New Tree’s!

Steve Guthrie and James Lusk are watering our new trees on 74th and Mercier Streets. We committed to watering these trees on a weekly basis, during growing season (roughly March through November) and occasionally during particularly dry times in the winter for a period of 2 years. I will be looking for volunteers to form a team so that we can schedule this and share the fun!

Preschool Christmas Program 2018

Preschool enjoyed a wonderful Christmas Program on December 18 followed by our winter break.

2018 Christmas Youth Sunday

Ward Press Glorify God Grow Disciples Go Serve January/February 2019

Sunday Worship, 10:30am

Christian Education, 9:30am

Office Hours M-Thurs

9:00am -1:00pm 816.361.2200

Email: office@wppresbyterian.org

Church Staff Interim Pastor, Rev. Robert Bardeen

Office Administrator, Tina Hill Choir Director, Joseph Hill

Organist, Dr. Arthur Rinehart Bookkeeper, Chuck Kneyse

Custodian, Scott Curry Preschool Directors,

Kim Manford Leslie Bullington

Officers

Elders Worship: Carmen Rinehart Mission and Stewardship:

Sarah Nettels Personnel & Administration:

Candis Lochmann Youth:

Sean Stoy Adult Discipleship:

James Lusk Operations: Steve Guthrie

Clerk of Session: Karen Wiederaenders

Deacons

Warren Bell, Jim Kurtz, Steve Nelson, Emily Lantz

Susan Stewart & Pat Wiederaenders

Trustees Ed Rucker Jean Hunter Don Barta

Tom Stewart-Treasurer

Dear Friends: I’ve read all of the Christmas cards and newsletters we received this year. It hasn’t always happened. Sometimes in summer, Joyce hands me a large bag of Christmas communication and says, “Ok, buddy, are you going to read this, or shall I throw them out?” It’s a brutal moment, but usually the trash can sees them before I do. I don’t have a rationale why things were different this Christmas. Maybe it occurred because I had a new system for reading: I marked the pile with a sticky note before Joyce put more cards on top. Since I read all of them, two newsletters stand out for me, one from a family member and the other from a friend in North Carolina. Regan Bardeen, our daughter-in-law in LA, wrote: “Of everything that has happened in the past year, Luke would like you to know that he and Simeon go to animal class (after school, where they are in 1st grade and learning a lot...I presume). Sim declined to add any additional info about their lives. He likes to cultivate an air of mystery about himself. But I’ll reveal a bit more: the boys are great artists, improving bike riders and fantastic big brothers to Evie who turned 2.” Regan’s gift of writing always shines, even in her PhD dissertation about the Yoruba people in Nigeria. Caroline Neal wrote about politics in her newsletter with flair. Last year, she helped Joyce and I when we first heard that our daughter, Sarah, has MS. In her Christmas newsletter, she wrote, “My MS is stable due to medication, exercise, rest and pure will, ‘Ain’t nobody got time to be sick!’” In the next paragraph, she addressed her concerns: “What we say on Sunday, changes how we act on Monday. We believe in new beginnings and the worth of all people, not just the privileged. Our beautiful Earth deserves good stewardship. We are ‘people of the Word,’ celebrating all books and knowledge: including, science and a free press. There is a right and wrong and we believe in a just, nonpartisan judiciary system.” Her comments remind me of the Tuesday morning Bible study group at our church. As the newbie, I recently expressed concern when politics was discussed. They told me politics and how a Christian thinks in the world is part of their study. They have been together for over two decades! Despite their differences, they have great respect for each other. Would it be wise to share more honestly with each other about all matters? And still have respect for each other in spite of our differences! With God’s unfailing love, Bob

Benjamin Hill-January 1 Drew Smith-January 3 Frank Riley-January 9 Evan North-January 12 Lara King-January 13 Bob Scott-January 13 James Lusk-January 16

Wilma Holmes-January 25 Pat Wiederaenders-January 25

Emme Stoy-January 25 Kat Hill– February 2

Bob Skillman-February 3 Harriet Plowman-February 5 Jean Hunter-February 11

Irmajean Barta-February 14 Bob Liepsner-February 20 Heather Good-February 25 Lila Good-February 28

Prayers and Concerns Winter Sermon Schedule

January 13-Rev. Dr. Dee Cooper preaching “Deepening Our Connections” Isaiah 43:1-7

Winter Sermon Series: Revelation: The Book of Songs and Hope

January 20 to February 24, 2019 January 20-Revelation 1:1-20 “Oh, My!” January 27-Revelation 2 & 3 “Seven Letters: Warnings and Help” February 3- Sacrament of Holy Communion Revelation 4:1-11 “The Throne In Heaven” February 10-Revelation 5:1-14 “Who Is Worthy to Open the Scroll?” February 17-Revelation 6 - 18 “The Battle of Good and Evil” February 24-Revelation 19-22 “The Hallelujah Chorus”

Men’s Prayer Groups

The Men’s Prayer group meets at 8:00am the third Monday of every month at the Neighborhood Cafe in Waldo. They will meet Monday, January14

and February 11. Please join us!

Don and IrmaJean Barta

Phyllis Bartlett Warren Bell

Doris Bowman Mardy Cotterell

Jean Horst Kathy Montgomery

Steve Nelson Mary Patterson

Bob Skillman Jean Sprinkle

Our Missionaries:

The Hendry’s, Kansas City Rescue Mission, City Union Mission and Cross-Lines

Night Watch will meet the third Thursday of January and February in The Holy Grounds.

This is a women’s prayer group. We begin with a light dinner. All are welcome! Please come and join us from 6:30pm-8:00pm.Questions? Call Lynne

Crossette.

Night Watch

The Men’s Tuesday Morning Group meets at 6:40am in the Holy Grounds. They will begin a

9-week video study, "Jewish Roots: The Heritage of the Christian Faith," by Mart De Haan.

Cornerstone Bible Study Group

meets at 9:25am on Sunday mornings in the Holy Grounds. They have started a new study series by Max Lucado “Traveling Light”. This study is based on Psalm 23. Using Psalm verses as a guide, Max walks you through a helpful inventory of our burdens that we were never intended to bear.

Questions? Contact Mike Montgomery

December Session Notes Preschool News

Women’s Circle

Personnel- Reverend Bardeen’s new contract has been approved by Presbytery. He is now working 19 hours a week. Mission and Stewardship- We have sent money to Foster, Adopt, Connect. Sarah Nettels is urging the congregation to get their pledges for 2019 in before the end of the year. Budget- We have been catching up on pledges the last few Sundays so we are close to meeting our budget for the year. A proposed budget for 2019 was distributed. Nominating Committee- The committee has people for all the positions except Adult Discipleship elder. Pastor Nominating Committee- The PNC is conducting a second interview with a candidate.

A NEW YEAR FOR HELPING HARVESTERS! Let's renew our mission to fill the barrels and fill empty stomachs this coming year. January is

canned fruit and vegetables month, February any kind of dried beans.

The Women’s Circle will meet on January 10 and February 7. They meet the second Thursday of every month. As part of the meetings they pack

lunches for Cross-Lines.

On Wednesday, January 30 and February 27, from10:00am-1:00pm members of the

Congregation go to Cross-lines to prepare and serve lunch in the cafeteria for the needy. We

accept monetary gifts to purchase food and if you would like to donate desserts that would be

appreciated. Questions? Contact Rosemary McDaneld.

We just wrapped up the holidays, and we are already in enrollment mode for fall 2019. We will hit the ground running with open houses for prospective preschool families on January 15/17 from 9:30-11:30. We love getting to meet new families and share with them why Ward Parkway Preschool is so special! Enrollment for any church members is scheduled for January 27/28. Currently enrolled families, siblings and alumni will enroll on February 4/5, and public enrollment is scheduled for February 11/12. All new enrollment paperwork will be posted to the website in the coming weeks. We had a visit from Pet Partners and the children loved visiting with the dogs and their handlers! The children learned how to approach a dog, how to ask if they can pet the dog, and how to pet the dog. It also was quite entertaining to see the dogs perform all of their tricks! The children will enjoy a chapel lesson on January 9/10. Amanda always does such an amazing job of sharing biblical truths with our students! We will have our annual PJs and Pancakes event on January 23/24! This is a favorite event as children and staff come to school in PJs and enjoys a pancake lunch cooked by Leslie and Kim. Parent/Teacher conferences are scheduled for January 30/31. This is always a great time for parents to meet with teachers and discuss how amazing their children are! :) Winter brings some challenges with cold weather and the lack of outside time, but we are looking forward to the fun months ahead! Happy Winter everyone! Kim and Leslie