Upcoming Events — Dyck Arboretum of the Plains, Hesston

Posted November 16th, 2018

Everyone is invited to attend this year’s Winter Luminary Walk, “The Prairie Sleeps”  at Dyck Arboretum of the Plains in Hesston.  The Luminary Walk will be from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on November 23, 24 & 30, and December 1.  Admission to the event is $6 for Adults and $3 for children ages 3 to 15, or advanced tickets can be purchased at dyckarboretum.org or at the Arboretum office for $5 for adults and $2 for children ages 3 to 12.

Traditional outdoor highlights include the walking path lit up by hundreds of luminaries, a nativity scene in the leaf house, and roasting marshmallows at the fire pits. Performances by local groups will include Lindsborg harpist RoJean Loucks at 7 p.m. on Friday, November 23 and Saturday, November 24, Bethel College Academy of Performing Arts Dance Troupe at 7 p.m. on Friday, November 30. On December 1st, the Hesston College instrumental ensembles will play at 6:30 p.m. and the Hesston College choir will do a carol sing at 7:15 p.m.

Saturday, December 1 is also FAMILY NIGHT, with free admission for accompanied children ages 12 and under, face painting, crafts and hay rack rides.  Volunteers are also still needed!  Call 620-327-8127 or visit www.dyckarboretum.org for more information.

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The third concert of the 2018-19 Prairie Window Concert Series, featuring Lindsay Lou, will be held at 4 p.m. on Sunday, December 2, at the Dyck Arboretum in Hesston.  You are invited to an evening of great music and good food in a prairie garden setting. Tickets: $25 adults/$15 kids, plus tax.  Arboretum members receive a 10% discount. Purchase tickets online or call 620-327-8127 to reserve your seats.

 

 

 

Posted in Community Corner
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Opportunity with Brethren Disaster Ministries

Posted November 16th, 2018

Greetings, Western Plains friends of Brethren Disaster Ministries!

Bud and I recently attended the BDM Conference at Camp Swatara in Pennsylvania.  In addition to seeing many friends we’ve worked with in the past, we signed up for a two-week stint in Castener Puerto Rico.  Each group can have 5 -7 people, and we already have five but want to take two more from our district.

Date:  March 16-30, 2019

Place:  Castener, Puerto

Cost:  1/2 of your plane ticket to San Juan PR

We will be working on repairing houses and staying in the volunteer housing there.  Castener had its power restored early because of the hospital there so it usually has electricity.  However, we may experience intermittent outages as well as unusual working conditions.  Although it’s in the mountains, it may be humid.  Volunteers should be fit and able to work under what could be difficult conditions.  On the other hand, it’s a beautiful place with amazing people and we will be blessed to work there.

Susan Taylor will be the household leader.  Also going are Bud Taylor, Dean Holloway, Sammy Deacon (a Southern Ohio volunteer who has worked with Western Plains folks a number of times and loves us), and Ed Olkowski from Delaware.

If you are interested, please contact Bud or me.  First to respond will claim the remaining two spots.  We will need to coordinate flights so we can be picked up in San Juan by the project leaders.  If you wish, the district will reimburse you for 1/2 the cost of your round trip ticket.  It is good if we book them soon as it is spring break time.

If this time doesn’t work, other dates are open.  As of a week ago, there were still openings for the first two weeks of March and from April onward.  I think individuals can sign up for slots as they generally haven’t been reserved for districts.

Thanks to David and Jane Sampson, who are serving in Puerto Rico now, and to Rick and Trudy Racine, who are going in January.  It’s great to see Western Plains serving in this important way.

Thanks for your support of BDM!

Susan Taylor 620-245-4835 susandtaylor@yahoo.com

Bud Taylor 620-245-4836 taylorbud48@cox.net

Posted in Congregational Life, Western Plains District News
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Four Hundred Years of Life

Posted November 16th, 2018

Reaching one hundred years of age is not uncommon these days.  However, in the McPherson Church of the Brethren, there are four women who turned one hundred in 2018.  That is uncommon!

On January 13, Jeannette Stump celebrated her one-hundredth birthday.  Born in a small town in Oklahoma, she came of age in the panhandle of Texas.  Married to Harley, they served churches in Texas and Oklahoma until McPherson College invited Harley to teach English. Reluctant, as he was “only a pastor”, the College pledged to help him hone his weekly writing and preaching skills into a professorship and so they came to McPherson. Born a Southern Baptist and baptized with her entire family, once backwards in a river, Jeannette found it prudent and “easy as pie” to convert to Church of the Brethren where she was baptized again by immersion, this time three times forward. Harley is gone now, but Jeannette remembers fondly serving churches and the College.  She had two sons, Harl who is a retired medical doctor in Hays, KS and Nelson a retired vocal music school teacher, who while living, had “such a beautiful high-tenor voice”.

On February 5, Gladys Naylor turned one-hundred.  Soon after graduating from McPherson College and marrying, she was immersed in the life and culture of Quito, Ecuador where spouse Kurtis, a conscientious objector, fulfilled his alternative service with Brethren Service Committee by starting a Boys Club. After WWII Gladys moved to Geneva, Switzerland where Kurtis served with the Brethren Service Commission overseeing aid operations in Europe and representing the Church of the Brethren at the World Council of Churches. At the invitation of the Russian Archbishop, they traveled to Moscow where Kurtis preached in a Russian Orthodox Church. Upon their return to the U.S., Gladys served in N.Y.C. as an Executive with Church Women United and they served churches in Denver, Wenatchee, WA and Pomona, CA where Gladys was Executive of the YMCA. These experiences and interactions solidified her deep and life-long commitment to the values of diversity and cross-cultural exchange. She is blessed with four daughters and their families; Merylee, Cherylin, Mariza and Illana.  Still lively, Gladys ponders, “I just don’t feel like one-hundred. How have I lived so long?”

Born one-hundred years ago on May 31st into the Sunnyside Church of the Brethren in Wenatchee, Washington; Hazel Snell was baptized not outside in a creek, as one might imagine for the era, but inside in a baptistery. She was gifted with a beautiful voice and a love for sharing that gift “for the Glory of God”. Only after a stroke in 1999 did she cease singing; in the choir, solos and duets with her beloved husband Art.  Honored as Lifetime Deacons Hazel and Art nurtured their fellow congregants through music and Caregiving. Hazel and Art lived and raised their family in Santa Ana, California.  They stayed there to be a part of daughter Ginny’s life and watch grandchildren grow until moving to Kansas in 1995 to be with son John and grandkids Becky and Amanda.  They were both school teachers and approached life thinking they “might as well be pleasant.”  To that end, Hazel still shares her positive disposition and she and Art’s endless reserve of corny jokes and puns; making it pleasant for us all.

On September 3, Miriam Hoover celebrated one-hundred years of life. Miriam was born into the Church of the Brethren in New Mexico.  Planning on being a professor’s wife and clear she “never wanted to be a pastor’s wife”, she married Wilbur Hoover, a Chemistry Major. Soon after Wilbur was called to the ministry and after Seminary began a series of placements, one of which was in Cambridge, Nebraska at the Afton COB.  He eventually served as the District Executive for Western Plains where they returned after assignments across the Midwest and Central Plains. They raised their children; Modena, Marlin, Marsha and Stewart – in situations Miriam remembers were “occasionally challenging” but because she was “so much in love”, she found a way to make it work.  She remembers when they moved to the Cedars sixteen years ago, they had a house dedication for their duplex.  Now, as she prepares to move again she wonders about having a dedication for “her new digs” in Assisted Living.

These four strong-willed, resilient women all live within the Continuous Care system of the Cedars Retirement Community in McPherson and continue to serve the McPherson Church of the Brethren through the ministries of prayer and presence. With vastly different lives and experiences all four believe they have grown and been nurtured by the Church. Their families of origin and their church family look forward to continuing the journey together – for whatever lies ahead.

Hazel Snell died Thursday, November 15, 2018

Text by Ann Stover and Kathryn Whitacre

Photo by Robert Dell

Posted in Congregational Life, E-Newsletter
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Information for the Congregation for Sunday, November 18, 2018

Posted November 16th, 2018

Joel Flory and Rhea Shetty Flory were married on August 20 in San Francisco, CA. Joel and Rhea will be honored at a come-and-go reception from 1:00 – 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, November 25, in the Church Social Room. You are invited to meet them, share in refreshments and peruse photos from their wedding and California reception. They currently live in Novato, CA and are employed by Visual Concepts Interactive.

Together with their parents, Anna Lindholm and Kerrick van Asselt invite the church family to join them at the celebration of their wedding on Friday, December 28, at 6:00 pm at the First United Methodist Church, 1200 E. Kansas Avenue, McPherson.  A reception will follow at J.O. Sundstrom Conference Center, 102 N. Main Street, Lindsborg where light hors d’oeruves will be served. Space is limited, so please RSVP for the wedding and/or reception by no later than November 29 by either emailing kerrickva@gmail.com or by calling Deb van Asselt at 620-241-4258.

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The 23rd Annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner is planned for 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 22, at McPherson High School Activity Center. Everyone is welcome, reservations are not required. Volunteer to help: 620-755-8108. Donate pies: 620-241-5686. Home delivery: 620-241-1686. Questions, 620-241-0035.

Reasonable Faith is a series that illustrates that Christianity is fully compatible with the findings of contemporary science, humanitarian ethics, and critical biblical scholarship. On Monday, November 26, 7-8 p.m., Kirk MacGregor will present “Who Was Jesus?” in Mohler Hall, Room 212, McPherson College. Everyone is welcome.

Annual Art and Music Fair, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Saturday, December 1, Wichita Church of the Brethren. You are invited to enjoy art, live music, and delicious food. Proceeds will provide support for homeless families in the Wichita area.

German Dinner and Bake Sale, 5-7 p.m., Saturday, December 1, First Mennonite Church. Everyone is invited.

Christmas Brunch for Lunch – Sunday, December 2, immediately following worship. Bring a pastry, fruit bowl or cheese tray to share. Egg casserole, drinks and table service provided.

Domestic Violence Education Opportunity: Father Charles Dahm, O.P., Director of the Archdiocese of Chicago Domestic Violence Outreach Program, will be speaking at The Gathering Church, 518 North Main, Newton, from 12-1 p.m. on Monday, December 3. Questions, contact Anna Rusche (316-284-3628). Everyone is welcome. (The event is sponsored by the Harvey County Community Response to Domestic Violence.)

2018 Month – to Date Financial Report

 

Nov. 4

Nov. 11 Nov. 18 Nov. 25

Total
Weekly Offering Needed
 $8,000    $8,000 $8,000 $8,000 $32,000
Offering Received
 $8,023.43

$7,505.09

      

January – October Income:  $309,595.65      Expenses:  $331,763.11

Please remember to turn in your 2019 Pledge.  Annual and Year-End Gifts are welcome.

 

 

Posted in Congregational Life
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Information for the Congregation

Posted November 9th, 2018

Joel Flory and Rhea Shetty Flory were married on August 20, in San Francisco, CA. Joel and Rhea will be honored at a come-and-go reception from 1:00 – 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, November 25, in the Church Social Room. You are invited to meet them, share in refreshments and peruse photos from their wedding and California reception. They currently live in Novato, CA and are employed by Visual Concepts Interactive.

Think generously. Practice generosity. And do so courageously.

Christian Stewardship is simply our courageous attempt, having experienced the generosity and hospitality of the God we know in Jesus, to live a life that reflects that generosity, the life that really is life – the life that is lived Peacefully, Simply, Together.

The McPherson College Band and Jazz Band will be presenting their fall concert at 4 p.m. today, in Brown Auditorium. The concert will feature sophomore trombonist Brady Ballew and will showcase the music of David Maslanka, including his deeply spiritual compositions “Give Us This Day” and “Mother Earth.” Everyone is invited.

Ventures in Discipleship, McPherson College – The course offering for November will be “The How and Why of Conflict Engagement.” The class will be held online, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. (CST), Saturday, November 17. Tim Grove will be presenting “Trauma Informed Care (TIC) – part 2.” Classes are donation-based and continuing education credit is available at $10 per course. To register for courses, visit www.mcpherson.edu/ventures.

The 23rd Annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner is planned for 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 22, at McPherson High School Activity Center. Everyone is welcome, reservations are not required. Volunteer to help: 620-755-8108. Donate pies: 620-241-5686. Home delivery: 620-241-1686. Questions, 620-241-0035.

Looking Ahead

Sunday, December 2, 2018

Brunch, immediately after worship

 

2018 Month – to Date Financial Report

November 4

November 11

November 18

November 25

Total
Weekly Offering Needed
 $8,000    $8,000 $8,000 $8,000

$32,000
Offering Received

$8,273.43

        

January – October      Income: $309,595.65    Expenses: $331,763.11

Please remember to turn in your 2019 Pledge. Annual and Year-End Gifts are welcome.

Posted in Congregational Life
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