MISSION ROAD CONGREGATION EVENTS – MONDAY, MARCH 15, 2021

If you have news to share in the weekly church email newsletter, please notify Jonathan Bacon or Larry Birkby by Noon on Sunday each week.

Don’t forget to join us each week for the Sunday Morning Mission Road Worship Online and for the Wednesday Evening Prayer Circle Online!

IN THIS ISSUE:

ANDERSON AND COLEMAN: MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS (MVP)

THIS SUNDAY’S WORSHIP

ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS

NO ADULT CLASS ON SUNDAY, MARCH 28, 2021

ALL GOOD BOOKS CLUB MEETS THIS WEEK!

FOOD PANTRY NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT!

MISSION LEARN

MIDLANDS MISSION CENTER CONFERENCE

MISSION ROAD MESSAGES/SERMONS ON YOUTUBE

And More…

ANDERSON AND COLEMAN: MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS (MVP)

Katie’s Krops was started in Katie Stagliano’s backyard when she was a third grader. Katie received a cabbage seedling from the Bonnie Plants Third Grade Cabbage Program and so she and her brother planted the seedling in a sunny corner of her backyard. Katie cared for the cabbage and watched it grow, and grow, and grow.

When the huge cabbage was ready to harvest, through Fields to Families (a local organization that assists farmers in donating extra crops from their fields to organizations that feed the hungry), Katie was put in touch with Tri-County Family Ministries, a local soup kitchen in North Charleston, South Carolina.

Seeing the need, Katie formed Katie’s Krops, which has now grown into 100 gardens across the United States. Every Katie’s Krops Garden is youth based. Thousands of children across the country are getting their hands dirty working to end hunger in their communities.

In 2018, Katie’s Krops Growers donated over 38,000 pounds of fresh produce to hunger relief programs, cancer centers and directly to families in need.

Now we get to our local connection. Anderson and Coleman Strom created one of those 100 gardens across the country. Recently they received the following message from the founders of Katie’s Krops: “It is a great honor to announce that you are our 2020 Growers of the Year! Thank you for your passion and dedication to our cause. You have and continue to make a huge impact on food insecurity and hunger in our community. You have not let any obstacle prevent you from caring for your neighbors in need. We are blessed to have you as part of our growing family!” – Katie & Stacy

Congratulations to Anderson and Coleman (and to the parents, Amanda and Jeremy Strom, who have raised young men with “hearts set on service!”

THIS SUNDAY’S WORSHIP

The Sunday, March 21, 2021, worship theme is “Know God” with Jennifer Libeer as the speaker. Roxann Kosmicki will preside and serve as the worship planner. Brian Libeer will provide the PowerPoint and host the Zoom meeting assisted by Robert Sindt.

You are invited to join us online starting at 8:45 AM for conversation and fellowship with the worship activities beginning at 9 AM. After the service, we will keep the Zoom session open for folks to fellowship until the Adult Class begins at 10 AM. We hope you can join us.

ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS

The Mission Road Adult Sunday School Class is currently studying the “Sermon on the Mount” book by Amy-Jill Levine. This coming Sunday, Jane Landrum will lead a continuation of the discussion of Chapter 5 (“Finding Your Treasure”). Class begins at 10 AM following the Sunday morning worship.

NO ADULT CLASS ON SUNDAY, MARCH 28, 2021

Due to the Midlands Mission Center Conference, there will be no adult Sunday school class for Mission Road on Sunday, March 28, 2021. We’ll hold our morning worship at 9 AM, as usual, and then adjourn so members can join the Mission Center Conference that begins at 10 AM.

ALL GOOD BOOKS CLUB MEETS THIS WEEK!

The All Good Books group will meet this Thursday, March 18, 2021 at 7:00 PM using the church’s regular Zoom weblink. At that time, we’ll discuss “Anxious People” by Fredrik Backman.

The book is typical Backman (“A Man Called Ove,” “Britt-Marie Was Here,” and “Beartown” among other books) with a cast of characters including a failed bank robber, a recently retired couple who relentlessly hunt down fixer-uppers to avoid the painful truth that they can’t fix their own marriage, a wealthy bank director who has been too busy to care about anyone else and a young couple who are about to have their first child but can’t seem to agree on anything, from where they want to live to how they met in the first place. Add to the mix an eighty-seven-year-old woman who has lived long enough not to be afraid of someone waving a gun in her face, a flustered but still-ready-to-make-a-deal real estate agent, and a mystery man who has locked himself in the apartment’s only bathroom, and you’ve got the worst group of hostages in the world.

We hope you can join us on the 18th of March for the discussion of this fascinating novel.

FOOD PANTRY NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT!

The Mission Road Congregation continues to serve an important need by providing food supplies, school supplies and new or gently used clothing for the Central Avenue Center of Hope. Please add the following drop off dates to your calendar. We’ll be at church between 10 AM and noon on these dates to accept your donations!

Saturday, March 20, 2021

Saturday, April 10 2021

Saturday, April 24, 2021

Just so you know: Mission Road contributed 320 pounds of food to the Center in January and 310 pounds in February plus hygiene items, household items and clothes. The need continues! Let’s continue this wonderful response!

MISSION LEARN

The Mission: Learn workshop, to be held on Saturday, March 27 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM (on Zoom) will focus on “Toward the Peaceful One.” To register and for additional information, check out https://www.midlandsmc.org/ministries

The Saturday Schedule follows:

9:15 Gathering

9:30 Opening Session (Zac Harmon-McLaughlin)

10:00 Breakout Session 1 (Zac Harmon-McLaughlin and Janné Grover)

10:45 Breakout Session 2 (Janné Grover and Nicholas Keehler)

11:30 Breakout Session 3 (Zac Harmon-McLaughlin and Nicholas Keehler

12:15 Closing Worship

Classes offered include:

Hybrid Ministry: Discerning and responding to pastoral needs and missional opportunities with Janné Grover, Apostle for Central USA Mission Field

Assumption, Ambiguity, and Social Change; peeling back our embedded and deliberative theologies with Zac Harmon-McLaughlin, Seminary Director of Graceland University

Ministering in a Social Media World with Nicholas Keehler, Midlands Mission Center Social Media Specialist

MIDLANDS MISSION CENTER CONFERENCE

March 28th 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM | Zoom

You’re invited to join the 2021 Midlands Mission Center Conference on Sunday, March 28th via Zoom! Apostle Janné Grover will be bringing the message during worship.

You can register for the conference (and receive the Zoom link) by going to https://www.midlandsmc.org/ministries

The Conference is where we as a Mission Center gather together to discern where we feel the Spirit is leading us into the future. The Community of Christ, as a prophetic church, is continuously looking for new ways to engage with our communities and share the love of God through our mission initiatives. The disturbance of the status quo caused by this past year has shown that keeping this prophetic spirit alive is particularly important as we take our next steps into the future.

MISSION ROAD MESSAGES/SERMONS ON YOUTUBE

If you missed a Sunday morning message (sermon or homily), you’ll now be able to view them on YouTube. The Community of Christ – Mission Road channel can be accessed at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiCbae5dTgl0cmF9b672skAyPXl-5o1lM (or by using the shortened, easier to remember weblink: https://tinyurl.com/MissionRoadYouTube).

We are only posting the sermon or Sunday message portion of each service due to copyright concerns. Also please note that in some cases, Zoom failed to record the service.

New videos will be posted during the week following each message/sermon.

MISSION ROAD CONGREGATION ONLINE MEETINGS

The Mission Road Congregation will offer several meetings in the coming weeks online using Zoom. Access details are the same for each session and are listed below.

7 PM Every Wednesday – Prayer Circle Online.

9 AM Every Sunday – Sunday Morning Mission Road Worship Online.

10 AM Every Sunday – The Adult Sunday School Class studies “Sermon on the Mount” by Amy-Jill Levine.

CURRENT CHURCH RE-OPENING STATUS

World Church buildings and historic sites remain closed. The Mission Road Congregation remains closed until infection rates in the area drop. We may find out more information at the Mission Center Conference. The recent survey results indicate a split in those that responded to the survey. A little over half are ready to meet based on current guidelines. (Social distancing, face covering and 30% of building capacity [225) or 67 people; and World Church approval.) On a normal pre-covid Sunday we usually had fewer than 67. We are investigating ways we can have gatherings at church and also share with those on Zoom.

TITHES AND OFFERINGS

Please remember that church expenses continue, even when we’re not meeting in the building. Mary Reichenbach, the Congregation’s Financial Officer has indicated that contributions can be mailed to her house (10223 Briar Dr., Overland Park, KS 66207) or the church (7842 Mission Road, Prairie Village, KS 66208), or you can sign up for eTithing on the World Church website https://www.cofchrist.org/etithing). Any of these options will enable you to continue your regular contributions.

If you use the eTithing site, select the United States link and then scroll down to Mission Road Community of Christ. When you click on that page, there will be an option in the upper right-hand corner to ’sign up’ to create your account and enter either your bank account information for direct debit or a credit card to charge your contribution, or ’sign in’ if you have already set up your account. You may also choose a one-time contribution or a continuing contribution. Most of the contribution options on our tithing envelopes are available on the Mission Road eTithing page. If you have additional questions about electronic contributions, please contact Mary.

SUMMER 2021 CAMPS SCHEDULED

Doniphan Reunion – June 11 – 15

Middle School Camp – June 20 – 25

Senior High Camp – June 20 – 25

Junior Camp – June 27 – July 1

Chihowa Reunion – July 11 – 16

Youth Quest – July 22 – 24

Spectacular – July 24 – 31

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.

DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WITHOUT EMAIL OR FACEBOOK ACCESS?

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

OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE VIA EMAIL

The email address for general church drafts of your Order of Worship and church business (Clint Reine) is mrcoc

The email address for CFO business (Mary Reichenbach) is mrcoccfo

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 are both in the Church Directory.