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August 24, 2010
  e-Spirit Archives
2010
 
Kansas City’s St. Mary Magdalene celebrates consecration of new church building
St. Mary Magdalene (Kansas City) celebrated the consecration of its new church building Saturday, July 31 at 16808 Holmes in the Village of Loch Lloyd. The church building’s origins date to three years ago, when funds were first raised and the design for the church was completed. Previously, the church’s congregation had gathered in basements, homes, civic buildings, a funeral home and a storefront chapel.

ECW accepting scholarship applications through end of August
Episcopal Church Women will accept applications for Continuing Education Scholarships until August 31. Last year, ECW awarded nine such scholarships to women of the diocese.
 
Scholarship opportunities are available to women 23 years and older who live in the diocese and are members of a diocesan church who are returning to an accredited academic institution to: complete their degree, enhance their skills for their current job position, make a career change, study for the diaconate or study for the priesthood.
 
Complete details and an application form may be found on the ECW Web site.

 
 
 
 ECW Honored Woman nominations
Episcopal Church Women is accepting nominations for its Honored Woman through August 31. Each year, one woman is awarded the honor. If you know of a woman in your church whom you would like to nominate for this honor, please complete the nomination form available on the ECW Web site.

ECW Annual Fall Conference
This year’s Episcopal Church Women Annual Fall Conference is scheduled for October 1 and 2 at St. Paul’s Church in Kansas City. The Rev. Barbara Cawthorne Crafton will be the guest speaker, and her presentation is called “An Instrument of Your Peace,” which will examine the prayer of St. Francis. On Saturday, Crafton will be on hand to sign a variety of her books that will be available for purchase. The conference will include Eucharist and a music program by John Ditto, organist at St. Paul’s in Kansas City.
 
Conference registration is not limited to women of the Episcopal Church. It is open to all men and women who would like to hear and visit with Barbara Crafton. Complete information will be mailed to each diocesan parish soon and will be available on the diocese Web site. For more information, please call Judy Turner, 417-623-1464 or jannet@cableone.net.
National Hunger Action Day
National Hunger Action Day will be held Saturday, August 28 at the Thornfield Disc Golf Course and the estate of Bill and Bo Stueck, 6701 W. 167th St. in Stillwell, Kan. National Hunger Action Day is designed to be a day of community for the Episcopal Hunger Relief Network and the members of parishes in the dioceses of West Missouri and Kansas. It is a day of family-friendly fun, a day of community and a day of shared mission in response to hunger. Activities include a disc golf tournament beginning at 9 a.m. (registration starts at 8 a.m.), a pre-tournament breakfast, a morning of activities for families and a mid-day barbecue buffet catered by Culinary Cornerstones.
 
All proceeds benefit Episcopal Community Services and the Episcopal Hunger Relief Network. Registration and pre-payment can be done in-person the day of the event or electronically. 

National Hunger Action Month
Locally, Bishop Barry Howe will initiate National Hunger Action Month (September) by consecrating the new Kansas City Community Kitchen 5 p.m. Wednesday, September 1 at 8th and Paseo. The consecration will be followed at 6 p.m. by a Food Expo – featuring culinary creations from graduates of the Culinary Cornerstones Career Training program, which trains people for jobs in the food service industry – at Founders Hall at Grace & Holy Trinity Cathedral in Kansas City.

The Eighth Annual Health & Spirituality Workshop
The Eighth Annual Health & Spirituality Workshop will be held Friday, September 24 and Saturday, September 25 at the Community of Christ Temple, 201 S. River in Independence. This year’s event is themed “Navigating Life’s Transitions.”
 
The Rev. Gary Gilbertson, interim rector at St. Matthew’s (Raytown), will co-lead two sessions called “Disciplines that Help Navigate Life’s Challenges,” which will explore a number of spiritual practices and how they apply to our daily life through presentations, personal testimony and insightful exercises. This marks the third year Carl Turlin, parishioner at St. Matthew’s in Raytown and Community of Hope training coordinator, has participated on the workshop’s planning committee.
 
For a workshop brochure, please click here.

St. Matthew’s (Raytown) needs volunteers for its ESL classes
Now in its fourth year, ESL classes at St. Matthew’s (Raytown) will begin Monday, September 13. It is in need of volunteers who can complete individual tasks and responsibilities to form a broad leadership foundation.
 
If you are interested in volunteering, please call 816-353-4592.
Fellowship through prayer with our companion diocese
The Companion Diocese Committee is establishing a prayer relationship with the Diocese of Botswana in addition to the published prayer cycle. As the committee initiates a prayer fellowship with the Diocese of Botswana, it’s important to know a few basics in the pronunciation of Setswana (the Botswana language): the vowels are ah, eh or ey, ee, oh, and oo. For consonants, most are pronounced as we would expect. The two exceptions are that, before vowels, G is pronounced as a very strong English H and TH is pronounced as T. 

If you are interested in participating in a prayer relationship with the Diocese of Botswana, please contact Melissa Bolden at mbolde1@me.com.

 ERD supports efforts for new houses and cash-for-work programs in Haiti
Episcopal Relief & Development is supporting two local initiatives in Haiti: a cash-for-work program and a plan for building transitional housing. In recent months, ERD has mostly moved out of the initial post-quake relief work. However, because some diocesan churches are still the sites of survivor settlements, the agency is lending some support to that effort. During the first phase of the agency's support of rescue and relief efforts, it assisted more than 60,000 people with health care, food (some 217 tons), water, shelter, sanitation and other non-food items such as clothing, blankets and kerosene.
 
The transitional housing program, which ERD President Robert Radtke called "the most hopeful for the long-term," centers on a new model for houses, developed by a local engineer after field visits and consultation with other international shelter organizations and the United Nations-recommended standards. The houses are made of treated plywood with corrugated tin roofs. They are designed to be hurricane- and earthquake-resistant, because they are anchored 30 centimeters into the ground and into 50-centimeter high cinderblock and concrete foundations, and they have reinforced angles and joints connecting the roofs to the walls.
 
Donations can be mailed to: Episcopal Relief & Development “Haiti Fund,” P.O. Box 7058, Merrifield, VA 22116 – or by phone with your credit card, 1-800-334-7626, ext. 5129.
Campus Ministry form
The goal of Campus Ministry is to connect college students with the communities where they attend school. As students prepare to attend college, whether for the first time or returning, there is the need to be a part of a community – and, most importantly, part of a spiritual community.

The Rev. Mike Kyle, diocesan campus ministry coordinator, would like to connect current and incoming college students with their schools’ spiritual communities through Campus Ministry. The diocesan Web site has the following resources available:

  • A form to help Kyle connect with students inside and outside the diocese.
  • A link students may use to Find a Church in the diocese, which includes a list of all churches and their Web sites.
  • A listing of Campus Ministry programs at colleges in the diocese along with contact information.

For more information, please visit the Web site or contact Kyle, michaelkyle@aol.com or 417-505-0702.
 
 
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