MISSION ROAD CONGREGATION EVENTS – MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 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. If you have people to add to the prayer list, please contact Kennetha Kuttler.

IN THIS ISSUE:

THIS SUNDAY’S WORSHIP

ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS: PAUL OF TARSUS

WHAT SHOULD THE ADULT CLASS STUDY NEXT?

WORSHIP AVAILABILITY FORM FOR FALL NOW AVAILABLE

SCHOOL SUPPLY DRIVE STARTS FOR CENTER OF HOPE

NEXT FOOD PANTRY COLLECTION

REVISED COVID CHURCH GUIDELINES

NEW INTERNET SERVICE – NEW EMAIL ADDRESS – NEW W

MISSION ROAD MESSAGES/SERMONS ON YOUTUBE

2022 CARAVAN TRIP

And More…

THIS SUNDAY’S WORSHIP

The Sunday, August 8, 2021, the worship theme is “Come Now, You Hungry.” Jerry Rushfelt will offer the message. Paul Bennetts will preside, and Pam O’Neal will serve as the worship planner. Jonathan Bacon will provide the PowerPoint and host the Zoom session assisted by Kennetha Kuttler as co-host. You are invited to join us at church or online for worship starting at 10:30 AM.

ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS: PAUL OF TARSUS

The Mission Road Adult Sunday School Class is now studying “Speak to The Bones: How to Be a Prophetic People in a Time of Exile” by Richard A. Brown. This coming Sunday, Jane Landrum will lead the discussion of Chapter 8 (“Paul of Tarsus: Expanding God’s Family”). The class session begins at 9:15 AM each Sunday morning in the Church Library and on Zoom.

WHAT SHOULD THE ADULT CLASS STUDY NEXT?

The Adult Sunday School class at Mission Road will complete Richard A. Brown’s book, “Speak to the Bones,” on Sunday, August 22, 2021 (3 more Sundays). Since we’re rapidly approaching that date, the class instructors have reviewed books for possible class study. We plan to hold a vote (in class and online) Sunday, August 8, 2021. The following books are recommended for your consideration. If you would like to add titles to the list contact Jonathan Bacon no later than Friday evening (phone and email address are in the church directory).

The Difficult Words of Jesus by Amy-Jill Levine (144 pages, 2021). Jesus provided his disciples teachings for how to follow Torah, God’s word; he told them parables to help them discern questions of ethics and of human nature; he offered them beatitudes for comfort and encouragement. But sometimes Jesus spoke words that followers then and now have found difficult. He instructs disciples to hate members of their own families (Luke 14:26), to act as if they were slaves (Matthew 20:27), and to sell their belongings and give to the poor (Luke 18:22). He restricts his mission (Matthew 10:6); he speaks of damnation (Matthew 8:12); he calls Jews the devil’s children (John 8:44).

1. In The Difficult Words of Jesus, Amy-Jill Levine shows how these difficult teachings would have sounded to the people who first heard them, how have they been understood over time, and how we might interpret them in the context of the Gospel of love and reconciliation.

2. St. Paul versus St. Peter, A Tale of Two Missions by Michael Goulder (189 pages, 1994). Most Christians believe that there was essentially only one early church which was later imperiled by false teachings. The New Testament was the developing statement of this early church, and from it grew the whole structure of Christian belief. In this remarkable book, Michael Goulder sets out to disprove this commonly held theory.

3. A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam by Karen Armstrong (496 pages, 1994). Why does God exist? How have the three dominant monotheistic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—shaped and altered the conception of God? How have these religions influenced each other? Karen Armstrong, one of Britain’s foremost commentators on religious affairs, traces the history of how men and women have perceived and experienced God, from the time of Abraham to the present.

The epic story begins with the Jews’ gradual transformation of pagan idol worship in Babylon into true monotheism—a concept previously unknown in the world. Christianity and Islam both rose on the foundation of this revolutionary idea, but these religions refashioned ‘the One God’ to suit the social and political needs of their followers. From classical philosophy and medieval mysticism to the Reformation, Karen Armstrong performs the near miracle of distilling the intellectual history of monotheism into one superbly readable volume, destined to take its place as a classic.

4. A Way of Life: Understanding Our Christian Faith by Anthony Chvala-Smith (111 pages, 2019). Author Anthony J. Chvala-Smith writes, “The challenges the church faces call us to bend all our gifts and energies, including our best thinking, to the task of expressing our faith in creative, life-giving ways.” This insightful book into Community of Christ theology will bless readers with uplifting understanding, offered through easy-to-understand writing.

Chapters cover topics such as “The Mystery of Existence,” “The Reasonableness of Faith,” “Revelation,” “Scripture: The Words of Witnesses,” “God,” “”Jesus Christ: God with Us, God for Us,” “The Holy Spirit,” “The Kingdom of God: Jesus’ Vision of Life,” “Humankind: The Broken Mirror,” “The Church: Tasting New Life in Community,” “New Life in Christ: Claimed by Mercy,” “New Life in Christ: Renew a Right Spirit within Me,” “The Generous Life,” “The Embodied Life,” “Faith and Science,” “Baptized into Servanthood: Ministry and Priesthood,” “A Living Hope: Facing the Future,” and “We Know in Part: Living in the Mystery of God.”

WORSHIP AVAILABILITY FORM FOR FALL NOW AVAILABLE

The Fall Worship Availability Form is now available online at https://tinyurl.com/FallWAF2021

Please note that it is due by August 8, 2021. Please fill out and place the form in the administrative “In” box located on the wall by the church office or email it to Caryn at carynpbro or mail the form to: Mission Road Community of Christ, Attention Pam O’Neal, 7842 Mission Road, Prairie Village, KS 66208.

SCHOOL SUPPLY DRIVE STARTS FOR CENTER OF HOPE

It’s that season again when students are returning to the classroom and school supplies are so important. The Central Avenue Center of Hope is conducting its annual school supplies drive. Can you help?

Remember that in Missouri, Friday, August 6, 2021, is the start of “no sales tax” weekend. Save a few dollars and add to your donation for the CACH!

Items that are most needed include bottles of school glue (Elmer’s), sets of 24 crayons, pencil crayons, blue pens, red pens, package of twelve #2 pencils, pink erasers, glue sticks, pair of blunt tip (Fiskars) scissors, pencil cases, pocket folders, subject dividers, packages of lined paper, packages of plain (copy) paper, lined wide ruled spiral bound notebooks, 12” rulers, boxes of tissues, broad tip markers, packages of washable felt tip markers, 1” binders, pocket dictionaries, pencil sharpeners, highlighters, bottles of hand sanitizer, and primary composition notebooks. These items cover school supplies needed for kindergarten through 6th grade students.

When shopping for your children or grandchildren, pick up some extras for the CACH. Anything you can bring between now and the end of August will be a blessing for these school children.

And as an extra treat, if you can afford it, consider putting the supplies in a backpack!

NEXT FOOD PANTRY COLLECTION

The Mission Road Congregation continues to serve an important need by providing household goods and clothing (new or gently used) or food for the Central Avenue Center of Hope. Please add the following drop off dates to your calendar. Members will be at church between 10 AM and noon on these dates to accept your donations!

Saturday, August 7, 2021

Saturday, August 21, 2021

You can drop off school supplies for the CACH School Supply Drive on these dates too!

REVISED COVID CHURCH GUIDELINES

With the rise in COVID infections in the area (specifically the Delta variant), we are reinstating some of the COVID protection guidelines to protect our church members and guests. We are again asking everyone to wear face masks, continued social distancing, and sing only softly or hum with your face mask in place. Guidelines for in-person worship and the adult class at Mission Road include:

1. Masks are required of everyone in addition to social distancing, except for the speaker while at the podium.

2. Families and those from the same household may sit together.

3. Congregational singing with a face mask in place is allowed but we suggest that you hum or sing softly

Thank you for your willingness to put the concerns and health of others above your own personal convenience.

NEW INTERNET SERVICE – NEW EMAIL – NEW WI-FI – NO CHURCH PHONE

Google Fiber has been installed in the Church. So, the old email has disappeared. The new email address is: missionroadcc

Please change your contact information now and start using the new address for any email communication.

We also have a new password for the Wi-Fi at church. Information how to access the new Google system is posted on the church bulletin board.

We are eliminating the church phone. Most everyone has a cell phone and since we are changing from ATT to Google, we are eliminating the land line.

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 as soon as possible following each message/sermon.

2022 CARAVAN TRIP

Youth and families interested in the tentative 2022 senior high caravan trip (campers must complete 9th–12th grades in spring 2022), please fill out this survey: http://bit.ly/CaravanSurvey

IN-PERSON AND ZOOM CONGREGATIONAL WORSHIP TIMES

The Congregation will offer a combination of in-person and online meetings using Zoom. The access weblink for all Zoom sessions is the same and listed below.

7 PM Every Wednesday – Prayer Circle on Zoom.

9:15 AM Every Sunday – The Adult Sunday School Class meets in the church sanctuary and on Zoom.

10:30 AM Every Sunday – Sunday Morning Mission Road Worship in-person and accessible on Zoom.

We are excited to have our building back open for in-person worship as well as enabling access by Zoom for those who wish to worship from home. We are providing in-person worship as much as possible under the guidelines. It is our desire to meet in-person as well as providing a worship service that those on Zoom can enjoy.

We are changing our internet service provider to Google Fiber and hope to update the audio & visual equipment in the next few weeks. We will provide more information as we learn about our options. The new email address has changed to: missionroadcc

TITHES AND OFFERINGS

Please remember that church expenses continue. If you are not attending in-person please remember to support the church financially. 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.

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 or email Kennetha Kuttler at missionroadcc.

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 (Kennetha Kuttler) is missionroadcc

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.