MISSION ROAD CONGREGATION EVENTS AND PROJECTS

BACKPACK BLESSING SUNDAY!

On Sunday morning, August 19, students are invited to bring their backpacks to church for a blessing for the new school year.

ICE CREAM SOCIAL COMING SOON!

Reserve Saturday, August 25, 2018 for the Annual Mission Road Congregation Ice Cream Social. The event will start at 6 PM.

For the event, Jonathan Bacon is working on a trivia/matching contest. He needs a copy of your baby or early childhood photo for the competition. Those attending will attempt to identify who is in each photo.

You can email Jonathan a digital copy (see the church directory for his email address) or bring a copy to church on Sunday (Jonathan will scan the photo and immediately return it to you).

Willing to help? Want to play? Join us on the 25th! And don’t forget to add your name to the sign-up sheet (for ice cream, cookies, and so on) on the Fellowship Hall doors.

BIRTHDAY CARD SHOWER!

Sunday, August 26, 2018, Violet Lorenz 109th birthday. We want to give Violet a card shower. Please send her a Happy Birthday Card to celebrate this milestone event. Her contact information is in the church directory.

PRAYERS REQUESTED FOR NOLAN

Nolan Sprague is the son of Kevin and Carmen Sprague. Kevin is Brody Foster’s (Jonathan Bacon’s Grandson’s) baseball coach. Brody plays on the competitive baseball team, Strikezone Fury, with Nolan’s younger brother Corbin.

Nolan was injured in a diving accident and his spinal column was damaged between the G5 and G6 vertebrae. The family was told the likelihood of him walking again is very low. Initially he could not move anything below his elbows or waist. After surgery he was able to move his arms and three fingers, the ones he uses to pitch. Nolan is 17, going into his senior year of high school with the strong possibility of a college baseball scholarship. Please pray for wisdom for his doctors and healing for Nolan.

The family has a lot of faith in the healing power of prayer. They also are facing some heavy financial burdens. Nolan will be moved to a rehabilitation center the end of this week and probably spend weeks, if not months there. Friends of the family have established a GoFundMe page for Nolan. Donate if you can, but either way, pray for Nolan, his family and his doctors. https://www.gofundme.com/nolan-sprague

CONTINUED PRAYERS FOR JACKSON

Please continue to offer your prayers for Jackson Tijerina, the grandson of Laurie and Steve Holben. Doctors have determined that his brain cancer is not of a know variety and so biopsies have been sent to several major medical centers across the country who specialize in cancer research and treatments. Please pray that the doctors can identify the kind of cancer and a treatment for it.

AUGUST BOOK CLUB MEETING SET

The August meeting of the All Good Books discussion group will occur on Thursday, August 16, 2018 at 7 PM. The group will meet in the Church Library and discuss "Lilac Girls" by Martha Hall Kelly.

DON’T FORGET THE SCHOOL SUPPLIES DRIVE!

It’s time to start thinking about how you can support the annual Center of Hope school supplies drive. When you’re out shopping for your own children or grand children, please pick up some extra supplies for children who cannot afford even the basics. And if you’re no longer buying school supplies for your family, take a nostalgic shopping trip and pickup some items for the families supported by the Center. What’s needed? Pencils, erasers, crayons, rulers, notebooks, paper tablets, colored pencils, notebook paper, pencil holders, backpacks, 3-ring binders and more. If you think it’s a school related supply…it probably is!

ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL: THE STORY OF CHRISTIANITY

The Adult Sunday School Class is now studying "The Story of Christianity: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation, Volume 1" by Justo Gonzalez.

Next Sunday the class will discuss Chapter 11, "Christian Life." Jane Landrum will lead the class discussion.

ADULT INFORMATION CLASS ABOUT THE COMMUNITY OF CHRIST

This new class continues each Sunday for adults interested in learning about church membership this class is informational, if class members want baptism or if class members simply want to know more about Community of Christ. Baptism is not necessarily an outcome of class attendance. The class will be held during the regular Sunday School hour (starting at 9:15 AM). Please join the class in the Chapel, taught by Karen Birkby and Ron Millard, if interested.

LATEST ELEVATOR CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

All the parts for the elevator have arrived but as Pastor Larry Birkby explained, "some assembly required." The assembly team from KC Lift has made great steps towards getting the elevator ready for us to enjoy. They are on schedule with the assembly process. The elevator should be finished and ready for use by the end of the month.

Please continue to be especially cautious during construction, as there are construction materials and other hazards to be avoided. You will also find extra vehicles in our parking lot because of our construction project as well as the construction of the new Prairie Village Fire Station. Please be mindful and welcoming of our visitors.

SAVE THE DATE – POTLUCK AT KOSMICKI’S FARM

Roxann and Alex Kosmicki are inviting everyone in the congregation to their farm on Saturday, October 13, 2018 to share in an afternoon of potluck and fellowship. More details to follow for the 10:30-2:30 PM event but mark your calendars now!

MISSION CENTER BOOK CLUB

Shelly Twitchell, Midlands Mission Support Specialist, will host a Book Club through Facebook starting this fall. Grab the books and start reading. We will first discuss "Joining God, Remaking Church, Changing the World" by Alan J Roxburgh. Congregational or small group book discussions are encouraged. Happy reading and have a great summer!

ONLINE TEMPLE SCHOOL CLASSES

Introduction to Scripture (Temple School SS400) and Ministry of the Disciple (Temple School MP301): Sept 8 – Nov 2

$25 registration begins August 8. To register, please visit www.developmetrics.org and click on "USA Registration".

Fees may be paid though our online portal or via mailed check.

You will receive login information via email.

These eLearning classes guide students together through readings, videos, and quizzes. Students may access each week’s class 24-hours a day, 6-days a week (allowing one day for grading) providing flexibility in class schedules.

GENEROSITY CYCLE CONVERSATIONS

Community of Christ has begun an effort to realign the way we think about giving. We invite you to join the bigger conversation evolving across the church as we explore and journey together with this new approach. A video and survey can be found at www.cofchrist.org/generosity-cycle.

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.

MISSION ROAD CALENDAR

Wednesday, August 15, 2018, 7:00 PM – Prayer Circle in the Church Library.

Thursday, August 16, 2018, 7:00 PM – All Good Books group meets in the Church Library.

Sunday, August 19, 2018, 8:45 AM – Breakfast (provided by Michel Haase & Devin Frazee), join us for conversation and fellowship.

Sunday, August 19, 2018

• 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 "The Story of Christianity: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation, Volume 1" by Justo Gonzalez, taught by Jonathan Bacon, Paul Bennetts, Jane Landrum and Dennis Wood in the Church Library.
• Exploring the Community of Christ (Adult Class) – 9:15-10:15 AM, taught by Karen Birkby and Ron Millard in the Chapel.

Sunday, August 19, 2018, 10:30 AM – Steve Holben will speak on the theme "Abide in Me" with Kennetha Kuttler serving as presider and worship planner. Brad Athey will offer the ministry of music. Steve Hedrick will provide the PowerPoint. The service will include a Backpack Blessing! Kids bring your school backpack for a special blessing for you and your new school year.

Saturday, August 25, 2018, 9:30-11 AM – Saints’ Chorale first rehearsal and reading session for 2018-2019 season.

Saturday, August 25, 2018, 6 PM – Annual Mission Road Ice Cream Social.

Sunday, August 26, 2018, Violet Lorenz 109th birthday. We want to give Violet a card shower. Please send her a Happy Birthday Card to celebrate this milestone event. Her contact information is in the church directory.

MISSED LAST SUNDAY’S SERVICE?

Audio recordings of past worship services are available online at https://goo.gl/wREl03. This is a short URL for a Google Drive folder with past recordings.

Recordings are located in folders corresponding to the year (e.g., 2017, 2018). If you missed a Sunday, this provides you a way to hear the music and the message.

Each audio recording begins with the date of the service (20180805 represents August 5, 2018). The date is followed by a dash and the first initial and last name of the speaker.

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:

12 August 2018 message by Kirk Barnhard, filename 20180812-KBarnhard.mp3

5 August 2018 message by Debbie Rushfelt, filename 20180805-DRushfelt.mp3

29 July 2018 message by Jane Landrum, filename 20180729-JLandrum.mp3

22 July 2018 message by Jonathan Bacon, filename 20180722-JBacon.mp3

15 July 2018 message by Karen Birkby, filename 20180715-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 our Congregational Pastoral Care Coordinator.

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 link to Mission Road worship service audio recordings at https://goo.gl/wREl03

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.