Wednesday Night Fellowship Meal

Each Wednesday night September through April, the church offers a fellowship meal for anyone and everyone. The suggested donation is $5 per person. The church has several activities on Wednesday night that start at 6:30 so families can come to enjoy a delicious meal and catch up with each other before their kids attend ROK (Reaching Our Kids), attend confirmation class, attend a bible study, or a choir practice. Some pick up a meal and take it home. A vital part of church life is regular fellowship with other Christians. Just sign up after Sunday worship or call the office to sign up at (573) 796-4885.

Fall Church Party

Each fall on the second Sunday of October, the church sponsors a fall party that involves a hayride, bounce house, games, pumpkin carving, and lots of food including roasting hot dogs and s’mores over a campfire. We make available a place for families to take family pictures. It is a great time of fellowship and fun.

Children’s Time

Every Sunday morning, preschoolers through the elementary grades, are invited to come forward for a special message just for them. Our high school youth prepare a special puppet presentation once a month that they present during Children’s Time.

Children in grades 2-7 may participate in Sunday morning worship by being an acolyte or singing with God’s singers.

Women’s Guild

Leader: Pamela Ives Hill

My husband, Doug, our son, Stephen, and I moved from Bellingham, Washington, in 2000. We spent several years searching for a church home, and through Reaffirmation of Faith and Stephen’s baptism, our family joined the United Church of Christ California in December 2005. Our son and his wife, Angela, now live in St. Louis but often visit and join us at worship services.

We have been very blessed to be members of the UCC California. Our church is a beautiful place to worship, receive biblical education and fellowship. We value the
friendships and support we have received over the years from our church family during difficult and happy times in our lives.

I have been involved in several church ministries, serving on the Evangelism Committee, Financial Review Committee, and the Consistory. My husband has served on the Building Committee. After my retirement as an accountant and adjunct accounting professor, I became active in the Women’s Guild.

The Women’s Guild meets on the third Wednesday afternoon of each month. We are a group of women of all age groups. Our meetings are both inspirational and informative. In 2022, we are wrapping up our study of Jesus’s Miracles and will start a study of Lamentations. We have studied the Twelve Apostles, the Catechism, and the Women of the Bible in the past few years. We enjoy our study time, brief business meeting, and fellowship.

The Women’s Guild offers Celebration of Life dinners to all members and extended church families. Our monthly offering and donations fund the dinners. We have two groups that alternate in preparing and serving the meals and volunteers who prepare the deserts. As requested, we also support the other church needs in serving meals and refreshments.

Our group participates in various activities, such as birthday celebrations at the local care centers and other community projects like 3MT, the Community Service Project, Ministerial Alliance Thanksgiving meal, and the Red Cross Blood Drive. We support a monthly benevolence and provide cards, gifts, and prayers for our shut-in church members. We provide flowers for the sanctuary and throughout the church.

Favorite Bible Verse:
Philippians 4:13
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” NKJV

The Guild is active in many projects throughout the year. These include:

  • serving celebration of life dinners for church family and friends
  • hosting the Confirmation reception
  • leading a birthday party for California Care residents
  • delivering gifts and cookies to our church family members in care centers
  • serving a meal for the annual Community Service Project
  • cleaning the kitchen and other such projects as needed
  • supporting and promoting the Festival of Sharing with monetary gifts, kits, and Best Choice labels

They also willingly take on other projects in the church as needed or asked to do.

Men’s Brotherhood

Leader: David Meyer

Hi, I am serving my first term as the Chair of Men’s Brotherhood. I grew up in High Point, MO. My wife Rhonda and my two daughters, Caitlin and Cameron, and I have been church members here for approximately 20 years. The Brotherhood is a group of men of all ages. We meet on the fourth Monday of each month. We start with a devotion, usually a short business meeting, then a program of various sorts, quite often a guest speaker with a great deal of interaction with the members. We take turns providing refreshments and we do a lot of visiting. Other activities include decorating the church for Christmas, Christmas caroling, a community service project with inmates from the Tipton Correctional Center, and church services at the nursing homes when our church is responsible for services.

Favorite Bible Verse: “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

All men of the church are invited and encouraged to be a part of the Brotherhood meetings on the fourth Monday evening most months, at 7:00 PM. Typical meetings include a devotion, hymn singing, informational and inspiration program, and closing with fellowship and refreshments. An offering is taken each month to support various projects around the church and our community.

The Brotherhood is involved in a variety of projects and programs throughout the year. These include:

  • Community service project with the Methodist Men and Tipton Correctional Center inmates     Picture shows Tipton inmate at Sunday worship sharing what the week of service meant to him.
  • Family fish fry meal with the Central UCC Brotherhood in Jefferson City
  • Decorate the sanctuary and outdoors for Christmas
  • Christmas Caroling to care centers and invited homes
  • They are often involved with the community Crop Walk and help around the church or assist with other projects as requested.

Traditionally, the Brotherhood provides a special anthem during a Lenten service each year.