Choir Appeal
by Daniel Fry, Choir Director

We are presented with an important challenge within the Chancel Choir. As many of you know, the choir has generally sung at all 3 traditional services. For several reasons, the choir has too few members currently to continue to split into 3 services and have enough singers to present anthems at the current time. This is most often a problem at the 8 a.m. service.

We need to have some additional members (new or old) who are willing to commit to this early service for a choral presentation at 8 a.m. to be viable. If additional people are not willing to commit to that service after the summer choir break, which begins after the July 4 patriotic music presentation, we will no longer be able to sing at the 8 a.m. service .

This does not mean there would be no music at the 8 a.m. service. There would be a variety of soloists, small ensembles, and special music offerings to take the place of the choir at that service. Please consider prayerfully whether this is something that you could offer to the life of FUMC.

No auditions are required to join; you just need a willingness to listen and learn. We rehearse in Room 104 from 7:00-8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. We would welcome members in all sections for all services, but especially for the 8 a.m. service.

Please contact Daniel Fry at the church, ext. 125, if you have any questions or comments. More information will follow on opportunities to sing with the choir on an informal basis.

Kids Sharing Closet
by the Missions Team

Last fall, several of the elementary school counselors and nurses came up with the idea of a centralized "sharing closet" that would provide emergency food and clothing for low income families in the school district. With the help of FUMC volunteers, the closet was set up at the old Blackhurst school building, located on Elm Street, and has been helping families over the past several months.

The Missions Team would like to thank everyone who participated in this work. We particularly want to thank those who have faithfully donated food and clothing items for the Closet. FUMC was recognized for its help by the St. Charles School District, with a Certificate of Appreciation, which sits on the shelf of our Kids Closet in the Atrium.

The Sharing Closet at Blackhurst will shut down for the summer on May 20, and will re-open when school starts in August. In the meantime, we will continue to collect food and paper products for our Kids Closet and share these items with Kingdom House. The list of things needed are posted on the Closet door located in the Atrium.

Women's Bible Study on David
by Rev. Jimmy Cooper

A summer women's Bible study is forming. "Anointed, Transformed, Redeemed: A Study of David" is based on the teaching sessions of the Deeper Still conference featuring Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, and Kay Arthur. These three women explore their lives and the life of David in this six-session women's Bible study.

Taped at the 2007 Deeper Still women's event, the messages presented by these beloved authors are divided into three segments, two lessons from each author. Each segment focuses on the life of David at a different stage of his life.

The study, facilitated by Kate Katzer, lasts six weeks and will begin June 8. We will meet in the Parlor on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. from June 8 through July 20, omitting the week of June 29 for VBS. There will be a member book that costs $13 which will guide you through the study and include some homework. Childcare will be available.

Those that are interested should contact either Rev. Jimmy Cooper at the church office ((636) 947-0066 x111) or Kate Katzer at (636) 441-2715. We can't wait to see you there!

2010 Missouri Annual Conference Special Offering
by the Missions Team

The 2010 Missouri Annual Conference begins its session on June 4. Last year the special offering for the Conference was for repairing church buildings in Mozambique. This year the Conference session offering is for continued aid to Haiti and also for victims of the earthquake in Chile. The Conference is asking again for health kits and layette kits. We will have a table set up in the Atrium starting May 16, and each Sunday through May 30. The contents for each kit are as follows:

Health Kit:

• 1 hand towel (16" by 28")
• 1 washcloth
• 1 wide-tooth comb
• 1 metal nail clipper (no files or emery boards)
• 1 bar of soap (bath size in wrapper)
• 1 toothbrush (in original package)
• 6 band aids

Layette Kit

• 6 cloth diapers
• 2 t-shirts or undershirts (no onesies)
• 2 washcloths
• 2 gowns or sleepers
• 2 diaper pins
• 1 sweater or sweatshirt
• 2 receiving blankets (1 can be knitted).

A shipping fee of $2 is also requested for each kit. Please do not include the money in the kit but deliver it in a separate marked envelope.

Thank you.

Spire: Graduate Edition

We want to extend a HUGE thank you to everyone who helped make the Treasure and Junque Sale a great success. Thanks to all the pricers, sorters, workers, and those who donated items, over $3,000 was raised to help the youth on their mission trips.

This year the middle school students will be going to Sikeston, Missouri to do construction work and the senior high youth will be going to Red Lake, Minnesota to do home repair work on a Native American reservation.

Youth Updates
by Nancy Cooper

We invite you to join us in worship next Sunday, May 16, at 9:30 a.m. as our Confirmation Class of 2010 is confirmed.

Youth Mission trip participants and parents need to mark your calendars for the mission trip meetings. The senior high group will meet May 19 at 7:00 p.m. The middle school group will meet on May 26 at 7:00 p.m.

Meetings are mandatory as we have forms to get filled out and mailed in before we leave. If you are unable to attend you must schedule a meeting with Nancy before your trip’s scheduled meeting.