November 8th!!

Big news about an event on November 8th...check your e-mail.

The Carondelet Bakery

The Carondelet Bakery, founded in 1875, is the oldest bakery in St. Louis.



Bob Smith began working there as a 13 year old making $1/hr and bought the bakery from the man he worked for seven years later. He and Linda, who he married a year after he bought the bakery have owned it ever since. They live above the bakery and have raised 4 daughters there. You can read the full story of the Carondelet Bakery here.

Carondelet Bakery is said to have the best gooey butter cake in St. Louis, and several of you tried it at our Parish group meeting at our house in September.

If you need a gooey butter cake or any other baked goods (up to and including a wedding cake)



you might want to stop in at the Carondelet Bakery, say "Hello" to Bob & Linda and grab some goodies.

Here are their hours:

Sun & Mon Closed
Tues-Sat 8am-2pm

Saturday Service Opportunities

I'm so pleased that we've already begun serving in Carondelet prior to beginning public worship. God gave us opportunity with the handrails project, and we pray that more of those type of will be made known to us.

Tim Carroll and others installing handrails at the Work Day


As pleased as I am that we've got one project under our belt, I don't want us to rest on our laurels ;-) There will be opportunities to serve on probably three Saturdays each month (some of that depends on weather), on one of a few different projects. Here are the opportunities:

1st Saturday - St. Trinity Food Pantry
2nd Saturday - South City Work Day
3rd Saturday - Bellerive Park Clean-Up
5th Saturday - St. Trinity Food Pantry

I talked with Jean Kuhlman from St. Trinity and she told me that they usually have plenty of help for the 3rd & 4th Saturdays. We've now connected them with what we hope will be consistent help on 2nd Saturdays through the New City Work Day. But she told me that they usually need help on the 1st Saturday of the month, and on 5th Saturdays on months that have 5 Saturdays.

The 2nd Saturday of the month continues to be the New City Work day and I think at least 5 of us have already participated in one of those. I'd like to see that number continue to grow.

The 3rd Saturday which is one that will probably be more weather dependent is the Bellerive Park clean up, sponsored by the Carondelet Community Betterment Federation (CCBF). In fact, if there is a November date, it may be earlier in the month given weather and proximity to Thanksgiving.

I would really like to see some Resurrection folks help out at St. Trinity's food pantry on each 1st & 5th Saturday, and I'd like to have at least one Resurrection representative at each Bellerive Park clean up day as well. Looking at the rest of October & November, here's what will be available:

Sat Oct 31st - St. Trinity Food Pantry
Sat Nov 7 - St. Trinity Food Pantry
Sat Nov 14 - South City Work Day
Sat Nov 21 - Bellerive Park Clean-Up

Think about it. Pray about it. I'll be seeking to fill up a sign up sheet soon.

The Villas and Public Service

I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know 11th Ward Alderman Matt Villa over the last several months (Carondelet falls within the 11th Ward). I’ve bumped into him at a few community meetings, but the main way that I’ve gotten to know Matt is by meeting him on Friday mornings at the Foodland Grocery store on South Grand.



There’s a little makeshift “cafe” there and Matt holds “office hours” there each Friday morning from 8:30-9:30 to hear the concerns of his constituents and talk over whatever people would like to talk about.

From all that I’ve seen Matt is a very attentive alderman, tuned in to the 11th ward and its constituents and is responsive to people’s requests. Matt and his wife Laura, live in the 11th ward with their two boys. He has served as the 11th ward alderman for more than a dozen years.

But public service goes back a lot further in Matt’s family. His grandfather “Red” Villa was an alderman in Carondelet for years and held “office hours” himself, at a neighborhood watering hole. Here’s a bust of Alderman “Red” Villa (complete with stogie!) in the middle of the Ivory Triangle, commemorating his years in public service, especially in the 11th ward.



The scriptures say that we are to pay honor and respect to governing authorities to whom honor and respect are due (see below) they are God’s ministers, God's servants, to serve the people over whom they govern.

1Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
Romans 13.1-7

Pray for Alderman Matt Villa, that he would continue to govern with integrity, serving the cause of justice, rewarding the good and punishing wrongdoers, and exercising his governing authority with wisdom and humility.

Serving in Carondelet

One of the ways that I believe we can have an effective gospel witness in the Carondelet community is to serve the community as we "seek the welfare of the city" into which God is sending us. One of the goals I had for our church is that we would be engaged in serving the community even before we started worshipping there.

After getting a referral from the Carondelet Community Betterment Foundation (CCBF) several weeks ago, Tom Hanley & I, along with Andrew Stern and April Mininger (both from New City Fellowship) went down to visit an elderly resident in Carondelet who had requested a wheelchair ramp. Ora, who is originally from Memphis, but moved to Carondelet to live with her daughter Verdi several years ago, is a dear woman. She's blind and in her early 90's, but she possesses an iron grip and a cheerful spirit. We talked and prayed with her, and got hugged on a bit too. She was eager to tell us about her church, where she has been faithfully attending since she moved to St. Louis. After assessing her situation, we decided that handrails on her steps would be better at this point than a ramp.



I'm pleased to say that with the cooperation of New City Fellowship's South City Work Day we were able to compile a team of volunteers including Tom Hanley & Tim Carroll who were able to build handrails outside Ora's home.



We're grateful to have had the opportunity to meet and work with Ora & Verdi, and hopefully to minister to a sister in Christ in a way that will be helpful to her. We are very pleased with the blossoming relationship with CCBF and the referral that they provided, as well as the partnership with New City South's Work Day. Much thanks to Tom, Tim and the others who did the hard labor last Saturday, and for Tom's leadership and his efforts on this project. In addition to last Saturday, Tom had several phone calls and meetings downtown with city officials regarding permits, designs, etc.

The Lord Jesus has already given us opportunity to seek the welfare of Carondelet...give thanks!

Bellerive Park

Though Carondelet Park is the most beautiful and most prominent park in the Carondelet area, it's not the only one. Bellerive Park sits at the intersection of Bates & South Broadway and provides a beautiful view of the river:



In fact the Riverfront Times picked Bellerive Park as St. Louis' Best Picnic Spot in its 2003 Best of issue.



I don't know if it's the best picnic spot in St. Louis, but as the article says it does offer, "one of the prettiest views of the Mississippi within the city limits."

During the summer there are Summer Concert Series at three different parks in Carondelet. Sonja & I got to one of the concerts in Carondelet Park on a Sunday evening, and then I took my boys down to a concert at Bellerive Park on a Monday evening. We enjoyed a bluegrass band while we threw the football, played on the playground, and met someone with a parrot!



If you're tying to cram in one more picnic before it gets too cold for that sort of thing, I encourage you to give Bellerive Park a shot.

Old Lyons School

Here is what looks to me like a lion holding a shield with an "L" on it at the top of the old Lyons Elementary School which is directly across the street from St. Trinity.



I mentioned this school a couple of Sundays ago at our evening worship service. It is still a public school, but now it is called Alternative Education South (AES). It is a school for sixth through twelfth graders who are expelled from their regular schools for Type 1 offenses. They are usually at AES for between 5-90 days. Remember to pray for the students at AES, for principal Carey Cunningham, and for his staff of eight faculty members. Pray also about how we might be involved with students at AES as we have opportunity.

St. Louis Public Library - Carondelet Branch

Carondelet is fortunate to have its own St. Louis Public Library branch. Like many libraries across the country this one is a Carnegie library (built by a grant from Andrew Carnegie, who helped build 1,681 libraries in the US alone from 1881-1917).



I've been in there a few times to borrow books and to use one of their tables as a portable office. But the Dernlans are the real experts on the library. Heather Dernlan told me that her family uses the library frequently and she's a big fan of it. Drop in sometime if you're in the neighborhood and need a quite place to read or study. Do check their hours, though, they're a little irregular:

9am - 6pm Monday
Noon - 7pm Tuesday-Thursday
11am - 6pm Friday
9am - 6pm Saturday

By the way, anyone with a St. Louis County Library Card can get a St. Louis City Public Library Card (I don't mean to brag, but I currently hold library cards from 5 different library systems).

The Home of Resurrection Presbyterian Church

Well, you're looking at the new home of Resurrection Presbyterian Church!!



I talked with David Liebnau this afternoon. The congregation voted to allow us to use their facilities. We will worship in their sanctuary on Sundays at 11:00 a.m., beginning on Sunday December 13th. We will also have access to the sanctuary and the parish building any time we'd like during the week as long as we coordinate with them. Give thanks to the Lord for these brothers and sisters in Christ, who are willing to share their building with us.

A Chorus Line at the Ivory Theatre - Wanna go?

This is a shot of the Ivory Theatre. The Ivory Theatre is the old St. Boniface Catholic Church. In 2005 the archdiocese decided to close St. Boniface and it was bought by some developers who converted it into a theatre.



I've been in the theatre a couple of times-though I haven't seen a show yet. The theatre is beautiful and seats about 250 people.



The next show that is running is A Chorus Line, apparently tickets are selling well, and so I thought I better make this announcement right now to see if any of you would like to go see A Chorus Line. If we can pick a day & time, we can get a group discount ($14, I think) that will save us a few bucks per ticket. A Chorus Line will be performed by the Family Musical Theater group.

The dates for the show are:

Nov 12-15
Nov 19-22

Please e-mail me if you are interested in going...and sooner than later.

Thanks,
Chris

67

In case you missed it last night. We were joined by another family. Steve & Heather Dernlan are coming along on the church plant. So our Resurrection family is now at 67 people!

Carondelet Seal

Here is the Carondelet Seal. The Motto "En Avant" is a French interjection that means something like, "Forward March!" "Let's go!" "Go on". Don't worry, I checked this with Jean-Luc and he verified that this is indeed what "En Avant" means, he said it captures the idea of progress and forward motion.



This is very fitting. The scriptures give us a peak at history's final act, and the curtain will never come down on that act. The setting for that final act is different than the very good garden setting of the opening act. The setting for the final act is not a garden, but a city.

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Revelation 21.1-2

What are we to take away from this? Well, clearly God, the author, begins the story in the garden and then says "En Avant" moving history toward an urban destination. The arc of the biblical story moves from "very good", then plunges downward in the fall, and then cranes its neck looking for one who will set the world right again. Jesus' appearance on the scene is a sign of great hope, until all appears to be lost in his tragic death on the cross. However, at that very dark, tragic moment, Jesus, by his death deals the serpent a death blow, and pays the penalty for our sins. On the third day the story begins to rise even more sharply as Jesus triumphs over the grave and gives us a glimpse of the new creation, of which He is the founder. He ascends into heaven to initiate His reign, and He, the Lord of history, says, in effect "En Avant" as the story marches onward from the empty tomb to the new Jerusalem, the holy city. This is where we find ourselves in the story, in the midst of the En Avant toward the heavenly city. Though not all notions of progress are things that we can affirm and support, there is much that we can affirm, support, and even shape as we march on toward the destination God has planned for His people.

Horn's Barber Shop

Hermann Göring was a German military leader in WWII, was the commander of the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) and was designated Hitler's successor. Following the war he was convicted of war crimes at Nuremberg and sentenced to death by hanging (Göring snuck a cyanide pill the night before he was to be hanged).

Tuesday morning as I sat down in the barber's chair at Horn's Barber Shop in Carondelet, I sat down across from a wall of pictures that featured, among others, pictures of Hermann Göring at the Nuremberg trials. I asked about the pictures and learned that Bob Horn, the man who was cutting my hair, had served in the US military in World War II. His assignment...guarding Hermann Göring and other Nazi war criminals. Horn stepped forward and pointed with his scissors at the 19 year old soldier standing guard in the courtroom. "That's me," he said plainly. He went on to tell me how much he talked with Göring and others during the course of the trial. He knew these men personally. Sometimes, it was hard to believe they had committed such atrocities, as friendly as they were in person.



After my haircut and the interesting conversation, I got up to pay, but since I had no cash and Bob said he doesn't do enough business to take credit cards, I asked if I could just leave my license and go to the bank to get some money. Then I paused and said, "Actually I'll leave my license AND my book. I'm a pastor, and there's a better chance that a pastor would come back for his book than for his driver's license." When I returned and paid Bob, he said, "Usually I tell people, don't worry about it, you can pay me double next time." As I was putting my license back in my wallet and retrieving my book, the guy in the chair, Rogers, said, "OK, you're a pastor, so we've got a question for you." He went on to ask me who Cain & Seth married, then that led to two more questions before I had to call it a day.

I had simply stepped in to get a quick trim before heading back to Indiana to officiate at my Grandma's funeral. Instead, what I got was a hair cut, a brush up against history, and a chance to talk about the scriptures. Here's a link to a story from the Post-Dispatch (though it's hosted by another site) about Horn and his experience at Nuremberg.

RFT's Best of Issue 2009

I just started flipping through the River Front Times annual Best of Issue. So far I've found one Carondelet winner...no big surprise...Iron Barley. This year Iron Barley's live music venue Fred's Six Feet Under (FSFU) one the award for Best Underground Club. This Best of award goes alongside some of the other Best of awards for Iron Barley:

2008 Best Flaming Cheese
2007 Best Sammiches
2005 Best Local Chef
2004 Best Hot Dog
2003 Best Decor

Thumbs up at the Broadway Bean!

I walked into the Broadway Bean this morning a few minutes early for a meeting and look who I ran into:



Tim & Dorothy Carroll were there at the B squared studying and working! What a way to warm this church planter's heart ;-) Thumbs up to you Tim & Dorothy for investing in Carondelet!