Rev. Michael Dixon Becomes Interim Pastor 

Both Mike and his wife Sandy come to Second with a wealth of experience providing resources for local churches. Both 
are published authors. Mike has written materials for small groups, including one about racism, Show No Partiality. He has 
written plays and skits for churches and helped develop church school and fellowship resources for youth, church camping 
materials, and church administration manuals. Sandy has written two books of worship resources for Advent. They have 
collaborated on three books of prayers for communion services. 

After majoring in religion and philosophy at Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri, Mike graduated from Christian 
Theological Seminary in Indiana. He has served as an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) since 
1967. After pastoring churches in Iowa for 12 years, he joined the curriculum editorial staff of Christian Board of Publication,
his denomination’s publishing arm, in July of 1979. He and Sandy moved to St. Louis at that time.   

Sandy also graduated from Culver-Stockton College and attended Christian Theological Seminary and began working at 
Christian Board of Publication the year after Mike started.  She kept pastors informed of new resources and provided 
mini-bookstores for assemblies in various parts of the country. Later she worked in the customer service department. 
“It was a real ministry, and I enjoyed it very much,” Sandy says. She is now retired. 

After 22 years as an editor and author, Mike wanted to be a pastor again. Since 2001 he has had three interim pastorates, 
two in the United Church of Christ and one in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). He enjoyed his role as interim 
pastor. “You experience a great deal of diversity—different denominations and different settings. You learn new traditions 
in each one.” But there is one downside to being an interim: “Saying goodbye is the hardest part. And you have to do that 
more often.”

“I like to help a church build on its strengths,” says Mike. As a trained “intentional interim,” he will help the church 
through 5 developmental tasks that need to be accomplished during this interim period:

▪ Learning from our church’s history

▪ Discovering and enhancing our current identity

▪ Equipping new leaders

▪ Renewing denominational linkages

▪ Preparing for new leadership

”This will not be my first time preaching to American Baptists,” Mike says. After a tornado destroyed their church building, 
the Iowa congregation he pastored began meeting and sharing worship services with the local American Baptist 
congregation. He has worked with American Baptists on joint curriculum development. The two denominations are very 
close in theology, practice, and church polity. 

Mike and Sandy have been married 41 years. They have three grown children: Jennie Dahlheimer of O’Fallon, John Dixon 
of Chicago, and Heather Dixon of St. Louis. Jennie and her husband Bill are parents of the Dixons’ two grandsons, 
Wayne, 18, and Joey, 13.

Watching birds, hiking, and visiting state and national parks are some of the ways Mike and Sandy experience their 
love of nature. They like to read. Mike has acted in community theater, playing Dr. Einstein in Arsenic and Old Lace and 
Mr. Brink  in On Borrowed Time, among other roles. 

In the Dixons’ home church, Northside Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in North County, Sandy is the lay leader of 
the “Spiritual Strategic Journey,” a process of envisioning a congregation’s future and finding ways to bring about the 
vision. She will begin attending Second Baptist in September when this part of the process is complete.  

Mike will preach his first sermon at Second Baptist next Sunday, August 20. Come and meet him!

Goodbye to Bill and Becky Rook
On Sunday, August 13, we said goodbye to the Rooks, our pastor and music director for the past 9 years. Moderator Tim 

Keeney gave them a scrapbook containing notes from Second's members. They also received a monetary gift from the 

church to be used, in part, for a tree for their yard. And the children designed and created a garden stone that says:
We will miss you 
2ndbc kids

Launch Sunday Is Coming Soon!

Mark your calendars for Launch Sunday, September 10. That’s the day church school begins and we go back up to the 

sanctuary for worship. We look forward to having our choir back. 

See the next Outlook for information about church school classes and the Launch Sunday schedule.

Young Youth Cluster Plans Activities 
As reported earlier, the Young Youth Cluster has split into two groups, one for 3rd-5th graders and another for 6th-8th 

graders.  The 2006-07 meeting dates for both of these groups have now been tentatively set.  All events, unless otherwise

indicated, are from 6-8 p.m.

3rd - 5th grade

Date                                      Location

September 15                        Samuel UCC

October 27                            Faith Des Peres Presbyterian (the old church on Geyer)                                       

December 1                           Glendale Presbyterian

January 12                             First Congregational UCC

March 9                                 First Presbyterian Church of St. Louis

May 4                                    Second Baptist

6th - 8th grade

Date                                      Location

September 22                        Second Baptist

October 13                            First Presbyterian Church of St. Louis

November 10 - 11                   Lock-in at First Congregational UCC (time TBA)

January 19                             Samuel UCC

February 10                            Mission activity (location and time TBA)

April 27                                 Glendale Presbyterian

New this year:  The organizing committee will ask parents to come to at least one meeting a year in addition to the 

meetings at their own congregations. Also, we are still seeking names for our two groups. If you have suggestions, please 

tell Shari Nelson-Faulkner.