A little something happening at the parishes in the diocese…
Trinity, Arkansas City and Grace, Winfield participated in Prom Dress Express, which provides prom dresses for free to any Arkansas City or Winfield High School student that needs one to attend prom.
St. Paul’s, Clay Center offered a weekly Lenten program, featuring a meal, reflection, and spiritual exercise focused on the book Living the Way of Love by Mary Bea Sullivan.
St. Paul’s, Coffeyville continues to collect needed items for Genesis, a local service agency serving people in need. Boxes near the church entrances allow people to drop off purchased items.
St. Andrew’s, Derby has begun collecting prom dresses in order to assist high school students who otherwise can’t afford them to be able to attend their high school prom. And parish members, Amanda and Donovan Lawrence, gave a presentation to the parish on their experiences as missionaries in the Ukraine.
Trinity, El Dorado has invited the Domestic Violence Coaltion to use four of it’s Sunday School classrooms for their administrative offices.
St. Martin’s, Edwardsville is completing work on its new addition and will hold a consecration on May 3 when Rev. Laird McGregor is installed as the new rector of the parish.
St. Andrew’s, Emporia held a Shrove Tuesday Pancake Fundraiser to support Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lyon Co. Over 170 people were served at the dinner. The church pledged to raise another $1500 throughout Lent and met their goal.
St. Mary’s, Galena donated money to area high schools for their after prom and after graduation parties.
Epiphany, Independence has pledged to sponsor a room at HopeTank, which is a residential recovery home for women and children walking through trauma.
St. Timothy’s, Iola started a “Casserole Caravan” where parishioners and community members can place orders for enchiladas, breakfast burritos, and assorted casseroles. The church has already received over 500 orders. Proceeds go to support the church’s outreach ministries.
Covenant, Junction City continues to serve weekly community dinners with local ecumenical partners. 12,500 meals have been provided to date. Mother Doreen Rice is the President-Elect to the Junction City Rotary Club and also serving on the board for Geary County United Way with Deacon Cathy Brunson.
St. Paul’s, Kansas City hosted a Lenten class titled “God and us: a spiritual exploration” for anyone seeking to explore questions of their faith.
St. Margaret’s, Lawrence offers a spring adult formation class on Sundays focused on “Poets, Priests, and Preachers” led by parishioners and special guests.
Lawrence church gives out LED bulbs
Members of the Trinity, Lawrence Environmental Stewardship Team were inspired by a recent article in the New York Times to provide LED bulbs to guests of the Trinity Interfaith food pantry. The article revealed that 30% of all lightbulbs sold are still halogen or incandescent, which use a great deal more energy than LED bulbs. Furthermore, that those living in low income areas cannot easily purchase LED bulbs, since they aren’t available in chains such as The Dollar Store.
Each person who visits the food pantry now receives one LED bulb to take home. The response from food pantry guests has been very positive, and Vashti Winterburg of Trinity, Lawrence wonders if more Episcopal food pantries around the diocese could adopt this practice.
St. Paul’s, Leavenworth is emphasizing church growth and inviting friends and neighbors to church. Rev. Steve Lipscomb said in a recent newsletter that the church is “now accepting new members! All applicants are accepted and placed immediately!” With benefits including, “free communion, snacks after church, and no membership fee.”
St. Paul’s, Manhattan marched in the Little Apple Pride parade with student members of Canterbury House at K-State and hosted a table at the festival in City Park.
St. Michael’s, Mission participates in the Good Faith Network, an interfaith justice network of 20 congregations in Johnson county, seeking to address the issues of homelessness and mental health. Members are preparing for the “Nehemiah Assembly” on May 3 to urge elected officials to enact solutions.
St. Matthew’s, Newton supports 150 clients through their Representative Payee Program, which helps the clients manage Social Security benefits to achieve self-sufficiency and financial security.
St. Aidan’s, Olathe hosted “Let Your Life Speak,” a weekend retreat led by Rev. Lisa Senuta, Canon for Spiritual Life and Clergy Care. The church has also raised more than $33,000 to replace the roof, repair and repaint the ceiling, and install new ceiling fans.
St. Francis of Assisi, Overland Park fosters 750,000 honey bees in seven hives as a way to support God’s creation. The honey is sold to support the church’s outreach ministries.
Grace, Ottawa welcomed two new members to the church with special prayers during the Easter liturgy.
St. John’s, Parsons initiated the Paula Crigger Snack Pack program for Parsons Head Start. This program sends a bag of food home for the weekend to help children in need get much need nourishment for the weekend.
St. Luke’s, Shawnee held a Lenten book discussion on Kate Bowler’s book Good Enough: 40ish Devotionals for a Life of Imperfection.
Grace Cathedral, Topeka Justice Ministers participate in Topeka JUMP, an ecumenical justice ministry, that pursues systematic change in Shawnee County, Kansas through local policy and funding changes. JUMP championed Topeka’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund which is designed to support the construction of additional affordable housing to serve those who are homeless or living in substandard housing.
St. David’s, Topeka held a Lenten Supper Program with Westminster Presbyterian and St. John’s AME Church. The church recruited a variety of speakers from the community. Topics included Critical Race Theory, Indigenous People of Kansas, and St. Simon’s Episcopal Church in Topeka.
Good Shepherd, Wichita continues to expand it’s Invite-Welcome-Connect ministry through three dedicated teams for inviting, welcoming, and connecting newcomers and long-time members. A Newcomer’s Gathering & Brunch is scheduled for May 15 following Sunday morning worship and a new Seeker’s Forum is launching this summer with both in-person and online components.
Wichita church creates volunteer award
At the January 23, 2022, St. Bartholomew’s Annual Meeting, a new award was established. The Janice Charter Volunteer of the Year Award, for service Above and Beyond to St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church. This award is St. Bart’s small way of honoring someone that has given over 50 years of love, nurturing, and service to St. Bartholomew’s.
Janice Charter has dedicated much of her life to St. Bart’s in many ways, including being the organist, Altar Guild leader, New to Me Room leader, and a host of other formal and informal activities. She works tirelessly and is always available to help anyone in need. The award is our way of honoring her for her for a lifetime of dedication to St. Bart’s. This award will be given annually to one that goes above and beyond, giving of time and talent to nurture and grow St. Bartholomew’s. And as is only fitting, Janice Charter is the first recipient of this award that bears her name.
St. James’, Wichita has reached 95% of its $375,000 goal for the 100th Anniversary Capital Campaign. And the Guild Hall Players presented His Passover, a theatrical celebration of the Last Supper, featuring Rev. Dillon Green in the Jesus role. The play was performed at St. James over Palm Sunday weekend.
St. John’s, Wichita is working with other churches in the Wichita Minster to collect items such as laundry detergent, soaps, plates, and kitchen necessities for move-in baskets to support Breakthrough’s re-housing program for people who are setting up a new home.
St. Stephen’s, Wichita presented the Shrove Show, a live streamed music concert featuring Watson, Winters, Winters, and Little Bit of Hart to raise funds for the church’s music department. The church also offered a nine week Sunday School unit called The Gathering, which focused on Episcopal-specific instruction for the Eucharist.
Undies Sundays drive in Wichita
St. James in Wichita completed a successful Undies Sundays Drive in April for the Wichita Children’s Home. Thanks to the work of Chair Mary Klocke, 3075 new “undies” items were delivered to the Wichita Children’s Home. 2741 of these items were diapers in various sizes, and the remaining items were new underpants, onesies, and socks. Kim Pennington, Development Director at The Wichita Children’s Home, has been concerned about the rising cost of diapers, and she was thrilled to receive this supply. Mary’s husband, Delmar Klocke, helped deliver the items.
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