One of Brookdale s four vision ministry teams is the Spiritual Formation Team. The (abbreviated) purpose of this team is to: 1. Develop and guide small group and Sunday School communities toward living into the Brookdale Vision for Spiritual Formation. 2. Support other ministries by providing guidance, resources, and assistance to leadership as needed. 3. Continue to develop the process for helping new believers become gospelcentered disciples. 4. Cultivate other forums and contexts for individuals to struggle honestly, experience grace, and discover the transforming power of the gospel. Relax - Encourage - Discuss - Interact... This is how our Spiritual Formation Team guides, equips, and supports small group and ministry leaders. Over the past year, several R.E.D.I nights have provided opportunities for the Spiritual Formation team and small group leaders to engage in conversations about The Nature of Small Groups, Sanctification, and Leader Self-assessment. The most recent R.E.D.I. night focused on the upcoming Small Group Kickoff. In the next few weeks you ll hear more about small groups, the primary vehicle for spiritual formation, and the importance of developing spiritual rhythms through the study of God s Word, prayer, and worship. As we assess our current small groups, we hope to encourage the formation of new groups and provide more opportunities for involvement. Occasionally, new members or new Christians express an interest or a desire for someone to come along side them on a more personal level as they grow in their faith. The Spiritual Formation Team is working to develop a core group of church members who are interested in discipling. These individuals could be paired with new members or new Christians to help them become gospel-centered disciples. The Spiritual Formation Team also works closely with the Adult Christian Education team (ACE), which reviews and selects study materials for adult Sunday school classes. They will offer two new classes beginning on September 9th at 9:45 am: Ephesians - The Book of Ephesians highlights the powerful connection between God's sovereignty and God's love, and helps us understand how these important issues apply to our everyday lives. Join us as we discuss these issues in Classroom A. Ezra - In our cultural moment, there is a great need to think about issues of national and personal repentance as we consider the absolute worthiness of a holy God, and the work of His Son, Jesus Christ. These are the very issues addressed in the Book of Ezra. Join us in the Choir Room for a study of these issues in this fascinating book of the Bible. In the coming months we plan to share more information about each of the four Vision Ministry Teams. If you would like to know more, contact a member of the team. Members of the Spiritual Formation Vision Team are: David Bolander, Janeen Burnham, Jay McGhee, Eric Poggemiller, and Elizabeth Dean.
Let s get together with out neighbors for an evening of fun! Brookdale s missions team and the Sherwood Neighborhood Association are planning an event that will serve two purposes... Okay, well... THREE purposes. The first is simply to provide an opportunity for Brookdale members to get out and meet our neighbors. Second, to provide an opportunity for everyone to visit with members of our local law enforcement and EMS, and also get acquainted with a few firemen from our new neighborhood fire station. The third purpose of this event is simply to have FUN! Our men s ministry will be cooking and serving hot dogs. There will be a big inflatable for the kids to play on, and plenty of other games and activities. Brookdale News is a monthly publication of Brookdale Church 203 South 31st Street St. Joseph, MO 64501 Phone: 816-279-0983 Fax: 816-279-7684 Website: www.brookdalechurch.com Editor: Terri Lansbury E-mail: terri@brookdalechurch.com The official National Night Out is typically held in communities around the country in August. However, for a variety of reasons, we decided to postpone our event until October. You ll be hearing much more about it in the weeks to come. Meanwhile, be sure to mark Tuesday, October 2nd on your calendar and plan to bring your family to this event. The fun will begin at 6:00 that evening, at Sherwood Park (just down the road from the church).
In A Galilee Far, Far Away, the kids will experience a Christmas musical of galactic proportions. The crew will go on an interplanetary exploration to discover the Glory of God throughout the universe, and beyond! And where will it all lead them? Back to the manger in Bethlehem and the Savior of the World, of course. Does this sound like a great experience to you? And your children? Come learn more about this fun, ultra-hip musical that is rock-solid in the truth of the gospel. They will boldly go where no other kids choir has gone before! Audition and information will be presented on September 16 and 23 right after 2nd service. Children ages 4-K are welcome to participate in a scene or two as a minor character. Children in grades 1-6 can let me know if they want to have a part or just participate. I will have the scripts for pick-up and review September 9th. Fall Retreat is coming up soon. Be sure to look for information at the Welcome Center and in your mailbox for our annual fall retreat to Parkville. Bible lessons, archery, games, horses and so much more. You won t want to miss this! Cost is $45 for 3 meals, the retreat and even a trip to Dairy Queen.
The week of July 29 th started out as one of excitement and readiness as me and 15 others made our way to Colorado to enter a week of outdoor wilderness fun. Ok now, for me wilderness and fun do not usually go in the same sentence but for these kids I will do anything, so away we go on to a great adventure, and a great adventure we did have. First of all, God outdid himself with the beauty that is Colorado; holy smokes is that place awesome, and what was even better was that we got to see that beauty and experience it in ways many others don t. From rock climbing and rappelling to whitewater rafting and hiking up a mountain, there was no doubt we saw the glory of God. We also experienced some difficult times, times of struggle and being led into the unknown; and how indicative is that to our relationship with Christ. Walking in faith does not come with a map, it does not come with a list of the hard times we are going to face. Walking in faith means we are going to trust the one who is leading us, knowing that they care for us and will help us through. This was evident every step of the way for these middle school students (and myself) as they did things and experienced emotions that they have never felt before. At the end of the week at a time of debrief, they were asked what they would take away from this week. For each student it was pretty much the same, that we need to trust God more with our lives, that God loves us much more than the guides here and our leaders, and they are always here for us so God is there for us exponentially more. What an amazing take away and what an amazing end to a, you guess it, amazing week.
Thank you to everyone who helped out in any way with this year s No Hunger Summer program. The Summer Lunch Program began in 2011 out of a vision of Doug and Bev Walley to serve the children in our area who could benefit from free lunches during the summer months. The first two years were successful, relying on the generosity of church members and local businesses for contributions. As the needs grew, there was a realization that we needed more help. In 2013 we partnered with Second Harvest through their No Hunger Summer program to serve the people in our community. This year, volunteers began the summer putting together an average of 500 sack lunches every day, Monday through Friday. By mid-july that number went up to 700 lunches (every day!!!). These lunches were all packed in coolers and taken to distribution sites in the community. In addition, an average of 25-30 hot lunches were served on site at Brookdale Church daily. Were there bumps in the road? Of course! Any time you undertake a project of this size there are bound to be a few issues to deal with. But there is a solution to every problem, and we will continue to address those as they arise and as we prepare for next year! Again, thank you to everyone who helped with this important outreach in our community!
1 - Joe Street, Leyton Furlong 5 - Mark Austin, Matthew Bolander 6 - Max Richter 8 - Mike Wise 9 - Harold Wyble 10 - Debbie Punzo, Julia Talley, Jack Poggemiller 12 - Russ Mooney 13 - Karen Ward 15 - Zoe Bryant 18 - Adam Nelson 20 - Stan Hall, Juliette Papadopoulos 24 - Darold Trautman 27 - Bill Addington, Randy Dudik, Christine McCabe, Kori Taylor 28 - Judy Payne 29 - Vernalee Carter October 1 - Cheyenne Nightingale 2 - Dick Crowl, Connie Lemon, Dawnelle Rohde, Sol Bryant, Luke Davis 3 - Susie Yardley 4 - Ryan Swank, Sarah Burnham 5 - Dan Schwabe Not enough people know about Brookdale Presbyterian Church! This is a place someone can grow up in and have the confidence that a whole congregation is right behind them. No matter what happens, this family will love and guide in a way words can t describe. The people are amazing, but the truly incredible and inspiring part is how God is working. Brookdale is the proof that God s hold is strong and everlasting. This is where I learned how to love, how to follow God with all of me, and how to be a light to others. All my life I ve looked to Brookdale for role models and people to lead me. There s no other place like it and I know God s work is not over. Brookdale is a diamond in the rough and I am so glad to have grown up in it. Thank you Brookdale Presbyterian Church! You mean the world to me! Gwen Bachman Wednesday, September 12th 3:30-5:00 p.m. at the SMC School has started - YAY!!! or no yay if you have to get up early, but that means youth group is starting up again and that is a big YAY for everyone. Our regular meetings will begin on Sunday September 9th from 6:30-8:30 for high school students and on Wednesday September 12th from 7:00-8:30 for middle school students. Be on the lookout for more info to come in the mail!
23 8:30 & 11:00 Worship 30 5th Sunday 5 6:30 Men s Min. Team 19 6:30 Haven House 6 6:00 Men s breakfast 13 6:00 Men s breakfast 20 6:00 Men s breakfast 27 6:00 Men s breakfast Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 2 8:30 & 11:00 Worship 9:45 Christian Ed Classes 12:10 CONGREGATIONAL MEETING 9 8:30 & 11:00 Worship 10:00 Christian Ed Classes 6:30 High School youth 16 8:30 & 11:00 Worship 9:45 Christian Ed Classes First audition for Children s Christmas musical 6:30 High School youth 9:45 Christian Ed Classes 6:30 High School youth 9:00 Breakfast 10:00 Combined Worship 3 LABOR DAY Church office closed 10 9:30 Women s Bible st. 1:00 Senior Adult team 6:00 Stewardship team 6:30 Officer Training 17 9:30 Women s Bible st. 24 9:30 Women s Bible st. 6:30 Officer Training 4 5:15 Personnel 6:30 Deacons 11 6:00 Trustees 18 6:30 Session 25 2:00 Women s Bible st. 12 11:30 Daytimers/Bandanas 2:00 Women s Bible study 3:30 Kids Zone kickoff 7:00 Middle School youth 2:00 Women s Bible st. 7:00 Middle School youth 26 11:30 Daytimers/Bandanas 2:00 Women s Bible study 7:00 Middle School youth 9:30 Women s Bible study 6:00 Griefshare 9:30 Women s Bible study 6:00 Griefshare 11:00 Food Kitchen 1:00 W2W (Women s Min.) 6:00 Griefshare 9:30 Women s Bible study 6:00 Griefshare 7 6:00 Men s breakfast 2:00 Book Club 14 6:00 Men s breakfast 21 6:00 Men s breakfast 28 6:00 Men s breakfast 8:30 Senior adults visit Arbor Day Farm 1 8 15 22 29
GriefShare is a friendly, caring group of people who will walk alongside you through one of life s most difficult experiences. It s a 13-week program for help and encouragement after the death of a spouse, child, family member, or friend. The next session at Brookdale Church begins on September 6th. The group will meet in Classroom A at 6:00 p.m. You are welcome to begin attending our GriefShare group at ANY point. Each session is self-contained, so you do not have to attend in sequence. If you or someone you know is struggling with the loss of a loved one, join us!