April 21 Colonial Church News

“By This We Will Know: The Dance of Love” April 25 Worship

Baptism is a sign of solidarity that is greater than our differences. As we observe the power of water on this Earth Day week, we will hear from the Rev. David Wheeler.

Also, please note that we're going to delay our recording of the Jerusalem Dance a few weeks, so we won't be doing that this Sunday. Keep practicing though!

Come to watch worship at 10:15 a.m. at Colonial Church.

This week you can come watch the online service on the screens in the sanctuary at 10:15 a.m. at Colonial rather than on the lawn. No Sunday School or childcare will be available.

Connect to online live worship service at https://colonialucc.online.church/ at 8:30 or 10:15 a.m.

Or, you can watch our service anytime after 8:30 a.m. on Sundays via YouTube at https://bit.ly/CCYouTubeV

Online Children's Sunday School. This week's Sunday School Bible story will go live on Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. https://bit.ly/CCYouTubeVid

Online Coffee & Conversation

Immediately following our online worship service (at 9:15 a.m.) grab a mug and come over to our community's Coffee & Conversation online.

You can connect at https://bit.ly/CCCoffeeCon

In-Person Worship Resumes May 2

We are returning to in-person worship in the sanctuary beginning Sunday, May 2 at 10:15 a.m.

We will

Hear Joseph play the organ
Listen to musicians sing hymns and perform other music
Take Holy Communion in hygienic sealed kits by coming forward
See liturgists and Children's Conversation leaders on screen. Children will not come forward.
Offering will be collected in a box in the narthex

We won’t

Sing hymns aloud
Have Sunday school or nursery service available. Those will return later this summer.
Host coffee hour, classes or meetings in the building on Sundays. Those will remain online

Other important information

Masks are required
Social distancing will be observed
Restrooms will be open but only one person at a time may use a restroom

These worship protocols will evolve as we go along and we will continue to keep you updated.

We will continue to provide the live online worship at 8:30 a.m.

Colonial's Front Shade Garden Is Changing

Because the garden club that Honey Hannah and Lee Rowe have been involved with for many years has dissolved and will no longer maintain the shade garden by the front door, we are reinventing the garden so it is less maintenance intensive. Work on this project will begin soon. Bring your shovel and help yourself to beautiful plants this Sunday, April 25, 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Available plants include hostas, grape hyacinths, Solomon’s Seal, and ground cover. Some plants, such as jonquils, will be retained for the new garden. Caution: the ground is uneven! If you are prone to falls, ask for help.

We're Going to Dance Together on May 23

We are postponing creating our video of the Jerusalema until Pentecost, May 23, but keep practicing. The Jerusalema is a line dance...and we can do this together. On May 23 we will record ourselves dancing together. We’re going to put together a video and challenge our friends at Plymouth Church in Lawrence to do the same.

Our own Tamara Carson has put together a video instruction for how to do the Jerusalema - there's also a low impact and accessible to dance-challenged people.

AIDS Walk Kansas City This Saturday

Colonial designated $5,000 from the Pemberton fund to our Colonial AIDS Walk Kansas City team! Let’s show our Colonial pride and try to increase our donations to be the top team. No donation is too small! Prizes will be awarded and everyone who donates will have their names placed in the hat. All money remains in Kansas City to assist those living with HIV/AIDS.

Get your walking shoes on and join us virtually for AIDS Walk Kansas City on Saturday, April 24. AIDS WALK Kansas City raises money to provide shelter, medical care and emergency services for more than 5,700 men, woman and children in Kansas City suffering from HIV/AIDS. AHH (Artist Helping the Homeless) also receives funds from the walk to provide HIV testing for their members.

Go to aidswalkkansascity.org and select Colonial UCC team to join the walk or to donate to a Colonial member.

For questions please contact Shawn Boelter or Stacey Algren.

Ramadan Break Fast Dinner

How to prepare for the fast breaking Ramadan dinner on Tuesday, April 27

Email Julie (julie.luttman@colonialucc.org) or Mariam (mariamfleming@gmail.com) so they can forward the link to you to the Zoom presentation. Open your link by 6:45 p.m. on the 27^th.
You can also watch at 7:15 p.m. on April 27 on YouTube below. Live music, calligraphy, videos from World Children will add more fun to this event. During our Virtual Ramadan 2021 events, we will have representation of Muslims living almost in 20 countries. Enjoy this opportunity to expand your world.

Virtual Iftar - Colonial Church in Prairie Village

Results of Capital Campaign Survey

Results of the survey for Colonial regarding a possible capital campaign are now available. We want to publish all the data for full transparency. It is important that everyone have the opportunity to see the results.

The Leadership Team is planning “town hall” style gatherings in the coming weeks to give everyone an opportunity to share your feedback with a small group. As you read these results, please note they are quite positive. The response alone was tremendous with 83% reporting Colonial is meeting your spiritual needs and 89% reporting high marks for communication.

An important part of the report is that nearly half the church is ready to commit to a capital campaign for the issues listed. Another 15% are opposed. Nearly 1/3 of the church are unsure. The town hall meetings will help the Leadership Team better understand the hopes and dreams of everyone, so if we decide to move forward, we can do so with a clear consensus of the congregation. Thank you again for those of you who participated in the survey and let us know if you have any questions about what you see. Blessings!

Read the full report here.

Upcoming Events

April 21 - Youth Talk with Pastor Aaron at 8:00-9:00 p.m. (Location TBD, but we are hoping for an outdoor gathering)
May 16 - Cookout & Backyard Games with Plymouth Group at TBD
July 16-20 - UCC Synod Youth Online Events

For more information, email or call Heather in the office.

Mother's Day Pothawira Donations

This Mother’s Day (May 9) honor your mother by supporting Pothawira in Malawi. With your gift you will help provide medical care to an impoverished community, educate and care for over 125 orphans and support safe births at its birthing center.

To donate online, click here and select "Malawi-Mothers Day" from the dropdown menu. You can also mail a check to Colonial. Checks can be made to Colonial with "Mothers Day Malawi" in the memo. Thank you!

In the words of Marilyn Uppman, “Your mother would want you to donate." ❤️

Colonial Women Activities

With the return of nice weather and many of us already having received COVID vaccinations, we are returning to in-person Colonial Women’s activities.

Colonial Women Book Group - 7:00 p.m. Friday, April 23, Stephanie Graff's home. We will discuss "Transcendent Kingdom" by Yaa Gyasi.
Colonial Women Breakfast at Big Biscuit - 9:30 a.m. on Monday, May 3.
Colonial Women Blue Moose Tuesday - 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 11. Blue Moose patio

Your Support Matters

Even though we are not worshiping in person, our work together matters - to each other and to the community. Your pledges help Colonial do its work. You may mail in your pledge checks, as well as any other payments. An easier alternative is to make contributions online. You just fill in your banking information or provide a credit card and your name and email and what fund you are paying (Stewardship, food pantry, etc.) and the amount. Click the donate button below.

If you have any questions, you may email or call Heather in the office or Jayne Quimby, Financial Recorder.

Donate

VANish the Void Supplies

Pre-pandemic, Colonial helped Kar Woo and Artists Helping the Homeless by providing and serving a meal in Mill Creek Park once a month for homeless people. We hope to resume that outreach eventually. In the meantime, the Colonial Board of Outreach is providing funds for non-perishable food items for Woo to hand out when he is out in the Be the Change van helping disadvantaged and homeless people in Kansas City. You can give to that effort here by selecting AHH from the dropdown menu.