Merry Christmas From Your District Office Staff

We, your Missouri District Church of the Nazarene office staff, would like to wish you a very blessed Christmas and peace filled New Year. "And in [our] prayers for you [our] hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. {15} Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" (2 Cor 9:14-15, NIV). Sincerely, Rev. Michael Palmer and wife Mary (District Superintendent), Rev. Gary Daud and wife Connie (District Office Manager and Treasurer), and Mrs. Pat Morrison and husband Mike (Office Secretary).

Annapolis Church Sells Property

The Annapolis church closed on the sale of their existing church building ahead of schedule last Tuesday (12/12/06)! They have until January 15 to vacate the property. The city of Annapolis purchased the property for their asking price and as of now it will become a Medical Clinic & Library. Their new church is almost complete. They are in the process of finishing the parking lot & carpeting. Rev. Casteel, has been pastor at the Annapolis church since 1964 (42 years!).

Pinecrest's Water Tower Completed!

The new 55,000 gallon water tower at Pinecest is finished. However it is not connected to their current water system yet as it will take another $15-20,000 to build the pump house, buy & install pumps, & lay water lines. See previous post by clicking here.

Beams Visit Reynolds Hospital in Washim, India

While at the 2005 General Assembly, Rev. Gerald and Carol Beam were asked by Dan Ketchem to serve with him on the South Asia Medical Partners. Since one of their projects was to build a new College of Nursing at the Reynolds Memorial Hospital in Washim, India, it was suggested that the next annual meeting be scheduled at the same time as the dedication of that new facility. The Beams decided to make the trip, and it turned out to be a great blessing. While there, they even got to meet three of the children whom they are sponsoring through Nazarene Compassionate Ministries! (Rev. Beam is a Nazarene Elder and attends the Dexter Southwest church.)

Harvester To Host MNU Alumni Gathering

Pastor Harold Wedel would like to announce that the Harvester Church of the Nazarene is hosting a MNU Alumni gathering on Sat, Jan 20. All former students of Mid-America Nazarene College/University are invited to attend. If you have questions the church office at 636-441-7997.

Christmas Musical at Southside

St. Louis Southside’s Interim Pastor, Jami Konya, reports that last Sunday, December 10, the church there enjoyed a full house with 125 people in attendance. Harvester’s Children’s Pastor, Randy Calhoun, brought his 60 member children's musical team to Southside and presented, "Miracle on Main Street" (Of course that meant that Harvester was a little less crowded!). She concludes, "The children did an outstanding job and we loved seeing a glimpse of what God has in store for Southside. Thanks to Pastor Wedel, Pastor Calhoun, and Pastor Cho, the Southside church has enjoyed three special events all supported by the Harvester church. We are catching the vision of God's future for us in this part of the city and we are excited! Happy Birthday Jesus!"

Prayer Request For Mary Hall (MK, Ecuador)

Sherri had to take Mary to the emergency room because she has an injury in the muscle above her knee that isn’t healing. The doctors said that the bruised area has an abscess that if left unattended will only get worse. Already Mary has a lot of swelling, pain and can’t walk without a limp, especially at the end of the day. The doctors put her on a strong anti-flammatory medicine and antibiotics. If there isn’t a big improvement by this weekend, we’re going to have to go to a orthopedic doctor and have it drained which is considered minor surgery. Obviously, we don’t want that, so pray that (1) she’ll remember to keep her leg propped up at school this week and (2) the meds and warm compresses will allow the pus to self-drain. (Note: Dr. Stan and Sherri Hall are our Missouri missionaries serving in Quito, Ecuador).

12/15/06 - Update on Mary: Sherri Hall emailed the district office this morning and stated that they have decided to take Mary to the orthopedist to have her leg lanced/drained. She adds, "She's tired of the pain, and it hasn't improved much." Please continue to keep her in your prayers.

12/18/06 - Update on Mary: Here is the latest report from Sherri, "We went to a Sports Orthopedist doctor last night. As it turned out, the bump on her leg is not an abscess and it does not need to be drained. This doctor says that it's a hemotoma where all the blood rushed to the spot of injury and then formed this bump. There's not much that can be done except rest (yeah, right!), heat compresses and time. It will take 2-3 months to completely heal. I questioned him so much about whether or not there was infection, he almost laughed at me. Then he wrote out a prescription which began with "Calma!" which translates as "chill out!" At least, now I'm convinced that there's not infection, so that's a relief."

Christmas Banquet Held for District Leadership

Rev. Michael and Mary Palmer hosted the annual Christmas DAB and department leader's banquet at Sam's Steakhouse in St. Louis last Saturday. Everyone shared in a wonderful time of food and fellowship with our new district superintendent and his wife. Also in attendance were the Pinecrest directors, office secretary and district treasurer.

Webster Groves Presents Christmas Cantata

Pastor Brad Stockton reports that the St. Louis Webster Groves church had a wonderful night of honoring our Savior and sowing the Gospel seed Sunday night, December 10. "The Wonder of Christmas," a cantata, was presented by not only Webster's choir but members from both the South County and Southwest churches. Practice for the contata began in September and the choir certainly presented to God the sacrifice of an unblemished lamb. Following the cantata the Gospel was presented and people were given an opportunity to accept Christ. We are now praying for the seeds that were sown to be watered and to grow.

Piedmont Building Project Update

Gary Rhodes, Pastor of the Piedmont Church of the Nazarene, sent in this picture to show the progress they are making on their new sanctuary. They are currently worshipping in the city's Family Youth Center.

New Life Featured in GROW Magazine

Pastor Bryan Davis and the New Life church were featured in the latest edition of GROW Magazine. The title of the article is, "A Merger That Worked". In it, Bryan explained the process of selling the former Overland property, merging the former Overland and Bridgeton churches, and then starting the New Life church in O'Fallon, MO. Since moving into their new building in earlier this year, the New Life attendance has risen from an average of 150 to 170. You can visit their website at www.nlchurch.org.

It's a Girl!

Rev. Cal and Ceresa Callender are the proud parents of a baby girl, Morgan Jaylynn Callender, born December 1st. Cal is the youth pastor at the Gateway Central Church of the Nazarene and both serve on the Missouri District NYI Council. Congratulations!

Dr. Stan Toler To Speak at Men's Retreat

The Missouri District Men’s Retreat new and improved website is now online with all the information about the 2007 Men’s Retreat, to be held April 27-28, 2007. Rev. Stan Toler (pictured) will be the special speaker. According to Rev. Chip Rudin, the Men’s Retreat Director, the website has all the information someone will need about the events and activities of the weekend. You can download the necessary application and medical form to get your men's group on the road or register and pay online. Visit http://www.pinecrestcamp.org/MensRetreat/ for all the details.

Ice Storm Causes Cancellation of Church Services

Last week's ice storm will not only be remembered in Missouri for it's massive power outages and widespread transportation disruption, but many on the Missouri District will also remember it for being responsible for Sunday's services being cancelled. This was due to either icy parking lot conditions, impassable roads, lack of electricity, or a combination of all three! Fortunately we have not had any reports come to us here in the district office of major property damage to any of our churches.

Jonathan Humbert Accepts Call to Bernie

Rev. Jonathan Humbert and his wife Donna have accepted the call to the Bernie Church. Rev. Humbert served as Children's Pastor several years back at the Webster Groves church before leaving for Nazarene Bible College in 1999. Their first Sunday at Bernie will be January 14th.

NYI COG (Centering on God) Retreat a Success!

Rev. James Chapman was the speaker for this year’s COG Retreat. 268 teens and sponsors attended this year’s COG traditionally held at Pinecrest. “Big Chap” did a great job of challenging the teens to look closely at themselves and to draw closer to God. A PR group from MNU led everyone in worship. Thanks to Charlie Qualls who did another great job again this year in organizing COG!