Churches keep ties through ministerial alliances

DON FRAZIER * dfrazier@semissourian.com

Basil chicken Wellington prepared by Chef James F. Coley of the Rose Bed Inn in Cape Girardeau can be part of a romantic meal served on Valentine's Day.By Laura Johnston ~ Southeast Missourian

With only two months remaining until National Day of Prayer in May, the Cape Girardeau and Jackson ministerial alliances are working together to plan countywide events for the observance.

National Day of Prayer is held on the first Thursday in May, which is May 1 this year.

Officers for the two groups met recently to name a coordinator for the event. Dee Dee Wilson will serve as the key organizer for the Mayors' Prayer Breakfast and prayer services at the Cape County Courthouse in Jackson.

The breakfast will be held at the Osage Community Centre but a speaker hasn't been secured yet. A committee is helping to outline the details, but "we're just feeling our way along," said Wilson.

Benefits to networking

But even without a joint project to complete, ministers in the area enjoy the benefits of networking. Southeast Missouri is home to ministerial alliances that serve communities in Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Perry and Scott counties.

The groups tend to be loose-knit fellowships that meet periodically for fellowship and conversations about their churches. Though some have membership dues and elect officers, few have governing articles or bylaws.

"We're not a big organization," said the Rev. Dr. Bill Matzat, recent past president of the Cape Girardeau Ministerial Alliance. "It's more of fellowship and of supporting ministry."

The Rev. Paul Kabo of First Presbyterian Church is now the president of the Cape Girardeau Ministerial Alliance. The organization meets on the second Tuesday of each month for a noon meal, rotating between meeting rooms at Southeast Missouri Hospital and St. Francis Medical Center. Attendance varies between 20 and 35 ministers.

During the hour-long meetings, the ministers talk about what's happening at their churches and announce upcoming events of interest to the group. There's almost always a speaker, who shares about a new program or service available in the area.

While serving the entire community is important, some ministers in Cape Girardeau wanted to focus on the particular areas or neighborhoods they serve. Those ministers formed the Downtown Council of Churches in 2001, a network of ministers and church leaders.

Representatives gather

Representatives from Christ Episcopal Church, Centenary United Methodist Church, First Baptist Church, St. Mary's Cathedral, St. James AME Church and Livingway Foursquare Church gathered to form the council.

Since then the group has sponsored several events including a Good Friday "Way of the Cross" walk through the city, an Easter morning sunrise service at the riverfront and an ecumenical service for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The Jackson Ministerial Alliance also meets once a month from September through May, rotating its locations between churches whose pastors are members of the group.

The organization is very important "and valuable in the sense that we can work together in the community and cooperate by helping," said the Rev. Sam Roethemeyer, pastor at Emanuel United Church of Christ in Jackson.

The group helps the community by operating a food pantry out of Cox Memorial Hall at New McKendree United Methodist Church. Some churches staff the food pantry with volunteers, others take up collections monthly or during special events and still others make monetary donations.

The Area Wide United Way also supports the Jackson Food Pantry with a grant each year.

"We show care and love through the mission and ministry of the food pantry," Roethemeyer said. "And we can help one another rejoicing in the good things that happen in churches."

But when something bad does happen, the churches support one another too. "Our churches respond by comforting another brother or sister church," he said.

If a pastor's relative dies or is ill, that information is made known to other congregations so they can pray. "What's unique about Jackson is that we're smaller in the sense that there's not many of us but the many are concerned for one another," Roethemeyer said.

The Jackson churches also cooperate for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity holding devotions each weekday morning at a different church and then participating in an evening worship service at the close of the week, usually observed in mid-January.

"A good ecumenical community is a healthy community," Roethemeyer said.

The churches in Chaffee, Mo., worship together in an ecumenical service once a month, sponsored by the Ministerial Alliance. The service rotates among the participating churches, with preaching from various ministers in the community, said the Rev. Marty Blakey, president, and pastor of First United Methodist Church.

During the past year, the Ministerial Alliance has sponsored a tent revival and youth revival in Chaffee and regularly supports the Mid-America Teen Challenge organization.

At Christmastime, the group collected money and food for 80 baskets for the needy. "When we see a need in the community, we jump in and help," Blakey said.

The same is true in Scott City, where the Ministerial Alliance operates a food pantry for the community and helps with utility fees and rent. Community worship services at Thanksgiving also are sponsored by the Scott City ministers' group. The group is considering adding a sunrise service for Easter, said president Larry Lawman, pastor of Broadway United Methodist Church.

ljohnston@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126