Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Luke 16:1-13
Friday, September 20, 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 week the choir will be singing Oculi Omnium by Charles Woods and Saturday is Oktoberfest!  See below for more information about both. Thank you in advance for grabbing your name-tag on Sundays so we can get to know each other better.  
Father McKee's Note: 

Several years ago my wife and I made the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, a city in the north west of Spain. The cathedral there supposedly houses the remains of St James of Jerusalem.
We started in St. Jean Pied de Port, on the French side of the Pyrenees, and ended up 500 miles later in Santiago. We carried everything on our backs for six weeks. Bad hips, a sinus infection, and lots of blisters made for a difficult trip. It was pretty tough.
To our surprise we led a group, nine years later, on this pilgrimage. We did a shorter version because of time constraints.
There is something compelling about the pilgrimage. When you are walking the trail your main worries are: where are we going to spend the night, what are we going to do about eating and how are your feet at the end of the day. There is something simplistically elegant about that. Your mind can be quietly concerned with what is going on with you and around you. A great many things we usually concern ourselves with are not very important in that moment.
We are all on a pilgrimage to find that good self to be; to find that good work to do; to love and to be loved; to believe in something holy and beautiful and life-transforming; to find God.
I encourage you in your pilgrimage, wherever that might lead you.
 
        
Stephen McKee+
         Priest In Charge  

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

Sept 21: Oktoberfest

Sept 22: Discussion on mass shootings response
9 a.m. in 2nd floor conference room

Sept 25: Vestry Meeting

Oct 6: Birthday Sunday 
Coffee hour at the Day School

Oct 20: Pie Sunday

Oct 27: Hayride at the Rudy's
  
Other News & Opportunities

The Episcopal Children's Choir Starts
Sunday, September 15th
All children across Kansas City, from kindergarten and up, (non Episcopalian too!) are invited to participate. Choristers will learn healthy vocal technique, along with age appropriate musicianship training. They will lead worship several times at St. Paul's throughout the year, including special carols for the Family Christmas Eve service. The program is free. More information on our website here.   During rehearsal there will be fellowship for the parents in the room next to the rehearsal space, on the 3rd floor. 




The 5th Annual St. Paul's Oktoberfest  
Saturday, September 21st at 6pm. 
Please join us and invite your friends!  
World Premier of the Crossroads Choral Society Men's Choir, Masskrugstemmen competition, Authentic Oktoberfest attire competition, & great German food, music, and beverages! All proceeds will benefit Holy Cross School in Ravine a L'anse, Haiti and the Church Food Pantry.
Tickets are available  here! 
We are looking for volunteers.  Sign up here!

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The congregation is invited to attend a Celebration of Life for Marjorie Wheeler on Sunday, September 22nd at 2:00 pm (Time has changed) at Unity Temple on the Plaza 
(707 W. 47th St).
She and her husband, Dr. Charlie Wheeler, have been a part of the St. Paul's family for generations.
Give to the departed eternal rest, let light perpetual shine upon her.

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It's  PIE CLASSIC Sunday  
coming Sunday,  October 20th to coffee hour!!  Get out your best recipes for savory, sweet, cheesecake and fruit pies for this popular, friendly competition!! Everybody wins as we eat the competitors pies at coffee hour.  Drop off your pies in the kitchen before church and the judging will be done by announcements.  Be sure to mark your pie with your name and a brief description. Prizes awarded for "Best Savory", "Best Sweet" , "Best in Show" and "Best Store Bought".

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St. Paul's Annual  Hayride
at the Rudy Farm!
Sunday, October 27th

3:00-4:00  Gathering, munching, kids painting pumpkins, candy hunt in the hay stack
4:00-5:00  Pony rides, petting zoo
5:00-5:45  Hay ride
5:45-7:00  Dinner (nice buffet plus grill your own hot dog and s'mores)

Mark your calendar for one of St. Paul's most fun events! The Hayride and Bonfire is scheduled for October 27th from 3:00-7:00 PM. This Parish Life event is hosted by Bill and Pat Rudy and will be held at their farm. Fun will include a hayride, cookout, s'mores, entertainment and craft for the kids!  Hot dogs, s'mores makings, brisket, pulled pork, baked beans, and drinks provided. Please bring a side dish, munchies, or dessert to share. RSVP to  Pat Rudy .

The Rudys' address is 19645 273 Highway, Platte City, MO 64079. It's about 10 minutes north of the Kansas City Airport, so start out as you would to the airport. Continue on I-29 N to exit #20. After exiting, turn left at the stop sign. The highway will curve around to the left and you will come to a stop light. Take a right at the light. Go to the second house on the left. It's easy to pass up, so keep watch as you're going through the "s" curve. We'll have a sign hanging on the mailbox. Both Mapquest and Google maps can find it. Pat's cell phone is 816-674-7429 if you have any trouble.

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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" 
is Back!

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.   




Please know that all of your Children bring us joy every week and warm our hearts with their views of your world!  We cannot wait to see them this Sunday!

Guytie, Ann, and Pat


 

    
 Worship Leaders Needed
If you are interested in learning how to serve at communion, or become a reader during church, please contact Father McKee. We provide training, and are open to persons aged 10-100. 
Thank you. 
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Volunteers Needed
Set-Up, Ticket Table, Servers & Clean Up
All levels of ability welcome - All shifts available.
Click  here   to sign up.
 




It's FUN, and you'll make friends,  and it will be another jewel in your crown. 


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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 22 - ?you?
Sept 29 - Kendall Seal
Oct 6 - SPEDS / Birthday Sunday
Oct 13 - ?you?
Oct 20 - Pie Sunday

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