Following service on Sunday, October 21st, join us for a forum to meet the 2018 candidates for the Board of Directors. Visit this page after Monday, October 15th to read bios of all the candidates!

The election of candidates will occur at the Annual Congregational Meeting on Sunday, November 4, 2018.

On Sunday, October 14th we will have a Special Congregational Meeting to hear about and vote on any relevant offer(s) on our building for a sale. Additionally, the Board will review the two draft budgets below for the congregation for 2019. One shows our budget if we do not sell, and the other shows our budget if we are renting space (while searching for a new permanent home). Please make it a priority to attend this Special Congregational Meeting.

Here are the budgets the Board has put together:

2019 Rent Budget vs 2018 Budget

2019 No Sale Budget vs 2018 Budget

Special Congregational Meeting Agenda

This will be a great opportunity to enjoy playing games together in a place designed for the gamer in you! 

If you love board games, getting know others and having lots of fun, then this is for you! Pieces Cafe in Soulard has 800+ games to enjoy along with food and drinks and will serve as a great atmosphere to enjoy playing games!

The cost to play games is $5 per night, plus any money that you might spend on food or drink.

We are blessed to have Jennifer Kovar to come and offer us the Estate Planning Seminar.
Jennifer’s law firm, Kovar Law Firm, LLC, is located in the heart of Maplewood in
St. Louis. She frequently assists LGBTQIA+ clients in Missouri and Illinois with
their estate planning. This includes wills, trusts, powers of attorney for property
and finance, and a variety of health care documents as well as name and gender
marker changes. Jennifer also provides legal services for new businesses, such
as drafting formation documents, and assists in many ancillary real estate
matters. Jennifer serves on the board of STL Village (aging in community).
Former board service includes Gateway Business Guild (LGBTQIA+ chamber of
commerce), Confluence Academy Charter Schools and St. Louis Frontrunners
(LGBT running/walking club). Jennifer received her education from University of
Tulsa College of Law, University of Oklahoma, and is a Fulbright Scholar.

For the third year in a row, the MCCGSL Choir has been invited to sing the National Anthem at the September Cardinal game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Our seats are in a new location this year,  right field box seats. The choir will process right in front of your seats! 

The Choir is selling game tickets for $20 each, normal price for these seats is $44. 

Ticket Sales are now closed.

This is a gathering of adults age 50+ for a time of socialization, great food, and education. Each month a guest presenter is invited to share about topics of importance to mature adults. SAGE provides the main course, and all are asked to bring a side dish to share.

Can you believe it? This year MCC will host the 20th Annual Golf Classic! Over the course of 20 years this tournament has been a place for a lot of fun, making connections, and helping worthy causes. The tournament obviously supports the work of MCC, but each year a portion of the funds collected are used to create a community grant. This grant has been awarded to many community groups that help to make St. Louis stronger! We hope you will play with us this year as we celebrate this historic anniversary!

If you don't golf, but would like to join us for dinner, please buy your dinner tickets below. DINNER TICKETS ARE SOLD OUT!

We’re cooking up some fun with food truck style!  Learn how to put a fun spin on the traditional taco with our Korean Beef Taco and White Fish Taco with Peach Salsa. Guests can try out our favorite chopping gadgets as we make Eckert’s Homemade Salsa and Mexican Street Corn. This class is hands-on and will be tons of fun!

The cost is $40 per person which includes everything needed to make the tacos!

The labyrinth is a walking meditation, a path of prayer and an archetypal blueprint where psyche meets Spirit. It has only one path that leads from the outer edge in a circuitous way to the center.There are no tricks to it and no dead ends. Unlike a maze where you lose your way, the labyrinth is a spiritual tool that can help you find your way.  Join Pastor Katie to experience this amazing spiritual practice.

It's Back! Queer Eye (for the Straight Guy) is back with a whole new cast and a new way of dealing with social issues while providing make-overs! In this first episode of season two entitled, "God Bless Gay," a devoutly religious African American woman with a gay son and a giving heart gets a new look—and a makeover for her church's new community center. After, we’ll have a great chat about the episode!

In the middle of such busy lives, it is challenging to find moments to be still and silent.  And even when we do, many of us struggle to take advantage of it and instead, fill it up with more noise and activity.  If you would like to learn more about the power of being silent and still, please join  us for this experience of silence.  It will be a guided experience and though it might stretch you, it will also fill you with a greater sense of well-being.

If you have been visiting for a while and want to learn more about our church, this class is for you! All are welcome and there is no requirement to become a member.

In the class, we will explore what MCC believes, the work we feel called to do and the ways we are invested in your spiritual life. Lunch and breakfast are provided.

Gather around with others to listen to stories and experience how important stories are in helping us to understand more about our whole selves.  

This is a great way to be in touch with things inside your heart and soul that might not otherwise be revealed.  This session will be facilitated by Dr. Cheska Ferentelli so you will be in great hands!  Dr. Cheska will be sharing the stories so your job will only be to listen and follow her lead to glean something from them that is valuable for your journey now. The cost is only $5 so sign up today.
 

Every summer we do a sermon series called "The Faith We Sing" and we focus on the lessons of different genres of music.  Last year was Broadway and this year will be Motown!  We are offering daily meditations to be emailed to you for the month of July. These online daily affirmations and reflections will invite you into a brief moment of focusing on your life, your spirit and the wisdom of Motown!!!  The reflections and affirmations will flow right along with the sermons in July.

Beginning at dusk each night, Flora Borealis visitors will embark on a 1-mile journey through iconic Garden locations transformed through a combination of lights, moving images, and sounds that bring the Garden to life like never before.  This will be a great summer evening activity and is great for the whole family! The cost is $22 for Seniors and Adults and $10 for children under 12.

!From time to time, it becomes necessary for us to do some cleaning of the inside of our church home . . . just like you have to do for your own home.  So, please come and help us do a little painting, deeper cleaning, vacuuming, and decluttering!!!  We will only be INSIDE and we always have fun in the process!  Plus, lunch will be provided!

Please be sure to RSVP so we know how many to plan on for lunch. Make sure you indicate any food allergies as well.

To follow right along with our Motown Sermon Series in July, this will be a chance to see one of the most celebrated Motown Movies:  Dreamgirls.  Based on the 1981 Broadway musical comes Dreamgirls, it is a story of greed, tough hate, and romance.  A trio of black female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960s, facing their own personal struggles along the way.

The cost for this event is $10, which includes great finger foods and a cozy place to watch the movie.

The Standing Up, Speaking Out Conference begins on Thursday, July 26 and continues until Sunday, July 29 at the Westport Tower Hotel.

Sponsored by Christian Feminism Today (CFT), this conference will cover a wide range of social justice topics.  CFT will be focusing the conference on Christian feminism in 2018 and would be a great opportunity to learn and meet new people who are involved in justice work from a feminist perspective.  Please drop by the Engage Room for a brochure with more details or visit the CFT webpage by clicking of the CFT link below.

Transgender people, and particularly transgender women of color, are disproportionately affected by hate violence. Sadly, the tragedy of these incidents is often compounded by reporting that does not respect (or even exploits and sensationalizes) the victim's gender identity. Because of this, we need to be sure that we are properly informed and educated and understand the ways we can be advocates to make a difference. Come hear Lady Ashley from QTPOC (Queer and Trans People of Color) speak to us on these issues. Stop by the Engage Room for a brochure or click on the link below for more information.

The Surge is the professional women’s basketball team in St. Louis, Missouri, competing in the Women’s Blue Chip Basketball League (WBCBL). They are 3-peat Regional Champions and 2-time National Champions, making head coach Tony Condra the most decorated head coach of the Surge. The Surge is in their strongest season yet.  This is our opportunity to have fun together, enjoy basketball AND support this women's sport team in St. Louis!!! 

Because we are a congregational church, major decisions of the church are made by a vote of the full congregation, not just the leadership. Therefore, on July 15, after an 8-week period of discernment, we will gather for a time of decision-making and setting a course for our future.

Please make plans to join us on Sunday, July 15, immediately following worship for a Special Congregational Meeting. We will be voting on the which of the 3 options offered by the Board of Directors to select as our path forward. A quorum is needed, so your attendance is very important.

As a reminder, the three options presented by the Board of Directors are as follows:

1. Begin an active search for a building where we can try to maintain current staffing and programming.

2. Run a 1 million dollar, 3-4 year capital campaign that will reduce our debt on our current building to a manageable level.

3. Make staff and program reductions to balance the budget in an effort to afford the current building.

Click Here for the detailed agenda for the Special Congregational Meeting.

* If you missed the previous forums and wish to view the recording, email the church at info@mccgsl.org with a request for the video, and a link to the recording will be provided to you.

Because we are a congregational church, major decisions of the church are made by a vote of the full congregation, not just the leadership. Therefore, on July 1, we gather for three main purposes as we work toward a time of decision-making.

First, the Board will share what they have been hearing in feedback since our previous forum. Second, the Board will give a bit more detailed information about each of the three options presented for the congregation to consider. Finally, there will be an open time of sharing for the congregation to hear from one another. The Board wants to allow space and time for this important dialogue between the members of the congregation in advance of the July 15 Congregational Meeting. We hope you will prioritize this forum and the Congregational Meeting.

Again, the three options under consideration are:

1. Sell our current building and purchase a new smaller building that is more manageable for us.

2. Run a 1 million dollar, 3-4 year capital campaign that will reduce our debt on our current building to manageable level.

3. Reduce our staffing to one pastor with limited part-time support staff in order to be able to afford our current mortgage costs.

* If you missed the previous forum and wish to view the recording, email the church at info@mccgsl.org with a request for the video, and a link to the recording will be provided to you.

Join us for a special Pride Sunday worship service from 10-11 am! We are happy to once again be the coordinators of the worship service held on the main stage at Pride! We are also very excited that we have some new ecumenical partners whose congregations will be joining us. Please make a special effort to be present so that there are enough of us to be a true witness to God's all inclusive love!

Following are the dates and locations for the 2018 Pride Celebrations in the St. Louis area that MCCGSL is participating in:

· June 16 - Pride St. Charles, 11am-10pm, Frontier Park in St. Charles

· June 23 - Tower Grove Pride, 12pm - 8 pm, Tower Grove Park

· June 23 & 24 - PrideFest St. Louis,  11am - 7pm (Sat), 11am - 6pm (Sun), Soldier's Memorial Park . Pride Interfaith Service at 10am on Sunday on the Main Stage.

Visit the Pride Table in the Engage Room today or any Sunday before June 3 or click on the link below to order your 2018 Pride T-Shirt . T-Shirts are $16 for Crew Necks, sizes S to XL and $18 for V-Necks and Crew Necks sizes 2X and larger. Shirts for Kids are only available in Crew Neck and are $16.

All are invited to join us for our 5th Annual Family Day Celebration coming up on June 3! This is an opportunity where we intentionally CELEBRATE all kinds of families in our community. 

A fun filled day that starts with worship and continues on with food, games, bouncy houses, prizes and much more! This is a great day for our whole church community!

In Scripture, Jesus modeled prayer for us in what we call the “Lord’s Prayer” or the “Our Father.” Now through Sunday, May 20th, Pastor Wes will be preaching about the types of things that Jesus was teaching us about prayer in his example. This series invites us all to join Christ in prayer: “Pray With Me.”

As we learn and experience more about The Lord's Prayer in worship, this program will be an additional way to engage in the practice of prayer and reflection each day. This will be done online so all you have to do is commit to it and have a phone or computer handy. Try daily prayer for these 7 weeks and see what a difference it makes in your life.

Join Rev. Katie at MCCGSL on Sunday, May 6 for a Holy Conversation about our future.

2018 is an important year for our church and denomination as we celebrate 45 and 50 years of doing ministry in St. Louis and around the globe. These important markers offer an opportunity to appreciate all that we have done while simultaneously, expecting that God is ready to give us a new picture of our future.

Pastors Wes, Lillie and Katie will be inviting all of you in groups of 10 to come to their homes and have Holy Conversations about the future of MCCGSL. What are your hopes and dreams for this community of faith? What are you most passionate about in your life, and where does that intersect with your faith? Who do you believe God is calling us to be in this new season? All of these questions and more, invite us to pray, share, listen and discern so that our future together is all that God has imagined for us.

Since we talk about providing backpacks of food for kids at Clay Elementary so often, it is easy to let our needs around it go in one ear and out the other.  Still, every week, there are kids who literally depend on us to supply the food they have to eat over the weekend.  What seems routine to us is vital to them.  Please help us focus during the month of April on stocking up with plenty of food OR giving money to allow us to buy food.  Go by the Outreach Table in the Engage Room and find out more details as to how you can help in this vital ministry.