All Entries Tagged With: "spiritual NoCo"
Ferguson woman finds her calling teaching yoga
Yoga instructor Julia Zboray will soon teach small-group classes at Ferguson's Emporium Salon, welcoming students of all ages, sizes and fitness levels.
For 31 years, Julia Zboray worked in one of the most stressful fields imaginable: customer service. A manager for Schnucks Markets, she logged many long hours and dealt with a never-ending stream of customer questions and complaints, but she always knew….or at least she hoped….that something much more fulfilling was headed her way.
In 2003, inspired by a longtime interest in fitness and spirituality, Julia took her very first yoga class. And before long, recognizing something special in her, her instructor urged her to not only continue her yoga education but also to become a yoga teacher.
“She just kept putting the bug in my ear….you need to be a teacher, you need to be a teacher,” Julia says. “I was going through some tough times then, with family issues and other things, but eventually I started listening to her and realizing that maybe I could be a teacher. Now when I look back, I honestly don’t know what I would’ve done without yoga in my life. It really helped me through a difficult period and opened me up in ways I couldn’t have imagined.”
Today, at age 58, Julia is a fully certified yoga instructor and has successfully launched a second career. Teaching classes for UMSL, Ferguson Parks & Recreation, and Hidden Lake retirement community in Spanish Lake (where her mother lives), she feels that she was given a gift with yoga and now she wants to share it with others.
“I’ve always loved fitness….aerobics, walking….I was also really into weight training for a while. But over time I always got burned out,” she says. “With yoga, I’ve had the exact opposite experience. The more I do it, the more I want to keep doing it because it just makes me feel so good! It brings you peace and relaxation, makes you stronger and more flexible, and even exercises your heart and lungs. Plus, anyone can do it!”
And she does mean anyone.
At Hidden Lake, most of Julia’s students are in their 80s and 90s. They perform modified yoga poses while sitting in chairs, but even that has brought measurable results. In her Ferguson and UMSL classes, Julia also caters to students of varying ages and fitness levels, gently encouraging them to do only what feels right for them.
I should know. I’m one of her….shall we say….less flexible students.
For the past 12 years, Julia has been my neighbor in Old Ferguson West, and for at least five years, this absolutely luminous and gentle soul tried repeatedly to get me to take her class. Partly because she knew I needed it (as an out-of-shape writer), and partly because there is no subject she loves more than yoga. It is truly her passion.
A mother and grandmother who has shared a lovely Victorian farmhouse with her husband, Chuck, since 1988, Julia takes incredible care in preparing for classes, constantly creating new workouts and adding special touches like candles and lavender eye masks and a trickling fountain. Somehow, she can even make the cinder block basement at Blessed Teresa School feel like a haven of tranquility. I always walk out of there feeling so relaxed!
“All I’m trying to do is help people create a small bit of space in their life, where they can make time just for themselves,” Julia says. “Everyone is just so stressed nowadays.”
In the future, she would like to develop a special yoga program for recovering addicts, encouraging greater self-love and care. But for now, her latest venture is a new series of classes at Ferguson’s fabulous Emporium Salon. Class sizes are limited to 10, with a cost of $30 for four sessions, and you can choose from one of two Wednesday classes: 8-9am or 5:30-6:30pm.
“People may say [North County] is not a great place for yoga, but I disagree,” says Julia, who grew up in Florissant and upstate New York. “Yoga is something that everybody can use, no matter who they are or where they live.”
For more info about upcoming classes or to pre-register, contact Julia at (314) 960-0107. The Emporium Salon is located at 18 Church Street, 63135. You can also register for Julia’s other classes by calling Ferguson Parks & Recreation at (314) 521-4661.
As she would say, namaste….
Open House Sunday @ NoCo Catholic Schools
These rockin' kids go to Catholic school? In North County? You betcha! Photo taken by Patrick Garrett @ St. Ann School in Normandy
The only children I have are four-legged with fur, so unlike a lot of people in North County, schools are not a big concern for me. However, I grew up in a local Catholic parish (the late Transfiguration), and I’ve seen first-hand how neighborhoods can wither when Catholic schools close. I also know dozens of local parents who are fighting to keep Catholic education here in NoCo, who are working to build proudly diverse school communities that welcome children of all colors, faiths and economic backgrounds.
And I tell you what….those good people deserve to succeed.
So to help promote their efforts, NOCO will soon be launching a series of articles about the 14 Catholic grade schools remaining in North County following the St. Louis Archdiocese’s most recent round of mergers and closures. In the mean time, I’m also pleased to report that nine of those schools will be hosting an Open House this weekend.
On Sunday afternoon, January 30, families from all over St. Louis are invited to see for themselves just how vibrant and successful North County schools can be. Even with smaller enrollments, even with financial challenges, these tireless underdogs still have an awful lot to offer.
Just show up at any of these schools and you’ll be treated to a full tour. Be sure to ask about the foreign language and music programs…
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta – 150 N. Elizabeth, Ferguson, 1-3pm
Christ Light of Nations – 1650 Redman, Spanish Lake, 1-3pm
Our Lady of Guadalupe – 1115 S. Florissant, Cool Valley, 1-3pm
Sacred Heart – 501 rue St. Louis, Florissant, 1-3pm
St. Angela Merici – 3860 N. Hwy 67, Florissant, 1-3pm
St. Ferdinand – 1735 Charbonier, Florissant, 1-3pm
St. Norbert – 16475 New Halls Ferry, Florissant, 1-3pm
St. Rose Philippine Duchesne – 3500 St. Catherine, Florissant, 1-3pm
St. Ann – 7532 Natural Bridge, Normandy, Noon-2pm
The Thai Temple Food Fair: a potluck delight
On the third Sunday of every month, Wat Phrasriratanaram, the Buddhist Temple & Meditation Center of St. Louis, hosts an amazing Thai Food Fair in Florissant.
If you’ve ever eaten at a good old-fashioned church potluck, where all the smiling church ladies line up to serve their home-cooked best, you should have a good idea of what to expect at Wat Phrasriratanaram‘s monthly Thai Food Fair. Of course, the church ladies are all Asian and you’ll find no usual pies or mashed potatoes here. But what you do get is a warm, welcoming atmosphere in which to sample an incredible spread of authentic family recipes.
When I visited last month, the buffet spanned at least 40 feet long, overflowing with colorful, home-cooked food from about ten different women. Some of the items I recognized, like dried fruit and beef jerky and pastry puff filled with spinach, but many others were a mystery – albeit a very aromatic one.
The way it works is that you enter the temple, buy a length of tickets and then go “shopping” for your meal. Each item costs between $2 and $6, and the choices include everything from appetizers to dessert. Personally, I recommend spending about $10 per person, just so you can sample multiple dishes. And if you buy too many tickets, no worries. They’ll buy them back.
For my $10, I got a tasty rice and chicken entree, some seriously awesome crab balls with dipping sauce, and a sweet purple goo wrapped in banana leaf that I’m still trying to figure out.
The good thing is you can buy your food to go (boo!) or eat at the temple and spend some time with the church ladies. I chose the latter, and by the time I left, I had learned a lot about Thai cooking, Thai Buddhism and meditation, which the temple’s monks host every Saturday night at 7pm.
If you’re not quite ready for that, at least give the Food Fair a try. The Thai Temple is a beautiful place, and the people there are so welcoming and kind. More importantly, their food is fantastic and the money they raise goes to a great cause! So check it out!
Wat Phrasriratanaram’s next Thai Food Fair – the last one of 2010 – is this coming Sunday, November 21, from 11-2 @ 890 Lindsay Lane, 63031. Here’s what’s on the menu…
APPETIZERS:
- Saku Saimoo (tapioca balls with pork filling, steamed) (สาคูใส้หมู )
- North-Easthern style Sausage(ใส้กรอกอิสาน )
- Fried Pork Meatballs ( ปั้นสิบ )
- Pork Satay ( หมูสเต๋ะ )
- Grilled marinated Pork ( หมูปิ้ง )
- Fried Curry Dumpling ( กะหรี่ปั๊บ )
- Northern style chilli hot paste ( น้ำพริกหนุ่ม)
- Egg noodle sauteed with vegetable and pork ( ผัดหมี่ )
- Deep-fried Shrimp Patties ( ทอดมันกุ้ง )
- Fried Sun-dried Sweet Pork Slices (หมูสวรรค์ )
MAIN DISHES:
- Chicken Stew Noodle Soup ( Kway Tiao Gai Tun ) (ก๊วยเตี๋ยวไก่ตุ๋น)
- Thai style green curry chicken on rice ( แกงเขียวหวานไก่ )
- Pork curry with water spinach ( แกงเทโพ )
- Rice noodle with spicy pork sauce ( ขนมจีนน้ำเงี้ยว )
- Rice noodle in fish curry sauce and vegetables ( ขนมจีนน้ำยา )
- Spicy Thai curry with red chillies and catfish ( แกงเผ็ด ปลาดุก )
DESSERTS:
- Taro with Tapioca (ตะโก้เผือก)
- Khanom Krok – Thai Sweetmeat ( ขนมครก )
- Kanom Tian (steamed special flour with filling) ( ขนมเทียน )
After 124 years, Ferguson United Methodist closes its doors
Like thousands of mainline Protestant churches all across the country, Ferguson United Methodist had been facing a grim reality. Its congregation was shrinking at the same time costs were rising, and though a new pastor had been brought in to rally the troops and two local nonprofits were helping to cover the building expenses, ultimately it just wasn’t enough. Earlier this week, the church announced that it’s closing. The ministry has been relocated – to St. Mark’s Church in Florissant.
Now, I’m not a Methodist or even a church goer so this news has little impact on me personally. But I do share a special connection with Ferguson UMC: Between 1902 and 1920, ten of its early ministers lived in my house.
As the story goes, area Methodists started meeting informally in 1886, a full eight years before Ferguson became a city. They gathered at Tiffin Hall, a small community center that’s now a private residence in my neighborhood, and within two years, they had raised enough money to build a church of their own across the street. Roughly 13 years later, with their congregation still growing, the members came together once again in 1902 and built a parsonage.
Here's the first Ferguson UMC, at the corner of Clark and Tiffin, in 1888
And here's my house, the first Ferguson UMC parsonage, shown in 1910
Basically a simple farmhouse with a root cellar and a well, the parsonage was built almost entirely with volunteer labor, on land donated by Dr. George Case. Its first resident was one Rev. O.C Fontaine, who only stayed a year before moving on. Nine other ministers and their families would eventually follow, often hosting small prayer services in the front parlor.
Over time, the Methodist congregation blossomed to around 150 people, and by 1912, construction began on a new church at the corner of Florissant Road and Wesley Avenue. For convenience sake, the parsonage was moved in 1920 to 137 S. Florissant – on the site of what used to be Ferguson Bowling Lanes. It later moved again to 21 Wesley, following a devastating fire in 1938 that consumed the church building.
The beautiful brick structure that still stands today was erected soon after that fire. In case you’ve lost count, it’s the third (and now final) home of Ferguson UMC.
Located right in the heart of downtown Ferguson, the building has a classic gothic feel and loads of vintage charm. With its myriad classrooms, chapels and gathering areas, it could easily be recycled into an awesome brewpub / movie theater / hotel / cafe, along the lines of Portland’s Kennedy School, which I wrote about back in December. Or it could just as easily become another church. Bummer.
Either way, I just hope we never forget about Ferguson United Methodist. After 124 years, the church’s light may have finally dimmed, but the spirit of faith, hope and community that originally inspired its congregation is still alive and well in Ferguson. And that’s exactly what we need to keep bringing us together and guiding us forward…
Where it all began: Here's what the original Ferguson UMC looks like today as a private residence. Believe it or not, it's the same building as photo #2 above.
Ferguson UMC’s ministry is now continuing at St. Mark’s Church in Florissant, 315 Graham Road, 63031.
Are you getting ready for the big day? NOCO is a proud sponsor of the 3rd annual Live Well Ferguson 5K