Thanks to all who made HarvestFest a success.

The results are still being tallied… but indications are HarvestFest 2009 at Ivy Chapel was  a huge success! Thanks to everyone who donated their time to make it a fun evening…  to everyone who donated items for the auctions… and of course to everyone who came to the event and gave so generously to support Circle of Concern and Joint Neighborhood Ministry. We had a great turnout, and the bidding was busy. Watch this space for updates. And for those who have asked — we’ll also be posting recipes from the most popular HarvestFest foods.

What’s new this year at HarvestFest?

Our last HarvestFest was one of our most successful fundraisers ever… and this year we’re adding some new and exciting items to make HarvestFest 2009 even better.

Here’s just a sample of the fun things we’re going to have this year:

Bubbly Bags: Love surprises? The Bubbly Bags are for you. These gift bags, priced at $10 and $20, will contain great, secret gifts… and one of the bags will contain $50! When you purchase a bag you’ll leave it closed until just before the oral auction begins.

Wine rack raffle: Purchase a raffle ticket for $5 — or three tickets and a mini wine bottle for $10 — and enter to win a great wine rack from Pier One, plus four bottles of wine, crackers, bread spread, cookies, wine biscuits, Bissinger’s chocolates and a gift certificate for a wine class. Why not take a chance?

Ivy Chapel’s HarvestFest is Saturday, October 24 at 6:30 p.m. Ivy Chapel is located at 620 N. Woods Mill in Chesterfield, MO.  Tickets to the event are $15 per person.

Want to reserve your place? E-mail our church office or call 314-434-4991.

About Circle of Concern & Joint Neighborhood Ministry

A portion of the proceeds from the Ivy Chapel HarvestFest auction fundraiser on Oct. 24 will go to support Circle of Concern and Joint Neighborhood Ministry. These two organizations provide much-needed assistance to struggling families in the St. Louis area. Circle of Concern is located in West St. Louis County, and Joint Neighborhood Ministry is in the City of St. Louis.

About Circle of Concern (from their website):

Circle provides a variety of services to those in need. Operating as a food pantry, we hope that the food provided to the families will enable them to use their income for other needs.

Food Pantry: Each month over 1,000 people receive food from Circle. Families receive groceries once a month based on the size of their family. They get canned goods, frozen meats, fresh produce, bakery items, bread, milk & eggs. Personal care items & paper products are also given out each month.

Financial Aid: Circle provides emergency assistance for rent, utilites, prescriptions, gas vouchers and other necessities. Such aid is provided on an individual basis as funds are available at Circle.

Circle is operated primarily by the dedication of over 150 volunteers and the support of the community through monetary and in-kind donation.

Programs

Scholarships: Each spring high school seniors from low and moderate income families can apply for a scholarship through Circle. These scholarships are used for college tuition as well as trade or professional schools.

Back To School: Each summer Circle organizes a school supply drive to provide students of our families with new supplies for the upcoming school year. Each student (kindergarten through high school senior) receives a pre-sorted bag of supplies and a backpack. Gift cards are given out so families can get items specific to their child’s school. Over 400 kids were helped in 2009.

Camperships: Over the summer months Circle provides numerous children with the opportunity to attend various camps and programs.

Winter Holiday Programs: Every winter Circle shares the spirit of the Holidays by providing our families with a Holiday Basket filled with a turkey, other food items & gifts for Thanksgiving. Circle also matches sponsors with our families for Holiday Adoptions and Circle organizes a toy drive to give children a new toy at Toy Day.

Birthday Club: Children under 12 receive a gift from Circle on their birthday. Along with a new toy, each child often receives a Birthday Bag that has cake mix, icing & party favors/supplies.

About Joint Neighborhood Ministry (from their website):

Our Mission is to promote the transition of families toward greater independence, by providing Christian-based, supplemental and emergency support services and educational programming to an “at risk” population.

Since 1966, Joint Neighborhood Ministry has delivered help and hope to low-income families.

We began as an outreach of two south city churches, Epiphany United Church of Christ and Curby Memorial Presbyterian Church.  In 1986, St. Marcus United Church of Christ partnered with Joint Neighborhood Ministry and became incorporated.

Location and the Neighborhood we Serve:

We’re located in the Benton Park neighborhood of south St. Louis City. We serve an area that is basically zip codes 63118 and 63104. The food pantry, clothing room, and offices are located at the rear of Epiphany United Church of Christ, 2911 McNair.

Who We Help

Our programs and services are available to all neighborhood families without discrimination.

• Over half of our clients are children.
• Client incomes average $600 per month (or less) for a family of four.
• High incidence of unemployment or underemployment.
• Over 50% of those over age 16 have not finished high school.
• Higher than average infant mortality rate in the area.
• Higher than average reported incidents of child abuse and neglect in the area.

How We Help (Click on links below for additional details.)

• The Food Pantry provides supplemental and emergency hunger relief.  A Senior Food Delivery Service is available for those over 60 and/or those with disabilities.
• The Clothing Room is open on Tuesday mornings for our families to supplement their wardrobe.
• The Family Advocate program assists families whose utilities or rent are in jeopardy.  The program also helps with emergency medical prescriptions and transportation.
• The JNM Full Circle Program assists Social Security and Social Security Income recipients with budgeting their incomes and managing their finances.
• Youth and Summer programming provides fun and educational activities and events for “at risk” youth.  Each summer, JNM offers about 100 children, ages seven to eleven, a week-long camping opportunity to experience the great outdoors.  Additional summer programming includes softball teams for youth and Vacation Bible School.
• JNM works in collaboration with other community organization such as Friends of Mom, Grace Hill Health Center, and Near Southside Employment Coalition to provide transition to independence.

Please leave comments here if you have ideas for ways we can all continue to support these worthy organizations… both at HarvestFest and all year long.

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