the newsletter of first christian church (disciples of christ)march 27, 2012

THEvolume xxv | no. 84

july 17, 2012

Attention—All Current & Want-to-Be Candlelighters!CANDLELIGHTER TRAINING AUGUST 19

The Candlelighter (Acolyte) has the most important role in our wor-ship services, as they are charged with bringing in the light of Christ each and every Sunday. As such, we need to help these folks by training them!

On August 19 at 9:30 AM (before worship), we’ll have training for all current and want-to-be candlelighters. This training is mandatory; you will not be scheduled to be a candlelighter if you are not in at-tendance at this meeting.

Acolytes must be no younger than entering second grade and no older than entering fifth grade. Very, very responsible First Graders are also welcome, based upon their parent’s consent and how their parents believe they will handle fire.

Youth Group Starting in the FallStarting this fall, we will be having regular Youth meetings on Wednesday evenings. We will meet at 6:00 and go until 7:30. Rev. Ryan will lead our time together, and we’ll be engaging in a variety of activities, from hanging out to service activities to prayer and worship. These times are open to all youth from grade 6 through grade 12. Middle school students and high school stu-dents will meet together at first, but as soon as each group has 10 or more students, they will meet separately.

Ryan will need some adult youth sponsors to help him with this time as well. In order to be a sponsor, you need to be at least eight years out of high school. If you enjoy being with our youth and want to encourage their growth in faith, please let Ryan know.

Meanwhile, we will need plenty of people praying for our youth and supporting them in various ways. Begin praying now! Stay tuned for opportunities to support them as they become avail-able.

cwf meets on july 24The CWF ladies will meet July 24 for a salad supper at 6 p.m. This will be our planning meeting for the 2012-2013 year. We will discuss projects and make out our budget for the coming year. Won’t you please join us for some fellowship and planning?

cwf collecting school suppliesBelieve it or not, it is time to be thinking about buying school supplies. This week’s Smithville Herald has a listing of what the Smithville Elementary School K-5 students need. As we did last year, we are asking those who wish to contribute to bring school supplies that are on this list to donate to the Resource Office. These will be given to students who are unable to afford them. If you would like, you may purchase a backpack and fill it with the supplies needed. Please be sure to mark it with the appropriate grade. Thank you in advance for helping us with this very worth-while project. We will try to make lists available in the Fellowship Hall in the near future.

A Few Notes of ThanksDear Church Friends, thank you for your care & concern during my recent surgery and subsequent hospitalizations. I very much appreci-ate your prayers & support. I am feeling much better and am on the road to recovery. Sincerely, Carrie Cissell

Thank you for my graduation breakfast, Bible, and grad card. I really appreciate it. I had a great time. Additionally, thank you for the schol-arship you gave me. I really appreciate it! I plan to use it when I attend MU. —Patrick Burns

Dear Church Family, thank you so much for awarding me a scholar-ship this year. It really means a lot to me. This scholarship helps me and my family out very much. I am very grateful for all of the blessings you continue to bless my family and I with. Thank you very much for helping fund my education at a wonderful Disciples of Christ school. Go Frogs! Thanks again and God bless, Lauren Burns

Congregation and Scholarship Committee, thank you for awarding me both scholarships and providing me with the opportunity of con-tinuing my education by supporting me financially. Your contribu-tion means a lot. I truly appreciate your continued support, and I am blessed to call First Christian Church my home. Thanks again, Megan Burns

current culture

—“Landing on the Moon” for our Middle School and High School Youth by planting the seeds of a youth program

—Our church’s new and expanded roles in the growing Smithville community

—A new congregational focus on Spiritual Practices with optional re-treats at Tall Oaks

As I said before, I’ll be discussing some things there that are simply too exciting to share here too. This will be an evening that you will not want to miss if you want to continue to be a part of our congregation’s vitality and growth.

Two ways that you can support our time together before you come on August 6: first, reserve your spot at dinner. Call Jennifer in the church office at 816.532.0773 or email her at Jennifer@smithvillefcc.org and tell her that you’ll be there. Second, be in prayer for this time together and for the story of our church that God is continuing to write. Ask God to guide your thoughts and encourage you as you answer ques-tions like, “Who are our people called to serve? How are you asking us to grow? Are we effectively serving all the people who worship with us now?”

I’m looking forward to our time together on August 6 at 6:30.

With excitement and hope,

Ryan

A Word from Ryan

As of this writing it is July 17.

Take a minute and realize that we are more than halfway done with the year 2012. Difficult to believe, isn’t it? In less than one month, our children and youth will be back in their seats, eager and ready to learn. Summer will be waning, the days already growing just so slightly shorter, and we will be back into a busy season of life, church, and business.

Our month of Sabbath at FCC has been a great exercise in rest. I hope that you have found it revitalizing and renewing. Our Monday evening prayer times have met with good engagement, and our Yoga classes have been very well attended! We have discovered that Zumba is still something not many of us understand, and we have also discovered that Casual Sundays are something all of us can get behind. Several of us have explored our bibles in new ways. This month has been a good time of abiding in God.

But as the sands slip away from us and we head towards August, I want to invite you to a important special event that we’ll be hosting here at FCC on Monday, August 6, at 6:30 PM.

On Monday, August 6, at 6:30 PM, we’ll be having our first “State of the Church” dinner. We’ll gather for fellowship and encouragement, sharing in a catered dinner. After a time of eating and sharing, I will give a presentation about our church’s past, present, and future that arises out of my studies in our history, my time with our church, and our shared prayers and visions for God’s people at FCC Smithville. During this time, I’ll put forth some of the highlights of our upcoming year and challenge our congregation to really examine how God is giving growth to our church and to our larger community. There will be a few surprises in the mix as well as some visions of what is to come.

I am asking every member of our church to make an effort to attend this August 6 evening. I’m challenging our church to have 90% of our average worship attendance be our goal for this time (that means that we’d have 140 people in attendance). Youth and children are wel-come, and there will be childcare offered during this time for children ages infant to third-grade. When we go about the business of casting visions for our church, it is important that we come together to cel-ebrate our history but also to have discussion with one another about how God has been leading us. All voices are valued and important in this process, and so we need a great turnout for this evening.

During this time, you’ll hear about some of the great things going on in our church. I’ll be sharing more about the following improvements to our ministry:

—The refurbishing of our Children’s Worship spaces and the intro-duction of “Children Worship and Wonder” to our Sunday Morning Children’s Church

August Fellowship Dinner: A Big Thank You!Boy Scout Troop 412 will provide the dinner on Sunday, August 19th. You just need to stay after church and let the Boy Scouts do the rest!

We are very thankful for the First Christian Church for sponsor-ing Troop 412. This is our THANK YOU to YOU!

The menu to be served includes hot dogs and all the fixin’s, po-tato salad, baked beans, thank-you cake, and drinks. Just stay after church and enjoy the meal!

current culture

Host an International Exchange Student!Give your family an international experience, learn about a new culture, and share fun & excitement. Several international high school exchange students will be coming to Smithville, Kear-ney, Liberty, and surrounding area high schools for the coming school term. Host families are needed to share their home and friendship with a boy or girl from the country of your choice. These bright, well-mannered students bring their own spend-ing money, are fully insured, speak English well, and can share a bedroom. Families with small children, no children, teens, and single parents will be considered. Don’t miss this fantastic op-portunity to help bring fun and excitement into your family and community. Families are being selected now for students arriv-ing in August. Please consider helping us with this worthwhile endeavor. For more information, please call Patsy at 741-1569 or contact PatsyMedillERDT@aol. com

food pantry reportRomans 8:14-17 Many thanks to: whoever brought hundreds of cans and other kinds of food late Friday or sometime Saturday; United Methodist of Paradise; United Methodist of Smithville; Mike & Mary Gordon for garden veggies; Mia & Steve for lots of zucchini; Community of Christ; & Judy Clough for bread. We now have a list of 79 beneficiaries. Aveage weekly participation is 25 to 30. Blessed to serve, bound to praise.

Love, Rick

threads of faithThe Threads of Faith will be meeting on July 19 at 9:00am in the Fellowship Hall. We will continue with the baby dedication quilt we are creating. Please feel welcome to join us in this special way.

a look ahead

julybirthdays

JULY 17: Alan Dodd, John Peters JULY 18: Trent Holland JULY 21: James A. Nichols JULY 22: Phil Makings JULY 24: Kristin Winkler JULY 26: Todd Hanks JULY 27: Jennifer JonesJULY 28: Merryl Terry JULY 31: Ruth Yazel

next sunday, july 29this sunday, july 22

GREETERS, EAST DOOR: Beverly Darling

LAY READER: Larry Priddle

DIACONATE: Peggy Miller, Rick George, Bruce Hathaway, Jacob Manka, Jessica Arnold, Judy Clough

CANDLE LIGHTERS: Alexander & Emma Drake

CLEAN UP COMMUNION: Donna Priddle

GREETERS, WEST DOOR: Jimx & Shirley Owen

CHILDREN’S SERMON: Jacinda Manka

PREPARE COMMUNION: Peggy Miller

ELDERS: Ken Lippincott & Larry Priddle

PICK UP SANCTUARY: Jacinda Manka

GREETERS, EAST DOOR: Gary & Marti Jones

LAY READER: Traci Burns

DIACONATE: Traci Burns, Josh Milne, Natalie Milne, Michael Hickman, Cheryl Meredith, Aleigh Porter

CANDLE LIGHTERS: Jack & Carter Massie

CLEAN UP COMMUNION: Josh Milne

GREETERS, WEST DOOR: Les & Linda Neer

CHILDREN’S SERMON: Cara Massie

PREPARE COMMUNION: Traci Burns

ELDERS: Bill Drake & Jonica Lincoln

PICK UP SANCTUARY: Aleigh Porter

FirstChristianChurch

(Disciples of Christ)

201 North Bridge StreetSmithville, MO 64089-8266phone: 816.532.0773www.smithvillefcc.orgoffice@smithvillefcc.org

Ryan Motter, pastor cell: 913.707.2870email: ryan@smithvillefcc.org

Mark Holcomb, music ministerVelva Fausett, organist Janet George, pianistGreg Atkins, treasurerJennifer Schultz, office manager Abby Carr, communications designer