Colonial Church is a progressive, inclusive Christian community that seeks to nurture people s minds as well as their spirits. December 24, 2015 Sunday Worship December 27, 2015 One Service at 10:15 a.m. Volume 66, Issue 25 Inside this issue: In the Beginning... 2 Alternative Giving... 2 Christmas Eve Worship 6:00 p.m.... Live Christmas Pageant and Candlelighting presented by Colonial Church Youth 8:00 p.m.... Candlelight, Carols and Communion Holiday Hours... 2 Refugee Kids Screening... 2 2016 Altar Flowers... 3 Colonial Family... 3 Book Group... 3 Love Shines Through: The Christmas Fund There are red offering envelopes in the pews for the Christmas Fund, the annual UCC offering to help retired clergy, and clergy with difficulties. The Christmas Fund supplements the small pensions of some UCC clergy and lay employees and their families, helps some retired clergy pay for health insurance, and sometimes keeps the heat on. The Christmas Fund also supports active clergy and lay employees who have medical emergencies or unexpected misfortunes that require more money than they have in their bank accounts. All told, this offering contributes more than $2 million a year in assistance to clergy and lay employees. In earlier years, ministers compensation often was woefully inadequate, and this is a way we can help care for folks who cared for us. Please be generous! January Sermon Series: I m Done Does your life ever feel like you re trying to fit a 8 days of work into 7? Work, errands, carpool, dishes, email, bills, yardwork, meetings can grind you down to the point that you are ready to cry out, I m done!!! This January, we are going to explore ways to break this cycle and focus on what is really important. January 3 Done with Anxiety January 10 Done with Browbeating January 17 Done with Distraction January 24 Done with Exclusivism January 31 Rituals for Rest Candlelight & Conversation The next Candlelight & Conversation will be on Saturday, January 30 at 7:00 p.m. at the home of Jane Pronko, 4005 W. 73rd Street, Prairie Village. The conversation at these sessions focuses on topics that encourage the participants to share their personal experiences and opinions with the group. You do not need to RSVP if you plan to attend, but if you do come please bring either a snack or a beverage of your choice. Colonial Friends... 3 Colonial Women... 3 Colonial on Social Media... 3 Colonial Staff... 3 Birthdays/Anniversaries... 4 Calendar... 4 Council Minutes: Minutes of the Church Council are posted on the bulletin board across from the church office. Crier Deadline: Please submit items for the next Crier by Friday, January 1 to Sally Huggins at sallyhuggins@yahoo.com.
In the Beginning December 19, 1948 The first service of the group that would form Colonial Church was held in the basement of the parsonage on November 7, 1948. A document titled A Brief History of Colonial Church for the Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration refers to this as The November 1948 organization of The Colonial Church in Prairie Village. (There are also some documents that list November 8, 1948, as the date of first service, but that was a Monday.) The members of Colonial on Founders Day in December 1948. The house where they met is 7100 Mission Rd., across the street from our present location. On November 22, 1948, an interim organization was formed and the group voted to adopt the name The Colonial Church in Prairie Village. On Founder s Day, the congregation adopted and signed a resolution (or statement of intention) to establish a church. In the newsletter of December 14, 1948, Fosberg Hughes says The second step is the offering by the minister of a prayer of consecration. By this prayer, the church comes into being. In a document written by Hughes on December 22, 1948, he states On Sunday morning, December 19, the formal resolution which called The Colonial Church in Prairie Village into existence was presented and passed... On January 9, 1949, the Covenant was adopted. The bulletin for Sunday, January 30, 1949, is titled FORMAL ORGANIZATION and RECEP- TION OF CHARTER MEMBERS. 20 people signed the clerk s record that morning. There is also some difference of opinion about the term Charter Member. 17 people signed the resolution on Founder s Day. 20 people signed the clerk s record as Charter Members, but everyone who joined the church before the end of 1949 was officially deemed to be a Charter Member. Mary and Bob Robinson s names do not appear on the Founder s Day resolution, but signed the record on January 30, 1949. Dorothy and Lynn Mulford joined on September 4, 1949. All four were among the 102 charter members in 1949, but Mary Robinson felt that she and Bob were, for lack of a better term, real charter members. Holiday Office Hours The office will be closed December 25-January 1. The office will re-open on Monday, January 4, 2016. For emergency pastoral needs, call the church office at 913-362-7735 and press 4. Refugee Kids The movie Refugee Kids One Small School Takes On the World will be shown Wednesday, January 13, at 6:30 p.m. at the Plaza Library. The new documentary puts a human face on the politicized debate over America s role as a safe haven for refugees. Spotlighting the Refugee Youth Summer Academy in New York City, it follows newly arrived students granted asylum from some of the world s most conflict-stricken areas Burma and Tibet, Egypt and Iraq, Liberia and elsewhere in West Africa as they transition from the everyday violence of their homelands to school and life in the U.S. This is a documentary film screen and panel discussion sponsored by the Jewish Vocational Services refugee services division. It is free. To make a reservation, go to https:// www.kclibrary.org/rsvp/27568 Send Us Your Photos We want to build a file of photos of Colonial activities to use in the welcome part of our video worship display. Please send photos to media@colonialucc.org. Other active long time members: Esther Sunderland 9/13/56 Bob Starcke 5/19/57 Jayne Quimby 5/17/59 Margaret Sample 3/26/61 Marilyn & Jerry Uppman 3/26/61 Martha Wofford 4/21/63 Doris Kurth 7/7/63 Phyllis Yost 10/6/63 2
Christmas at Colonial
December 23, 2015 Dear Church Family and Friends, We have had a request from Joe and Linda Cunningham that we consider giving the Senior Minister s family a Christmas Love Gift from the congregation in recognition of their faithful ministry in this church and the community this year. Joe s suggestion comes from his own previous experience as a minister. The Council as well the Pastoral Relations committee has reviewed this suggestion, and we both support the proposal. This would be totally up to each individual family as to whether to participate or not. If you choose to participate, please put your money in an envelope and mark it Love Gift for the Roberts Family. The amount given will not be tax deductible and Aaron will be taxed on the gift amount. Funds will run through the treasurer. We realize this will come after Christmas, but I am sure it will be appreciated after the holiday as well. We will present the gift on Sunday, January 10th. Thank you for your consideration, and Merry Christmas. Martha Wofford Moderator 7039 Mission Road Prairie Village, Kansas 66208 Phone: 913.362.7735 Email: info@colonialucc.org
Colonial Family Congratulations to Marti and Christopher Kandl on the birth of their daughter, Auden Christine Kandl, on December 2. Hospitalizations If you are going to be hospitalized, please contact Pastor Aaron Roberts or the church office. Watch our Weekly Messages You can watch a video of the sermon and get the bulletin and study guide on our website. You can also hear the choir anthems each week. Just go to: www.colonialucc.org/sermonsand-more. 2016 Altar Flowers We really need folks to sign up for the flowers in January and February! Please sign up to purchase the altar flowers for your chosen date in 2016. Your cost is $50 and you may take the flowers following the 10:15 a.m. service or designate them for the Care Committee to take to homebound or hospitalized members. You can sign up in the narthex on Sunday or at online at http://tinyurl.com/flowers2016 Colonial on Social Media Stay up to date with what s happening at Colonial through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Facebook: https://www.facebook. com/colonialucc Instagram: colonial_ucc Twitter: #ColonialUCC Follow Pastor Aaron: @PastorARoberts Tuesday Book Group Happy Holidays, Everybody! Now s a great time to make a few good New Year s Resolutions, and the Colonial Tuesday Book is right here waiting for you. Make new friends, get to know old friends better, read good books, stretch your mind. We love to read, we love to talk and we welcome new members. In the past year we ve read history books, novels, how-to books, economics books and more. Make plans to join us on Tuesdays, 9:30 (usually in the Heritage Room). See you on Tuesday morning! Colonial Friends Will Tour Back in Time at Union Station Colonial Friends will take a tour of Union Station led by a local actress and Station volunteer, Vada, on Wednesday, January 20, at 10:00 a.m. Vada will be dressed in an authentic Harvey Girl s uniform and will take us throughout the station and explain original purpose of locations in the current building and shed insight on the history of the station. It is an elevator tour, so no stairs are required. At the end of the tour, we will eat at Harvey s at 11:15. This tour is limited to 25 people, so please sign up soon if you wish to go. Cost is $5.00 payable to Bill Sanderson the day of the tour. Lunch is from the menu and paid for individually. Meet at Colonial a little after 9:00 a.m. to carpool so we arrive at the information booth at Union Station by about 9:50. You may also drive directly there. You will pay Bill the $5.00 at Colonial as we are setting up the carpools. RSVP to Bill at bills043@gmail.com or call him and leave a message at 913-642-6379. See you then! Colonial Women Activities Breakfast and Coffee at Big Biscuit. Monday, January 4, at 9:30 a.m. at Big Biscuit. Alden Guild Thursday, January 7, 6;00 p.m., Macaroni Grill. Blue Moose Tuesday Tuesday, January 12, 5:30 p.m. Blue Moose, Prairie Village Shops. Book Discussion Group Friday, January 22, 7:00 p.m., Stacey Algren s home, 3206 W. 82nd Terrace, Leawood, KS. The group will be discussing We Are Called to Rise by Laura McBride. In the novel the lives of three people collide and our hearts will break. The lives of a woman coping with an imploding marriage and troubled son, a soldier who wakes up in the hospital with vague memories of how he got there, and a young immigrant boy whose constantly stressed family relocated to Las Vegas come together in a single, shocking moment. Each character is called upon to rise and when they do, our hearts will soar. Colonial Staff Senior Minister: Rev. Aaron Roberts (aaron@colonialucc.org) Ministerial Intern: Shea Zellweger (shea.zellweger@colonialucc.org) Youth Group Leader: Michelle Turpen (michelle.turpen@gmail.com) Music Director: Kirk Carson (kirk.carson@yahoo.com) Bell Choir Director: Hayden Huggins Organist: Joseph Kern Church Administrator: Pauline Anthan (paulinea@colonialucc.org) Newsletter Editor: Sally Huggins (sallyhuggins@yahoo.com) Building Maintenance: Mike McGill 3
Coming Up at Colonial Thursday, December 24 Christmas Eve 6:00 pm Pageant by Youth, Sanctuary 8:00 pm Candlelight, Carols and Communion Friday, December 25 Office Closed Sunday, December 27 One Service 10:15 Worship Monday, December 28-Friday, January 1 Office Closed Tuesday, December 29 9:30 am Book Group, Heritage Room Sunday, January 3 8:30 am Worship 9:15 That Was the Week That Was, Library 10:15 Worship 10:30 Sunday School 11:15 Coffee & Conversation, Heritage Room Monday, January 4 9:30 am Colonial Women Coffee, Big Biscuit Tuesday, January 5 8:00 am Men s Breakfast Group, Perkins 9:30 am Book Group, Heritage Room Wednesday, January 6 9:30 am Visit with Pastor Aaron, Einstein Brothers - Prairie Village Shops 7:00 pm Colonial Choir, Choir Room Thursday, January 7 10:00 am Bible Study, Pastor s Office 6:00 pm Alden Guild, Macaroni Grill Happy Birthday! Jim Mattson, Art Foster, George Lafferty, Marti Lee, Stacey Algren, Carolyn Pitts, Kar Woo, Lindsey Welch, Mary Pelton Happy Anniversary! William and Cheryl Morton