Nine shopping days 'til Christmas. Twelve pledging days until 2022. It's not too late to complete a pledge card but please don't delay! Pledge online from our website: https://parkwayucc.org/giving/pledge/ OR Pledge cards are available in the Gathering Space. Mail your pledge card to the church office, place in the basket in the Gathering Space, or email it.

~Your Stewardship Commission

Sunday School Live and via Zoom

4:30pm Family Friendly Worship—A lively and spirited service with Nativity scriptures, carols and contemporary reflections. We will sing Silent Night by candlelight as we prepare to go out into this holy night.

7:30pm Candlelight & Communion—This traditional service includes the Christmas Gospel, choir and carols as we ponder what this love story means for us today. We will share Communion at our open table and sing Silent Night by candlelight.

Avery - due 1/6 born 10/17 - HOME from the NICU (Borgmann)!

Conrad Damsgaard - back at MO-Bap -- soon back to REACH Rehab?

Steve and Andrea Barnes - preparing for surgery on his elbows and wrists due to nerve damage from sarcoidosis and as his mother undergoes treatment for cancer.

Grieving families at the Holidays - including Albers, Larson, Nolte, Nourse, Peek, Smith, Sperry, Stappenbeck, Wandless, Wessel.

Marv Herpel - healing after back surgery at Delmar Gardens, Chstrfld.

The family of Keri Manor - grieving husband and 4 sons (McKenzie).

Scott Schmidt - paralysis after serious fall while hiking; some progress.

Lizzie - awaiting liver transplant (niece of Barb Kuhlmann).

People amidst grief & cleanup from deadly storms over wknd.

All impacted by Covid-19 - individuals, families, healthcare workers; If anyone needs help getting vax/booster or if anyone vaccinated would like to be on the Care Team, please reach out to kevin@parkwayucc.org

Carl Hudson - local educator in ICU at Mercy Hospital with Covid.

Week ending December 19 - Mount Tabor UCC, St. Louis; mounttaborucc.org

Week ending December 26 - Calvary UCC, St. Louis; calvaryucc.org

These practices can change our minds and, perhaps, our souls. Human plasticity or malleability is the good news John the Baptist proclaimed in challenging us to change/repent. It is good news because we can.

We will come together again for a special live closing message on Saturday, February 26 at 8pm CT in the Heritage Room - or you can do it from home.

Questions? Please contact kevin@parkwayucc.org; 314-872-9330

We continue to receive your gifts for 2nd Mile Advent—an opportunity to stretch our hope, peace, joy and love across the area and the wider church. All gifts are shared evenly among the three mission partners in January. Please clearly mark your financial gift “2nd Mile Advent.” You may want to honor someone in your life with a 2nd Mile Gift—perhaps that person who is hard to buy for and/or who does not have any real needs right now. We are grateful for your generosity.

Circle of Concern circleofconcern.org/

Each day, Circle of Concern feeds families from the food pantry, shares financial assistance, and distribute school supplies, Thanksgiving turkeys or holiday gifts.

Mission: Circle of Concern feeds the hungry and provides assistance to low-income families living in west St. Louis County.

Our Vision: Improving every life in the community by reducing hunger and poverty

Our Values: integrity in all they do; respecting the innate worth of every Circle stakeholder, including clients, volunteers, donors, staff and community partners, and striving to reflect that respect in every interaction; collaborating with many partners so that the work of Circle is successfully accomplished; being responsible stewards of the time stakeholders donate, the talents they share and the funds they invest; committing to excellence which ensures the highest quality services for clients today and the resources to sustain them in the future.

Emmaus Homes emmaushomes.org/

Emmaus Homes knows that adults with disabilities want to be independent. In order to do that, they need a home and a community that embraces their unique abilities. EH believes everyone deserves the resources needed to live independently.

EH understands it’s tough to manage life alone, which is why for 125 years, as a faith-based organization, they have provided high-quality service caring for the whole person for their whole life – including the individual’s spiritual life.

The Christmas Fund pbucc.org/index.php/christmas-fund-home

The Christmas Fund has been caring for active and retired clergy and lay employees of the United Church of Christ for over 100 years,

providing emergency grants, supplementation of small annuities and health premiums, and Christmas “Thank You” gift checks each December to our lower-income retirees.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the emergency financial needs of many who serve the church have increased dramatically. In such a time as this, the need for the Christmas Fund is more urgent than ever.

Because of the need during the pandemic for video streaming of our church services, and because of the desire of members and friends to continue streaming even after the pandemic, we will be installing a new video system in the sanctuary. This will remove videography duties from our busy pastor’s responsibilities, and will allow for more automatic and seamless video streaming of services. Council recently approved a contract for the purchase and installation of video equipment, and Kent Tallyn and others are assisting with the installation. The project will cost about $30,000.

The Ruth Murray Memorial Fund, funded in part by insurance proceeds that she left to the church, will pay for a portion of this project. We welcome further donations for this project.

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PUCC eNews is published weekly in order to broadcast Parkway UCC events and happenings - and items of interest to the Parkway UCC community of faith - for the upcoming week. Please submit all communications requests, via the button below, by noon Monday.