Study and Grow during Lent
Lent begins next Wednesday, February 6. A number of special opportunities will be available during this Lenten season:
Sunday Evening Lenten Study Group
Out of Solitude: Meditations on the Christian Life, by Henri Nouwen
Soup, Bread and Dialogue
Community Room, 5 sessions
5:00 p.m. February 10 and 24, March 2, 9 and 16
(Weekly except February 17 because of the Kim Massie concert)
This wonderful little book by Henri Nouwen explores the relation between solitude, compassion and expectation. The balance among these three is critical to the spiritual life. We practice inner solitude, we practice compassion in the world, and we live by expectation so that the burden of God’s beloved community never falls completely on our shoulders. Books will be available for those who want a copy for $8. We will take turns providing the soup, bread and beverage.
Lenten Koinonia Group
Pastor Jones will offer this if there is enough interest. Call the church office or sign up on Sunday’s Green Sheet.
A Sharing and Personal Support Group, Prayer and Meditation
Open to all by pre-registration; a covenant of regular participation is requested.
Tuesday nights, 6:45 p.m., 5 sessions
February 12, 19, 26 and March 4 and 11
Lenten Bible Study
Pastor Jones will offer this if there is enough interest. Call the church office or sign up on Sunday’s Green Sheet.
Thursday mornings, 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., Community Room
Great Stories of Heroism and Sacrifice in the Bible
February 14, 21 and 28 and March 6 and 13
Maundy Thursday Agape Meal and Service of Darkness
March 20, 6:00 p.m.
Finger food potluck, no reservations necessary
Good Friday Concert and Service
March 21, 8 p.m.
Our choir will perform John Rutter’s Requiem
Easter Sunrise Service
March 23, 7:30 a.m.
In the rose garden
Breakfast to follow.
Getting Together for Fun and Fellowship
Mardi Gras Parade, Saturday, February 2
The Mardi Gras Parade begins at 11 a.m. at Broadway and Chouteau and continues down 7th street, ending at 2:00. The Jensens’ home is only 2 blocks from the reviewing stand, and they have invited parade-goers from Second to stop by any time during the day to get warmed up and have something to eat. Please let Joan or Jay know if you will be coming. Maps are available at the church.
Super Bowl Party, Sunday, February 3
Everyone is invited to Mike and Bev Apple’s home for the annual Super Bowl Party this Sunday. Come and enjoy the fellowship even if you’re not a fan—there’s always a place for football-challenged folks to hang out.
Come anytime after 4:00. The game begins at 5:20. The Apples are providing the meat and beverages; please bring an appetizer, salad, or dessert to share. Maps are available at church.
Red Hats To Lunch at Josephine’s Tea Room
The Red Hattitudes of Second Baptist will meet at the church at 11 a.m. on Saturday, February 23, and go to Josephine's Tea Room in Godfrey, Illinois for lunch at noon. All the customers who reviewed Josephine's on the web gave it 5 stars for great atmosphere, excellent food, friendly service and unique gifts.
The tradition is for ladies over 50 to wear a red hat and for those under 50 to wear a pink one. But all women are welcome, with or without a hat. Please let Linda Marks know if you are coming so she can make reservations.
Talent Show, March 1
Our annual talent show will be held this year on Saturday, March 1 in Fellowship Hall. Dessert and drinks will be available, and the curtain goes up at 7:00 p.m. This is a great time to share your talent, whether it be playing an instrument, dancing, singing, story telling, poetry, comedy, or any other talents you want to share. A sign-up sheet is in the narthex.
Performers always like a good audience, so come and cheer them on even if you’re not performing yourself. Please bring a dessert to share. The cost is $3 per person. All proceeds go to the youth for camp. The talent show is always a highlight of the year—so come and enjoy the zany antics of your Second Baptist family.
“Baptists, A Freedom-Loving People” Series Concludes February 3
At 9:15 a.m. all adults will gather in Fellowship Hall as Fred Adams leads us in a focus on “Church Liberty.”
10:30 a.m. Sermon: “Priestly Liberty,” Kara Reagan, preaching
New Church School Series: "What Can We Learn from the Quakers” Begins February 10
Beginning February 10, the 3 regular adult classes will resume. The Bible Class will continue its study of Genesis and Young Adult Class its study of the questions Jesus asked.
A new 5-week series will be offered in Fellowship Hall, entitled “What Can We Learn from the Quakers,” led by Mary Shepardson. Quakerism began in the 16th century, when a group of “Seekers” found that they could not accept the predominant view of Christianity, Puritanism, which was dogmatic and based on fear and guilt. Yet they longed for connectedness with God. Many of the Seekers found in George Fox’s message what they had been looking for. What was it about that message that produced an explosion of growth in just a few years and had a major impact on their society (and ours)? Come and find out!
Kim Massie Concert at Second Baptist
Celebrated St. Louis Jazz/Blues/Gospel vocalist, Kim Massie, will perform a concert with the Kim Massie Band in Second Baptist’s Sanctuary of the Beatitudes on Sunday, February 17, at 6:00 p.m. There are no tickets and no entrance charge.
Her performance at the church is part of our 175th Anniversary. However, February 17 is the 190th anniversary of the founding of the original “Baptist Church of St. Louis” which began in 1818. As February is Black History Month, it is a fitting opportunity to celebrate this early inter-racial St. Louis congregation made up of European and African Americans, slaves and free. It was this congregation that defied St. Louis law and began the first Sunday School and the first day school for African Americans in the Missouri Territory. In 1818, John Mason Peck and John Ely Welch were sent by the Baptists to the frontier town of St. Louis to establish work “in the West.” They were abolitionists, and what set their work apart from other Protestant missionaries arriving within a ten-year period was the fire within Peck and Welch to reach out and include African Americans. Peck ordained John Berry Meachum and eventually assisted in the formation of the “African Church of St. Louis,” today known as the First Baptist Church of St. Louis.
At the intermission, a free-will offering will be taken. After meeting the concert expenses, the remainder of the offering will be contributed to the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial under development in Washington D.C. At the intermission, the important story of this early inter-racial congregation will be told.
Pastor Stephen Jones says, “Bringing Kim Massie to perform in the near-perfect acoustics of our Sanctuary of the Beatitudes is our gift to metropolitan St. Louis on our 175th anniversary. Kim will sing her usual repertoire, and we will celebrate Black History Month by highlighting the little-known existence of this early inter-racial congregation in pioneer St. Louis. Much of our racial story in St. Louis is unfortunate, and the realities of the racial divide continue to diminish all of us. In such a time, it is good to lift up an early, heroic story of how Baptist life in St. Louis began. I hope and pray it calls us to make the present and the future a time of equal opportunity and justice for all.”
“STONES OF FAITH” Is Lenten Worship Theme
“The Stone, rejected, has become the Cornerstone.”
I Peter 2:7; Psalm 118:22; Luke 20:17
Stephen Jones, preaching
First Sunday of Lent, February 10: “The Precious Cornerstone”
I Peter 2:7; Isaiah 28:16-17a; Psalm 118:22
Jesus is the cornerstone of our faith. A reminder of that as the place to begin our Lenten journey.
Second Sunday of Lent, February 17: “Stones in the Wilderness”
Luke 4:3f; Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness was an invitation to an extravagant display of power. “Command this stone to become a loaf of bread.”
Presidents Carter and Clinton Found Group for Progressive Baptists
Steve and Jan Jones to Attend First Meeting
Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton have engaged the leaders of many moderate and progressive Baptist denominations to join in a New Baptist Covenant meeting in Atlanta on Wednesday through Saturday of this week. Two Republican Senators will speak. This will be a non-partisan event to stress how Baptists can work together across denominational and racial lines to make a difference in the larger society. Issues of peace and justice and evangelism will consume much of the attention.
Stephen and Jan Jones will attend representing our church. This event is historic because it is the first time since the issue of slavery separated the Baptists that we have come together on this scale to consider new ways of partnering.
Coping with the Highway 40 and McKnight Bridge Closure
McKnight Road Bridge over Highway 40 is now closed and will remain so until completely rebuilt, which will take 4-6 months. However, during this time, McCutcheon Bridge over Highway 40 will remain open (it closes after McKnight opens). McCutcheon is only two blocks east of our church on Clayton Road. High School Drive goes the length between Eager Road (right at the McCutcheon Bridge) and Manchester Road. On Manchester Road, High School Drive is about 5-6 blocks East from McKnight. Rock Hill Baptist Church is located at the intersection of High School Drive and Manchester Road. From Manchester or Litzsinger Roads, you can take "High School Drive" to Eager Road, turn left and the first immediate right is McCutcheon Road.
High School Drive wanders a bit but if you stay on it you can get from Manchester Road to Eager Road and then McCutcheon to Clayton Road, crossing Highway 40.
Clayton Road hasn't seemed as congested as once feared, though it does have its "moments." And now with I-170 open, if you are coming from the north that is the best way to get here, taking the Brentwood exit. Two rights and you are on Clayton Road at the St. Louis Galleria.
Update on Diana Pryer’s Mission Trip
The Central American Mission Projects (CAMP) mission trip to Costa Rica I participated in was very successful. We were able to finish much more than was planned for. The sanctuary floor of the church we were working on was poured with concrete, the meeting rooms were painted inside and out and tile work was done in the bathrooms. It was great to renew friendships and make new friends with both the people in the work group and the people at the church. One highlight was visiting the Baptist Camp which a lot of people in our group helped build. I look forward to sharing slides with everyone so you can see some of your mission dollars at work.
The missionary we work with, Lillian Solt, has placed several of her videos on GodTube. If you would like to see some of the work she does not only with work teams but with her Cedcas Clinic (which we also support), and with rural people just go to GodTube and type in “Solt” and her videos will come up. There is one where rural people are being given their chicks, the program our youth participated in last year. Make sure your computer sound is on!
Baptist Liberties Hallway
Have you visited the Baptist Liberties Hallway taking shape in our church? Six of the eight posters are now in the hallway and the final two will be added after worship on this Sunday. Take a stroll down the hall and read the informative posters that celebrate our Baptist Liberties. Better yet, invite someone new to our church to join you in the hallway.
Second’s Kids To Buy a Water Buffalo!
The children of Second Baptist want to buy a water buffalo! For the second year in a row, the children's classes will be bringing in their own money to support the work of Heifer International, an organization which serves impoverished people worldwide. Heifer gives animals to poor families and teaches them to care for the animals in an environmentally responsible way. The families use the animals to improve their own nutrition and to generate income that can enable them to send their children to school and make their lives better. Then these recipients pass on the firstborn of their animals to other needy families. (For more information, go to www.heifer.org.)
Last year, the children set a goal to buy two flocks of chickens ($40) but ended up with enough money to buy three flocks plus a share of a goat ($100+). So this year they have set their goal even higher. They want to buy a water buffalo ($250). So they are asking for your help. During the six weeks of Lent, the children will have a decorated jar in the narthex into which you are invited to put your loose change and stray dollar bills.
For every $12.50 brought in, both by themselves and the adults, the kids will hatch one of 20 plastic Easter eggs, each containing a beaded safety pin animal made by the children themselves. These pins will be hung on a banner outside the classrooms so that everyone can keep track of the contributions.
Note to parents: Even though we are asking for adult help this year, please make sure the money the kids bring in is their own, either part of their allowance, a prior gift, or something they have earned. It helps them feel more personally involved in the act of helping others. Thanks.
Shari Nelson-Faulkner
Harris-Stowe University Choir Concert at Second March 30
As a part of our 175th anniversary celebration, the Harris-Stowe University Choir will present a concert at Second Baptist on Sunday, March 30, 5:00 p.m. The Choir will perform show tunes entitled Hurrah for Hollywood, the Choral Finale to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and selected spirituals.
This concert is in memory of and in tribute to Dr. John Whitney, former President of Harris College and Dr. John Ervin, former Dean of Stowe College, both of whom served as presidents of Second Baptist Church.
Kits Needed for Disaster Relief
Church World Services, an ecumenical organization that provides relief in times of natural disasters, violence or grinding poverty, is asking us to prepare school, hygiene, and baby kits for people in need. Lists of what needs to be included in each kit and samples of each kind are in the table in the narthex. If you can help, please purchase the items on one or more of the lists and pack them according to the directions provided. A small fee of $2 per kit is needed for CWS to process and ship the needed items to their final destination. Please bring your kits back to the church office by February 20. Make your processing check to Second Baptist with a memo “For CWS kits.” The youth are helping with the hygiene kits. Thank you and God bless you for helping others in need.
Mildred Shelton
Can You Help?
Second Baptist will be serving refreshments for Friendship International at Third Baptist Church downtown on Wednesday, February 13. Please let Mildred Shelton know if you can help. Volunteers will meet at the church at 7:30 a.m. to carpool to Delmar and will return by 11 a.m.
FI offers classes on learning English, becoming an American citizen, and crafts to people from other countries who are adjusting to life in America.
From the Pastor
Engaging the World
When I was tabulating a survey taken in the adult class in January, I was struck by the number of participants who declined to give strong marks to Second Baptist Church in terms of our outward mission thrust. Given the opportunity to describe ours as an activist congregation making a difference at the hurting edges of the city, almost no one gave our church high marks. American Baptist Women’s Ministries does notable work, and we are generous in contributing things. But those taking the survey were considering “hands-on” engagement.
Jan and I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know so many wonderful things about the city and metro area. But there are hurting edges to this city, and I believe it falls to us as a church to discover how we can offer a healing presence. I hope we will be attentive to opportunities around us to express Christ’s compassion.
One of those opportunities might have opened through our concern for Burmese refugees. As you know, we adopted a Karen (Burmese) family but were stymied by agency regulations. We recently learned that there are three Burmese Americans who have united at a south city church located near where the Karen and Chin have settled. Five of us met last Saturday met with a group of newly arrived refugees. These families are sponsored by the government for three months and then expected to live on their own.
Learning the language, city life, American culture, different employment customs and learning to cope for the first time with the severity of winter, it is mind-boggling to consider what these families are facing. The Chin and Karen people have had serious conflicts with the ruling military dictators of Burma. Hence, they have been driven into exile and are coming to the USA for political asylum. Many of them have lived for years in refugee camps along the borders of their homeland.
We divided into small groups, and I had two men and a young adult woman with whom to engage in conversational English. It was a joy getting to know them and watching them open up as trust developed. Talking is a challenge given the language barrier. Our focus last Saturday was learning to describe practical medical needs. Those of us from Second had a wonderful time interacting and letting them know that someone in this big anonymous city cares about them.
I have no idea what door will open to us, but for now, we are encouraging members of the Burmese Mission Group (or any others) to go on Saturday mornings as a loving presence and engage in conversation with these refugees. They are eager to become self-sufficient. The two men in my small group were beginning a job last Monday with a landscaping firm. They were so excited, and I pray that their employer will be understanding of the language and cultural obstacles these men have to overcome.
I believe this door will continue to open for us. We also have a group of members committed to work with Habitat for Humanity in St. Louis beginning this spring. We have another group meeting to consider jazz and blues vespers. We have another group working on the John Mason Peck Walk in the Woods. And I think with our hearts open that other doors will open as well. As we wait and pray for opportunities to unfold, we know that God calls us to engage the world with compassion, justice, and equality.
- Stephen Jones
