Immanuel member Archie Scott Gobber’s solo show, “Super Power” runs through Jan. 8 at the Dolphin Gallery, 1600 Liberty St., Kansas City.
In the show, Gobber taps into cultural anxieties resulting from the current economic woes and political failings to examine contemporary social polarities.
Learn more about the show here.
The MLM Christmas Store will be in operation at Immanuel beginning Wednesday, Dec. 8. While we offer space, we also need to offer other resources. Two Immanuel representatives attended the Nov. 5 organizational meeting and learned of the greatest needs.
Most needed items are blankets (full size or larger), teen gifts such as watches, CD players and gifts for Moms. Client Moms enjoy large size sweatshirts, blouses, perfume, small appliances or wallets.
If shopping is not your choice, consider a cash gift or gift certificates from WalMart, Target or Old Navy.
Immanuel will host an ingathering of blankets on Sunday, Nov. 28.
For the 1,000 families who will visit the Christmas Store, this IS Christmas. Shop with your heart leading the way.
The Immanuel Bach Cantata Vespers series continues its 23rd season at 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 12 with Bach Cantata #61: Nun komm, der heiden Heiland (Savior of the Nations, Come.) Fellowship and refreshments follow the service.
The cantata was written for the first Sunday of Advent and based on Luther’s Advent chorale of the same name, which is ELW #263. The chorale prays for the coming of the Savior and gives thanks and awe for the divine gift.
Luther’s hymn was included in the very first Lutheran hymnal of 1524 and is core of Lutheran Advent hymnody. In fact it was the proscribed Hymn Of The Day for the first Sunday of Advent.
The central message of the cantata has two parts:
The Sunday lessons on which the cantata was based were Romans 13: 11-14, in which Paul warns early Christians to get ready to receive Christ; and Matthew 21: 1-9, Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
The Advent mood of this cantata requires a strings-only orchestra, soprano, tenor and bass soloists and choir.
Here’s what to listen for in the cantata:
Join our Vespers worship to welcome the Savior. Experience the Savior knocking at your heart’s door and be there to open your heart to welcome him in. Experience the lessons in a profound way and invite a friend to share the experience of worship and music.
William T. Stewart, Bach Cantata Vespers Director
A Blessed Thanksgiving
“There is a quiet light that shines in every heart. It draws no attention to itself, though it is always secretly there. It is what illuminates our minds to see beauty, our desire to seek possibility, and our hearts to love life. Without this subtle quickening our days would be empty and wearisome, and no horizon would ever awaken our longing. Our passion for life is quietly sustained from somewhere in us that is wedded to the energy and excitement of life. This shy inner light is what enables us to recognize and receive our very presence here as blessing. We enter the world as strangers who all at once become heirs to a harvest of memory, spirit, and drama that has long preceded us and will now enfold, nourish, and sustain us. The gift of the world is our first blessing.”
John O’Donohue, “To Bless the Space Between Us”
As we were packing for PNG last year, a former missionary gave us this advice: “Don’t take any books that are important to you. The humidity and mold will ruin them, but be sure to take whatever book you cannot live without.” It was good advice. We carefully selected about 50 books, among them the Bible and ELW, and the one that I “could not live without” is a book of blessings by John O’Donohue, “To Bless the Space Between Us.” \ I rather like to imagine the “space between us” as blessed in our journey together in mission work.
Nov. 21 marks our one-year anniversary in Papua New Guinea. We flew into this island country with energy and excitement, not really feeling fear but with a heightened awareness of entry into the unknown. While we came with some expectations, we really tried to divest ourselves of all expectation and just experience life as it comes to us.
As we celebrate the first of our four years of service, we feel very blessed; and as we think about family, friends, and all of you in the U.S. preparing for Thanksgiving, we give thanks for all of the support we’ve received this past year. We are reminded of all the missionaries who preceded us in the past 124 years. We give thanks and are blessed to be “heirs to a harvest of memory, spirit, and drama.”
We have known delight in many forms — the children who laugh and love to say our names as we walk to the office, the family who adopted us during our village immersion on our first Christmas, the beauty of the flowers and vegetation.
We have been blessed with meaningful work and good colleagues, both our Papuan New Guinean counterparts and our fellow missionaries. We have been blessed with good health, Rod’s ongoing battle with tropical sores and Nancy’s broken arm aside, and with people who care for us and about us: Sam, Viktoria, Sofi, our extended family.
We have known sadness---the death of a Papua New Guinean friend and colleague, the stark reality of sickness where malaria and TB are the top causes of illness and death, the visible presence of poverty and domestic violence. We live in the tension of the paradoxes of this country — wealth and poverty, simplicity and complexity, indigenous rituals and modern song and dance. We pinch ourselves and still wonder many days how we came to be doing this, and then we remind ourselves that it feels like the most natural thing in the world. We speak in Tok Pisin because it is so important to the relationships we are forming, even though we can get by with English. We laugh at our own mistakes.
One of our sponsoring churches once wrote and said “this is the first time we’ve ever sponsored real live missionaries in wild and faraway places!” We laughingly acknowledge that we are “real.” PNG does have some “wild” places and we have seen some of them. And, yes, it is “far away.”
I find great assurance, however, that we are all in ministry together regardless of distance, that we are truly One in Christ Jesus no matter where we are, and that “the space between us” is truly blessed. It is not just the 9,000 miles from the U.S. to Papua New Guinea that is blessed. But the space between Sullivan, Mo., and Cedarburg, Wis., is blessed, the space between Portage, Mich., and Lancaster, Wis., is blessed, the space between Overland Park, Kan., and Ludington, Mich., is blessed, the space between Willmar, Minn., and Sheboygan, Wis., is blessed.
And there are several more, many of you not knowing one another but joined in ministry and in blessing.
As each of you, our sponsoring churches and individuals, reflect on your past year, we suspect that you, too, have had delights, sadness, surprises and everyday encounters with the Holy. Our lives may not be as different as we think, for we are all called by Jesus to serve, to go out, to live our faith, to proclaim the Good News, to walk humbly with our God.
This Thanksgiving we say “thank you” for choosing to sponsor us in our work in Papua New Guinea, or mipela tok bikpela tenkyu. Some of you have sponsored missionaries before; others are experiencing it for the first time. Each of you is important to us, however, and critical to the work of ELCA Global Mission and ELC-PNG.
We wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and hold you in our prayers:
“I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart for all of your share in God’s grace with me in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.” (Phil. 1:3-7)
God i blesim yupela!
Nancy Anderson and Rod Nordby
Dear friends in Christ,
Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus, born in a manger, crucified and risen for you.
I wish you could see the beauty of Immanuel Lutheran Church from my perspective, the flesh and blood of brothers and sisters in Christ striving to reflect the love of God in life. Immanuel is an amazing congregation, and each person is a valued member.
The love of God lived out in our midst reminds me of a song from the musical Rent, “Seasons of Love.” It’s about love! With the love of God as the foundation for our plans, we will be great as a church as we build on the legacy of those who came before us.
The visioning process with our consultant, Pastor Rick Rouse, is reaping great results: learning, conversations, prayers and understanding as well as surprises. It is a delight to be on this journey with you.
When we embarked on the journey, one of my hopes was that we would be transformed by the process. And, I have to admit, I hoped we would be transformed, but already, I have been transformed. I’ve learned a lot, and what I’ve learned continues to push me to grow, and most importantly, the encouragement has been to be “more me,” or rather authentic.
There’s a craving in our world and in our community, and even within us for authenticity. In confirmation worship notes, students indicate that what means the most to them is when words in worship apply to daily living. They, like most adults, are looking for direction. And I am so glad they are here, looking for direction from Immanuel through worship, Sunday school and service.
In a world full of changes, the sturdiness of our building and our worship services as well as a variety of other ministry opportunities provide safe spaces to risk, to move, and to be even more ourselves – bringing our hopes and our dreams to light in the presence of other people who have been called here by God with their own unique perspectives and gifts. Whether we’re 10 or 99, we have dreams and expectations that we bring with us when we enter this community.
Immanuel has a rich legacy of being a great church, of dreaming big dreams, and seeing them to fruition. And we still are a great church on a journey to continue to dream big in our ministry plans. Part of being a great church is always being relevant to the generations who attend. We’re exploring how we’re doing at reaching our seniors, our young families, and everyone in between. As well as exploring how we’re doing at reaching our neighbors, broadly defined – local, city, region, state, nation and world.
Our best gift is the good news of Jesus Christ, the gospel, the grace! Sharing the good news, the gospel, the grace, with those who need it most is our responsibility. And at this time of year, the good news is about the birth of Jesus in our world, the Word made flesh. Those who need the good news the most include the broken hearted, the grieving, the unemployed, the disenfranchised, the sick, and all others. And that’s most of us.
From visiting with several members, the pressures at work and school are enormous. Companies and schools are expecting more and more production with fewer and fewer resources. And, at Immanuel, the trend in our budget has been similar, but the future looks brighter for 2011.
While we’re encouraged to be creative in ministry, the good news is that our salvation doesn’t depend upon us getting this right. At Immanuel and throughout the church, God doesn’t expect anything. God gives of himself for us and for our sakes. God entered the world in the form of a human, the Word incarnate.
A this time of year when we look for the end to come and Jesus to return again, we have what we need. And we have what the world around us needs, and that one thing, my friends, is hope. Hope that comes in the form of flesh and blood poured out for us for the forgiveness of sins and the resurrection from the dead. Immanuel (God with us) proclaims that good news every minute of every day. Each year that’s 525,600 minutes!
--Jennifer Thomas
We can make a difference in the lives of the at-risk students at Gordon Parks Elementary School.
That was the conclusion after about 20 people from Immanuel and the Volker neighborhood participated in an Oct. 19 research session with Shannon Solis, development and volunteer coordinator with Gordon Parks Elementary School. The session was sponsored by Immanuel’s local organizing committee, which focuses on how God’s people can help shape solutions to the problems of our day.
All Immanuel members are encouraged to attend a one-hour gathering at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec 13, in the Spong Common Room to learn about next steps. Along with Solis, we’ll meet with Wadendra McBride, parent involvement coordinator, and Dean Johnson, executive director, to learn more about how we can help with:
Linda Fewell, Immanuel Organizing Committee
You’ve heard of the 4-G network. Did you know that 80 percent of the U.S. population is now connected by cell phones. And there is a race among providers to offer their customers not just 3-G but 4-G coverage with faster download and upload service. Did you know that this is available in this area, in fact it is free of charge to every member of Immanuel—right now, today?! You already have access to God’s 4-G network. The 4 Gs stand for God, Grace, Gratitude, and Generosity.
Today’s gospel seems to indicate that prayer is the key to tapping into this network of God’s grace. And your stewardship theme this year is “To pray, to serve, to give.” These are all spiritual disciplines, and all are motivated by God’s gracious action to us in Jesus Christ. We pray, we serve, we give in response to what God has first done for us.
I had a seminary professor that suggested that the prayer of gratitude is the window that opens heaven’s blessings. Let me repeat that. The prayer of gratitude is the window that opens heaven’s blessings. That is because as we cultivate a spirit of gratitude in our hearts, we are open to recognizing and receiving God’s gifts in our lives—as well as a willingness to use them in service to others.
A lesson from Luke 21:1-4
This gospel story is a familiar one. Jesus observes a rich man and a widow in the temple bringing their offering for the Lord. While the rich man puts in a fair amount, it represents only a very small percentage of what he is worth. Whereas the widow gives only a few pennies that turn out to be all that she has in the world. Jesus asks which one has been the most generous, and the crowd responds—the one who sacrificed the most. They get it, if only for the moment.
I recall a widow in one of my congregations who was on a fixed income. She lived very simply and told me one time that she had promised the Lord to give at least 25 percent of her modest income to the church.
With great joy, she announced that she had not only kept her promise but often was able to do more because God had been so good to her; and I knew this was often at a personal sacrifice. Like the widow in Luke, she practiced great generosity and took her discipleship seriously.
The Life of a Disciple
We too are called to be generous disciples of Jesus. However, the life of discipleship may not be for everyone, because being a disciple involves commitment. It’s not about seeing what options you have, what the alternatives are, but it is devoting your whole life and service to Christ and to one another. That’s true whether you are a husband or wife, a father or mother, a son or daughter, whether you’re a man or woman, neighbor or friend, employer or employee, or whatever.
When a person becomes a U.S. citizen, he/she must renounce all allegiance to the country of their birth and pledge 100 percent commitment to the United States. Only then will the U.S. government grant them citizenship. That’s also the way it is with Jesus Christ. When we became a follower of Christ Jesus, we or our parents renounced Satan totally and completely. One can’t divide their loyalties, splitting half the time with Satan and half the time with Christ Jesus. Or being a Christian on Sundays and doing what we ever we want the rest of the week. When we were baptized or affirmed our baptism in confirmation, we made the commitment to follow Jesus all the way. Following Jesus is not some half-hearted effort. It takes courage, it takes commitment, and it takes determination.
Our Lord does not force us to follow him. He does not stand over us with a club saying, “You must do this and you have to do that or else.” By his grace, by his undeserved love and mercy and his care for us, he simply invites us to follow him. He said whoever wanted to follow him must deny self, take up their cross and follow him. So to follow Jesus means that we may have to deny ourselves and we’re not sure that we want to do that. We would much rather focus on ourselves, on our own issues, our own problems, our own challenges, rather than on the call of Jesus. The self wants the things that the self is interested in—what I can get out of it and what’s good for me. The self doesn’t want to put self aside in favor of God and a relationship with him. To deny the self is more than just giving up our favorite food or entertainment. It’s more than just someone on weight-watchers giving up the gravy and the mashed potatoes or the chocolate ice cream. It’s giving ourselves fully to Jesus Christ in willing obedience to follow his call of discipleship.
God’s Act of Generosity
Those of us who’ve had a loving parent, know a little bit about self-denial, and, if we’ve been a parent, we also know something of self-denial. In a book called The Turning Point, the author talks about a young man who is beginning his senior year in college during the years of the Great Depression. His family did not have the money to afford to send him to college, even though it only cost $20 including the books. The father didn’t have the $20. Yet he said, “Son, don’t worry. We’ll find the money. The next morning, they went to the bank and met with the banker. The banker looked over the loan papers, and said, “I’m sorry; I can’t give you the loan. I wish I could.” It seemed there was no way that Glen would ever be able to go to college to finish his last year.
It was the day before school was to start. A big truck backed up to the house. There was one thing that the mother loved more than anything else, next to Jesus and next to her family, and that was her piano. She loved to play thepiano. She enjoyed the music that came from the piano. It gave her great pleasure and great joy.
Well, the men rolled and they pushed the piano across some boards and onto the truck. Then the driver took some money out of his pocket and he gave some bills to the mother – a $20, a $10 and a $5. The driver got into the truck, and they drove away with the mother’s prize possession, the piano, in the back of the truck. Later the father said to the son, “You can go back to college tomorrow. Your mother sold the piano.” Then he gave him the money. That’s exactly what God is like.
You see, God is the One who took the thing that he loved the most, his Son, and gave him up for you and for me. He did so at the hands of sinners. He was disgraced and rejected, denied and killed, and then passed on the treasure to us – forgiveness, peace, joy, graciousness, grace, kindness, mercy, and hope. Then God said, “From now on you have my grace, and can experience joy, purpose, and meaning in life.”
When Jesus calls us to be a disciple, he’s not asking for anything more than what he has already given himself. And as disciples, there may be times when we have to sacrifice for the sake of Jesus and the gospel.
For Jesus, going to the cross was total commitment. He knew that he must die. It was absolutely necessary. It meant everything to him. It was his mission in life. He did it in order to pay for the sins of the world, yours and mine, and for our eternal life.
Responding to God’s grace
We are called to respond to God’s grace, with lives of generosity and loving service. Martin Luther once said: “We are not saved by good works, but we are saved in order to do good works.” He meant that our lives should reflect grace in our love for God and our neighbor. We should be as generous as God has been generous toward us in Christ.
I was in Africa this past summer and witnessed grace and generosity like never before. We spent three weeks in Tanzania exploring the work of the Lutheran church there—the building of schools, hospitals, churches. The Christian faith is exploding there and the congregations we worshipped in were full to overflowing. Why? Because people there take discipleship seriously. They are willing to sacrifice for the faith. One congregation held at least two processional offerings on a given Sunday.
Then we gathered in the yard outside the church after services for a live auction. Those who had little money to give brought produce and chickens to auction off in order to help the church carry out its mission in the community. These Lutheran disciples also practiced radical hospitality. We met in many homes, all of them very modest by our standards. Many with no electricity or running water. Yet they graciously welcomed us and fed us and gave us gifts. Like the widow, they gave away what little they had to serve God and others.
We are called to be a community of grace, to be gracious and generous in our words and actions toward others, to be loving and welcoming of all people. We rejoice that Immanuel is such a community of grace. Jesus calls us to a life of commitment—of living as generous disciples. He enables us to do that by his Word and by sacrament. He empowers us to live our lives for him – to become better disciples – to become more Christ-like along the way. Every Sunday we get a new start through Christ’s body and blood at the table of grace. We start again as disciples with wholeness and new life. He assures us that all our sin is forgiven and forgotten, so that we can start all over with a clean slate. He gives us the strength to overcome all things, and, through his power we can daily live out our baptism as grace-filled disciples of Jesus.
Giving to God is not meant to be a burden but a joy. Mark Allen Powell is a Bible scholar and Lutheran theologian who has written a best selling book Giving to God: The Bible’s Good News About Living a Generous Life. He talks about giving as the act of living out our baptismal life as Christians. Living by our faith.
Being a good steward means belonging to God. It means allowing God to rule our lives, putting God in charge of everything, including our time and our money. The Bible teaches that generosity is a fruit of the Spirit at work in our lives. It comes from an attitude of gratitude. Our giving is always meant to be in response to what God has already done for us in Jesus Christ. Giving then becomes not something we have to do but something we want to do.
Powell offers three principles of stewardship. First, he says, faithful stewardship involves giving to God as an act of worship. We give out of glad and generous hearts as an expression of love and devotion to a God who is so good to us. Second, faithful stewardship involves giving to God as an expression of our faith. When we give generously and without compulsion, we confess that all we are and everything we have belongs to God and we put this faith into action when we offer ourselves and our possessions to God to be used as God sees fit. Finally, faithful stewardship involves giving to God as a discipline for spiritual growth. Whenever we practice a degree of self-denial, we are stretching our faith muscles, in recognition of the Biblical truth that “where our treasure is, there will our hearts be also.”
What is it that will connect us to God’s 4-G Network? It is God’s grace and in turn our prayerful and generous response. We have only one life to give and a life of generous discipleship is the path we are called to follow. In so doing we experience the abundant life Jesus offers us.
A missionary was pleased when a native boy arrived at the village church with a fish in handful. The boy told the pastor that he was bringing to God his tithe or 10%. When the missionary asked where the other nine fish were, the boy smiled and replied: “I’m just now going back to the river to catch them.” May we too know such joy in giving. Amen
Want to put more thanks into Thanksgiving this year?
Prayer team member Dorcas Doering suggests checking out resources on gratitude at www.explorefaith.org.
Once you’re at the website, click on the “Living Spiritually” link on the home page, then on “A Thankful Life.” The site includes a variety of resources, including a series of prayers of gratitude.
Immanuel has several exciting adult eduction opportunities scheduled in November, including two adult forum speakers and a new book study as well as the regular Focus discussion group.
Vance Thomas, director of library services at Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Shawnee, and husband of Immanuel pastor Jennifer Thomas, will lead a two-part adult forum study on Oct. 31 and Nov. 7.
His topic is “The Bible: Exegesis.”
On Nov. 14 and 21, Jim Brandt, associate professor of historical theology and director of contextual education at St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, will discuss “Atonement: How Christ Saves.”
Adult forum begins at 9:15 a.m. each Sunday in Luther Hall.
The Focus discussion group covers wide-ranging topics at 9:15 a.m. each Sunday in the office conference room.
Melodee Blobaum will lead a seven-week book study of Seven Sacred Pauses: Living Mindfully through the Hours of the Day by Macrina Wiederkehr at 9:15 a.m. on Sundays starting Nov. 7 and continuing through Dec. 19 in the prayer room across the hall from the office.
The book is the perfect antidote to the hustle and bustle of preparations for the holiday season. It examines the Divine Office -- the seven daily prayer hours observed around the world -- with an eye to how those prayers can be adapted into a busy life. Wiederkehr, who is a Benedictine nun, identifies themes for each hour of prayer and suggests how one might use that theme in prayer. And she suggests that though we may not be able to fold seven prayer pauses into our lives each day, if we do find ourselves for a minute for prayer, we might want to look at the theme for that hour and construct our prayers accordingly.
Each chapter introduces the themes in 10 pages or so, and then offers resources for praying during that hour.
Seven Sacred Pauses is available in paperback through Amazon for $10.85. If you’re interested in ordering the book, please contact the church office at 816-931-8483.
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
Wow! I’m breathless after an exciting weekend at Immanuel, when leaders gathered on Saturday for time with our church consultant, Pastor Rick Rouse. Early on in the conversation, he described the church as a bus rather than a ship, and he proclaimed that God’s Spirit should be driving us. The conversations were stimulating, and survey results indicate that the congregation is ready to create a plan for God’s mission at Immanuel and beyond for the next few years. We have amazing resources that include but are not limited to the members, the staff, the ministry, and the building.
Commitment Sunday was also a huge success thanks to our stewardship leaders, council and staff, and especially to you, the saints who support the ministry through your generous gifts of time, talent, and money. In a temple talk a few weeks ago, Jim Martin encouraged us to consider what portion of what we have we will keep for our own use and what will we give to God’s mission. And then Pastor Rouse reminded us of the beauty and faith inherent in first fruit giving like the little boy who gave the first fish he caught knowing that he could go back to the river to catch the other nine. That is how good God is!
Pastor Rouse also referred to Mark Allen Powell’s best-selling book“Giving to God” in his sermon. I’ve read it, and the most important shift in his theological understanding for the church is that stewardship isn’t about the percent that we give to church. Stewardship is about how we use all that we have – ourselves, our time, and our possessions whether it’s at church, in the community, in our home, at work, with friends, or even how we spend our leisure time.
Of course, the danger of looking at stewardship from a 100 percent perspective is that we could become law-oriented. But that isn’t who we are as Lutherans. As Lutherans, grace is foremost in our minds. And because of God’s grace, love, and steadfast mercy and justice, we respond with gratitude and generosity.
I’m grateful for the high percentage of members who participated in the survey process. I hope you’ve read the summary of the survey results. We have some growing edges and opportunities. I want you to know, I’m taking the feedback from the survey seriously, and I recognize that perceptions and expectations are different across generational lines. Our consultant, Pastor Rouse, recommends a book that helps congregations much like ours to bridge generation gaps and to be intergenerational. The book is “Reaching People under 40 while Keeping People over 60” by Edward H. Hammett and James R. Pierce.
Let me be clear. Every generation matters. Every person is unique. Each has gifts and growing edges. And, God has called us together, here. God has called us together, at this time. We are Immanuel, and we are an ELCA word and sacrament ministry. And, like our consultant asked us at the beginning of the process on Saturday, “Are you on the bus?” God is on the bus. God deeply desires to be in relationship with you. God desires to knit us into one fabric, one body, marked with the cross of Christ forever and sent for the sake of the world. We have a strong and beautiful legacy of being a church whose mission has always been timely for its time. I hope you’ll participate in the conversation about where God’s bus is headed at this particular time.
Good fellowship, light supper and lively conversation around a Bible study are all on the agenda when the women of Immanuel meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 4.
Women of all ages are invited to come to the monthly meetings in the Spong Common Room. We gather at 6 p.m. for social time. If you have questions, call the church office at 816-931-8483.
Immanuel’s men and friends are invited to breakfast and Bible Study at 8 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 6.
After a study led by Doug Himebaugh, we’ll be in search of ideas for future gatherings and activities. Inside the church and out, morning, noon or evening activities will be explored.
So if you have an opinion, please come or fill out the survey that came to your mailbox.
“God’s Work, Our Hand’s” is the ELCA tagline. It is also reflective of the centerpiece in Centered Life – Centered Work, a program begun here in 2002. Centered Life was spawned by an initiative begun by Luther Seminary and Immanuel was selected to be one of five pilot congregations in the Kansas City area.
Centered Life is about ministry in daily life, that is, our vocational calling or what we do outside the walls of the church. Martin Luther believed that a shoemaker is just as important as a CEO. God’s requirement is that both do their work using the gifts they have been given to the glory of God and for the sake of community.
Our community at Immanuel is in the process of re-visioning its ministry plan. Lifting up the vocational calling of each member will certainly be part of the exciting mix.
The Centered Life Team is taking a break until the role we are to play comes into sharper focus. Under a new name but always under the cross of Christ, we will continue our work of ministry in daily life. If you would like information about this reforming ministry, please contact Carolyn Wilson at 816-931-8483.
Curl up with a good book, e-reader, or newspaper on Saturday, Nov. 13 for the first-ever Read-a-thon for Hunger to kick off National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week Nov. 14 -- 20.
Here’s how it works: for every hour you commit to read, you also pledge to give one non-perishable food item or $1 to a food pantry of your choice.
As a strong supporting congregation of Metro Lutheran Ministry, Immanuel Read-a-thon participants are encouraged to consider pledging to support MLM during the readathon.
For more information or to sign up, check us out at www.readathonforhunger.blogspot.com, visit us on Facebook, or contact Amanda Rothe at (913) 940-3276.
Susan Solis, development and volunteer coordinator with Gordon Parks Elementary School, will share information and answer questions about the needs of the school’s students at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 18, in Luther Hall. Please plan to be there!
Susan’s visit is in response to a common concern about factors that diminish the well-being of children in local elementary schools (see story above.) Based on information we learn from Susan, the goal will be to identify how we can work together to improve the well-being of Gordon Parks students.
Acting on the conviction that every child has promise, Gordon Parks Elementary provides an enriched individualized academic program, particularly for at-risk urban students. Serving more than 200 children in grades K-5, the public charter school was named after the groundbreaking African-American photographer who proudly endorsed the school’s mission.
About 95 percent of Gordon Parks students live at or below the poverty level, about 17 percent qualify for special education classes, and far too many are pained by broken families or exposure to violence in their homes or neighborhoods. Despite these challenges, Gordon Parks students inspire with their intelligence, creativity and determination to learn.
As a charter school, Gordon Parks receives public funding. But to maintain small classes, holistic curriculum and intensive support services, it also depends on the generosity and dedication of donors and volunteers.
-- Linda Fewell, Immanuel Organizing Committee
About 25 people from Immanuel and from the Volker and West Plaza neighborhoods shared a light lunch and heartfelt concerns about the quality of life in Immanuel’s neighborhood during a Sept. 12 gathering.
The event, sponsored by Immanuel’s local organizing committee, focused on how God’s faithful people can help shape solutions to the problems of our day.
All of the concerns brought forward were considered important, but the participants pointed to three particular issues that will be the focus of further research:
Unemployment and underemployment, including needs for networking and support.
Circumstances that undermine the well-being of children in local elementary schools, particularly Gordon Parks Elementary, 3715 Wyoming St., Kansas City, a charter school in in the former Volker Elementary building, and Longfellow Elementary, 2830 Holmes, in the Kansas City, Mo., school district.
The lack of relationships and sense of community among churches and the neighborhoods
The goal of the research into those concerns will be to identify how we can work together as congregation members and neighbors, and combine our voices and efforts in ways that can lead to lasting changes and improvements.
That process will begin in earnest on Monday, Oct. 18, when Immanuel members can learn how they can be part of the solution at a program by Susan Solis, the Gordon Parks development and volunteer coordinator.
-- Linda Fewell, Immanuel Organizing Committee
Here’s a tally of the gifts gathered through Immanuel’s Christmas in July gift drive to benefit the Metropolitan Lutheran Ministry Christmas store.
1
woman's coat
2
pillows
men's watches
gift certificates
3
book bags
5
gifts for teens
6
articles of women's clothing
7
men's shirts
blankets
8
towel sets
9
lap robes
10
men's wallets
baby blankets
12
toys
small appliances
knit items
20
items of boys and girls clothing
The social ministry committee appreciates your generosity.
Mark your calendar: Immanuel will gather gifts again in November. Items that are often in short supply at the Christmas store are large size women's clothing, teenage gifts and gifts for Moms.
Cash donations are welcome as well, and are used for third day shopping when the store managers shop for items in short supply.
Catch Immanuel member Dan Velicer in two performances as part of the Ruel Joyce Recital Series at Johnson County Community College this fall. The recitals are free and open to the public.
Velicer will perform with the Fedele Trio (David Fedele, flute, Matthew Herren, cello, Velicer, piano) at noon Monday, Sept. 20, in the Recital Hall at the Carlsen Center at the college, 12345 College Blvd., Overland Park.
He also will appear with Raymond Santos, clarinet, at noon Monday, Oct. 25, also in the Recital Hall.
The recital series, named for Ruel Joyce, a longtime jazz bassist who headed the local musicians’ federation from 1977 until his death in 1989, is cosponsored by the JCCC theatre and music department, Community Services and the Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts. Seating is available first-come, first-served.
Do you have these dates marked on your calendar? These upcoming events at Immanuel offer service and fellowship opportunities that you won’t want to miss.
Whether you’re looking for a short-term commitment or a long-term ministry, Immanuel has lots of opportunities for you to do God’s work with your hands.
Here are a few:
Call the church office at 816-931-8483 to learn more.
Fresh tomatoes, berries, and squash. Homemade preserves. Those and other fresh organic delights are available in Immanuel’s east parking lot in the 1600 block of Westport Road every Wednesday.
Vendors from the Westport/Plaza Farmers’ Market set up shop from 4:30-7:30 p.m. every Wednesday through the growing season.
“Our vendors are small farmers who care about the food they grow and the land they grow it on,” says David Bennett, one of the market’s coordinators.
Linda Fewell, Immanuel’s representative to the Volker Neighborhood Association, says the farmers’ market had used a parking lot on 39th Street in previous years, but that space no longer is available.
“During the March neighborhood association meeting, I heard how much Volker residents wanted to find a new space for the market and how disappointed they would be if it were forced to move to another neighborhood,” Linda says. “Using our extra parking lot on Wednesday evenings seemed a perfect solution that keeps a beloved service in the neighborhood.”
Like breakfast? Enjoy speakers? Want to get to know the other men at Immanuel a little better?
Then you’re an ideal candidate to kick-start a monthly men’s breakfast at Immanuel.
The tentative plan is a once-a-month Saturday gathering at 7 a.m. for breakfast, a 30-minute program and fellowship. Participants would be on their way by 8:15 a.m.
If you’re interested, attend a planning meeting at 9:15 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 15, in the office conference room.
If five men show up who are willing to do the heavy lifting of planning, the program will proceed.
Carolyn Wilson is convening the meeting, but will not participate in the breakfasts. Call her for more information at 816-931-8483.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
A visitor at worship on July 25 told me why she was glad she came: the words on prayer were timely as she struggles with her mother’s illness. The worship liturgy, the hymns, the scriptures, and the community of faith renewed her hope.
So, because I desire to renew your hope, I am including here excerpts from the July 25 sermon.
Jesus teaching his disciples to pray reminds us of our need to feast on the bread of heaven – Jesus gives us the words and encourages us in our persistence.
The Gospel of Luke tells the stories of three different widows speaking or praying for mercy and grace, stories that connect well to Jesus’ words on prayer. Prayer, persistence and generosity exemplify the faithfulness of these women.
We know well the story of the widow whose persistent pleas for mercy softened a corrupt judge’s heart -- not because they were so beautifully chosen, but because she wore him out with her constant requests.
And we know Anna -- a woman of great age who stayed at the temple, praying and fasting, day and night. Her encounter with the infant savior prompted beautiful words of praise.
And then finally, we remember the widow in the temple whose two copper coins given from poverty drew Jesus’ praise.
A few weeks ago, a man who appeared to be poor, maybe even homeless, came to Immanuel’s door and asked to pray in the sanctuary. He stayed for 30 minutes, his head bowed.
On his way out the door, he poked his head in the office, and told Tim, “I left what I could for the church.” He left two quarters, two dimes, two nickels and nine pennies inside a pew envelope. It’s as beautiful as any gift the church has ever received, because it was given with a generous heart from a person in need.
In the movie “The Shawshank Redemption,” Andy Dufrense writes a letter to his friend, Red, to come and find him across the border in Mexico.
Earlier in the movie, Red has said, “Hope? Hope is a dangerous thing!”
But now he reads his friend’s words and his eyes are clear, his heart is full, and he is ready for the next chapter of his life.
Here’s what Andy wrote to him: “Hope is a beautiful thing. Remember that hope is a good thing, Red, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”
The Lord’s prayer itself is our daily bread, for we cannot live by bread alone but by the words of God. Hope is our daily bread.
When we pray the Lord’s prayer together as a community, our voices join the heavenly host and all creation as the church around the world prays in a multitude of languages.
Through my time here at Immanuel, I have heard stories of members feeding the hungry. And I’ve heard stories of the hungry being fed. The stories I’ve heard include Wally’s story about feeding the German soldiers who held him and his buddy captive, because they knew where a storehouse of potatoes was hidden. And the grace that came in feeding captors – because they lived rather than died at the hands of those men.
When we begin and end our days in prayer, asking that God’s will be done on earth, asking for our daily bread, we are open to whatever God’s will for our lives is that day. A reminder to live fully in the present, not to worry about yesterday or tomorrow, but to embrace God’s richest blessings for us today!
This is our hope!
Immanuel's Sunday school classes will resume on Sunday, Sept. 12, with Rally Day activities.
Immanuel will have seven classes, which means we need at least 14 teachers.
Several of our long-time teachers are taking a break so we need to replace them, which will be difficult.
Please consider volunteering to co-teach or to teach for half a year.
Teaching for the entire year involves 30 hours of teaching and 15 to 30 hours of preparation.
Or if you choose to teach either fall or spring semester, your time commitment would only be 20 to 30 hours.
Immanuel uses the Spark curriculum, which ties the Sunday school lesson to the Scripture lessons in church. Preparing for class also gets you ready to hear the Word in worship. And, the lessons are filled with fun and rewarding activities for our students.
A Sunday school staff meeting is planned for 9:15 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 15, in the Gathering Space at Immanuel.
Please consider giving of your time, talent and energy to the youth of Immanuel. You will be rewarded greatly!
Contact the church office at 816-931-8483 for more information.
Grace and peace to you, congregations and individuals who so generously sponsor our ministry in Papua New Guinea,
Today is not a national holiday but it is a Lutheran holiday. On July 12, 1886, the first missionaries came to Papua New Guinea, landing at Simbang in the coastal area of Finschhafen. Therefore it seems appropriate to reflect a bit on the 124-year history that we are now part of.
As I sit and look out our window at lush foliage through rain, it’s hard to imagine the arrival of missionaries here, not knowing the language or the peoples they would encounter, arriving in the rainy season, having to build homes out of bush material, and beginning ministry.
I cannot help but feel that those early missionaries were in a league all their own. In fact, disease wiped out almost all of the first missionaries but they did not abandon the call. They moved higher up into the mountains and began to train evangelists.
Now, 124 years later, ministry continues. In some ways, it is the same, since we continue to have evangelist training in one location near Madang, in two church colleges and three seminaries.
In other ways, it is very different as we now have a national church office, constitutions, long-range plans and all the trappings of modern business.
The one constant, however, is that it is the gospel, the Good News, that continues to be the centerpiece of life and ministry. Many times we hear that it is truly the gospel that has brought the country together.
There are no major celebrations here at Ampo today. For the past two weeks, the Founding Day has been a topic of sermons and conversation here on Ampo (check our blog for some of the themes), and we will have lotu (worship) this evening.
General Secretary Albert Tokave travelled to Simbang for a commemorative event, but many people are gone. We are in the midst of a two-week school break so many people are traveling. Bishop Wenge and four others leave later this week for Stuttgart, Germany, to attend the Lutheran World Federation Assembly where Bishop Mark Hanson will preside.
All of this is a reminder to us of the breadth of our global Church and how connected we really are. You, too, are part of our ministry in Papua New Guinea, just as we are part of yours. Our ministries transcend time and place!
June has been a time of transitions here at ELC-PNG. There have been a lot of “handover/takeovers.” This is the term that is used which is somewhat awkward but actually quite descriptive. At the end of the June Church Council meeting, we gathered outside the Main Building on a lovely tropical evening for worship, recognitions, and a big meal.
Four of the 17 District Presidents finished their terms with this council meeting and each was given a certificate of appreciation. The official handover/takeover of the General Secretary also took place. Isaac Teo, the outgoing Secretary, had provided assistance to the new Secretary, Albert Tokave during the past three months and this was Isaac’s last council meeting.
Isaac Teo is from the district of Siassi. The festivities began at his house when members of his clan performed a singsing, the traditional dance and music of his birthplace. There were speeches, gifts, and more speeches. Albert Tokave took the opportunity to not only thank his predecessor but to share some of his vision for the future.
Departing missionaries were also recognized. Klaus and Robyn Neumeier finished their five-year term on June 22. Klaus has been an advisor to Lutheran Development Service’s agricultural project. He and Robyn have been an integral part of the community.
Miriam Lies, a young German woman, was also recognized. She leaves July 14. Her replacement arrives in late July.
It reminds us that the church is always changing, just as the community is always changing, yet some things remain the same---daily routines, weekly Chapel, the general ebb and flow of life.
Perhaps one of the most touching recognitions of the evening was the retirement of Koi, longtime driver for the Bishop. Koi began driving for dignataries in 1966. He is a humble, unassuming man with a perpetual smile on his face. When he came forth to receive his gift and certificate, the clapping and chanting grew to a loud crescendo. In a patriarchal culture that reveres the het man (head man), it was nice to see the recognition of “the least of these.”
We are now in the rainy season and it is a bit difficult for us Midwesterners to become accustomed to days and days of rain. I have come to learn that the rain does subside eventually, and we get a few days of sun between downpours. I am finding new meaning in the phrase “when it rains, it pours.”
Rod has been busy doing audits. He recently travelled with his counterpart, Gavin, to Port Moresby to do an audit of the Lutheran Transit House. The Lutheran Church owns four transit/guest houses—one each in Port Moresby, Lae, Madang and Goroka. They are hostel-like accommodations and their purpose is to provide inexpensive housing to pastors and church workers whose work takes them around the country.
Port Moresby is growing rapidly because of the gas exploration and mining in the Highlands and it has become a bigger operation. Similarly, Goroka and Madang have become tourist destinations and are experiencing more activity.
All of this has heightened the discussion of these guest houses as money-making enterprises or as a service to the Church. It also points out the paradox you find in developing countries, where modern technology and enterprise reside side-by-side with village life that is reminiscent of what the first missionaries encountered 124 years ago. These tensions are part of what the Church faces as it looks to the future.
Know that we are well, that we enter each day with hearts of gratitude for your support of us and that we will try to stay in touch as much as possible. Blessings to you in all of your ministries.
Nancy Anderson and Pastor Rod Nordby e
Editor’s note: Immanuel’s stewardship committee is presenting a series of articles highlighting one segment of the congregation’s budgeted ministries each month. So far, the series has examined parish administration, facility costs and our ministry at a distance.
* * *
This month our focus is on our ministry to our community, approximately 10 percent of our current annual budget.
This portion of our budget includes support for Cross Lines, Hollis Renewal Center, Inner City Missions, Community LINC, Metro Lutheran Ministry, the Oromo speaking congregation, Budget and Financial Management Assistance, Westport Cooperative Services, Back-to-School, CCO and our emergency needs funds.
Also remember that we provide our facility to MLM for their Christmas Store, and that the Youth Works volunteers and staff that occupy our spaces this summer provide approximately 560 volunteer hours per week to various not-for-profit agencies during their stay with us.
For our illustrations here, we have also included a portion of Pastor Jennifer Thomas’s and Carolyn Wilson’s salaries and benefits in this ministry segment.
Whether you love baseball or not, you’re sure to be entertained by the Kansas City T-Bones, our local independent baseball team.
Members of Immanuel will be journeying out to Community America Ballpark in Kansas City, Kan., to see the T-Bones take on the Rockford RiverHawks on Saturday, Aug. 14. Tailgating starts at 5 p.m., with the first pitch at 7:05 p.m.
It’s Salute to Heroes Night at the T-Bones, with police, fire, ambulance and military equipment on display and a special pre-game ceremony. Plus, there’s a back-to-school giveaway for the first 5,000 through the gate, and post-game fireworks.
Tickets are $11 per person and can be purchased at church, or reserved by calling the church office at 816-931-8483. Parking is free at the ballpark.
Hot dogs and paper goods will be supplied for the tailgate party; bring a side dish to share, lawn chairs and beverages.