Ivy Members Open their Hearts for Emmaus homes

The  annual Open Your Heart dinner-auction benefits residents of Emmaus, a faith-based organization serving more than 250 men and women with developmental disabilities in the St. Louis metropolitan area.  As in the past, this year’s event, held February 4, netted thousands of dollars to help supplement governmental funding for Emmaus.  For every $1 needed to cover program and operating expenses, there’s a 15 cent shortfall in state support.  The Emmaus Foundation is charged with raising funds to close the gap between government payments and actual costs.  The 2012 OYH gala raised just over $50,000.  Attending from Ivy Chapel UCC were Ronn and Dottie Foster; Rod and Judy Hertenstein; Carl and Marsha Ramey; Annie and Shyam Sampath; Nancy Litzinger; and Nancy Hawkins.

The first Emmaus homes were established in 1893 by members of the German Evangelical Church in Marthasville, Mo., to care for individuals with epilepsy and developmental disabilities.  Currently Emmaus operates nearly 50 homes throughout local communities and on its two campuses in St. Charles and Marthasville.  In 2011, Ivy Chapel UCC ‘adopted’ Ross House, a community home in Creve Coeur where six Emmaus residents live.  Ivy members and Ross residents are developing new relationships through this pilot partnership.

Thank you to Brandi Brown Photography for capturing the event in pictures, and for sharing the photos with us.

Introducing the Mary & Martha Women’s Group

On the third Tuesday of each month, a group of women from Ivy Chapel meet for bible study, prayer and faith building. Join them this tuesday, March 20th, for an interactive Lenten program, led by Ann Molynaux. More details will be available in the bulletin – or click here to get more information.

A Pilgrimage to the Holy Lands

In February, 2013, our Conference Minister, Rev. Jeffery Whitman, will embark on a two-week pilgrimage to the Holy Lands. If you’d like to learn more about his trip, there is an informational Meeting on March 8, at 7 p.m. at St. John UCC in St. Charles. If you’re unable to attend and would like a brochure or additional information, please contact Jeff Whitman or call him at the Conference office at 314-962-8740.

World Vision Offering

Over the next few weeks, Ivy Chapel will be fighting world hunger with a special collection for World Vision. Learn more about the organization here and donate during worship – or contact us to learn more.

Special collection for Lydia’s House

The Mary and Martha Women’s Group is collecting some much-needed items for Lydia’s House during the month of February. These items include diapers and pull-ups, toilet paper and 32-gallon plastic storage containers. These might seem like an interesting mix of items, but they can make a real difference for people in need. Please drop off your donations in the Ivy Chapel narthex. If you would like more information about Lydia’s House or about this effort, send us an e-mail.

A unique way to tell the Christmas story

On Sunday, December 17, the youth of Ivy Chapel presented the annual Christmas pageant – with a twist. The kids told the familiar story of Mary and Joseph’s journey, leading to the whole world’s discovery of the miracle of Jesus’ birth, and punctuated it with jokes about aliens and other pop culture references.

Thanks to Linda Lowry for her hard work pulling the pageant together in what seems to be a shorter and shorter time every year, and to all of the parents who helped make it happen. And, of course, congratulations to all of the kids who turned in such wonderful performances.

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11 Days. 1 Million Items of food. You can help!

Join Ivy Chapel from Nov. 1-11 on a shared mission to feed the hungry and confront food-related injustice. We are working with the United Church of Christ on Mission: 1.

This is MISSION: 1

•  In 11 days, the United Church of Christ will collect more than 1 MILLION ITEMS OF HEALTHY FOOD and other household items for local food banks and outreach services. Please drop off your food donations at Ivy Chapel United Church of Christ, 620 N. Woods Mill Road, Chesterfield, MO.

•  In 11 days, the United Church of Christ will make an extra-special push to gather online contributions of more than $111,111 DOLLARS for Neighbors in Need food-related ministries, offerings that will be shared for hunger-action purposes with  agencies of justice and compassion throughout the United States; and $111,111 for East Africa famine-related ministries.

•  In 11 days, the United Church of Christ will offer more than 11,111 LETTERS to Congress asking our government to reform U.S. foreign assistance in a way that more effectively benefits hungry and poor people worldwide, helping to provide a major final push to Bread for the World’s 2011 “Offering of Letters” campaign.

Will you help? Have you already helped? Let us know in the comments or send us an e-mail and let us know, or call (314) 434-4991.

Trunk or Treat, Ivy Chapel Style!

Trunk or Treat has been one of the fellowship highlights at Ivy Chapel for several years. It’s always a lot of fun to see the kids dress up and get lets of treats.

But this year we decided to kick it up a notch. Of course, costumes were still the rule of the day. But we also roasted marshmallows, cooked hotdogs and enjoyed the afternoon under the pavilion. It was a great time at what is usually a very busy time of the year.

Thanks to everyone who took time to plan this event, and thanks to everyone who shared their Halloween spirit with us!

Here are some photos from the event. Check out more on the Ivy Chapel photos page.

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Let’s bake bread together

As has become our tradition at Ivy Chapel, early in October members gathered together to learn to bake a variety of international breads. We shared the bread with the congregation on World Communion Sunday, the first week in October.

This year, we made Mediterranean flatbread, Finnish barley bread and dark German Rye.

Be sure to check our photo albums page for even more pictures.[flickr album=72157628032454300 num=20 size=Thumbnail]

Special Offering for Neighbors in Need Oct. 2

Sunday, October 2 Ivy Chapel will observe World Communion Sunday. We will also have a special mission offering for Neighbors In Need fund—UCC that supports ministries of justice and compassion throughout the United States. One-third of NIN funds support the Council for American Indian Ministry (CAIM). Two-thirds of the offering is used by the UCC’s Justice and Witness Ministries(JWM) to support a variety of justice initiatives, advocacy efforts, and direct service projects.

Click here to make contributions on the NIN website.

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