Friday, September 4, 2026 | Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost | | |
Dear People of St. Paul's,
It was only about four years ago that my family and I started attending this parish. We were still new to Kansas City, still figuring out what life would look like for us here in the midwest. My husband Jonathan and I have always been church goers, and we had spent the former year feeling a little adrift as we had not yet found a church home. Then came you all, the beautiful people of St. Paul’s. We felt at home instantly. I tell a story often about coming to the Rudy farm only a few weeks after our first Sunday. It felt vulnerable to visit someone’s home when we were still so new. That night, Pat Rudy gently pulled me into a picture of “church ladies.” I cried with feelings of joy and belonging on the way home; I was a church lady again!
Fast forward to my ordinations in February and last weekend when so many of you attended, watched online, and offered your sincere congratulations and joy. Your belief and support in my calling to the priesthood has been one of the greatest blessings of this chapter of our lives, and I will always thank God when I think of the friendship, love, and guidance you have given to each member of my family. We certainly have found a home in Kansas City, and that is in large part due to the hospitality and companionship we have found here with you all.
I first felt a call to ministry when I was only fifteen years old. Throughout the years since, that call has taken a variety of shapes and sizes, but each stage has been enhanced by the discernment of faithful people walking alongside me saying, “Have you ever thought about…”
It has been a joy to see how well you all pursue this same kind of faithful discernment. Discernment, as you know, is not only for those pursuing Holy Orders; it is a spiritual discipline we share so that we might together fulfill our mission of being grounded in Christ’s love. Whether for worship services and our music program, stewardship and generous giving, ongoing ministries to people of all ages, outreach to the community, or pastoral care for one another, I’ve observed you all as a people who purposefully discern together where the Holy Spirit leads. I see how you partner creatively with God to serve and live into your own callings for ministry. You do this so well, and it’s profoundly meaningful to do it together.
Thank you for not only welcoming my family to St. Paul’s, but for discerning and celebrating with me the call to the priesthood. I feel your belief in me, and I know your love will be something I cling to when the hard days come. For now, my own work will continue at Bishop Spencer Place where I have the immense privilege of chaplaining the residents, families, and staff there. I ask that you keep me in your prayers as I keep you in mine; may God sustain us to walk in love so that all may know they belong at God’s table.
In gratitude and love,
Mtr. Janette
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We begin at 9:00 AM with:
Bible Study | Garden Room | Readings
Nursery | Birth–5 Years | Walnut Room
Sunday School | Toddlers–5th Grade | Third Floor
And continue at 10:00 AM with:
Worship | Nave | O Rest in the Lord - Felix Mendelssohn
- Diocesan Cycle of Prayer: The Episcopal Diocese of Western Louisiana – Pineville
Children's Worship | Pre-School–2nd Grade | Walnut Room
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Find out more about what's happening at St. Paul's on our website.
To view the Sunday worship bulletin and join us for online worship, click here.
| | Full calendar is available on our website. | |
Sep. 5: Barry Nickell Funeral | 10:00 AM
Sep. 9: NW Metro Deanery Soiree | 5:30-7 PM | Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral
Sep. 11: TGIFF | Readeys' Home | 5:30 - 7:30 PM | Info Below
Sep. 13 & 27: Book Group | 11:30 AM | Archive Room | Info Below
Sep. 13: Acolyte Training with PIZZA! | After Service | Info Below
Sep. 16: Youth Choir First Wednesday Rehearsal | 5:30 PM
Sep. 18: Cuartetos Guitarreros Concert | Ensemble Iberica | 7:00 PM | Nave | Info and Tickets
Sep. 26: Oktoberfest | 5:00 - 9:00 PM | Info Soon!
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Sep. 6: Holy Eucharist | Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost | 10 AM | Nave
Sep. 9: Midweek Eucharist | 12:10 PM | Chapel | Constance, Thecla, Ruth, Frances, Charles Parsons, and Louis Schuyler, Martyrs
Sep. 13: Holy Eucharist | Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost | 10 AM | Nave
Sep. 16: Midweek Eucharist | 12:10 PM | Chapel | Hildegard of Bingen, Mystic and Scholar
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TGIFF - Friday, Sep. 11
Our next TGIFF (Thank Goodness It's Fellowship Friday) is happening Friday, September 11 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM at the Readeys' home (2203 W 67th Ter, Mission Hills, KS 66208-2217). This is a beloved St. Paul's tradition; a casual happy hour where we gather to enjoy each other's company.
Bring an appetizer or dessert to share; drinks are provided. Casual dress. RSVP to debschneider49@gmail.com. Whether you're a regular or joining us for the first time, all are welcome!
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Meet Virginia Reed, Section Leader and Soloist this Sunday
This Sunday, we feature our new mezzo-soprano section leader Virginia Reed as a soloist in the service! She will perform Mendelssohn alongside Erin McAdams, Guest Organist.
A New York native, Virginia Reed was a recent finalist in the Southeast Region of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. Versed in lyric repertoire, recent roles include Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), the title role in La Cenerentola, Sesto (La clemenza di Tito), Olga (Eugene Onegin) and Der Komponist (Ariadne auf Naxos). Reed was a scholarship recipient in the 2022 3rd Internationale Opernwerkstatt Waiblingen, performing with the Wurttemberg Philharmonic under Maestro Vlad Iftinca. She has worked as a Young Artist with Wolf Trap Opera, Central City Opera, and Janiec Opera Company at Brevard Music Center. Reed is a champion of concert and oratorio work, having performed as a choral artist with the Oratorio Society of New York at Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Avery Fisher Hall, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
As the 2024–2025 Resident Artist Mezzo-Soprano with KC Lyric Opera, she sang the roles of Clear String in The Haberdasher Prince, Berta in The Barber of Seville, and Grandmother in the world premiere of Maya and the Magic Ring by Lori Laitman and Dana Gioia.
Please welcome Virginia this Sunday!
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Acolyte Training with Pizza: Sep. 13!
Our Fall 2026 Training Session will take place on Sunday, September 13th, in the nave immediately following the church service. Pizza will be provided right after the training!
If an acolyte is unable to attend, it is their responsibility to meet with Mtr. Brittany or Rebecca Burnett to review the materials covered.
Please RSVP to Mtr. Brittany by September 11 so we can get an accurate head count for pizza!
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Support the Youth Choir
We've created an Amazon Wish List so you can more directly support Youth Choir rehearsals by purchasing snacks. Check it out below!
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New Plaque Honoring Richard Scarritt
The food pantry's interior entrance now bears a plaque honoring Richard Scarritt, in loving memory of his years of service to our food ministries. Next time you're at the pantry, take a moment to see it.
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You're Invited: NW Metro Deanery Soiree
Wed., Sep. 9 | 5:30-7 PM | Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral
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New Parking Lot Open
Drivers rejoice! Our Walnut Street parking lot is open with about 20 new spaces.
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Touching the Soul Book Group - September
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Discussions: September 13 and 27
"Anyone will tell you the born of this world are marked from the get-out, win or lose."
Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, this is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father's good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. In a plot that never pauses for breath, relayed in his own unsparing voice, he braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities.
Many generations ago, Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield from his experience as a survivor of institutional poverty and its damages to children in his society. Those problems have yet to be solved in ours. In transposing a Victorian epic novel to the contemporary American South, Barbara Kingsolver enlists Dickens' anger and compassion, and above all, his faith in the transformative powers of a good story. Demon Copperhead speaks for a new generation of lost boys, and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can't imagine leaving behind.
Everyone is welcome! Come to the Archive Room on the third floor at 11:30 after coffee hour to join in the discussion. The reading for discussion on September 13 is through page 275, chapter 34. If you'd like to personally receive updates and discussion questions in advance, please register by emailing Loretta Birkenmeier at lbirkenmeir@comcast.net. We hope to see you there!
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