Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost

Luke 14:1,7-14
Friday, August 30, 2019
In This Issue
Weekly Services

Sunday - 3 Services

10:00 a.m.
Holy Eucharist

1:00 p.m.
South Sudanese Service
Dinka Language

5:30 p.m. Holy Eucharist
Spanish Language

Wednesday
6:00 p.m. Holy Eucharist
 
More St. Paul's Here!
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This Sunday:
This Sunday at the 10 am service we will hear - from the pulpit - our new Priest In Charge, the Rev. Stephen McKee. Our Godly Play (Sunday School) is taking the morning off, so please check for new worship bags and other materials in the narthex to help children be more engaged during the liturgy of the word in "Big Church."     Thank you in advance for grabbing your name-tag on Sundays so we can get to know each other better.  
Father McKee's Note: 

The gospel this Sunday is about a wedding feast and proper etiquette for attending such an event.
 
It calls to mind meals we have shared: small intimate suppers, noisy birthday celebrations, family reunions.
 
It reminds us of hospitality given and received.
 
Joan Chittister says: 'Hospitality means we take people into the space that is our lives and our minds and our hearts and our work and our efforts. Guests are crucial to the making of any heart.'
 
Guests are crucial to the making of any heart.
        
Stephen McKee+
         Priest In Charge  

Parish Calendar 
Information about these events can be found in the "more information" section below.

Sept 1: Birthday Sunday

Sept 21: Oktoberfest
  

Other News & Opportunities
 

The 5th Annual St. Paul's Oktoberfest
is just one month away!
Saturday, September 21st at 6pm.
Please plan to join us and invite your friends. 
Watch for more information in upcoming ePistles and Church announcements.

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Birthday Sunday
John Barnard, Grace Frame, Charlotte Gibson, Mercer Gilmore, Cash Hufft, Ann Johnson, Maren Johnson, Christina Kerr, Rob Kissick, Richard Lara, Helen Lea, Mark Liston, Laura Long-Aractingi, Kent Mueller, Hillary Nicholas, Amber Niewald, Stephanie O'Connell, Will Powell, Joan Ridge, John Riffel, Morgan Ropp, Sana Saleh, Chris Schneider, Will Schneider, Rosa Sosland, and Ben Wickman.
 
What is Birthday Sunday? On the first Sunday of every month St. Paul's celebrates birthdays and anniversaries for the month ahead. During the 10:00 am service, persons who wish to (not required) come forward for a brief word of thanks, and the naming of God's continued blessings in their lives. Following the service, we enjoy special celebration treats, and each other's company, during Fellowship in the hall under the church. Join us.
 
If you don't see your name but have a September birthday, or if you have a birthday coming up during the next twelve months and aren't sure we have the correct info, please let us know.  You may email [email protected] or call the Church Office at 816-931-2850.
 

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Pilgrimage: London to Canterbury, 2020

Not all those who wander are lost. ~ J.R.R. Tolkien

A small but stalwart group of St. Paul's parishioners is planning a 70-mile walking pilgrimage along Chaucer's route from London to Canterbury, June 7 - 14, 2020. Our plan is to attend the mid-morning Eucharist at Southwark Cathedral on June 7, walk about 10 miles a day, arrive in Canterbury on Saturday, and attend the mid-morning Eucharist at Canterbury Cathedral on the 14th before going our separate ways.

This is not a church-sponsored or guided tour; each traveler is responsible for all logistics of air travel, lodging, etc. We simply invite you to join us in our planning to decide if you're interested. A very rough estimate of cost, including airfare, is $2400 to $3500. Adults only, please. If you are interested, please email Nancy Day at [email protected].

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  A Prayer for St. Paul's in-transition:  
  Almighty God, giver of every good gift: Look graciously on your Church, and so guide the minds of those who shall choose a rector for this parish, that we may receive a faithful pastor, who will care for your people and equip us for our ministries; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
  
            
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 Prayer Request Forms are for requesting prayers for yourself, and for others. They are available from the box on the wall in the tower room near the pulpit, on the Usher's Desk at the 40th street door, and the Receptionist Desk at the South/School side door. They are also on our website. If you are interested in becoming a part of the Pastoral Care Ministry Team, please contact Heidi Carter, Associate for Ministry.


2020 promises many transitions for us as a faith family, requiring our full attention and care. We thank you in advance for your continued stewardship of this remarkable place. We are reminded daily, and proclaim weekly, that all we have comes by God's grace. We are called to return but a portion of that to serving God's life. 

             Summer Blessings ~ Your Stewardship Ministry Team

You can still use the link below to make a 2019 pledge,  or contact the  Church Office  for a paper pledge form.  Thank you for your support financially, for your participation, and by remembering the worship, outreach, and people of St. Paul's in your prayers.

 
             "Godly Play" 

We are taking this Sunday off to rest and re-set for the upcoming program year. After a summer of focusing on serving others we will continue into the fall, learning more about loving ourselves,loving God, and loving our neighbors.   

We will have a kickoff on Sunday the 8th and do hope that you will all be there!

Please know that all of your Children bring us joy every week and warm our hearts with their views of your world!  See you on the 8th!

Guytie, Ann, and Pat


 

    
          Transcription-ist Found
The Communications and Transitions Ministry Teams want to thank Bridgette Shirley Sancho for volunteering to help us get our sermon archive updated. This is really going to help St. Paul's visitors, and candidates for our new Rector, get to know us better. Thank you Bridgette.  
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TEFAP & Backstage Hands Needed 
at Pantry

TEFAP: The Emergency Food Assistance Program has experienced a large increase in quality and quantity of food coming into our pantry. As a result, more clients are coming, bringing friends, and we are able to help them all. We served over 120 households last month (last year we averaged 80 per month). While we are happy to be able to help more, we really need more able bodied folks to help with moving, setting up, and distributing all of this heavy food. If you are able to help, it's only once a month, on the 3rd Saturday of the month, from 8am - noon. If you work with a youth group, scouting group, or know of youth or young adults needing service hours, we would welcome the connection. Please contact Melissa Hill via St. Paul's at [email protected]. Thank you!

Backstage: Many of us have seen, and been a part of, the food distribution at  our Pantry. It is humbling, hard and holy work.  But there is a very important part of our Pantry ministry that goes mostly unseen, and it's there that we can use your help.  To save money , where possible and practicable , o ur Pantry acquires bulk supplies of essential items for our pantry clients. It takes time and care to divide-up these supplies for distribution. It includes things like  rice, pasta, dry beans , laundry   and dish detergent, hair care supplies, frozen foods, etc. If you are able to come and help us sort these into shareable sizes, please let us know . Thanks so much. Richard Scarritt , Easom Bond and Sterling Roath .


We need more caring
hands on-deck in the
St. Paul's Parish Nursery.
Each Sunday we have two paid staff persons caring for our youngest (and cutest!) members. All are required to take the "Safeguarding God's Children" training, pass a background check, and love our kids and their families. We also occasionally need nursery caregivers during the week for special meetings, worship services, or events. Please speak with Catie Brouse if you are ready to join the team. Service hours for high school students are available, but the training requirements remain. Thank you!


Coffee Hour Hosts
       

Sept 1 - Birthday Sunday
Sept 8 - ?you?
Sept 15 - ?you?
Sept 22 - ?you?
Sept 29 - Kendall Seal

Hosting Coffee Hour is a fun and easy way to get to know other St. Paul's members! The host brings the food and the church provides the drinks. An example of what a host might bring would be: two large pans of brownies (cut very small), maybe a bowl of fruit (oftentimes grapes cut into small clusters), and a bowl or two of pretzels or popcorn. If you have questions or wish to co-host with another member, please contact Alison.  Dates are available.

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Bags Wanted
We need your plastic grocery bags!
Could you please bring in grocery bags and place them in the cart next to the Food Pantry entrance? TEFAP has so much produce to bag-up, which is wonderful, but we're depleting the pantry's supply. Thank you!

 
verse for the week

But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his (Eliab's) appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." -- 1 Samuel 16:7 
 
voice for the week

So much of religion and spirituality that is offered to us is about sanding down our edges. It just so happens that the jagged edges of our humanity are actually what connects us to God and each other. - Nadia Bolz-Weber

prayer for the week

Teach us again and again to see the full, beautiful, messy humanity in others and in ourselves, oh God who sees our jagged edges and calls us beloved.   Amen. 

thought for the week

Worship grounds me again in the real world of God's creation, dislodging me from whatever world I have imagined for myself. I have come to believe that when we despair of praise, when the wonder of creation and our place in it are lost to us, it's often because we've lost sight of our true role as creatures - we have tried to do too much, pretending to be in such control of things that we are indispensable. It's a hedge against mortality and, if you're like me, you take a kind of comfort in being busy. The danger is that we will come to feel too useful, so full of purpose and the necessity of fulfilling obligations that we lose sight of God's play with creation, and with ourselves.--
Kathleen Norris,   The Quotidian Mysteries
episcopal shield Episcopal Church response to the crisis on our border
 
 
Summer 2019  Over the past several weeks, The Episcopal Church has responded to the reports of inhumane conditions for children and other asylum seekers in government custody in a number of ways. 

"We are all children of the one God - who is the Creator of us all," said Presiding Bishop Michael Curry. "It is our sisters, our brothers, our siblings who are seeking protection and asylum, fleeing violence and danger to children, searching for a better life for themselves and their children. The crisis at the border is not simply a challenge of partisan politics but a test of our personal and public morality and human decency."

  The Episcopal Church, through the Office of Government Relations (OGR) and Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM), has compiled a list of resources, bishop statements, and information in response to the ongoing humanitarian situation at the southern border.
 
The list of resources for education and support is available on the EMM website at https://episcopalmigrationministries.org/response-to-the-border-education-and-advocacy/  and will continue to be updated with ways to learn more and take action. The OGR and EMM webinar with Bishop Michael Hunn of the Diocese of Rio Grande will be made available on-demand through this website as well.

B eyond the Walls of St. Paul's

Opportunities to Stay Connected and Involved

Please Visit Our Website at www.stpaulskcmo.org for information about The Diocese of West Missouri's  Youth Ministries , The Episcopal Church, Outreach opportunities and Advocacy and Community Engagement. Scroll down the welcoming page to find a series of interesting links and information. Thank You.

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St. Paul's Episcopal Church and Day School

11 E 40th St.

Kansas City, Mo.   64111

(816) 931-2850