MISSION ROAD CONGREGATION EVENTS AND PROJECTS

ELEVATOR RIBBON CUTTING

The elevator is now complete except for the testing. The elevator will be inspected on Tuesday, August 28, 2018. Volunteers are needed for Tuesday at 10:30 AM for testing and training. If you’re available and would like to be part of the group to learn more about the elevator (to help respond in case of an emergency), please join us on Tuesday.

We’ll have an Elevator Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on Sunday, September 9 after church followed by a Potluck Lunch (bring your favorite dish to share).

MELISSA (EMSLIE) WAGNER BABY SHOWER

The Ladies of The Mission Road Congregation are holding a baby shower for Melissa. The shower will be held at the church on Sunday afternoon Sept. 16th at 2PM. Melissa is register at: Bye, Bye, Baby & TARGET. Please RSVP to Jean Bink or Eloise Snider. You can find their contact information in the Mission Road church directory.

BUSINESS MEETING SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 30

The Fall Business meeting for the Mission Road Congregation has been scheduled for Sunday, September 30, 2018 during the Sunday School class hour. Plan to join us and discuss congregational business.

THE SCHOOL SUPPLIES DRIVE CONTINUES!

The annual Center of Hope school supplies drive continues, even though some schools have started already. When out shopping for your own children or grandchildren, please pick up some extra supplies for children who cannot afford even the basics. If you’re no longer buying school supplies for your family, take a nostalgic shopping trip and pick up 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 13, "Constantine." Paul Bennetts 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.

CENTRAL AVENUE OF HOPE ANNUAL PAPER DRIVE

ANNUAL PAPER DRIVE STARTS SEPTEMBER 1ST

For the last several years, we have had a paper drive for Central Avenue of Hope in the fall. We have saved almost $50,000.00 in paper products because of the generosity of individuals and many Community of Christ Congregations who have contributed the following items.

Paper, plastic, or Styrofoam

Soup bowls 12 oz.

Dessert plates 5-7 inch

Coffee cups 8 oz

Foam plates 8 inch

Toilet paper

Sporks (combination spoon and fork)

Napkins

The paper drive starts September 1st, 2018 and runs through October 14th.

The Community of Christ congregation with the best percentage of giving will receive the paper drive trophy for 2019.

Please consider your paper drive gift and give generously!

SEPTEMBER BOOK CLUB MEETING SET

Next meeting of the All Good Books discussion group will occur on Thursday, September 20, 2018 at 7 PM. The group will meet in the Church Library and discuss "Between Sisters" by Kristin Hannah. You can keep up to date by following the book club’s blog/website at allbooksclub.wordpress.com

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!

PRAYERS REQUESTED FOR NOLAN

Nolan Sprague, the older brother of Brody Foster’s teammate (Corbin) is still in need of prayers. Nolan is now headed to Colorado for weeks of rehabilitation after a diving accident that damaged his spinal column between the G5 and G6 vertebrae.

Nolan is 17 and would have been in his senior year at Mill Valley High School. The doctors are not confident he will ever walk again. While he’s made some progress with the use of his arms, he’s currently paralyzed from the waist down. 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 (self-employed with no health insurance). 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

UPDATE ON STEVE HOLBEN’S GRANDSON JACKSON

Please continue to pray for Steve Holben’s grandson, Jackson Tijerina. The results of his recent biopsy indicate his cancer, which is supposed to be low grade and non- aggressive, has been shown be spreading throughout his brain and spine. The only ray of hope is to try radiation therapy. It is basically a last resort treatment for Jackson. He will undergo treatment at Children’s Hospital of Omaha every day Monday-Friday and receive radiation under anesthesia. Jackson will also start a new chemo treatment. The chemo drugs are expensive and hard to get. Radiation is aggressive and comes with a ton of side effects, some long term and permanent, such as memory loss, hearing, and balance.

There is a GoFundMe page at https://www.gofundme.com/wvrpkuh8 to help support the family in the medical expenses for Jackson. Please give what you can and continue to remember Jackson and his family in your daily thoughts and prayers.

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 29, 2018, 6:30-7:30 PM – Saints’ Chorale Rehearsal in Sanctuary.

Wednesday, August 29, 2018, 7:35 PM – Prayer Circle in the Church Library.

Sunday, September 2, 2018, 8:45 AM – Breakfast (provided by Caryn Brown), join us for conversation and fellowship.

Sunday, September 2, 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, September 2, 2018, 10:30 AM – Larry Birkby will speak on the theme "Into My Heart" with Dorothy May serving as presider and worship planner. Jean Bink and Susan Clark will offer the ministry of music. Jonathan Bacon will provide the PowerPoint.

Monday, September 10, 2018, 7:00-8:30 PM – Mission Bells Rehearsal in Church Sanctuary (first of the Fall season).

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:

26 August 2018 message by Paul Bennetts, filename 20180826-PBennetts.mp3

19 August 2018 message by Steve Holben, filename 20180819-SHolben.mp3

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

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