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

THEvolume xxv | no. 88

august 21, 2012

A Note of Thanks from Carol SummersI would like to say thank you to my church family for the cards and calls while I was in the hospital. A special thanks to Ryan for his visit and calls. God Bless, Carol Summers

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 students 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 available.

Choir ReturningThe choir will be back in full swing the month of August, however we are asking for your help. We would like you to join the choir. The only requirement is that you can match pitch. We can teach you how to read parts, and choir members will be happy to guide you along. You’ll have a good time too. We are especially in need of male tenor and bass voices, but men and women alike are welcome. EVERYONE ages 13 to mature adults who would like to help be an enhancement to the worship experience is encouraged to participate! The choir rehearses every Wednesday evening from 7:00-8:00pm and performs 3 Sundays a month. September 5th we will begin working on our Christmas Program “Caroling, Caroling” arranged by a native Kansas City composer, Mark Hayes, with Flute, Oboe, Piano and Percussion. As much as we love having you in the congregation, we would love your help in the choir loft! You can call or email with questions to Mark Holcomb, Director of Music Ministries. Mark W. Holcomb Cell: 816-807-2297Email: mholcomb@concorde.edu

food pantry reportHard times, drought, hunger. habakkuk 3:17-19. Here we can give thanks every day! For our volunteers, Joyce French & Alice Spengler. For donations from Community of Christ Church, brought by Leslie Gilham. Janice Roberts brought grapes from her vines. And the apples that came to us through the Seniors. Our donations are good to share with many, even in ways we don’t see. We could use toothbrushes, bar soap, and whatever you are led to bring. Thanks to Joyce French for helping us with the choir during absences.

The Creator of the universe knows no power failures. Isaiah 40:27-31 Love, Rick

current culture

which means they are concerned with things like parenting skills, achieving a fulfilling marriage, retirement opportunities, satisfying jobs and careers, and time for recreation and leisure.

Part of this comes because there is very little stress on the Smith-ville community overall, according to other standards that indicate stress in communities. Only 6% of our households live below the poverty line, compared to the national average of 13%. Single Moth-er households account for only 12% of our population, compared to 26%, and we only have a 9% high school dropout rate, compared to 15% nationwide.

So, where do all these numbers leave our churches? In our com-munity, 38% of our households are strongly involved with church, 35% only somewhat involved, and 29% are not involved at all. An interesting statistic to throw in the mix here, though, is that only 32% total of households give more than $500 a year to churches.

Those who are active in churches are wanting to be involved with a church that balances traditional and contemporary styles. As I said on Monday night, I think what this means is they want a minister who wears flip-flops during Casual July!

Comparing church programming to the things that our people are concerned with, churches are well-served when they offer up ways for families to better understand that drive for “Hopes and Dreams:” marriage enrichment opportunities, sports and camping programs, youth group and mentorship programs, parenting seminars, and ac-tivities for children and families.

WHEW….that’s a lot of numbers. I want to give you a week to let it sink in, before we close out this recap. But, in the meantime, ask this question: are these numbers what you thought they would be or are you surprised by them? What do you think these numbers mean for that all important question, “Where and what is God calling our church to be?”

With excitement,

Ryan

A Word from Ryan

This article is the third in a series of articles recounting the activities of our “State of the Church” Dinner. In the last two installments, I’ve given you a recap of the things our congregation has to celebrate, and last week I recounted five values that I think define our church: that we are committed to building community, giving abundantly, forming Christians spiritually, encouraging families, and serving from God’s table of love.

This week, I’d like to talk about the third portion of our evening to-gether, a time that was structured around one question: How will we adapt to change?

In order to know what change is coming, we have to look at some hard and fast statistics and numbers. At the dinner, I had a copy of a report that compiled Nielsen and Census data to give us a better picture of Smithville’s diversity and shift.

Think first about how our population has shifted in Smithville. In 1990, only 4,785 people lived here. By 2000, there were 8,235, and today there are 12,154. That’s a 154% growth since 1990! Accord-ing to the statistics, our population is slated to continue to grow at a rate of about 13% over the course of the next five years, adding around 1,500 people to this city. Compared to the overall United States growth rate of 4%, this means that Smithville is a community that continues to be “up and coming.” An interesting facet to this, though, is that our growth continues to be spread out, meaning that our population density still provides for the feeling of a small town community. As we grow, Smithville will continue to be a city that mixes the feelings of a small community with a growing suburb.

Of our current population, the largest chunk exists within the classi-fication of “Middle American Families,” who account for 74% of our city. The next down are “Affluent Families,” who clock in at about 16%. Within this breakdown, there is a fairly average age layout, with our people being between spread out between the ages of 0 and 69. Our racial diversity is very low, with 94% of our city being Anglo. This will change in the next five years, though, as we will likely see a 28.9% increase in the Hispanic/Latino population.

The families that exist in Smithville are, by-and-large, traditional. Nearly 64% of our population is married. 79% of households with children are married couples.

Within all of this, we have to ask: what are the concerns of our fami-lies and what are they focusing on? More than anything else, our homes are concerned with a category called, “Hopes and Dreams,” as opposed to things like basic needs, family problems, and com-munity problems. Our people are thinking fulfillment and happiness,

a look ahead

augustbirthdays

Children’s Church Schedule

school-ageAUG. 26 Brenda Dion & Nicole Morris

SEPT. 2 Cara Massie & Cheryl Merideth

SEPT. 9 Ken Lippincott

Interested in volunteering for Children’s

Church? Contact Jacinda Manka at

mankaj@wpsd.net or 816-225-1973.

this sunday, august 26

GREETERS, EAST DOOR: Joyce French

LAY READER: Phil French

DIACONATE: Sam Miller, Donna Priddle, Bruce Hathaway, Peggy Miller, Margaret Otto, Rick George

CANDLE LIGHTERS: Alexander & Emma Drake

CLEAN UP COMMUNION: Rick George

GREETERS, WEST DOOR: Larry & Donna Priddle

CHILDREN’S SERMON: Martha Parks

PREPARE COMMUNION: Peggy Miller

ELDERS: Ken Lippincott & Larry Priddle

PICK UP SANCTUARY: Margaret Otto

next sunday, sept. 2

DIACONATE: Steve Prout, Dale French, Jim Owen,Jenni Osborn, JD Osborn, Brady French

CLEAN UP COMMUNION: Larry Driver

GREETERS, EAST DOOR: Greg & Kathy Atkins

LAY READER: Barbara McFadden

CANDLE LIGHTERS: Cole French & John Manka

GREETERS, WEST DOOR: Martha Parks

CHILDREN’S SERMON: Ryan Motter

PREPARE COMMUNION: Kathy French

ELDERS: Mike Gordon & Larry Driver

PICK UP SANCTUARY: Conner French

AUGUST 21: William Kays AUGUST 22: Jeff Arnold, Josh Milne AUGUST 24: Joyce French AUGUST 25: Jerry Richards AUGUST 26: Jean Osborn, Jocie Parks AUGUST 27: Nicole Morris

AUGUST 29: Brooks Boswell AUGUST 30: Linda Neer, Kimberly Shannon

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