Rev. Catherine Stark-Corn, Interim Minister to Children and Families The Christ child is born – the new year is here and this is the week I begin to feel a bit deflated after all the build-up through Advent and anticipation of Christmas. It’s not that the Advent and Christmas seasons disappointed. It Read More...
It happened so quickly. Immediately I tried to replay, rewind, undo, but while waiting in the ER, reality set in, I broke my arm on Dec. 20. All it took was a slip of the boot on a pool of greasy water on a tile floor in a darkened hallway of a Read More...
Lara Schopp, Director of Communications W hen Glen Miles was the Senior Minister, he used to tell a story about good-hearted and well-intentioned lay leader who was passionate about a church project. “Glen, we’ve got to tell more people about this. Nobody knows it’s happening. We need to promote it. It needs Read More...
Rev. Mike Graves, Scholar in Residence and Minister of Spiritual Formation When I was in seminary, there were days I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that what was being presented was a piece of trivia that would never come in handy, not in my daily life as a follower of Read More...
I had heard about “pop up” restaurants and “pop up” retail shops but until last Sunday I had never heard a “Pick up” choir. One of our elders invited Dr. Paul Tucker to designate a Sunday where anyone who wanted to could sing in the choir on one Sunday. All you had to do was show up at 10:00 a.m. that day to rehearse the anthem for the 11:00 a.m. service.
Some families celebrate Christmas with the precision of a Bach cantata and some with the creative improvisation of a jazz medley. Both can be beautiful. But while we are in the middle of it, sorting out which traditions are essential and which are flexible can be tricky. The goal of course is Read More...
Rev. Corey Meyer, Director of Mission Partnerships Last February I received an e-mail from Lance Jesse, our chairperson of the Grants & Special Offerings Team, saying that we had two checks to deliver to some of our mission partners who were the recipients of our Christmas Offering. I thought, “Great! How kind Read More...
I drive into the parking lot and the snow has been removed. A nursery attendant greets me with a smile and warm handshake in the children’s wing. She stands in the hallway ready for the little ones to toddle in. I walk into the parlor and smell the fresh brewed Roasterie coffee.
Paul Cutelli, Director of Technology “…I hope that the world turns and that things get better. But what I hope most of all is that you understand what I mean when I tell you that even though I do not know you, and even though I may never meet you, laugh with Read More...
Dina Pannabecker Evans, Executive Director, Operations, and Co-Director, Music The wealth of time and talent shared by volunteers here at Country Club Christian Church is a constant source of amazement to me. We are grateful for the difference these gifts make to the life of the church and its surrounding connections, be Read More...
Even in the gathering dusk the unadorned concrete slab on its native rock foundation was still warm from the summer sun. My grandmother, “Grams,” and I settled on the edge facing east; she with her feet on the roughhewn stone steps while I dangled my gangly legs over the side.
We had finished our bedtime stories and I was ready to tuck them in to bed. “I’m not saying it, I always say it.” My granddaughters (ages 5 and 8) began bickering about who would say the night night prayers. It was a standoff and my husband had to intervene to get us past the impasse.
By Rev. Tyler Heston, Minister to Youth A couple days ago, I made a mistake I’m prone to making and got on Twitter while I was trying to be productive. In the middle of silly memes, tweets about Ariana, and reminders to vote, I saw a tweet that said that to be Read More...
“The leaves of the trees are for the healing of the nations.” Revelation 22:2b This quote hangs in large wooden letters on the wall of the Bash Chapel at Tall Oaks, our denomination’s conference center near Bonner Springs, KS. A few weeks ago, our staff gathered in the Bash chapel for morning Read More...
I am about 100 yards away from the beach. But I can’t quite get there. A few more things to read, memos to send, projects to complete. I look forward to the feel of the sand in my toes and the sound of the ocean rhythm. But I resist letting go of my important tasks a little longer.
