July 2012

Ward PressWard Press

Glorify God Grow Disciples Go Serve

Sunday Worship, 10:30am

Sunday School, 9:30 am

Office Hours M-F 9am-1pm

816.361.2200

Email: office@wppresbyterian.org

Church Staff

Connie Happell, Pastor

Tina Hill, Office Administrator

Joe Wilkinson, Organist & Director of Instrumental Music

Joe Hill, Director of Vocal Music

Ruth Meyers-Melching, Accountant

Scott Curry, Custodian

Pre-School 816-361-2201

Co-Directors Kathy Montgomery

Kim Manford

Our Officers

Elders

Worship: Steve Guthrie

Christian Education: Lynne Crossette

Fellowship: Nancy Lusk

Mission and Stewardship: Jim Durig

Outreach: Ashlea Wirken

Personnel: Jim Durig

At Large: Bob Liepsner, Diana Justus

Operations: Steve Nelson

Clerk of Session:

Karen Wiederaenders Presbytery Commissioner & Communicator:

Dorothy Clarke

Deacons

Barbara Rohlfing, Jane Coleman, Bob Rohlfing, Rosemary McDaneld,

Ann Butler & Janet North

Trustees

Bill Iler, James Lusk, Mike Lochmann-Treasurer

Reflections from Pastor Connie

Where there is no vision, the people perish. Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)

Dear Ward Parkway Presbyterian family,

This is the season of family vacations. Whether you have recently returned from

a trip with your family or your last family vacation was 40 years ago, you will

remember the pleas children trapped in the backseat of car: “Are we there yet?”

This litany begins many miles from your destination and persists until you finally

arrive. There is something about human beings—we don’t always love the

journey. We want to arrive!

Our church is on a journey together. It is a purposeful journey toward growth

and faithfulness. But just as we don’t arrive at our vacation destination without a

clear map of where we are headed, so we will not live into God’s desires for our

congregation without some sort of picture of where we are going. We call this our

vision. In the Bible, God communicated with prophets through visions, pictures of

what could not be seen that provided direction and hope for the journey.

It has been the charge of the Acts 16:5 Team, under the supervision of the

session, to develop a vision for our congregation. We asked basic questions like:

“Why are we here? What is our purpose? What makes us different from other

organizations in our community?”

You may think, “We already know those things--let’s get busy and do some-

thing!” If we skip the fundamentals in favor of action, we run the risk of serving

our own agenda instead of following God’s lead. To seek God’s guidance for the

new thing God desires to do with us, we need to come to grips with the notion that

God may have some ideas that we’ve never thought of before! Here is our new

vision statement: Glorify God. Grow disciples. Go serve. It is simple, but challenging. Before you write it off as just another slogan, let

me point out a few things. This statement grounds us in who we are—God’s

people, disciples of Jesus Christ, led by the Holy Spirit to do God’s work and

God’s will in God’s world. This statement is intended to be applied to everything

we do—worship, service, study, hospitality, fellowship, stewardship and

everything else.

The session and the ministry teams can now ask themselves, “Is what we are

doing glorifying God? Are we growing as disciples of Jesus Christ? Are we mak-

ing new disciples? Is our faith affecting our view of who we are and what we do

in the world?

If this vision is to be effective, it will not just be the vision of Ward Parkway

Presbyterian Church, but it will be the vision of each member of our fellowship.

So take a moment and ask yourself, “How does this vision statement challenge me

personally? In my own life, am I glorifying God, growing as a disciple and

discipline others, and serving in the world?” As we journey together, perhaps the

best question is not, “Are we there yet?” but “Do we see and believe that God is

leading us?”

Special thanks to WPPC members who volunteered at

the Habitat for Humanity Store in May and June!

Our next ReStore work Day is Saturday, July 12th. All

volunteers must be at least 16 years of age and you are

asked to wear closed toe shoes. For more information,

contact Jane at 816-361-0330 or

jcvolley1@hotmail.com.

Mark your calendars! WPPC will be serving at the

Crosslines on 8/4, 9/8 and 10/6 from 9am-noon.

Happy Birthday!

Connie Hembree– July 2

Bob Rohlfing -July 5

Jessica Goetz– July 17

Jim Kurtz– July 19

Susan Stewart– July 22

Nathan Lusk– July 24

Rachel Lusk– July 24

Thomas Lusk– July 24

Summer’s Here

Imagine the sounds of children laughing at play. Waiting for

the call to come in for dinner as the last rays of sunlight fades and the streetlights pop on.

Imagine the smells of the pot roast in the oven or the hamburgers grilling in the backyard.

Imagine the sight of the smiling faces waiting expectantly for evening meal to be set on the table.

Imagine the tastes of that luscious dinner laced with love.

Imagine the silent prayers of thanksgiving.

Now image another family.

Where the sounds are from empty stomachs rumbling. Where the smells are from the streets. Where the faces are locked in brave resignation to one more empty plate. Where the tastes are of disappointment. And the prayers are of desperation.

You and Harvesters can help change the one to the other.

-Ann Butler

And the King shall answer and say unto them.

Verify I say unto you. In so much as ye have done

it unto one of the least of these my brethren ye

have done it unto me. Matthew 25:40

816.361.2200

www.wppresbyterian.org

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Outreach Committee

July 2012

set the stage >>> Joys and Concerns

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and

thankful” Colossians 4:2

Giving thanks for the marriages of

Jim and Carolyn Kurtz and Nathan and Lauren Lusk.

Prayers for God’s blessing on our Confirmation Class.

Prayers for God’s guidance for our Session,

Deacons and the Acts 16:5 Team.

Prayers for all who participate and all who teach and

lead the children in Vacation Bible School.

Prayers for Craig Babb while he travels and

teaches in Nigeria, June 18 to July 7.

Prayers for healing for Pat Wiederaenders,

Dorothy Clarke and Jennifer Almager and

Family.

Prayers for Bryce Lochmann as he spends a

semester in Australia.

Prayers for those who are home bound and often not

able to join us at church

Prayers for the family of Allan Dodge, who died on

March 25 and the family of Eloise Swalwell, who died

on May 16.

Join Us for Operation Overboard!

Tuesday July,17-Thursday July, 19 5:30pm-8:00pm Dinner 5:30-6:00pm

Dive in and Discover God’s Underwater Universe!

We journey miles below the water’s surface into God’s word to find what true faith is all about.

Classes for all ages and singing, dancing, crafts, recrea-

tion and food! Attend, Volunteer and bring a friend!

Contact Lynne Crossette 913.710.0330 lcrossette@att.net

Sessions Updates † March & April

Acts 16:5 initiative

Bob Liepsner reported that the Acts 16:5 initiative has settled on a vision statement: Glorify God. Grow Disciples. Go

Serve. They are working toward implementing this vision as a ministry for our church. The Lenten study groups went

well and we are looking at continuing this.

Christian Education Lynne Crossette reported that we have chosen the We Believe children’s curriculum. She

reminded us to put Vacation Bible School on our calendar--July 17-19. We hope to send 7 kids to Heartland Camp this

summer. We might be able to get the United Way to pay for half of this and we will cover the other half, so the kids can

go for free. She gave out Easter coloring books to children on Easter.

Fellowship Nancy reported that the March fellowship luncheon went well. The free will offering more than covered the

food and the decor. The Irish band was well received. On April 28 Jean Hunter led tour of the Nerman Museum of Con-

temporary Art. On May 19 there was an open house for Nathan Lusk and his fiancé at the Wiederaenders house.

Operations Steve reported that window repair is ongoing. He has received positive comments about how much better

the grounds look. The landscaping project will be completed this summer.

Outreach Ashlea reported that the Ward Parkway Homes Association will have their annual Easter egg hunt at the

church.

Personnel Jim Durig reported on interviews for the job of office administrator. Nancy Lusk produced the bulletin until

an office administrator was found.

Mission Hans Guthrie requested funds for mission work he is doing at K-State to benefit International Justice Mission

and their work to thwart human trafficking. Jim sent money from the mission budget.

Pastor's Report Confirmation class started April 15. Connie, Mardy Cottrell, Rosemary McDaneld and Ann Butler

have served in-home communion to Muriel Oldberg, Emily Box, Doris Boyd, Ruth Slagle, Jean Sprinkle and Thelma

Haynes. Plans are to serve all of our home bound members in coming months. Two weddings took place at the church:

Margaret Blair (Doris Boyd's granddaughter) on April 21; Jim Kurtz and Carolyn Slaughter on May 25. Two or three of

the Lenten disciple groups will continue through Pentecost.

We’re enjoying the beautiful weather during our camp

sessions. The playground and outside water play

(which includes a sensory table and “sprinkler time”)

are daily activities that our preschoolers love. We are

offering 6 different weeks of camp and each week has

a special theme.

We want to extend a huge THANK YOU to the staff

and congregation of Ward Parkway Church for your

support during this past year. Our staff appreciates all

that you do to make each child’s experience at our

church enriching and positive. We also want to thank

everyone for their generous response to our Culver’s

fundraiser in April. Ashlea Wirken made all of the

arrangements and we are so grateful for her help!

We used the proceeds to help pay for re-surfacing

our playground. We now have rubber mulch instead

of wood mulch and we love the results!

Have and safe and happy summer!

Kathy and Kim

Summer Camp Schedule: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays 9:00am-1:00pm

Week 1 - June 5-7 Circus Week 2 - June 12-14 Zoo

Week 3 - June 19-21 Cooking

Week 4 - June 26-28 Space Week 5 - July 10-12 Dinosaurs

Week 6—July 17-19 At the Beach

Visit our website @ www.wardparkwaypreschool.com or

Call 816-361-2201 for more information.

Vacation Bible School!

Morning Devotional

A robin sings my wondering song.

Exultant in the morning air,

He transforms simple joy

To fluttering phrases in the leaves.

Lyrical tunes delight the ear

And smiles appear in searching eyes.

Does robin’s pleasure match mine

When stubborn sulky tempers

trustingly perch on dawn’s sufficient hope?

Creation rejoices in Creation,

But God knows why

A tiny creature makes music

heard across the ripening landscape.

I know this —

When I listen —

musings fill healing counsel

and soar beyond a sigh’s relief

to inspiration's beautifully possible dreams….

Victoria Ferris © June 26, 2010

Summer Camp is Underway at Ward Parkway Preschool!

Preschool News

Worship Council

To accommodate vacation plans and to give the

Chancel Choir a bit of a rest during the summer

months, the Chancel Choir will participate in our

worship service two Sundays each month, with soloists

and small groups providing musical offerings the

remaining Sundays.

Thanks to our audio/projection team, Grace Guthrie,

Brian Happell and Katie Crossette, for serving us each

Sunday! In addition to supporting our worship

services, they record each sermon for posting on our

website.

We plan our worship services while considering

our church's vision statement, “Glorify God. Grow

Disciples. Go serve.” If you have ideas as to how we

can better serve visitors and each other, please let us

know!

Steve Guthrie-

For the Worship Council