Dear Westport Presbies, family and friends,
Greetings to you in the continuing holy season of Pentecost and the lively, healing, filling Holy Spirit! We are grateful to God for the blessing of being alive, for our souls’ capacity to experience God, for the experience of God’s grace in daily living and in worship and prayer, relationships of love, and through events in which a community of joy appears and the Kingdom of God is seen to be near!
Emily Davidson is on a much deserved one week vacation, and we will be blessed this Sunday, August 19, with the musical leadership of Neal Long, one of our choir section leaders and a fine musician in his own right. My message, rooted in Jesus’ parable of the unmerciful servant, is BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL.
After worship Sunday, Joe Criswell will be providing us with a breakfast of omelets and hash browns. This is a dry run for a larger WELCOMING BREAKFAST for diverse people in our community, those without housing, the LGBTQ community and people in need of hospitality. Come this Sunday and help us begin this journey!
Our church’s mission this summer includes the BACK TO SCHOOL Project and the KIDS TEAM UP FOR ART Project at a community center and two libraries in the city. Some photos of these “great works” are attached. (paintings are of KC Mayor Sly James) We praise God for your loving support of both efforts, and for the work of the Westport Center for the Arts, which is a ten year old community arts effort initiated and sustained by our congregation, Heartland Presbytery, the Missouri Arts Council, ArtsKC, the Tranby Foundation, the Stanley and Ardie Pearson Trust, and many individuals in our congregation and wider community.
We pray for so many people and causes and ask God to give each of us the strength to love those we are praying for and become part of God’s answer to our prayers. On Thursday, August 16, 5:30 p.m., we invite you to PUT HANDS AND FEET ON YOUR PRAYERS by attending the rally for working people’s right to form unions for the purpose of achieving equity and a decent quality of life for all. Gather at the Oppenstein Brothers Memorial Park, 1123 Walnut St, Kansas City, MO 64106. Speakers include Mayor Sly James, State Auditor Nicole Galloway, Congressman Emmanuel Cleaver, and State Representative Judy Morgan.
Singalong is Tuesday, Aug. 21 at 7:00-8:00 p.m.
That’s more than enough for now. Thank you for being arms, a mind, heart, legs, a face, a smile, and a leap into Jesus following faith at Westport Presbyterian Church.
Keep the faith….Rev Scott
0 Comments