2026 marks the 5th year of the Who Is Our Neighbor Forum Series. In this series we invite our Community Partners as speakers and ask them, just as Jesus did to Bartemaus,
“What is it that you need?” (Mk. 10:51). Join us each Sunday at 9:30am.
January 4: The Baptismal Covenant. Laurie+ explores our baptism into the life and death of Jesus Christ. Part of this commitment is to “seek and serve Christ in all persons.” Begin this series by exploring this facet of the Baptismal Covenant.
January 11: St. Louis Food Bank’s Elexis Hubbard talks about food insecurity in the St. Louis region. The Food Bank’s mission to serve the hungry aligns with our work to “seek and serve Christ” in our Meal Ministry guests and support of the Eureka Food Pantry.
January 18: Bishop Deon Johnson, eleventh Bishop of the Diocese of Missouri, leads a conversation on how the Diocese works broadly to live out our baptismal covenant. The diocese proclaims their mission to be: Walking humbly with God and our neighbors, we seek justice, act with love, and live the Good News of Jesus. Bishop Deon will delve into how this mission is lived through programming that echoes both our shared baptismal covenant and the goals of St. Francis’ ministries.
January 25: Abiding in Love founder, Amy Beechner McCarthy, and the Rev. Lindy Hardwick talk about this Rolla, MO, nonprofit which supports immigrants. Abiding in Love seeks and serves Christ through outreach to people living in ICE detainment. Our Samaritan Ministry mission statement identifes St. Francis as “a place of welcome and support for individuals facing persecution and/or physical and spiritual need. To them we offer a place of hospitality, assisting them, as we are able, by listening and praying, sharing our own resources, and working to connect them to resources in the wider community.”
February 1: Annual Meeting – no Forum
February 8: Rockwood School District Social Worker, Jacklyn Floyd, is the district’s PreK-12 Supervisor of Mental & Emotional Health as well as the Rockwood Homeless Liaison. Learn how the district’s work with homeless students and their families dovetails with our covenant in this interactive presentation. Education is one of the Pillars (the other being hunger) to which we apply the Principles of Service and Justice, as adopted by the Service and Justice Ministry Committee.