Episcopal Church
of the Resurrection
1433 NW R.D. Mize Road
Blue Springs, Missouri  64015
 
(816) 228-4220
ANNUAL MEETING THIS SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2019
One Service Only at 9:30 am
Annual Meeting Immediately Following Service
Pot-Luck Lunch and Ministry Fair following Annual Meeting
A MESSAGE FROM FR. DAVID+
Report for the Annual Meeting

After three years now as your Rector, I can tell you I am as excited to be a part of the  Resurrection family as I was on my first day. The hospitality, fellowship and friendship that  Debbie and I have experienced continue to enthuse us and encourage us to continue to build on  what the Holy Spirit is doing with our parish.  Over these last three years, and especially through 2018, our parish has wonderfully  demonstrated what Christ is calling us to do in the life of the church. And, as individuals in our  spiritual journeys, we continue to exceed the expectations of our mission to serve others.   Care for each other through the work and commitments by the many ministries within our  parish continues to be the force that keeps us who we are as vibrant and connected Christians  for God's kingdom. I encourage everyone to read through all the reports of all the ministries  and appreciate the incredible work that is being done.   In meeting with our Vestry, we have striven to address the business needs with progressive  agendas that have helped to improve our physical church plant, increase our building and  program security, improve communications and maintain a stable and growing financial setting.   The Vestry has engaged in strategic planning to prepare for the foreseeable future by  concentrating on making our parish inviting and a destination where people want to come and  experience spirituality they can call their own. Part of this planning includes how to prepare for  and pursue the means and assets it will take to improve the building for better access and  egress, a better environment in the undercroft for meetings and fellowship gatherings and  redesigning of spaces to improve hearing and communication. It also means planning for new  growth within our Blue Springs and greater Kansas City communities. Our continued  partnership with other churches, the Community Services League and the many other outreach  agencies helps to maintain our focus on the needs to care for others and ourselves by being the  Body of Christ. As opportunities are made available and pursued, I envision our parish growing  and being an integral part of God's plan for ministry in our area.

With plans to introduce a new Sunday evening service, our goals will be to welcome the
community and provide a spiritual experience to include participation by those who cannot
attend morning services and for those who may be seeking a different worship setting.
The ability to do all the things possible as a church is solely the purview and success of its
members, friends and partners. We should not be amazed or surprised at what has been and
can be accomplished by our parish. When needs are realized, we have risen to the need and
provided above and beyond to make sure those needs are met. When we have identified the
needs to be a church that welcomes and invites others, we continue to meet and grow our
expectations.

In this last year we have been blessed with the foresight to enrich our worship and liturgy with a
new church organ. The planning for, and raising of funds to procure a brand new instrument, is
yet another example of how our parish rises to the needs identified, especially in regards to
providing beautiful worship and liturgy. My thanks to Mr. Vaughn Scarcliff, our music director,
and the Organ Committee, who assisted the Vestry in identifying this instrument for our church.
In addition to serving in our liturgy and worship, this new organ opens up opportunities for
celebrating music with local community talent, concerts and perhaps teaching new talent in
preparation for learning church music and the mastering of organ performance. Our new organ
will bless us for many years to come.

Over this last year the Vestry and I engaged in a Mutual Ministry Review (MMR) to evaluate
the relationships of the work of the church and its leadership. This review allowed the vestry to
explore and prioritize our goals for service according to our mission which is to be the Body of
Christ in community. Over several months we explored what we considered our strengths and
weaknesses and set specific goals to pursue in the coming years. More about these specifics
will be explained during the meeting by our Senior Warden, John Biggs.

The MMR process correlated nicely with our Strategic Planning Committee that has also been
meeting to plan and strategize our short and more distance future as a parish in the most
eastern portion of the Kansas City region. Items discussed by the committee included
determining possible uses for our vacant land; renovation of the narthex that would include
relocating the dangerous stair case and installing an elevator to allow better access to the main
floor and nave; making plans based on what the demographics of our parish may look like in the
next two to five years and how we may share our ministries with other Episcopal and
Ecumenical churches as those demographics impact our church communities.

My activities as your pastor have led me to care for many in our parish who have needed
pastoral care and visitation. I also enjoy the opportunity to assist the Blue Springs Police
Department and Central Jackson County Fire-EMS as an emergency chaplain. We continue to 
share our ministries with our Lenten fellowship churches for combined services in the summer
and in fellowship with other special events throughout the year. I have also had the privilege to
share a pastoral presence with All Saint's Lutheran, our ELCA sister congregation. In the
absence of a full-time pastor, the board of directors at All Saint's asked for our assistance with
pastoral care and other duties as they may need while they work through their transition for a
new pastor.

As I try to be brief in my report to you, I want to share my hopes and visions for this next year
and our years to come in relationship together.   As mentioned, we will increase our weekend worship services to three with a 5:30 pm Sunday  evening service and fellowship. Along with celebrating high feast days that fall during the week,  and providing a variety of worship experiences during Advent-Christmas and Lent-Easter, our  parish is becoming more active with community programs that include the Girl Scouts, soccer  programs for youngsters and a welcoming meeting space for various community activities and  celebrations.

As we realize the abilities to meet our mission of being the Body of Christ in community, we are
doing very well with the many outreach programs managed through the working members of
the Outreach Committee and all who assist them. As it is in smaller churches, several people
take on many tasks. It is vital for our church that we get as many people as possible involved in
the programs we offer that serve the community and people in need. More hands make for
greater work and planned outcomes. Please consider committing some of your talents of time
and action to our Outreach Teams. All of us are equipped to work in some capacity to build on
the incredible programs that are being accomplished each week and throughout the year. Are
we real, relevant, and rooted in our faith and worship, and do we connect with those looking for
a spiritual environment that engages questions and answers about faith and a relationship with
God?

It is so important to know that we are a stable and growing parish. We have solid finances,
without debt, and we can be assured that with good planning our budget will continue to meet
the demands for our parish in both programs and services.   I continue to be active in diocesan programs as I serve as the Dean for the Central Deanery, one  of three deaneries in the diocese. My role requires my participation in meeting with the Bishop  monthly, serving on both the diocesan Finance Committee and the Diocesan Council. As these  duties increase my time away from the parish, I recently resigned from the diocesan  Commission on Ministry after serving two years to assist in the development of new clergy for  the diocese, so I can better balance my time.

Out of all my activities and roles, my most important role is for me to be your pastor. That
means serving as teacher, mentor, counselor, advocate, cheerleader and spiritual leader. To
know and love you is my greatest desire in serving as Christ's servant. Resurrection Church is
not a place of employment or job site for your priest. You have called me to be your spiritual 
guide and to help all who are willing to engage in the way of Christ for the purposes of
understanding our relationship to God through faith in Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There is no
greater honor than to serve Christ at Resurrection and to be part of the Christian family that
exists as part of the church as a whole.

My visions for Resurrection Church include continuing to be a very active presence in our
community for service to those in need; to identify how we can be evangelical in welcoming
those looking for a church with a clear spirituality focused on Jesus Christ and his call to love
others; to be an inspiring and spiritual place for all who call our church their home; and to
continue to strive for even better ways to care for our communities.

Resurrection is a church home where people have been invited to share their lives. For many,
Resurrection has been the church where family and friends have been baptized, confirmed and
married. Our parish is a sacred place where our families have celebrated their transitions in life
and have also been buried. Resurrection continued to be a spiritual center for the faith of all
who chose to experience what God has to offer.

May your visions and dreams for your church be realized as you commit to making the Episcopal
Church of the Resurrection the church that you want it to be and the church that can be the  connection for others to call their home parish.     Fr. David +

NOMINATIONS FOR VESTRY
Vote for Three
Annual Meeting

The following individuals have been nominated to serve on the Vestry of the Church of the Resurrection for a three year term.  Members in good standing will be asked to vote for three of the four nominees at the Annual Meeting on Sunday.

Personal Statements from Nominees for Vestry:

Gabe Conn:
I became an Episcopalian when a late teenager after questioning my belief in the Roman
Catholic Church. The Episcopal Church gave me the ritual of the Catholic Church and the
opportunities to question without condemnation.

When Richard (my husband) and I became engaged he was received into the Episcopal
Church and we became a true church family with the members of the church.

We have been members of several churches in our 45 years together. We each felt the
need to be fully vested in our church. Resurrection has become our home for over 30 years.

Rich and I have raised our sons and grandchildren in the church. It takes a "village" to raise
children and we thank all the "villagers" for your help in making this our home.

Rich and I have our own talents- so we have occasionally gone in different directions of
caring for our home. I have been the head of the Altar Guild, participated as a home Eucharistic
minister, served on the Pastoral Care Committee, I sing in the choir, participate on the
Gardening Committee and I willing serve on many ad hoc committees.

As a Resurrection Vestry member, I hope to bring fresh ideas to the body and yet have
the privilege of working with the current members on ongoing projects. Thank you for your  consideration.


Dr. Tess Garcia:
Some of you remember me from when I first arrived at Resurrection on the 4th of July, 1999. My now ex and I were going to try out various denominations and see where the Lord wanted us to be.
Resurrection was our first stop, and after the warmth of your welcome, our last stop. We joined very
soon thereafter. Others of you will only know me from when Gigi and I came back to Resurrection
January a year ago. We had been being Catholic a few years but, although I was a cantor, lector, and  Eucharistic Minister, the church provided no support system. Since Gigi was first diagnosed with ovarian  cancer in 2011, we had kind of been flailing around. When I had complained about this to my family, my  sister-in-law who had attended Resurrection one Christmas wrote back: "What about your church? You  used to be very close to them." So we came back and received the same kind of welcome. Instant  support system. No recriminations about drifting away, just love and warmth.

When I first came to Resurrection, I was in my family medicine residency program and so could not be  involved more than singing with the choir for Christmas and Holy Week. After I went into practice, I  could be more involved: I served on the vestry, was a Eucharistic Minister, and sang when I could.

So why am I wanting to serve on the Vestry now? Well, it's partly because I am at a point when I am  confused about what the Lord wants me to do career-wise. I had kind of gotten used to Him steering me  through life ever I first got the call to go to medical school, but since my private practice failed and Gigi's  cancer recurred, I haven't been able to find a practice where I fit. I've been praying and not getting  much direction except to do the things that are clearly before me: do more continuing medical  education, practice my guitar . . . and be more involved with Resurrection. I've gone back to serving as  Eucharistic Minister and I will be helping Father David with the second service but that's not enough. I  want to be part of the church's growth, as well as help it remain as it has been for me: a community that  helps people when help is needed. You would be amazed to learn how much you have helped me since  my ex walked out on me in 2001.

As I said, this is my abridged personal statement. My first attempt was three pages long and covered my  history with the Episcopal Church since the 1990's. Please feel free to email me for a copy if you really  want to know about me. It's a better piece of writing and I think you'd find it entertaining.


David Henson:
Thank you for considering me for a vestry position at the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection.  I have previously been a member of the Catholic and Baptist faiths.  Those experiences give me an appreciation for the principles and foundation of the Episcopal faith.  

I have a business background in sales and marketing.  My experiences give me the communication skills to be a strong advocate for our parishioners. The Episcopal Church is accountable to its members; therefore, it will be my job to listen and report the congregation's concerns.  
The decisions of the Vestry are important to insure the long term success of the church. 

I would be proud to serve as a member of the Vestry.  Resurrection is a wonderful church and we are thankful to be a part of its faith community. 


Elaine Marshall:
Because I was curious about the small A-frame church building, I walked into a Sunday service at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Jacksonville, FL.  Aside from being lost in the prayer book, I felt very comfortable & at home.  In Athens, TN I was confirmed at St. Paul's.  My previous job allowed me to visit Episcopal churches all across the country which was great fun. In addition to enjoying  & participating in services & activities at Resurrection, we have responsibilities too; serving on the Vestry is a way I can fulfill one of my responsibilities to this parish.  Oh, by the way, I still feel at home in an Episcopal church.