Five Places to Attend Church on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day

If you're looking for a place to worship on Dec. 24 or 25, we've got five places to check out.

If you're looking for a local place to worship this holiday season, check out these church who will hold services Dec. 23, 24 and 25.  St. John United Church of Christ offers three Christmas Eve Services, one at 4 p.m., 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. On Christmas Day, the church has a 10 a.m. service. Check out the Christmas Day festival service at Immanuel Lutheran Church at 9:30 a.m. The church also has services on Christmas Eve at 3 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.  Main Street Church will hold a Christmas Eve service at 6 p.m. Scripture reading and carol singing are a part of the service. Matthias' Lot meets at 6:45 and 8:30 p.m. on Christmas Day.  First United Methodist Church  will offer a "Blue Christmas" service at 5 p.m. Dec. 23 for those who are …

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Serve St. Charles during 608 SERVE Week

Volunteer in St. Charles to collective log 608 service hours in the community, September 10-16, in 608 SERVE Week.

Volunteer in St. Charles to make powerful impact on the community, September 10-16, in 608 SERVE Week. St. Charles Patch and Church of the Shepherd are teaming up and enlisting the community to volunteer a collective 608 hours of service in the St. Charles community in just one week, September 10-16. The 6:08 SERVE Week challenges the community to come out in full force to serve their neighbor. Opportunities are provided at http://www.coswired.org/608 right now with organizations such as Emmaus House, Crisis Nursery and Youth In Need, among others. Sign up for an evening project or submit your own and contribute your service hours if you don't see it on the list. Free T-shirts will be given to all who participate by signing up or …

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Kalen Ponche

1:41 pm on Friday, September 14, 2012

Thanks for sharing Teri!   more ›

Church Buys Former St. Charles Police Station on West Clay

Matthias' Lot hopes to move into the building by mid-August.

The former city police station on West Clay will soon have a second life as a church.  Matthias' Lot, a Christian church that currently meets in downtown St. Charles, purchased the 20,000 square foot property located at 2645 West Clay in mid June for $600,000.  St. Charles Police moved out of the building into the new police station at 1781 Zumbehl in 2003. The city sold the West Clay property to an investment group in 2004, but it has sat vacant since, according to an article in the St. Charles Business Record.  About 175 members of the congregation recently chipped in to help gut much of the facility, filling up 16 dumpsters with concrete block, ceiling tile and drywall.  Last week, Pastor Marc Sikma stood at the front of the former …

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Faith Matters

Holy Music Matters

An opinion column based on a comment in the Sound Off! section of last week's Suburban Journal.

Music matters in worship. It sets a tone and a mood. It energizes or calms down. The Bible has many examples of people singing for joy and praise to God. There are many reasons to include music in worship. One reason to sing in worship is that it is a quick way to bring people together as a group. Singing together is a shared experience and even three or four verses of a hymn or song starts to form a sense of community in that place at that time with the people gathered. I’ve planned a lot of worship services as a pastor but I’ve attended more worship services than I’ve planned. Church music matters a lot to the people in the pews or in the chairs around tables. It is the following comment in the Sound Off! section of the Suburban Journals…

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Rebecca Thiele

12:24 pm on Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Thanks for catching that Steve! Our CMS has a new setup and I got a little confused. My apologies to Kemery.   more ›

Riverview Man Charged in Church Burglary in St. Charles

Several churches were burglarized in May and June throughout St. Charles County.

A St. Louis County man has been charged with burglarizing St. Peter Catholic Church in St. Charles on June 18. Demetrius Brown, 49, of Riverview, was arrested by St. Charles Police and charged Tuesday with first-degree burglary and stealing. He is being held on a $50,000, cash-only bond. Cash and a computer laptop, together worth about $1,400, were stolen from the St. Charles church at 324 South Third St. Police released photos of a man Friday whom they called a “person of interest” related to several church burglaries. Several other churches were burglarized or had burglary attempts in May and June in St. Charles County, including St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church, St. Joseph Catholic Church, Immanuel Lutheran Church, Calvary West …

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Church Burglary-Related Photos Released by St. Charles Police

Police are searching for the man in the photos as a person of interest related to church break-ins throughout St. Charles County in May and June. They're also searching for information on the white car shown in photos.

St Charles Police released photos of a person of interest and a car that may be related to a number of church break-ins in May and June throughout St. Charles County. The photos are video captures from the St. Robert Bellarmine Church burglary attempt. Several other churches were burglarized in May and June, such as St. Joseph Catholic Church, Immanuel Lutheran Church, St. Peters Catholic Church, Calvary West Church and First United Methodist Church. St. Charles Police officers ask anyone who has information regarding the car or the man in the photos to call the St. Charles Crimestoppers Hotline at 636-949-3333, report it online at www.stcharlescrimestoppers.org or call St. Charles Police at 636-949-3300. For more information on those …

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Winery Gets Pressed by Church, Wins Approval from St. Charles County

Augusta Winery signs contract, agrees to stipulations made by church council to locate across Highway 94 from 160-year-old building.

The Augusta Winery owners received unanimous approval Monday from the St. Charles County Council for its conditional use permit to relocated their winery to the corner of Highway 94 and Highway T. The winery would go in across Highway 94 from Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. During the April 11 County Council meeting, several people expressed concerns about locating the winery across from the 160-year-old church. “After our meeting on the 11th, we sat down with church parishioners and the church council on two occasions,” Tony Kooyumjian, co-owner of the winery, told the council Monday. Kooyumjian said he went over all the concerns they presented and agreed to “This afternoon, I signed a contract with the church council and the (St. …

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Daily PatchCast: Woman Dies Following Blaze Near Creve Coeur, Man Arrested in Assault at St. Peters Church and More

A roundup of St. Louis news headlines for Wednesday.

Here are the top stories from Patch sites in your area:

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Comments from Patchland: Wishing You Were Irish?

One commenter laments those "awful sausages" from her family's heritage — and wonders if she was switched at birth.

With St. Patrick's Day in the rear-view mirror, some of us just can't let it go. Check out one Irish-wannabe's lament below. And when's the last time you heard the phrase "imprecise engineering, enforced precisely"? Does that adequately capture the way red-light cameras work in your view? Red Light Cameras are Here to Stay: "Let's get one thing straight. Red light cameras are not fair. As an enforcement device, they take advantage of imprecise engineering, enforced precisely." — Brian Ceccarelli, Hazelwood Patch "Safe Routes to School" Program Coming to Russell Elementary: "We really need to slow the traffic down. Their vehicles speed down Gerard and blow through all the stop signs like they were not there. This is every day. They just …

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Faith Matters

Burlap and Butcher Paper Lead to the Babe of Bethlehem

Faith United Methodist Church becomes Bethlehem's Marketplace with a magical transformation. Best part? The baby waits in the manger.

The children's Christmas program.  It's a customary production in churches this time of year. By now there have been rehearsals and costume fittings. Parents know what time to have the children at the church. Invitations have been sent out, and the social committee has arranged for a punch and cake reception afterward.  What if the church leaders decided not to have the children's Christmas program? Would there be mutiny among the faithful? Or sighs of relief with one less stress-maker on the calendar? What if church leaders decided to have a hands-on, interactive learning and faith experience for the children instead of a program where the children performed, acted and sang for others?      A Night in Bethlehem is that decision come to …

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