Join us for worship this Sunday, Nov. 14th, and help us say farewell to Pastor Erin. After 7 wonderful years together, we will send Pastor Erin off to her family and her new congregation in Washington, D.C. with love and faith. We give thanks to God who gave us this wonderful season together. There will be music, maybe a few tears, and certainly so very much silliness and love!
Worship will be at 10:30 a.m. in the sanctuary (with masks and distancing) and online (click here for the Zoom info and online bulletin).
Special thanks go out to our Stewardship and Property Committee who worked to get our roof replaced this week. We are so thankful for the generosity and administration of this congregation that we had the funds to cover this necessary repair. And also, look how pretty it is!
Join us after worship, both online and in-person, on Sunday 11/7 for a Congregational Meeting.
Pastor Erin has announced her resignation as Pastor at Oak Hill Presbyterian Church. You can read her letter to the congregation here. Her last Sunday will be Nov. 14th and her last day in the office will be Nov. 17th. The Session has called a Congregational Meeting for Sunday Nov. 7, 2021 after worship to act on Pastor Erin’s request to dissolve her pastoral call, and at the meeting we will also receive the report from the nominating committee, and receive the asking budget for 2022.
After the meeting, we will be making a special field trip to a special secret location for lunch. Pack a bag lunch and get ready for a fun little adventure!
With so much love in my heart, tonight I told the Session that I am resigning my position as pastor at Oak Hill Presbyterian Church. My last day with you will be on November 17th. I have accepted a call to serve as the Designated Pastor at Church of the Pilgrims in Washington, DC beginning in January of the new year.
I have loved every moment of these last 7 years we’ve shared ministry and community and life together here at Oak Hill and in St. Louis. And, in all of this good ministry we have done together in this place, I am simply too far away from my family. During this extended pandemic season, that longing in my heart to be nearer my family grew. Into that longing God worked in a mysterious way to bring me into conversation with a wonderful and passionate congregation in that city by the Potomac. The folks who gather at Church of the Pilgrims are small congregation with a commitment to justice and hospitality, who love creative worship, enjoy meaningful fellowship, and are excited about how God is calling them to serve in new ways in this new time. And through a lot of conversation and even more prayer, together with them, I have discerned that God is calling me to join them in ministry at this time.
Even as it breaks my heart to leave us.
From the moment of my first visit to St. Louis, you have loved me, encouraged me, inspired me, and challenged me. You taught me how to be a pastor. You showed me how to be community. You guided me in the ways of parenting and in the ways of processed cheese-food eating. You took me to concerts and on float trips and brought me into your homes for holiday meals. We read books together, we set up shelter beds together, we played foosball together, we drank coffee-communion together. We marched in the streets together and we cried in hospital rooms together. We sang together in in the sanctuary and we sat awkwardly together in separate tiny little zoom boxes together for online pandemic worship. We made go-bags together, we did play-doh bible study together, and we did so many craft projects together. We trapped squirrels and racoons and bats together. We danced and laughed and engaged in general silliness together. We shared life and faith and hope together.
And it has been so beautiful, and life-changing, and wonderful. And I love you so very much. It is terribly hard for me to imagine driving away from this life and ministry that we have shared together. And yet, God has called. And I know the faithful thing for me to do at this moment is to follow.
In the coming days and weeks, and with the support of the Presbytery, I will be meeting with our committees to make preparations for the smoothest transition possible (yes, I already have lists made!). Oak Hill is a strong, healthy, and adaptable community and you absolutely have leaders and resources in place to guide you through this change.
The Session has called a Congregational Meeting for Sunday Nov. 7, 2021 after worship, when we will formally dissolve our pastoral call (and receive the report from the nominating committee, and receive the asking budget for 2022).We will be sharing more logistical details and next steps at that time.
Until then, I invite you to join me in praying to the God who I am certain knows how special this place is, that God will be especially present with us in this time. I give thanks for all of our moments and ministry shared, and pray in confidence for whatever God has in store for Oak Hill next.
Join us outside, starting around 5:30 to hand out candy, listen to some wonderfully terrible kid jokes, and chat by the fire pit. An annual Oak Hill tradition, adults and kids and fun people of all ages are invited to help us greet our neighbors and share in a spooky good time. Sunday 10/31 from around 5:30-8:30 p.m. Costumes encouraged!
Tell your puppy, warn your cat, let all the little critters know! We will have a special worship service on Sunday, October 10th at 2pm outside on the front porch to bless all our animals. You bring the creature, we’ll share a blessing and a treat. Hope to see you there!
Join us outside in the park this Saturday from 11am-6pm for Tower Grove Pride! Oak Hill will have a booth full of art activities and candy and fun! You can find us on the south, kinda west-ish part of the festival. There will be great music and events throughout the day! We can’t wait to see you there!
We kick off our fall Intergenerational Sunday School class on Sept. 19th. Join us in person, masked and distanced, in the large assembly room at church on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. as we continue our study on Compassion. Children and Adults will discuss together stories of compassion in scripture. There will be art. There will be music. There will be lots to talk about! See you on Sundays!
For years, we have joined other neighborhood and area congregations in sharing food and clothing and programming with our neighbors through Isaiah 58 Ministries. I-58 was established in 1970 to meet the needs of low-income individuals in our community through direct services including a food pantry, clothing closet, and utility assistance. Oak Hill Presbyterian Church supports this collaborative ministry in many ways, including collecting food to share with the I-58 food pantry during worship every week. If you are coming to worship with us, bring some food to share! Here’s what we are collecting in September and October:
September 5th – toothpaste 12th – macaroni and cheese or other boxed pasta or rice mix 19th – hearty soup 26th – oatmeal October 3rd – hand soap 10th – canned chicken 17th – your favorite vegetable 24th – canned spinach or other canned greens 31st – Happy Halloween – black beans and/or mandarin oranges
Loading up backpacks for Isaiah 58’s annual Back to School Fair! Collecting food for Isaiah 58’s Superhero Sunday! Helping with Food Justice Advocacy- letter writing at Isaiah 58’s Back to School Fair.Sharing all the food!
Come one, come all, bring your friends and invite your neighbors. (Well, with masks and distancing, of course.)
We will gather for outdoor worship, games, snacks and fun to celebrate Rally Day on Sept. 12th at 10:30 a.m.
We will share in worship outside (weather permitting). We invite you to bring your own lunch. We will provide drinks and chips. Then stay after worship for games and all kinds of silliness outside.
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