first united methodist church may/june, 2014 volume 18 ... · after his graduation from st. paul...
TRANSCRIPT
First United Methodist Church
Newsletter
MAY/JUNE, 2014
Volume 18, Number 5 & 6
Rev. Dr. Kenton D. Van, Pastor
SUNDAY SCHOOL 9:30 WORSHIP SERVICE 10:30
Message from the Pastor
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. This will be my last newsletter article to
you. It has been good ministering with all of you. This congregation has a lot going for it. The emphasis
on mission and outreach is excellent. Keep at it. That is the heart of our work as Christians. That is how
we share the love of God with those around us. The Spirit of God is moving here in our congregation.
Keep open to it. Keep listening with your hearts.
When we came here you opened your hearts to us and welcomed us. Please do the same for the new pas-
tor, Steve Cole. Show the Coles the love and warmth that we have come to know. Pray for them as they
transition into this congregation and community. Please pray for us also as we transition into Leaven-
worth.
God bless and keep you. God give you guidance and fill you with grace. God go before you to prepare the
way. God go with you and keep you safe. May you have the presence of God to shine in your life all of
your days.
Grace and Peace,
Ken
Mission Statement
“The mission of the First United Methodist Church of Fort Scott,
Kansas, is to share the good news of the life, death and resurrection
of Jesus Christ and to exemplify the love of God by knowing Christ,
growing in Christ, serving Christ and sharing Christ.”
First United Methodist Church 301 S. National, Fort Scott, KS 66701
(620) 223-1950
May Birthdays: 1-Virginia Stevens; 2-Carol Newcomer, Emily Braker; 3– Pauline Norris, Teresa Gregory; 4-Ottis Allen, Tom Braker, Ilyanna Knopp, Amari Berry; 6-Susan Payne; 7-Lindsey Walker; 8-Terri Heiser, Matt Foster, Garrett Tatro; 9-Blair Singh, Adam Reynolds; 11-Garrett Payne, Abby Altic; 12-Cindi Lipe, Evan Tatro; 14-Mary Wood, Joyce Allen, Jennifer Stevens, Darrick Green; 15-Dakota Hazelbaker, Keatyn Hunziker; 18-Jennifer Engle; 21-Ron Snyder, Ron Wood, Karleigh Arndt; 23-Toby Den-ning, Haley Kruse, Deb Anderson; 28-Emory Arnold; 31–Doug Hazelbaker.
June Birthdays: 1-Keith Tucker; 2-Allen Warren; 3-Bryan Foxx, Beverley McBride; 4-Linda Hessong; 7-Libby Fen-newald; 9-Steve Harry, Connie Van; 11-Allen Davis; 13-Shirley Culbertson; 14-Ainslee Magee; 15-Estalee Simp-son; 16-Koyle Link, Millie Lipscomb, Megan Vincent; 17-Dee Ann Davis; 18-Kathryn Morrison, Ron Rains, Robert Wilson; 19-Karen Fremar; 20-Elisa Denning, Sean Durnal, Aubree Altic; 21-Ken Van, Monte Hall, Deb Norris; 22-Joan Cox; 24-Tracy Perry; 26-Dana Ballou; 28-John Sta-ples, Kurt Pellegrino, DaLynn Schmidt, Evan Heiser; 30-Gabbi Majors.
Listed below are those who have received scholar-
ships through the Memorials & Gifts Committee.
These scholarships are made possible through the
generous gifts of the Lucile and Livian Rogers family,
the family of B. Irene Monday, and other individuals
and families for whom higher education is of great
importance.
Paige Denton Kacie Brown
Hannah Tourtillott Pierce Rienbolt
Katren Rienbolt Kori Page Rienbolt
Christopher Allen Jasmine Davis
Karley Stark Nolan Stark
Jill Fritter Jennifer Carnes
Kyle Altic
May Anniversaries: 7-Rick and Chris Comstock; 9-Chad and Lau-ren Ammons; 10-Todd and Jesse Foxx; 21-Jim and Susan Regan; 23-Reggie and Janet Fancher; 28-
Randall and Cindy Hiatt.
June Anniversaries: 2-Gary and Pam Brown; 4-Dean and Carolyn West, Randy and Karen Nichols; 5-Cameron and Megan Vincent; 6-Jim and Debbie Ste-vens; 9-Ron and Kathy Snyder; 14-Steve and Pat Harry; 18-Clayton and Melissa Tatro; 20-Steve and Susan Payne, Joe and Becky Tourtillott; 22-John and Betty Clayton, Curtis and Gloria Shankel; 23-Zack and Leslie Reynolds; 28-Carlyle and Maureen Dunshee; 29-Eric and Danette Popp.
FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT
The Finance Committee would like to thank Tayton
Majors, Steve Harry and Carol Majors for handling
the recording and delivery of our church service
broadcasts for April 6th and April 20
th . KMDO radio
airs the recordings at 1:00 p.m. on channel 1600
AM. Air dates for May will be the 4th and 18
th.
Next meeting date for the finance committee is May
20th at 6:00 p.m. Feel free to call or email the com-
mittee with questions, concerns or suggestions!
Debra Wood
phone - 620-215-3407 or [email protected]
Letters from the Mission Field…As a fundraiser for this year's ASP Mission Trip, the team members are offering
to send letters from the mission field. For a donation of $20.49 (the $.49 is for the postage stamp) the team mem-
bers will send a letter to the donors from the ASP mission site. In the letters the team member will tell a little about
the family they have met, the work they are doing, and the trip. In the space below please provide your name and
mailing address so the team member will know where to send the letter. Include your donation of $20.49 with your
name and address slip and put them together and return them to the church office on or before June 1. Thank you
for your support of this project.
Name ______________________________________________________________________________________
Address_____________________________________________________________________________________
THANK YOU
Thank you to those who prepared and served
the food for the Lenten luncheons served at First
United Methodist Church. Also, thank you to our
piano player. Your service during this time was
appreciated.
Congratulations, Graduates!
Chris Allen - Fort Scott High School
Jasmine Davis - Fort Scott High School
Kyle Perry - Fort Scott High School
Katren Rienbolt - Fort Scott High School
Tyler Slinkard - Fort Scott High School
Kyle Atic - Fort Scott Community College
May God continue to be with you in your future
endeavors.
Summer Break is Coming- - - Last Meeting Dates Prior to
Summer Break for:
Reading Group - May 7
Fiber Fellowship - May 20
Quilts to Comfort - May 27
First Thursday Stitchers - May 1
Watch the bulletin and newsletter in the fall for the dates
when these groups will resume.
First Great Plains United Methodist
Annual Conference
Rev. Van and Ron Wood will be attending the first Great
Plains United Methodist Annual Conference scheduled for
June 11-14, 2014 in Lincoln, NE.
The theme will focus on growing vital, dynamic congrega-
tions. The guest speaker will be the Rev. Jorge Acevedo,
who is the lead pastor at Grace United Methodist Church lo-
cated in Southwest Florida. Acevedo will address growing
both faithful and fruitful congregations.
We would like to extend our thanks to Rev. Ken Van and to the ladies of the church for the wonderful meal after the service. Your kindness and thoughtfulness was greatly appreciated. The family of Marilyn Carnes
Fun for the Family
MINI HAM SANDWICHES
Barbara Stuart
Brown sugar deli ham (about 2 pkgs)
Swiss cheese (about ½ slice folded in half per
sandwich)
King’s Hawaiian rolls (12 per package)
Sauce: 2/3 stick butter, ½ t poppy seed, 2 t
Worcestershire sauce, 1 ½ t Dijon mustard, 1 t
onion flakes. Melt butter, add other ingredi-
ents, remove from heat, let thicken. Slice rolls in half. Brush with sauce, stack ham and
cheese as preferred. Baste top of sandwiches
with remaining sauce. Place in 9x13 dish,
sprayed with Pam. Cover with foil and bake
at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
July 7 – July 10, 2014 6:00-8:00 p.m. Volunteers needed Contact: Karen Cook 620-223-5853 or [email protected] Jan Hedges 620-728-9001 or [email protected]
Items needed for VBS-16.9 oz. or 20
oz. (clear, if possible) plastic pop bottles,
with lids. You may leave them in the
office.
First United Methodist Hour is scheduled to be broad-
cast on the local radio station, 1600 AM, from 1:00 to
2:00 p.m. on the dates below. You can tune in to hear
the Sunday morning worship services that are recorded
live on these dates and then broadcast during the after-
noon.
May 4 and 18; June 1, 15 and 29; July 13 and 27; Au-
gust 10 and 24.
Meet Rev. Ken and Connie Van
Submitted by Jan Hedges
Kenton D. Van was born at M.C.A.S. Cherry Point, North Car-olina on June 21, 1951 to Edward and Josephine Williams. His parents were divorced and his mother married Arthur Van who adopted Ken and his sister.
Connie Franks Van was born in Savannah, Tennessee to John and June Franks. She only lived in Tennessee a short time, growing up in California. She has a sister, Cheryl and two brothers, Wayne – deceased, and John. Connie lived in California until she married Ken in1984. They came to Kan-sas and have never left.
Growing up in a military family, Ken lived in eight states be-fore he graduated from high school in Oceanside, California. He especially enjoyed vocal music in high school. He received a Bachelor of Arts from National University in San Diego in Interdisciplinary Studies, a Master of Divinity from St. Paul School of Theology and a Doctor of Ministry from Drew University.
Connie attended Kindergarten through Grade 12 in San Bernardino, California. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Foods and Nutrition at California State Polytechnic University. She completed a year’s internship in Glendale, CA to become a Registered Dietitian. Her career began in Big Bear, CA where she worked as the food services director for the hospital. Over the years she has worked as a clinical dietitian in nursing homes and hospitals, a consulting dieti-tian for nine years and most recently 11 years for the Kansas State Department of Education as a child nutrition consult-ant working with nutritional content of foods.
Varied is the best word to describe Ken’s career. His first job in high school was working in a bakery. His first full-time job was as a communications clerk for the FBI in San Diego. After a year he took military leave for a two-year tour of duty with the Marines as an intelligence analyst. When he returned, he worked for the FBI for another 1 ½ years. He then left the FBI and became a missionary for two years with the Latter Day Saints (LDS). This was followed by two years working for the Osmond family in security. Other security related and military jobs included: armed and unarmed security for the San Diego stadium, Sports Arena, LaCosta Country Club; intelligence analyst with an Army Reserves Psychological Operations unit; Camp Pendleton in the cash office for the Marine Corps Exchange. During this time he finished working on his Bachelor’s degree.
After his graduation from St. Paul School of Theology, Ken has spent 28 years full time ministry in Kansas. His appoint-ments as a minister have included: Axtell & Vermillion, Hoyt & Elmont, Salem & Bushton, College Hill in Wichita as an Associate pastor, Elkhart, Cheney, Junction City and currently Fort Scott. He will begin his next appointment in Leaven-worth beginning July 1, 2014. During this time he has also been a volunteer in fire and ambulance services.
Appropriately, Ken and Connie met at a Methodist Church function at the School of Theology at Claremont. They were both taking a class provided for lay people. Ken’s former pastor, Jim, in Oceanside, CA had moved to Big Bear, where Connie was living. Ken asked him if he had found him a young lady yet. Connie walked by and Jim introduced them to each other. When Ken returned home and shared this story with his mother and sister, they decided they needed to go to Big Bear and visit Jim. Much into matchmaking, Ken’s family arranged for a picnic following the church service and invited Connie to come.
When Connie announced she was going to be leaving for a 6-month missionary trip for training and travel in the Baha-mas, Ken decided he needed to spend more time with Connie. They saw each other every weekend for the next 6 weeks and wrote while she was gone. When she returned from her trip he proposed to her.
Since Ken was transferring from the School of Theology at Claremont to St. Paul School of Theology, they checked on the availability of married housing to determine when they should set the wedding date. They also had to take into con-sideration how long it would take them to drive to Kansas and get moved in before school started. They were married August 11, 1984.
—Continued on next page—
Women’s Banquet
You are invited to attend the Women’s Banquet
on Thursday, May 8, 2014,
at First United Methodist Church.
6:00 p.m. - Fellowship Hall
Connie Conroy will cater the meal.
Reservations are requested by noon, May 5,
by calling Marla at 223-1950 or email
Sponsored by the United Methodist Men.
Know Christ, Grow in Christ, Serve Christ, Share Christ.
The mission of the First United Methodist Church of Fort Scott, Kansas, is to share the good news of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and to exemplify the love of God by knowing Christ, growing in Christ, serving Christ and sharing Christ.
What does this mission mean for you, for our church, for our community? From April 27th through June 15th explore with the Ebb & Flow Discussion Group how the mission given to Fort Scott First UMC can renew life. Join in the journey with friends, rethink your purpose for living, and find Christ in your life. When: Sunday mornings at 9:30 am. Where: 1st floor of the Education Building (last classroom on the south end of the hall). Each session is self-contained. Bring questions, insights and/or friends. Ques-tions? Contact Connie Van 223-0865
Meet Rev. Ken and Connie Van - cont.
Ken and Connie have two sons Kenton Derek Van, Jr. and Benjamin J. Van. Both boys graduated from Cheney High School in Cheney, KS. Derek has a Masters degree in International Relations and works in Topeka for the Department of Labor doing statistical analysis. Benjamin is currently attending the University of Michigan working on a degree in nuclear engineering. He spent four years in the Air Force and last summer went to Nepal to hike to the base of Mt. Everest. He almost made it to the base camp when he had food poisoning and had to be heli-coptered out.
Ken and Connie have been involved in many ways in the communities in which they have lived. Their hobbies include: Connie – cooking, gardening and reading. Ken – motorcycles, tropical fish and photography.
Besides serving as pastor of the churches listed earlier, Ken has served on a variety of conference and district committees as well as the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry. Connie has taught Sunday school classes, helped with children’s time, singing in the choir, volunteering with Feeding Families, Next Steps and the Educa-tion Committee.
Connie lists the Ebb and Flow Sunday school class, singing a couple of solos (which she had not done before) and the “Come to Jesus” song from Vacation Bible school as special events or memories of the time at First Church. Ken listed Biker’s Sundays and his favorite song is “Be Thou my Vision”.
The hope they have for the church is to see God’s love continue to grow in our hearts. They see signs of excite-ment and want it to continue to blossom and grow.
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
1
~3:00-5:00 T.A.S.K.
~4:00 First Thursday
Stitchers-Fellowship Hall
2
5:30 Boyd/Bishop
wedding rehearsal
6:30 Boyd/Bishop
rehearsal dinner-
Fellowship Hall
3
3:00 Boyd/Bishop wed-
ding-FUMC
4 ~Native Ameri-
can Ministries
Sunday
~Graduate Sun-
day
~Reception in the
mini-parlor be-
tween SS and
church
~FUMC Praise
Team
~ASP sandwich
sales after worship
~5:30 Sunday
Night Light-
Fellowship Hall
5
RSVPs due by noon for Women’s Banquet on May 8
6
9:00-Noon Fiber Fellow-
ship-Parlor
7:00 SPRC meeting-
Parlor
7 *Work Session
~10:30 F.S. Manor
~1:30 Reading Group-
Parlor (last session until
fall)
~3:30 Parlor is in use
>FFiHN
~7:00 HOCROC meet-
ing-Parlor
8
3:00-5:00 T.A.S.K.
6:00 Women’s Banquet-
Fellowship Hall
9
10
11
~Communion
~ASP Fundraising
meal after worship
-Fellowship Hall
~5:30 Sunday
Night Light-
Fellowship Hall
12
1:00 XYZ Club-Fellowship Hall
13 9:00-Noon Quilts to Comfort-Parlor
7:00 Board of Trustees meeting-Parlor
7:00 VBS Planning meeting-Ebb & Flow
14 *Work Session
~10:30 F.S. Manor
~3:30 Parlor is in use
>FFiHN
15
3:00-5:00 T.A.S.K. Party
at Gunn Park
16
17
18 Quilt Dedica-
tion at worship
~2:00 Pat Harry’s
piano recital
Reception follow-
ing in mini-parlor
~5:30 Sunday
Night Light-
Fellowship Hall
19
20
9:00-Noon Fiber Fellow-
ship-Parlor (last session
until fall)
6:00 Finance meeting-
Parlor
21 *Work Session
~10:30 F.S. Manor
>FFiHN
~6:00 Memorials & Gifts
Committee meeting-
Pastor’s Study
~7:00 Administrative
Board meeting-Parlor
22
6:00 Next Steps meeting
-Parlor
23
24
25
~5:30 Sunday
Night Light-
Fellowship Hall
26
Office Closed
No XYZ Club today
27
9:00-Noon Quilts to
Comfort-Parlor (last
session until fall)
28 *Work Session
~10:30 F.S. Manor
>FFiHN
29
30
6:00 Ballou/Midkiff
wedding rehearsal
7:00 Rehearsal dinner-
Fellowship Hall
31
2:00 Ballou/Midkiff
wedding-FUMC
Dates, times and
activities may
change. Watch the
bulletin for updates.
May 2014 *Each Wednesday-9:00 to Noon-Work session at
the church
>5:30-7:00 p.m. (FFiHN) Feeding Families in His
Name meal served in Fellowship Hall
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
1
ASP sandwich
sales after worship
~1:30 Nursing
Home Worship
services beginning
at Medicalodge
2 3
7:00 SPRC meeting-
Parlor
4 *Work Session
No F.S. Manor service
>FFiHN
5
6 7
ASP Mission Trip
Van reserved
June 7 through 14
8 Communion
~ASP Fundraising
meal after worship
-Fellowship Hall
9
1:00 XYZ Club-Fellowship Hall
10
11 *Work Session
No F.S. Manor service
>FFiHN
12
1:30 Miriam UMW-Parlor
13
14
ASP Mission Trip partici-
pants return
15
~Peace with Jus-
tice Sunday
~Farewell recep-
tion for Rev.
Ken and
Connie
Van-
hosted
by SPRC
16
17
18 *Work Session
No F.S. Manor service
>FFiHN
19
20
21 Summer begins
22
Guest speaker
6:00 UMM Fish
Fry at Warren’s
residence
23
July/August newsletter articles are due
1:00 XYZ Club-Fellowship Hall
24
7:00 Christian Education
meeting-Ebb & Flow
25 *Work Session
No F.S. Manor service
>FFiHN
26
6:00 Next Steps meeting
-Parlor
27
28
29 ASP Mission
Sunday report
during service
30
Dates, times and
activities may
change. Watch the
bulletin for updates.
June 2014 *Each Wednesday-9:00 to Noon-Work session at
the church
>5:30-7:00 p.m. (FFiHN) Feeding Families in His
Name meal served in Fellowship Hall
Great Plains United Methodist Annual Conference-Lincoln, NE
June 11 through 14
Good Ol’ Days
June 5-6-7
Here’s your May/June, 2014 Newsletter from….
First United Methodist Church
301 South
Fort Scott, KS 66701
Phone: (620) 223-1950
Fax: (620) 223-6802
E-mail: [email protected] OR
Uniting for ministry through the Bourbon County Cooperative Parish
Church Office Hours:
8:00 a.m.-Noon and 1:00-3:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday
8:00 a.m.-Noon Friday
During June, July and August 8:00 a.m.-Noon Monday through Friday
Visit our
website at
www.firstumcfsks.org
The people of the United
Methodist Church—
Open hearts
Open minds
Open doors
First United Methodist Church
301 South National
Fort Scott, KS 66701-1397
Return Service Requested