Dave and Marla Larimore are happy to announce the birth of a granddaughter, Alyssa Shea Craig. Alyssa was born on Thursday, July 22. She was 6 pounds, 10 ounces, 20 inches long. She was born to parents Shane and Misty Craig.
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The packing of the packs for Pack Their Packs has been moved back (or forward, depending upon your choice of terminology) to Monday, August 9, 2010 from 9 am to 4 pm. Anyone who wants to help is welcome and volunteers are free to come and go at their convenience. Packing will continue on on Tuesday, if necessary. Volunteers are also sought to transfer the packed packs from the church building to Community Elementary School.
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Via Sojourners:
“The things, good Lord, that we pray for, give us the grace to labor for.”
— Thomas More
To me, this sounds like a prayer, and a good one at that. Amen.
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The title of this post is borrowed from Dan Dick who has an excellent post of the same title on the “graying” of America and the opportunities this presents for United Methodist Congregations. I always like it when I learn that someone else has been thinking the same way I have. I see the same potential for growth in our particular congregation that he names for the denomination at large. What I’ve been struggling with is how do we reconcile that with our BHAG (Big Holy Audacious Goal) of excellence in ministry with children.
Dan’s article prompted me to think of the opportunities for Christian service available to those who are 50+ to the children of Coffeyville. This summer’s VBS (Vacation Bible School) was an excellent example. While most churches struggle to get enough volunteers, we had a ratio of about one to one (one volunteer to one child).
I think we, as a congregation, have a great opportunity here, my hope is that we’ll be able to take advantage of it. We need not abandon our efforts to reach out to children, youth, and younger adults, but must not confine ourselves to these efforts.
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A graveside service for Francis Cooper will be held Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 10 am. If anyone knows which cemetery the graveside will be held at, drop me a line at john@revcollins.com and I’ll be happy to post it here. The graveside service will be at Restlawn.
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I’m reading Lord Teach Us: The Lord’s Prayer and the Christian Life by William Willimon and Stanley Hauerwas. They share this quote from Basil the Great when speaking of the part of the Lord’s Prayer that asks for daily bread:
The bread that is spoiling in your house belongs to the hungry. The shoes that are mildewing under your bead belong to those who have none. The clothes stored away in your trunk belong to those who are naked. The money that depreciates in your treasury belong to the poor!
I’m not recommending Lord Teach Us to you. It’s filled with difficult, annoying passages like the one above. But if you do read it, it may help make you a better Christian.
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From the Kansas East Conference Communique:
Episcopal area transition listening events
There will be a series of listening events to give people an opportunity to share their thoughts on the upcoming transition to a Nebraska-Kansas Area under one bishop. The listening events in the Kansas East Conference will be:
- July 24 at Manhattan First UMC, Flint Hills District
- Aug. 28 at Topeka Countryside UMC, Topeka District
- Aug. 28 at Parsons Wesley UMC, Parsons District
- Sept. 18 at Shawnee UMC, Kansas City District
- Sept. 18 at Ottawa First UMC, Five Rivers District
For more information, see the event descriptions on the conference calendar at www.kansaseast.org/calendar.asp or contact your district superintendent’s office.
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The air conditioning for the church office (but not for the rest of the building) is broken and the part will not be available until Wednesday. Linda is going home a little bit early (4:30 p.m.) today (July 23, 2010). Apologies for any inconvenience.
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This coming Sunday, I plan to preach on Luke 11.1-13. this passage includes Luke’s version of the Lord’s prayer and Jesus’ instructions to his disciples to be persistent in prayer. At present I’m planning on focusing on Luke’s version of the Lord’s prayer how prayer shapes our faith and our character. My daily prayer time includes the Lord’s prayer (the same version we pray every Sunday in worship). I’m curious to know how wide spread that practice is, so I’m posting the poll below.
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