The Prairie Light First Presbyterian Church ◦ P.O. Box 236 Liberal, KS 67901 ◦ presby@swko.net (620) 624-5487 Office June 2015 edition

From the Pastor by Rev. Kitty Lum

Finding ‘Where the Good Way Lies’

Jeremiah 6:16 says, “Thus says the Lord: Stand at the crossroads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls,” and this scripture passage seems to be the common thread, that has been the theme of what has happened in the last month. This was a favorite scripture of mine a few years ago, when I was slogging through the process of finishing up my ordination process and acquiring a ministry call, so that I could fulfill the plans that God had for me as a Presbyterian pastor. I experienced much soul searching and deep reflection on what God’s plans exactly were as I searched for that appropriate church, “with my name on it,” as my friend, Reverend Heather Weidemann had put it. Uncertainty and change are not comfortable for any of us to face, and it was not an easy time for me. However, this scripture caught my attention during that time and brought me much hope and comfort. I was reminded that if I genuinely trusted God, to show me what “the ancient paths” were and where “the good way lies,” that God would be faithful to do it.

The scripture also tied in with another one of my all-time favorites, Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” So, with these two powerful and assuring scriptures, I boldly (well, most of the time, anyway ) stepped into this murky, sometimes scary and hard process. It was good that the scriptures were so powerful, because they, my faith, family and friends were essentially all I had, going through this process. As I said, June was a month of fulfillment for me, and specifically, it was fulfillment of these two scriptures, and how God worked them out in my life. I celebrated a birthday (I am 25 again, of course!) this month, and on my birthday this year, I got one of the best birthday gifts ever – Shauny, my new Australian Blue Heeler puppy! Thanks to a tip from Judy Chance, whom I happened to run into at Dillons, I found Shauny at Dr. Jones’ vet hospital and immediately fell in love with him. I found Shauny to be one of the sweetest and most well-behaved dogs ever, not to mention, beautiful, and I adopted him!

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A photo of Shauny, taken by Pastor Kitty’s friend Wally.

Shauny and Wally are going through a sibling rivalry phase now, as they adjust to each other, but I think they mostly get along and love the company of each other, while I am away at work. Shauny is very friendly to everyone and every dog, has a natural instinct to herd Wally and me, and is a super-guard-dog. He perches himself outside my bedroom to sleep and never budges until I get up! Shauny has been a wonderful addition and blessing to our family. I believe that both Wally and Shauny are a part of the wonderful fulfillment of the 2 scriptures for me in my personal life, since when I first started the process of finding a call, I was not able to have dogs or my own family, because I was too busy with the ministry process and caring for my elderly mother. As we know, dogs demand a large amount of time and energy, and these days I have job security of being the resident “pooper scooper,” “cleaner of messes” and “referee” for friendly fights. However, I do it all with joy and gratitude! As far as what has happened in the life of our church, I have seen God fulfilling God’s

A photo of Wally, also taken by Pastor Kitty’s friend Wally.

plans for me in ministering to both those who are right at the beginning of life and those who are at the end of life. VBS, in conjunction with the First Christian, First United Methodist and Friends churches this year was a fantastic experience! It was a very exciting, rewarding and fun time for me, serving as a music/drama leader for 84-101 kids. It was a new experience for me to do this role for such a large group, but I did not get any tomatoes hurled at me, so it turned out very positive! I will forever be remembered as Trick, the character I played in the comedy skits. Of all those great experiences, the most special was when one boy confided in his Crew Leader, a teen girl, and told her that he was not getting enough to eat at home. The Director of the program, Lara Maxwell of First Christian then talked with the boy and informed him that he and his family

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could receive 2 free meals/day throughout the summer at the library or at a school. The boy was so excited, that he gave Lara a big hug and said, “Really! I get to eat twice per day?” It was a touching moment for both of us, and this one experience made all the effort we put into doing VBS this year all worth it. On the other end of the spectrum, this month I co-presided at 2 memorial services. The first was for Carole Naylor, a long-time member of this church and community. I wished I could have known Carole, because all that I learned about her from the Blooms and others who shared stories at the service, painted the picture of a very sweet, gifted, good-natured and funny woman. I learned that Carole was artistic and very musical, singing with choirs and playing the harp piano. Rev. Denise Pass of the Presbyterian Church of Garden City and I presided at Carole’s service, and some wonderful folks from Garden City came to remember Carole. These special people in Carole’s life selflessly sacrificed their time to give Carole rides to and from choir rehearsals or to sit with Carole, right up to the end. Kathy and Fred Bloom and all the Blooms, were Carole’s special friends and like her family. The Blooms took over in serving as Carole’s guardians, after her parents passed away. They have given their love and time to caring for Carole, graciously and tirelessly, and are still taking care of her estate. The second service was for Michael Shane Strange, whose mother Charlotte Hill is a member of the church. Pastor Rex Petty and I co-presided at the service, and I

enjoyed working with him. I was grateful that God gave me an opportunity to reach out to and minister to Charlotte and her family, as they went through a time of acute grief. Losing any loved one is painful, but I do not think there could be anything harder than losing a child. I continue to offer my support and helpful books to the family, as they grieve and hope that my love and empathy for them, reflects a bit of God’s love and care for them, which I know surrounds them at this time. The last highlight of this month, which is the most profound, is my experience at Pastor’s Summer School, sponsored by Omaha Presbyterian Seminary Foundation at Hastings College, Hastings, Nebraska. My week at the pastor school was filled with relevant learning, joyful fellowship with pastors from all across the Midwest and South, and meaningful times of reflection. As professor, Dr. Don McKim put it, “It is a hidden treasure of the Midwest.” It was a joy to sing “Precious Lord” with the pastor’s choir in the talent show, and Don McKim told me after, that the way I sang it with enthusiasm and from the heart, deeply touched him. That made the experience very special to me and I will always remember it! I enjoyed leading worship for our preacher, Dr. Jerry Cannon of Charlotte, North Carolina. Jerry preached dynamic sermons the whole week, as do all African-American preachers, and we found that we have a mentor in common, Rev. Dr. Charles Marks, former Chaplain of my seminary, SFTS! During meal times (the food was excellent!)

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I ate with pastors whom I had not yet met, and one time I interjected a sarcastic comment to a conversation between 2 pastors from Iowa, and they were stunned! With mouths wide open, they labeled me, “the pot-stirrer” for the rest of the week! The most profound experience, however, was when Rev. Ernie Campbell of Iowa and his wife, Zelda, told me that my presence at the school and as a pastor in the Midwest, was the answer to years of prayer by them and the Presbyterian denomination, as to the direction they wanted the Church to take, and that I had fulfilled their dream. Profound. I was deeply moved, and I knew that this “out-of-the-box” pastor, who is Asian, female and a “West-coast liberal”, was doing exactly the right thing, at the right place, and at the right time! Who would ever have thought that I would end up in a place like Liberal, Kansas?! Well, God has a good sense of humor and knew that this church was the one “with my name on it,” as Heather said, and God fulfilled his promises in Jeremiah 6:16 and Proverbs 3:5 for me, and then some. Finally, to top this off, a woman from Mills River, North Carolina commented on my sermon from June 21, 2015 on our Facebook page, and told me that she felt as if I had written this sermon just for her. She said, “God’s word and the Holy Spirit flow from your heart.” I was moved to tears of joy. This was another affirmation of God’s fulfillment of those scriptures in my life. It only takes one experience like this to make all the challenges and uncertainties to become a pastor all worthwhile! It is

the reason why we become pastors. God truly does deliver on God’s promises in scripture, if we have the faith and tenacity to believe and hold onto them. As I always say, magical things happen, when we follow the yellow brick road of God’s plan. Alleluia, amen.

-Kitty Lum

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Community Cooking Class The Community Cooking Class has been officially started! The first class was Wednesday, June 24 at 7:00 p.m. in the family room. Pastor Kitty made pudding and Megan and her mother made a sweet fruit dip. The Cooking Class will take place every other Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. in the family room at the First Presbyterian Church. The next class will be Wednesday, July 8. If you are interested in teaching attendees how to cook a dish or if you’d like to request a dish to be taught, please contact either Pastor Kitty or Megan at the church. You can call (620) 624-5487 or e-mail presby@swko.net. See you there!

PW Women’s Group Pastor Kitty and Julia are discerning about re-starting a Presbyterian Women’s group at our church, so please talk with them if you are interested, regarding days/times when it would fit your schedule.

Lunchtime Prayer & Discussion Group Information

Please join us on Tuesdays at 12:00 p.m. in the Family Room for a lunchtime prayer and time for visiting and discussion of faith/theology. You are welcome to bring your lunch and a friend – or many friends!

New Members Class! Stay tuned for a brief class which will inform people who are interested in joining our church as a new member about what it means to be Presbyterian, what we believe, and the interesting and long history of our Liberal church, etc. Pastor Kitty is working hard to develop this class. She and all the leaders and members of this church are so excited about folks, who have expressed interest in joining our church family!

Voices of Praise Are you interested in learning how to sing or enhancing your vocal skills, to serve God better in worship? If so, please see Pastor Kitty about this great vocal/ministry program at First Southern Baptist Church. You must fill out a registration form that must be signed by Pastor Kitty. The fee is $50 for 3 seminars and a variety of benefits, including a limousine ride around town before a Voices of Praise Concert and 4 VIP tickets to the concerts. The first seminar is on SATURDAY July 25, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. at First Southern Baptist Church.

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July Birthdays

July 1 Jarrett Borrell

2 Kelsey Darnell

2 Amanda Sutherland

4 Ruth Borell Henness

6 Lucas Melton

7 Chris Vermillion

9 Jeff Chance

9 Betty Jones

9 Alex Krull, daycare

10 Eli Skinner

11 Seth Chance

13 Orlen Borell

16 Lori Hensley

20 Laila Terry

23 Alfonso “Cabby” Caballero

Are we missing your birthday or

anniversary? E-mail presby@swko.net or call 620-624-5487 to have your date added.

Church t-Shirts Be on the lookout for a fantastic t-shirt to purchase and wear at all community activities to let folks know about our church. The shirt has been designed and we are in the process of ordering them, so we will soon have them available for purchase.

Connect with us on Facebook!

We invited you all to join us on our Facebook page in October. Since then, we have increased our ‘likes’ from 24 to 66. Thank you for adding our additional way to stay in touch! We are keeping it filled with local church news as well as news from the PCUSA denomination and our community, not to mention current and past photos. You can find us as “First Presbyterian Church of Liberal.”

The Upper Room Megan and Pastor Kitty sent out a survey asking members what they thought about our devotional magazine. Because most of the members responded saying they’d like to try a new magazine, the church is switching from These Days to the Upper Room, which features authors from around the world.

We have ordered the Upper Room and they will soon be available in the narthex to help you in your spiritual practices.

Church Website Pastor Kitty and Megan are working hard to finish the final pages of our website, so please pray for us and watch for the launch of this exciting website. We will announce the launching of the website on our Facebook page and in the announcements. Check it out and share it!

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First Presbyterian Church Daycare/Preschool

June was the start of summer at the First Presbyterian Child Care Center and Preschool as the new assistant director, Esperanza Ribota, settled into her role to assist while Rose is out of town. Esperanza jumped into action immediately, working to familiarize herself with the daycare’s policies and rules. She completely cleaned out the daycare’s office, too, and organized it. Make sure to stop by the office and see the great work she’s been doing! The daycare children have been playing outside more and more thanks to the gorgeous summer weather. Not unprotected, of course – they apply sunscreen and bug spray before heading out into the summer sun. The daycare staff is trying to get their Kansas statewide food program rolling, which will save the daycare thousands of dollars each year and enable the daycare to put money toward other things. Esperanza Ribota and Megan Spain, who does the billing for the daycare, will be attending a class in Wichita to learn how to get the complicated application submitted to the state office. All in all, the daycare is improving daily and consistently coming up with fun crafts and activities to entertain and stimulate the children it looks after.

Craft Night Friday, July 3 is the monthly Craft Night in the Family Room from 7:00 p.m. to midnight. Bring a craft to work on and a snack to share. Invite a friend! All adults are welcome!

Bell Choir A Bell Choir will soon be started by Pastor Kitty and assisted by office manager, Megan! Pastor Kitty and Megan have researched various bell sets and have ordered a set of copper bells which came all the way from Seoul, South Korea! The choir is for children and adults, so if your child or you are interested in joining, please let Pastor Kitty or Megan know what days/times work best for you for the bell class. Please spread the word, as the choir is not limited to church members but anyone from the community can join, including children/parents from our daycare/preschool. We are excited and think it will be much fun to make music together and put a smile on everyone's face!

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Share your Skills and Passions

We have three committees led by our Session and you are invited to contribute to any of these committees. Listed are those who have already signed-up. Please contact the italicized Elder to visit about how you can participate. *Note that you do not have to be a member of the church to serve on a committee. Congregational Life led by Lester Caldwell – lestercaldwell@gmail.com This committee includes Worship, Fellowship, and Christian Education Worship (special music, flowers, liturgical decor, etc.) – Kathy Bloom Fellowship (coffee time, potluck dinners, etc.) – Jonice Oblander, Veronica Zainali, Martha Darnell, Janet Lewis Christian Education (Sunday School, Bible Study, Children’s Church, etc.) – Lester Caldwell Congregational Outreach led by Fred Bloom – fbloom@swko.net This committee includes Moments for Mission, Child Care Center, outside groups such as 4-H, PCUSA activities, community projects, etc. – Amy Thompson Congregational Resources led by Bob Oblander – obbob@swko.net This committee includes building and grounds involving both the church and the Child Care Center (mowing, snow removal, AC/heat, locks, etc.) – Ken Thompson, Jenny Melton, Alun Melton

A Place for Moms to Connect Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) is an international organization providing moms the opportunity to meet together for Bible study and fellowship. The Liberal MOPS group meets bimonthly at FSBC. If you are interested in participating in this Bible study, contact Raygan Caballero at 480-307-4727 for more information. The Liberal MOPS group is looking for volunteers to care for children during their bimonthly meetings. If you could bless this ministry by being a volunteer childcare provider and would like more information, please contact Raygan Caballero at 480-307-4727

Hour-Long Book Club You are invited to the Hour-Long Book Club at Liberal Memorial Library. The Book Club meets the third Thursday of every month from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. An article or short story will be read and then discussed. It’s a fun way to be involved in the community!

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July 2015 Gatekeeper: Lori Hensley

GR = Greeter WL = Worship Leader FR = Family Room SM = Special Music

Sun. Mon. Tues. Wed. Thurs. Fri. Sat.

Kitty’s office hours: Monday: off

Tuesday: 1 - 5 p.m. Wednesday: 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Thursday: 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Friday: 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Megan’s hours:

Mon. - Thurs.: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Friday: 9:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.

1 2 3 Craft Night @ 7:00 p.m. - FR

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5 GR: Marvin Sr. & Nancy Chance WL: Kathy Bloom

6 7 8 Cooking Class @ 7:00 p.m. - FR

9 10 11

12 GR: Gary & Lori Hensley WL: Lester Caldwell

13 14 15 16 17 18

19 GR: Dan & Ann Brown WL: Marvin Chance, Jr.

20 21 22 23 24 25

26 GR: Thurman Brown & family WL: Bob Oblander

27 28 29 30 31

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First Presbyterian Church

P.O. Box 236 Liberal, KS 67905-0236

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