The pretty version: https://mailchi.mp/0a854afd0c94/wpc-may-newsletter

Dear Westport Presbies and Friends,

The month of May transitions us from Spring towards Summer. May also rounds out the school year for many of our friends and family. And though this might be beneath the radar for many of us – May also concludes the first half of the liturgical year for churches (Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost). So as we head towards observing Pentecost on May 24 (on Memorial Day Weekend!), our sermons, worship, and conversations will focus on how God’s Spirit can help us keep alive the joy of Easter in the ordinary and often challenging experiences of life. I hope you’ll join us – we all need a little gladness these days! And then looking further out – during the summer, our worship will be awash in the arts, especially stories and storytelling and novels that nudge us to pay attention to the ways our own stories are unfolding. There is no expectation to read anything, but just in case you’re interested, here are a few of the novels I’ll be talking about this summer. 
June: George Saunders, Lincoln in the Bardo
July: Homer, The Odyssey (in a recent translation by Emily Wilson. Christopher Nolan’s film – based on her text – to be released on July 17)
August: Hermann Melville, Moby Dick (and the story of Jonah alongside it)
Peace, Jared.

News In and Around the Community:

• New Renters: We are participating in the OPEN DOORS! program which aims to fill all the storefront spaces in KC in advance of the World Cup.  We will be welcoming the National Association of Asian American Professionals of Kansas City to operate a Pop Up Gallery and Workshops in our Storefront Space for 6 months beginning May 1st.  Meetings that normally happen in that space will be relocated elsewhere in the meanwhile.
• THE RESOURCE CENTER will be moving to Thursdays (instead of Fridays) in the Fellowship Area as we make room for the OPEN DOORS! Program in the storefront. Support groups will also be moving to other spaces.
• Moving to Youtube Livestreaming:  Facebook has been deleting our livestream worship service videos.  We have managed to salvage most of our history (but not all), and have been putting them up on our youtube channel.  Now that our history is back up, we anticipate moving to livestreams on our youtube channel as soon as we have the hang of that, which we will cross-post to facebook afterward.  As always, our videos are cross-posted to our website, with the historical video links updated.
  Website:  https://westportpresbyterian.org/sermon-archive/
  Our Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@westportpresbyterian/
• Westport Presbyterian has become a member of the Mid-America LGBT Chamber of Commerce, and we are planning a Pre-Pride Vendor event on Saturday, May 23rd from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. as a fundraiser for Westport Showers. We are seeking Makers, Artists, and Authors to participate. $25 suggested donation toward Westport Showers to secure a vendor spot. This is a family friendly event. We will have a kids corner with crafts & activities. Author talks throughout the day. For more infomation visit: westportpresbyteiran.org/events/pre-pride
• Re-Keying the locks: We are changing some of the locks in our building to make the key zones in our building more logical/useable.  Don’t forget to fill out a form saying which key you have, especially as that might need to change in the near future!  We also just need to know who has what keys.

Upcoming Events:

Watch the weekly calendar at the end of our bulletin as things around our church are getting busier!  The online version: https://westportpresbyterian.org/sermons

Events:
Sunday, May 3
5:00 p.m.         Chili/Soup Potluck Dinner (Fellowship Room)
6:00 p.m.         Taizé Service (Sanctuary)
*Childcare WILL be provided!
Sunday, May 17          Rev. Aaron Stauffer preaching.  Bio can be found here
Saturday, May 23
11-4PM            Pre-Pride Month Vendor Event – Get your bling before Pride Month!
Sunday, May 24           Pentecost Sunday and honoring of our Graduates

Weekly notables:
Tuesdays
4:30 p.m.        Centering Prayer and Silence
Thursdays
11:00 a.m.-3 p.m       Resource Center & Sack Lunches
5:30PM           Westport Showers for Women, Trans, and Gender non-conforming people
Sundays.  Help is ALWAYS WELCOME/NEEDED!  Contact Drew and Allison to volunteer.
8 a.m. -9:30 p.m.  Westport Showers and hot breakfast

Elsewhere:

• KCMidtownNow (office at 39th & Main) welcome volunteers Mondays at 1pm as midtown prepares for the World Cup. Let Jared Witt or Bob Russell know if you might be interested.
• Friday, May 1 at 5:30 – Workers’ Rights Rally at Washington Square Park Link for Info
  Our friends at Standup KC (our upstairs renters) have invited us to their workers’ rights rally on May 1:
  International Workers Day is almost here! Across the country, there is a call for NO WORK, NO SCHOOL, NO SHOPPING! No more business as usual, it’s time to stand up and fight for a government and an economy that works for us ALL! Let’s make May Day a day of action in solidarity with workers and immigrants!
  It’s time for an economy that puts WORKERS OVER BILLIONAIRES
  We want ICE OUT of our communities and ICE Out of the World Cup
  We stand to DEFEND AND ADVANCE OUR DEMOCRACY to ensure Liberty and Justice for All!
  🚩 What: May Day Mass Rally and March (flyer attached)
  🚩 When: Friday, May 1st – International Workers Day – Wear Red!
  🚩 What time: 5:30pm
  🚩 Where: 100 E. Pershing Rd. KCMO 64108 (Washington Square Park)
  🚩 RSVP: Click here to RSVP and commit to join the Rally in Solidarity with Workers And Immigrants! 
  If you are able to join us during the day, we are also doing a FREE FILM SHOWING of the movie Norma Rae at 1:00pm at Independence Boulevard Christian Church (606 Gladstone Ave. KCMO 64124). Watch the trailer here and be sure to RSVP here if you can join us for the movie!
• On May 9 at Village Presbyterian Church, on Mission St, in Kansas, the annual Chuck Gillam Earth Care Lecture will be held — Registration at 8:30, and program beginning at nine to about 11:30 to 12.The speaker will be Emma Marshall, the organizer for the Creation Action Network of Presbyterian Young Adults (CANOPY). She is a recent graduate of Princeton Seminary (MDiv) and is in the final year of her MSW program at Rutgers University School of Social Work. Emma is a Washington, D.C.-area native currently calling New Jersey home. – –   https://presbyearthcare.org/thinking-environmentally-presbyterian-young-adults/.
• Saturday, May 9, 11am-3pm Kemper Museum Block Party, KCAI Student Art Sale, and Arterie Fest https://www.kemperart.org/program/block-party-2026

Birthdays in May

• 5/4  Martine Roesel
• 5/8   Eli Irwin
• 5/10 Emma Witbols-Feugen
• 5/22 Rachel Torre
• 5/27 Carly Sibon
• 5/28 Bob Russell

Graduations in May

• Gregor White  – High School
• Kirby Heitman (the youngest Heitman child) – High School
• Reese Capps – Elementary School

Keep the faith…  WPC