1. religion and spirituality
2. christianity

First
Echoes
April 2015 •
Volume 56, Issue 4
A Call to Prayer
and Reverence Holy Week
Holy Week is a somber time in
the Christian year when we journey
through the final hours of Jesus’ life.
Often we prefer to glaze over the
sacrifices of Jesus, but in doing so
we fail to acknowledge our own
suffering and God’s desire through
Christ to bring an end to suffering
and death once and for all. As
we move through Jesus’ betrayal,
rejection, humiliation, persecution,
and crucifixion, let us remain in a
solemn spirit of prayer. Be invited to
take a moment of silence each day
at noon or during another hour of
your choosing each day of this week
to remember the gift of Life, and the
resolve and magnitude to which
God will go in Christ to offer it to us.
Services of
Worship
for Easter
Sunday April 5
Join us for worship
as we celebrate our
risen Lord and the
new life God brings
each of us in Christ!
Sunrise Service
(outdoors, weather
permitting) - 6:30 a.m.
Easter Service 10:30 a.m.
**Easter Service
at McCrite Plaza for
residents and their
guests at 9:00 a.m.
April Worship Schedule at a Glance
April 2 Holy Thursday Holy Communion & Hand Washing Service,
John 13:1-35
April 3 Good Friday Tenebrae Service
April 5 Sunrise Service Mark 16:1-8
April 5 Easter Service John 20:1-18
April 12 Then the Next Day. . . Mark 16:9-18, Liz Isaacs preaching
April 19 The Walk to Emmaus Luke 24: 13-35
April 26 Jesus Appears to his Disciples Luke 24:36-48
First Echoes • April 2015 • 1
Easter Offering-Northland
Assistance
This year’s Easter offering may be
designated to Northland Assistance
Center or Apportionments.
Undesignated Easter offerings will
be split evenly between these two
ministries.
Many in our church are already
familiar with Northland Assistance
and have been supporting it for
many years, participating in major
fundraisers and even serving on
its board. Vital to those in our
community who fall upon hard
times, this organization helps
families with things like utility
assistance and food, and provides
motel rooms for our friends
without homes during extreme
winter weather.
To designate your Easter
offering, simply write “Northland
Assistance” or “Apportionments”
A Service of Worship for
Holy Thursday - April 2,
6:30 p.m.
Just hours before Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, and
crucifixion, Jesus laid aside time to spend with
his disciples, taking this opportunity to both
care for them and teach them. Through his Last
Supper, he reminded his disciples of what lay in
the hours ahead--that his body would be broken,
his blood spilled--but that through it the sins of
the world would be forgiven. He also washed
his disciples’ feet, reminding them that just as he
came to serve to the point of laying down his life,
they, too, must be willing to serve one another.
In order that we might remember that we, too,
receive that same invitation from Jesus that he
extended to his earliest disciples, a service of
worship for Holy Thursday evening, which will
include Holy Communion and a hand washing
ritual, will take place on Thursday, April 2, at
6:30 p.m.
2 • First Echoes • April 2015
in the memo line of your check
or utilize the offering envelope
that says, “Easter Offering.” These
envelopes will be available in your
Easter worship bulletin, the north
foyer, as well as the bell tower.
Also remember that
nonperishable foods may be
donated to Northland Assistance
Center year-round; simply drop
these groceries off in the big
wooden box by the east door of our
church.
Thank you for being so generous
and for helping those among us in
need.
A Service of
Tenebrae for Good
Friday - April 3,
6:30 p.m.
As the United Methodist Book
of Worship reminds us, “A Service
of Tenebrae, or “Darkness,” is
based on a twelfth-century late
night/early morning service and
is an extended meditation on the
passion of Christ.” Having departed
Christ’s table the night before on
Holy Thursday, we reconvene on
Good Friday to remember the rest
of the story. Candles will
be slowly extinguished
in partnership with a
series of oral and musical
meditations that will carry
us through those final hours
of Christ’s life. As the last
light is extinguished we will
remember the stark and
seemingly grim reminder
of humanity’s capacity to
fail and harm, and God’s
capacity and resolve to
abide with us even to death.
This Service of Tenebrae
will take place on Friday,
April 3, at 6:30 p.m
Easter Sunrise
Breakfast
The Men’s Group will be
hosting a breakfast on Easter
morning, April 5, following
the Easter Sunrise service. The
Sunrise service begins at 6:30
a.m.
Connection Point
You may have noticed the newest fixture in our north foyer, the Connection
Point! This booth is an important tool in communication here at our church.
It will also help inform our guests of events in our church and other ways to
get involved. Most often, our youth director, Toni Griem, and some of our
youth will be at the booth helping to promote events. This booth will have the
important details of upcoming events as well as opportunities to sign up! Stop
by and check it out!
Also, if your group would like to promote events, the Connection Point
is a great way to do this! For more information, contact Sara in the office at
[email protected] or 842-3944.
First Echoes • April 2015 • 3
Youth Ministry
8th Annual
Leadership
Institute April 23,
10 a.m - 2 p.m.
Please be in prayer for
church council member, Trish
Ferguson, as she travels to
Central Methodist University
for the 8th Annual Leadership
Institute on April 23, 2015.
The guest speaker this year will
be Dr. Lovett H. Weems, Jr.,
Director of the Lewis Center for
Church Leadership. The theme
of this year’s presentation is
“Joyful Generosity: Serving
God’s Vision.” Both church
leaders and clergy are invited
to attend. If this sounds like a
topic you may be interested
in and would like to attend
in order to bring fresh insight
and ideas back to our church,
please be in touch with Pastor
Stephanie at pastor@fumcnkc.
org or 816-842-3944. The cost
for the conference is $35.
4 • First Echoes • April 2015
by Toni Greim
Throughout the month of
March, the youth group has
been participating in the Adam
Hamilton’s “Making Sense of the
Bible” Lenten Bible study. We are
digging into our Bibles, learning
scripture, and actually learning
what exactly the Bible is, who wrote
it, and why. We will be extending
this lesson plan out several more
weeks that the six week time period
of the other classes.
The time to gather deposits for
the youth Mission Trip is here. I
am really excited to announce that
we are going to be living with the
Navajo Native Americans in Eastern
Navajo, New Mexico from August
2-7, 2015. Deposits are $50.00,
check only and are to reserve a spot
on this mission trip for your youth.
It is very important that all deposits
be turned in to Toni Greim by
March 21, 2015. I encourage you
to visit http://experiencemission.
org to watch videos and read more
informative material regarding the
trip and the importance of sending
young disciples to this society.
We are also asking youth to
volunteer for the Connection Point
Booth on Sunday mornings, and
to help arrange games and stuff
Easter eggs for the Easter egg hunt
on Saturday, April 4, 2015. Please
contact Toni Greim at Tonifindley@
gmail.com, 816-832-8772 (home
phone), or on Facebook for any and
all questions or to volunteer for our
upcoming events. Thank you!
Get on the Bus
John Campbell’s dream of a
bus ministry is nearly a reality.
A very generous challenge gift
of $15,000 has been offered by
a member of our congregation.
This means if our congregation
will collectively work together to raise the equivalent of $15,000, we
will have met our financial goal of $60,000, and will be able to purchase
a new, more accessible bus. We’ve stated the problem—some folks are
not able to connect or stay connected with our church because they are
unable to drive. We’ve cast the vision—to have a more accessible bus in
order to reach out to our community by providing rides to worship and
church events for those unable to drive, and to build friendships among
our faith community as we travel together to partake in mission projects—
both local and beyond, and fellowship events where we get together just to
have a little fun. Your prayers, participation, and gifts will bring this project
to fruition. Please pray about how you can support this missional outreach
opportunity. And thank you, thank you, thank you for your enthusiasm and
support of this new chapter in the life of our church.
United Methodist
Women
by Marilyn Henegar
Thanks to those women who
could brave the weather and
come to our February Unit
meeting. Now spring is here
and United Methodist Women
is planning a Spiritual Growth
Retreat on April 24 & 25 in
Columbia MO. Our theme this
year is: A Garden Getaway. Take
time to relax, enjoy time with old
friends and meet new friends.
Any woman in our church that
is interested in going should
contact Marilyn Henegar for
more information at rmhenegar@
sbcglobal.net or (816) 4531462. Registration forms for this
event will be available at the
Connection Point Booth in April.
All women of the church are
invited to attend the Northland
Church Women United Forum
on April 3 at Hillside Christian
Church at 10 a.m. A forum will be
presented by Senior Services in Clay
and Platte County.
It’s that time of year when Pam
Wark is collecting dues for Della
Lamb & Spofford Home. The annual
dues are $3.00 each. See Pam if you
would like to
donate.
Our circles
that took the
winter months
off are meeting
again, so if you
are looking for a
circle to attend
now is a good
time to visit one
of them. Wesley
Ann meets the
first Monday
each month
at 10:30 a.m.,
Susannah Circle
meets the fourth Tuesday at 10 a.m.
and Esther Circle meets the second
Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Or if you have
an idea of a circle you would like
to start or be a part of, call Marilyn
Henegar and she would be happy to
work with you.
Children’s Ministry
Children’s Ministry is still searching
for amazing volunteers to help teach the
young minds on Sunday mornings! If you
would like to contribute your time to this
formative ministry,
please contact Morgan Anderson at
[email protected] !
First Echoes • April 2015 • 5
Church Council Members:
Chair - Ryan Hankins
Lay Leader - Liz Isaacs
Glenn Johnson
Carol Sivils
Randy Carney
Dave Wood
Stephanie Nugent
Trish Ferguson
Tammy Henderson
Gayle Bennett
Jane Ramsey
Robert McIntyre (UMM representative)
Marilyn Henegar (UMW representative)
Patricia Gbomina (youth representative)
Staff & Team Leads:
Overall Operations:
Rev. Stephanie Moore--Pastor
Sara Chester--Director of Office Operations
Alberta Campbell--Director of Congregational Care
Worship:
Danny Fowler--Director of Worship
Jeanette Pierce--Director of Audio/Visual
Technology
Helen Bradshaw--Altar Guild
Kathryn Smith--Hospitality Coordinator
Thank yous
To my church family,
Thank you for your continued cards and prayers.
I also appreciate the visits from
Pastor Stephanie and others.
Love,
Anna Mae Rowland
Christian Education:
Morgan Anderson--Children’s Ministry Director
Toni Greim--Youth Ministry Director, Connection
Point Coordinator
Cameron Carney--Young Adult Ministry (20ishsomethings)
Jenny McGee--RAYA (20’s to 30ish-something)
Mission Statement
May Newsletter Deadline
Our “mission” is to “make disciples
of Jesus Christ for the transformation
of the world.”
The deadline to submit your articles, photos, etc for print in the May
newsletter is April 7, 2015. Feel free to leave the articles in the church
office or email them to Sara at [email protected] .
Our Vision is to dream, dare, and
grow into our call to share the love
of Jesus Christ with our community.
Church Office Hours
9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Monday - Friday
Birthday and anniversary lists are
available in the church office.
February 2014 Finance Report
Tithes
Other Inc. Budget
Total Feb. Income
Budget Expense
6 • First Echoes • April 2015
February 2015
$11,891.92
$85.00
$11,976.92
$15,124.50
February 2015 YTD
$23,112.07
$6,078.00
$29,190.16
$30,534.18
First United Methodist Church
2100 Howell Street
North Kansas City, Missouri 64116
816.842.3944
www.fumcnkc.org
First United Methodist Church
is connected - join us on....
20
7p Boy Scout Troop 9
27
7p Boy Scout Troop 9
19
9 Sunday School
9 Worship at McCrite Plaza
10:30 Worship Service
4p Youth Group
26
9 Sunday School
9 Worship at McCrite Plaza
10:30 Worship Service
4p Youth Group
Terms - Privacy
13
7p Boy Scout Troop 9
12
9 Sunday School
9 Worship at McCrite Plaza
10:30 Worship Service
4p Youth Group
28
10 NFLT Spring Session
10 Susannah Circle
21
10 NFLT Spring Session
14
10 NFLT Spring Session
6:30p Esther Circle
7
Newsletter Deadline
10 NFLT Spring Session
6
Easter Monday--Office Closed
10:30 Wesley Ann Circle
7p Boy Scout Troop 9
5
6:30 Easter Sunrise Service
7:30 Easter Sunrise Breakfast
9 Lenten Singers Rehearsal
9 Sunday School
9 Worship at McCrite Plaza
10:30 Worship Service
Tue
31
Mon
29
30
9 Lenten Singers Rehearsal
7p Boy Scout Troop 9
9 Sunday School
9 Worship at McCrite Plaza
10:30 Worship Service--Palm Sunday
4p Youth Group
Sun
Calendar
29
22
6:30p Girl Scouts
15
8
6:30p Girl Scouts
Apr 1
Wed
APRIL
30
23
16
9
2
Holy Thursday
6:30p Holy Thursday Service
Thu
Sat
May 1
9:30 Bazaar
24
UMW Spiritual Growth Retreat
9:30 Bazaar
17
9:30 Bazaar
10
9:30 Bazaar
2
11:30 UMW Spring Luncheon
25
UMW Spiritual Growth Retreat
18
11
3
4
12p Community Egg Hunt/Cookout
Good Friday
9:30 Bazaar
6:30p Good Friday Tenebrae Service
Fri
Easter
Egg
Hunt
April 4, 12 p.m.
Join First United Methodist
Church of North Kansas City for
a Community Easter Egg Hunt in
Macken Park on Saturday, April
4, 2015. The festivities will begin
at 12:00 p.m. and include a
picnic lunch, bag decorating, egg
hunt, and an opportunity to have
a photo taken with the Easter
Bunny!
First United Methodist Church
2100 Howell Street
North Kansas City, MO 64116-3528
8 • First Echoes • April 2015