Welcome to the Missouri Mid-South Conference!
The Missouri Mid-South Conference is the collection of 139 local congregations in the United Church of Christ denomination. We cover the geographic region of Missouri, Arkansas, and Memphis, TN. Within these congregations are over 48,500 members.
Office closures
Upcoming holiday closures for the Missouri Mid-South Conference office are:
Thursday, Nov 28th Thanksgiving Wednesday Dec 25th Christmas Day
Friday, Nov 29th Thanksgiving Tuesday, Dec. 31st New Year's Eve
Tuesday. Dec 24th Christmas Eve Wednesday, Jan. 1st New Year's Day 2020
As a reminder, in the event of inclement weather, the Conference Office follows the closure schedule of the Webster Groves School District.
The United Church of Christ is just that—a united church. That means our 5,287 churches across the country are as diverse as the country as a whole, and we encompass a broad spectrum of beliefs, values and worldviews under the umbrella of a united church. To manage our many autonomous congregations, the UCC is divided into 38 conferences.
MMSC Joins UCC National Setting to Erase Medical Debt for St. Louis County and City Families at the Poverty Level
St. Louis Medical Debt Relief Donations Accepted until November 15
Recently, the Missouri Mid-South Conference office was contacted by the Rev. Traci Blackmon, Associate General Minister for Justice and Local Church Ministries, to see if the St. Louis city and county churches of the Missouri Mid-South Conference would be interested in joining the national setting to abolish the medical debt from families who live at or below poverty in St. Louis city and county.
On Saturday, our Conference Council discussed the Medical Debt Abolishment Purchase collaboration among the Churches, Association, Conference, Deaconess Foundation and national setting of the UCC.
The Conference Council voted the following actions:
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Affirm my leadership to advocate for and promote this endeavor with our St. Louis city and county churches and the St. Louis Association Council.
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Contribute $1,000 to the St. Louis Debt Abolishment Purchase in support of this endeavor as well as the broader concept of medical debt relief in expanded areas of focus.
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Encourage me as Conference Minister to pursue initiating similar collaborations for our other two Associations: rural areas of the Eastern Association in 2020 and the Kansas City area of the Western Association in 2021 with a financial commitment of $1,000 to each association.
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Encourage Rev. Blackmon and the national setting to include rural communities in future medical debt abolishment endeavors because of the high propensity of medical debt among the poor in rural communities.
Learn more about UCC Medical Debt Relief.
Please join us & make a donation today! The deadline to submit your check (payable to the MMS Conference with a memo to St. Louis Medical Debt Relief) is November 15, 2019.
Recommended Resources for Strong and Healthy Relationships Between the Church and Pastor
The UCC has put out a new resource called A Sure Foundation in which they advocate for Pastoral Relations Committees, and it is strongly recommended that all Churches and Pastors purchase this resource!
Pastoral Relations Committees should meet on a monthly or bi-monthly basis even and especially when there is no conflict. This allows the Pastor and PRC to develop a relationship, where the Pastor can share the big picture of ministry at the church as well as any emerging concerns that the Pastor wants someone to know about. The PRC should be a small group able to keep the confidences of the Pastor. It should include those who are and are not the Pastor’s biggest fans so that the PRC is not tempted from either extreme (to rubberstamp the Pastor or the upset Church members). The PRC should also establish rules such as they
will not allow anonymous complaints about the Pastor to be legitimized and they will first encourage the person with the concern to go to the Pastor directly (or meet with both parties if that is unrealistic). This prevents triangulation of Church members and the Pastor.
This resource also advocates for Behavioral Covenants, which can be used with any group that is working together to set the ground rules of how we will behave or relate to one another. If we are serious about creating healthy Churches, A Sure Foundation provides excellent tools for your Church to accomplish this with Pastoral Relations Committees and Behavioral Covenants!
Welcome Rev. Nicole Havelka, Interim Minister for Search and Call Discernment!
In consultation with the Personnel Committee, the MMSC has hired the Rev. Nicole Havelka as the Interim Minister for Search and Call Discernment in the Missouri Mid-South Conference. This is a part-time position that will focus on the search and call transition for local churches and ministers. Rev. Havelka will minister with us from October 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020. Her resume includes Conference Ministry in the following Conferences: Tri-Conference, Indiana-Kentucky, Ohio, and Michigan, as well as the national setting of the UCC. Rev. Havelka will commute two weeks out of each month to visit churches and ministers. Her website will also provide a glimpse into her ministry skills she brings to us: www.defythetrend.com .
You may contact Rev. Havelka at:
(314) 301-9842 (mobile)
Schedule an appointment by clicking this online link.
Seeking Nominations to the Missouri Mid-South Conference Council
The Missouri Mid-South Conference is seeking a highly qualified, diverse pool of potential candidates for the limited number of Conference Council position. We are gathering names Conference-wide and through the Associations. Prospects are vetted and selected by the Conference Leadership Development Committee as to the best fit for the needs of the Conference. Those ultimately nominated by the committee are carefully chosen so the Council represents diverse population groups and can bring to its deliberations a variety of points of view and life experiences, as well as access to cultural, religious, educational, civic, business and economic resources. Send Conference Council submissions to Bill Biedenstein at wmbiedenstein@sbcglobal.net.