CHILDREN INVITED TO MAKE GINGERBREAD HOUSES

The children of the congregation are invited to decorate gingerbread houses during the Sunday School hour next Sunday, December 17, 2017 starting at 9:15 AM. The activity is scheduled in the Fellowship Hall.

​

CHRISTMAS GIFTS FOR CENTER OF HOPE

If you picked up a tag, for the annual Christmas Gift donation for the Central Avenue Center of Hope, your gifts are due back next Sunday, December 17, 2017.

However, there are many tags not yet claimed. You can bring a gift bag or box that matches any of these categories of recipients. Each gift should be in a gift bag or Christmas box that can be opened at the top so Center staff can determine whom best to match with the gift.

There are four groups of recipients to choose from:

• Men
• Women
• Child age 1-10 (girl or boy)
• Child age 11-16 (girl or boy)

Suggested gifts for the adults include: hats/caps, scarves, gloves, socks, cologne, make-up, flashlight and for all ages: candy. For the children, a game or puzzle, gloves, toys, and any child appropriate gift is welcomed.

PRAYERS FOR THE HEDRICK FAMILY

We’re saddened to announce the passing of Grant Hedrick. Grant, the grandson of Janice and Paul Hedrick, lost his battle with Cancer recently. Please pray for the entire family who are dealing with a great loss.

VERY FEW YOUTH HISTORIC CARAVAN SUMMER TRIP SEATS REMAIN

Please encourage your teenagers to register for the 2018 Youth Historic Caravan. Students that are currently enrolled in 9, 10, 11, and 12th grades can attend. The Caravan will be held June 7-16, 2018 (9-1/2 days) with an additional pre-night orientation at Mission Road Congregation on June 6, 2018. Please see Clint for a registration form and additional information about this wonderful experience. The seats are filling fast for this historic event. Get your registration in soon while space is still available.

You can also help support this experience of a lifetime with your donations. The caravan will visit Palmyra, NY; Kirtland, OH; Plano, IL; Nauvoo and Carthage, IL; Lamoni, IA and Independence, MO. Fundraising efforts will insure that none of our youth are left behind, but it does require raising $40,000 ($13,000 of the goal already met).

All donations are tax deductible and checks should be made payable to Midlands Mission Center and noted for the Youth Historic Caravan. You can mail your donation to Midlands Mission Center, Attn: Historic Caravan, 7615 North Platte Purchase Drive, Kansas City, MO 64118. Questions? Contact Clint at 913-484-0651 or Kyle at 913-708-5950.

HMA HONDURAS NURSE PROGRAM PLEDGE

In the continuing effort to support our full-time nurse (Saira Giron) in providing healthcare to the villages in the area near La Buena Fe, Honduras, we are collecting pledges for 2018.

All pledges are fully tax-deductible as HMA is a 501c3 organization. No checks are needed at this time but donations can be made before December 31 if you want a receipt for 2017. Paul Bennetts will let you know when it is time to submit the payment for your pledge for 2018. Thanks again for your help with this very worthwhile project.

ADULT CLASS ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL

For next Sunday, the adult class will begin discussing II Corinthians as we cover chapters 1-3. Jonathan Bacon will lead the class discussion. Make it a habit; bring your Bible to class (any version).

DONATE MONEY FOR TOYS IN MEMORY OF ALISTER KOSMICKI

Roxanne is collecting money to purchase Christmas toys for needy children. If you would like to help, please see Roxanne.

MISSION ROAD CHRISTMAS PROGRAM

Please mark your calendars for the evening of December 17th for our annual Christmas Program. The Program will start at 6:30 pm; after the program we will meet in the Fellowship Hall for Christmas snacks and some Carol singing plus a visit from the bearded one in a Red Suit.

MERRY CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST

Mark your calendars and join us for our Potluck Breakfast on December 24th at 9 am.

No Sunday school classes on that Sunday, but the breakfast will be followed by our regular worships service at 10:30 AM.

JUST JESUS TEMPLE SERVICE

At 7 PM on Sunday, January 21, you’re invited to attend the “Just Jesus” Temple Service with Stassi Cramm and Matt Frizzel at the Independence Community of Christ Temple. It’s a celebration of Jesus’ message and mission. The service includes performances by the Graceland University Choir.

WOULD YOU HELP POST TO FACEBOOK AND EMAIL?

We’re looking for someone to assist with posting the weekly email newsletter and posting congregational news to Facebook. If you’re comfortable posting to Facebook and sending email, you can help. Please contact Jonathan Bacon (jonathanpbacon) if you’re interested in assisting with Mission Road Congregation News.

DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WITHOUT EMAIL OR FACEBOOK ACCESS?

If you know someone in the congregation who does not have email and does not use Facebook, please let Jonathan Bacon know. We’re trying to be sure everyone in the congregation has access to periodic news updates and information on congregational activities.

BOOK CLUB ON WINTER BREAK

The All Good Books group will not meet in December 2017.

The next meeting will be on Thursday, January 11, 2018 at 7 PM in the Church Library. The group will have two options to discuss. We will discuss both “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood as well as “Mrs. Saint and the Defectives” by Julie Lawson Timmer. Readers may read either or both books and come prepared to discuss what you’ve read.

Discussion questions for both books will be posted soon on the book club website at allbooksclub.wordpress.com.

2018 CAMP DATES

June 7-16 Historic Caravan

June 7-22 Middle School Camp

June 24-29 Doniphan Reunion

July 5-7 Youth Quest

July 8-13 Chihowa Reunion

July 20-21 International Youth Forum

July 21-28 Spectacular

July 22-27 MITIOG

July 29-August 2 Junior Camp

MISSION ROAD CALENDAR

Monday, December 11, 2017, 7:00-8:30 PM – Next Mission Bells rehearsal in Church Sanctuary.

Wednesday, December 13, 2017, 6:30-7:30 PM – Saints Chorale Rehearsal in the Church Sanctuary.

Wednesday, December 13, 2017, 7:35 PM – Prayer Circle meets in the Church Library.

Sunday, December 17, 2017, 8:45 AM – Breakfast (provided by Jonathan Bacon), join us for conversation and fellowship.

Sunday, December 17, 2017

• Nursery available – 9:15-11:30 AM, in downstairs Nursery.
• Children’s Sunday School class – 9:15-10:15 AM, taught by Mary Reichenbach.
• Teen’s Sunday School class – 9:15-10-15 AM, taught by Clint Reine.
• Adult Sunday School class – 9:15-10:15 AM, discusses "Encountering Paul” by Tatha Wiley, taught by Jonathan Bacon, Paul Bennetts, Jane Landrum and Dennis Wood in the Church Library.
• Adult Class Exploring the Community of Christ – 9:15-10:15 AM, taught by Karen Birkby and Ron Millard.

Sunday, December 17, 2017, 10:30 AM – Jennifer Libeer will speak onthe theme "Testify to the Light" with Brian Libeer presiding and serving as the worship planner. The Mission Bells will provide the ministry of music and Robert Sindt will provide the PowerPoint slideshow.

Sunday, December 17, 2017, 6:30 AM – Mission Road Christmas Program, including a visit by the white bearded gentleman in a red suit.

MISSED LAST SUNDAY’S SERVICE?

Would you like to hear the message from last Sunday or a Sunday service from 3 years ago? Audio recordings of many of the last several years’ worth of worship services are available online at https://goo.gl/wREl03. Note this is a new shortened URL that will take you to a Google Drive with many of the recordings from the past.

Recordings are located in folders corresponding to the year (2015, 2016, and so on). If you missed a Sunday, this provides you a way to hear the music and the message.

The beginning numbers of each filename indicate the date of the service.

The first 4 digits represent the year; the next two digits indicate the month and last two digits represent the day of the month.

In most cases, the date is followed by a dash and then the first initial and last name of the speaker. Enjoy!

NOTE: If you experience problems playing these audio files be sure you’re running the latest version of your browser or try a different browser. In some cases, you may be required to download the audio file before playing it.

The following list includes some recent audio recordings:

10 December 2017 message by Jonathan Bacon, filename 20171210-JBacon.mp3

3 December 2017 message by Steve Holben, filename: 20171203-SHolben.mp3

26 November 2017 message by Kennetha Kuttler, filename 20171126-KKuttler.mp3

19 November 2017 message by Ron Millard, filename 20171119-RMillard.mp3

12 November 2017 message by Paul Bennetts, filename 20171112-PBennetts.mp3

5 November 2017 message by Karen Birkby, filename 20171105-KBirkby.mp3

CONCERNING PRAYER REQUESTS

Please know that any member of the congregation can post prayer requests or share information about members and events on the Mission Road Members Only Facebook page. You do not need to send the information for approval to anyone. In fact doing so may slow down the dissemination of your request. Be sure to include the person needing prayers and what situation has occurred (if you wish to share that information). If your post concerns an event or news item, be sure to include the basics in your posting (such as who, what, where and when).

For prayer requests, if you do not have access to Facebook, then please call Paul Bennetts or John Trinkl Sr., our Congregational Pastoral Care Coordinators.

IMPORTANT CONGREGATIONAL LINKS

The Mission Road Congregation hosts the following social media sites:

Congregational (public) website at www.mission-road.org

Facebook Page (public) at https://www.facebook.com/MissionRoad.CoC

Facebook Group (open only to congregational members) at https://www.facebook.com/groups/MissionRoad/

The All Good Books discussion group website at https://allbooksclub.wordpress.com/

Visit and "like" each of these sites to keep up-to-date on congregational news.

CONGREGATIONAL NEWS EMAIL

If you have news items and calendar additions or changes that need to be included in the congregational news email please contact Larry Birkby. His email address and phone number is both in the Church Directory.