FROM THE SENIOR MINISTER: Summer Worship |
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Beginning May 16, you will have four options for worship each Sunday morning. You may stream the sanctuary service at 9:01, 10:00 or 11:00 a.m.. Or you may gather on the front lawn at 9:01 a.m. for an in person outdoor worship experience. Many of you have already told me how excited you are about gathering together and many are excited that our online worship will continue uninterrupted. The staff and leaders of the church have been collaborating for months on how to make this transition to live worship in a way that keeps folks safe, creates community and protects the vulnerable.
Worship on the Lawn in the summer is frequently the most well attended service of our three worship services. Attendance ranges from 150 to 225 and two summers ago we purchased more chairs to make room for more worshippers. This summer we have acquired additional speakers so that worshippers may space out across the lawn even further and still hear. When you arrive, greeters will welcome you and invite you to take your own chair from the rack and place it where you are comfortable, sitting with your family or friend group or socially distanced from others. Masks will be worn while moving around but once stationary you may remove the mask to sing and pray and visit and drink coffee. We will share the Lord’s Supper and we encourage you to bring your own bread and beverage but we will also have the sealed communion kits of bread/juice for all who wish to take one of those. During the offering you may text your gift, give online, or bring your check or cash forward to one of four stations to drop it in an offering box. Our fabulous trio of bass, soprano sax and piano will lead our music along with soloists and song leaders and you may sing along by accessing the words to the song on your phone through a QR code. Plan to come a little early to get a cup of coffee or a kid’s smoothie the first two weeks from the coffee cart, or stay afterwards and visit with friends. Some of the classes and small groups may want to meet in the tent. Childcare will be available for the small children during the service and kids may enjoy the playground.
After much prayer and thought, I believe this outdoor worship experience makes it possible for the most folks to experience a rich and meaningful worship experience. In the coming months, we know that more and more folks will be vaccinated and we are prayerful the health conditions will allow us to move indoors by late summer for all three services (sanctuary and chapel). We are in the process of investing in new cameras and technology that will enable us to have folks in the sanctuary worshipping in person while simultaneously streaming. Currently our film equipment only enables us to pre-record and edit.
I am grateful to all of you for your faithfulness, your patience, your longing to be church together. More than ever, I am inspired by the ways the Spirit of God is alive among us. I can’t wait to see you in person.
Grace and Peace,
Carla
To send a message to Carla, click HERE.
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NEW SERMON SERIES - THE NEXT 100
April 18 – Part 1, Building Tomorrows. Based on Revelation 21:1-7. Rev. Carla Aday preaching.
As we celebrate the Centennial of our congregation, we now boldly build the tomorrows for those who will come after us. This series will reflect on the gratitude we share for the indescribable gift of God’s grace and the ways we are called to partner with the holy one for future ministry and service. Read more about The Next 100 campaign below.
Click HERE to worship with us.
Miss last Sunday's worship? Watch it HERE.
Do you ever have trouble accessing our live stream? Click HERE for some helpful hints. |
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COMING MAY 16
9:01 ON THE LAWN
Join us for our first in-person service in more than a year! Service will follow safety protocols and will continue throughout the summer. More details coming soon. We can't wait to see you in person!
Indoor services will also be streamed via cccckc.org at 9:01, 10:00 and 11:00 a.m. each Sunday.
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After more than two years of visioning, listening, dreaming and prayerfully discerning, the congregation is ready to launch a bold vision for the future with The Next 100 Centennial Gifts Campaign. You will be hearing much more about the vision and projects for this campaign in the coming days. Click HERE to read more, and plan to join us for these upcoming campaign events.
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THE TENT IS BACK
The Anniversary Sunday School class met under the tent in the back yard to hear a presentation about The Next 100 Campaign.
If your class or group would like to reserve the tent, please contact Lisa Tang 816-333-4917.
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Monday Night Classes - Saints of Our Time
April 19, 26, and May 3, 7:00 p.m. via Zoom
Led by Dr. Mike Graves
The word “saint” conjures up all sorts of things for us moderns, golden halos painted around ancient heads, people like Saint Augustine, or more recently, Saint Teresa. In these interactive Zoom sessions, we will look at some more modern saints and what they have to teach us ordinary saints in our day: Barbara Brown Taylor, Frederick Buechner, and Mary Oliver.
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Uprooting Racism Workshop Watch Party
Tues., Apr. 27, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Backyard tent, BYOBeverage, light snacks provided
Join others from the church community for a backyard watch party of a recent event hosted by American Public Square with guest professor Eddie S. Glaude, Jr. Glaude is a scholar who recently published Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own. In this workshop, Glaude offers important lessons about how to honestly confront our history in a way that might transform our future into one that overcomes the racism and injustice of our present. We will also hear more about APS, a non-partisan organization committed to creating space for important conversations, and how our church might connect with APS. RSVP now to Lisa Tang.
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GUEST GATHERING
Thurs., May 6 – 7:00-8:00, under the tent in the backyard
Coming together as a strong community of faith begins with learning more about one another. Whether you live in the Kansas City area or join us in worship from other parts of the country, we invite you to join us for our Spring Guest Gathering.
Rev. Carla Aday will address our history as a congregation along with exciting plans for the future beginning with our Centennial Celebration and our upcoming church restoration. We’ll identify pathways to meet others and become engaged in the life of the church through service and study. We look forward to getting to know you and to answering your questions.
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Grace at Work Partnership Day with reStart
Sat., May 1 • 9:00 a.m. - Noon • reStart
Make plans to come help reStart create a usable outdoor space for their clients. We will be working to prep a small lot for a community garden and butterfly garden. Children 5 and older are welcome to help with their parents. Come for whatever stretch of time you are available. Please RSVP HERE. Confirmation and details will be emailed to registered volunteers a few days before. Our rain date will be on Sunday, May 2.
APRIL COLLECTION CONNECTION
Household Supplies for The Grooming Project
The Metro Mission team invites donations of toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning supplies, and kitchen size trash bags to support The Grooming Project. Donations may be brought to church between 8:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. to the east entrance, or left in the teal box at the east entrance.
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CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
Coming soon!
Club Kids for 3rd-5th graders, is an opportunity for fellowship and fun! Community-building games and activities are the focus of these fun gatherings.
- April 11: Club Kids - join us from 4:00-6:00 p.m. for a picnic
Children's Virtual Choir - Join us for a special Children’s Virtual Choir video performance! All children are welcome to participate. Practice at home and record your child singing along to the demo video. Videos will be compiled into all children singing “together.” We will share the finished video with all of you as well as use it for special music during our online service broadcast.
Submit videos by Sun., Apr. 25!
More about Children and Family Ministries HERE.
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YOUTH
May Backyard Campout
Youth are invited to a backyard campout at the church on Saturday, May 15th, starting at 6p! We’ll spend the night together for essentially an outdoor lock-in— full of games, snacks, a movie, and more! Youth will be invited to participate in a special moment in our first outdoor summer worship service the following Sunday morning.
Summer Service Learning Trips - We are thrilled to announce our summer service-learning opportunities for 2021! This summer, we will host two service-learning weeks that will allow both middle and high schoolers a chance to serve, learn, and build memories together with local service-learning opportunities and one overnight component. Click HERE for more information.
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OUR CHURCH FAMILY
IN SYMPATHY
Our prayers are with the families of:
Dr. Art Elman, a memorial service will be held in our Sanctuary at 11:00 a.m. on Fri., Apr. 23.
Ralph LeRoy (Roy) Nafziger III, the father of Gary (Beverly) Nafziger of our church. The family gathered for a memorial service earlier this week.
David Chapman, the family will gather in Kansas City for a service here in our church next month.
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