St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church
Our Vision: To be a community… Real. Rooted. Relevant.
Our Purpose: To follow Jesus Christ so that we will be His hands and feet in the world.
The Call
February, 2024
A Message from Fr. Larry
What a Month!
February is an interesting and unique month. It has the fewest days of any month in our yearly calendar. Every four years it has an extra day added on to it. February is specially set aside as Black History Month, which is important for our continued much-needed healing as a nation. During its days we observe Ground Hog Day, President’s Day, Valentine’s Day, and – this year – Ash Wednesday. One wonders how all of these special events fall into the shortest month of the year. How do they all fit into the few days it has? In some ways, February can look that the ‘runt of the litter’ when it comes to the calendar. It is the shortest and possibly the humblest of all months.
In both the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, the ‘little ones’ hold a special place in God’s heart. Israel is not the strongest, largest, most powerful, most loyal, smartest, or richest nation of the ancient world. Yet, they are the ‘chosen people’ of God’s enduring Covenant. The first Christians certainly were not the most influential, gifted, talented or faithful people either. A basic reading of the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles will quickly reveal this humbling fact. Yet, it is to this rather unimpressive group of people that Jesus loves, nurtures, shares, and sends to share the Good News. It seems that the ‘way of the God’ is to come close to the humble, imperfect, broken, and small among us to be ‘the faithful’.
As we move into the month of February, I pray that all of us may embrace the ‘little ones’ among us and within us. We may be quite surprised. That seems exactly to be the place that our God chooses to enter our world and our lives.
Blessings,
Larry Ehren+
On December 18, your vestry met and discussed the following:
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Cyndi is preparing a Draft budget for 2024, which will be discussed by the Finance Committee and then referred to the vestry. If you haven’t submitted a pledge for 2024, please prayerfully consider it; we can budget with more confidence when we have your faithful promises.
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Regina met with Fr. Chas Marks, the Diocesan Transition Officer, to discuss next steps in calling a new priest after Fr. Larry retires in early June. He will be meeting with the full vestry at a date to be determined in January. The Annual Meeting will likely take place in late January as usual and we will provide an update on the process.
Minutes of the December vestry meeting are at this link.
“Pay off Principal” Continues
If you’ve ever been moved by the Spirit to show your appreciation for a special blessing God has given you- an anniversary, a landmark birthday, the birth of a grandchild- the envelopes in the Narthex are for you. We’ve launched a “Pay off Principal” drive to reduce our mortgage balance. We’ve already collected over $21,000 and just paid that to the bank. Given the likelihood that interest rates will rise before we have to refinance in a couple of years, your gifts will have an even bigger impact.
This will be an ongoing effort to encourage year-round awareness of stewardship as one way to give from what God has given us. Please take an envelope home so you can add donations to the offertory plate when you’re moved to do so. No amount is too small!
Update on our Priest Transition
As most of you know, Fr. Larry has announced his upcoming retirement. His last service with us will be Sunday, June 2, 2024.
This advance notice will allow us more time than congregations usually have to determine our priorities, develop an on-line profile and work with the Diocese to identify and candidates while we still have a priest in place.
The vestry met with Fr. Chas Marks, the Diocesan Transition Officer, on January 10 to discuss next steps.
Although we there will be aspects of the search which will need to remain confidential, we will supply you with updates when they’re available.
The Bishop Search:
Let us know what YOU think, in person or on-line
The first of the “Listening Tours” was held December 17 at Trinity Church. Lebanon. These meetings will give everyone in the Diocese a chance to talk about their dreams and concerns fo rtheir churches and the Diocese and what they see as priorities for the next Bishop. Locations were chosen so that no one would have to drive more than an hour to attend one. A full list is available at this link.
We also need your opinions in the On-Line Survey by February 3. We want to know everyone’s hopes and dreams for the Diocese and our own church communities. This input will be incorporated into the Diocesan Profile, which will then be posted on teh Diocesan Web site so that potential bishop candidates can get to know us.
We on the Search Committee are committed to communicating what we can while maintaining necessary confidentiality. The Bishop Search page of the Diocesan Web site will be updated weekly.
Please pray for us during this challenging and important process.
A detailed description of the process, potential time line and the work of the three Committees involved (Search, Transition and Consecration) in the selection of the new Bishop is here.
The New Spirit is published every two weeks. Read the latest issue here.
On-Line Training: We Especially Need a Sunday School Team!
If you’re involved in any kind of ministry at St. Mary Magdalene (and most of you are!), the Diocese strongly recommends the “Safe Churches, Safe Communities” series of on-line modules. Each can be covered in 15 minutes or less. Everyone- Chalice Ministers, Lay Readers, Acolytes, Vestry members, people with a key to the church, Sunday School teachers, etc.- needs to be educated on risks and risk mitigation to keep God’s people safe.
As we think about how to attract young families, having Sunday School is key. For this effort in particular, we need a team of people who can be “on call” if there are children in the congregation who want to be in Sunday School. You won’t be put on a schedule but if you’re in church and there are kids in Sunday school you’d be asked if you can serve. All you need to do to prepare is to go over the readings in the Bulletin and lead a discussion on one. There are plenty of supplies in the classroom for recreation and crafts afterwards! We require two adults for Sunday School so you’ll have help. Please let the clergy or any vestry member know if you’re interested.
If you haven’t started these courses, contact Cyndi and she’ll set up an account for you.
Women‘s Book Club
The February 5th book is Someone Else’s Shoes by JoJo Moyes.
The March 4th book is Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.
The meetings will be held at the home of Susan Petrakos (13204 Jefferson Ct., Kansas City, MO 64145).
Daughters of the King
Members of our chapter of Daughters of the King helped serve dinner for the second time at Heart-n-Hand in Belton.
Daughters of the King meets the third Sunday of the month in Education Room right after church. If you’re interested, please contact Cyndi Troyer.
February 16
God and Guinness Night at Conroy’s
Please join us for a fun gathering of fellowship, drinks, and food.
Contact Rich Koch 913-707-0148 or koch0520@sbcglobal.net for questions or information.
KC for Refugees Needs Household Items
A few years ago we opened up the basement of the House of Grace to KC for Refugees, an organization that provides support for newly-arrived refugees from war-torn countries. They’re in need of all the basic necessities. Here’s their most recent communication:
We need your help! Our Welcome Closet is nearly out of all supplies! We need lots of help to replenish our storehouse for the refugees arriving weekly to the KC Metro area!
Needed donations include: Towels, blankets, small kitchen appliances (rice cookers, electric tea pots, pressure cookers, etc), dishes, silverware, pots and pans (the bigger the better), diapers, sheets (twin and queen size) and hygiene and cleaning kits, diapers, maxi pads, socks and underwear for children and adults.
Our Amazon wishlist is available for easy donation! All items purchased are delivered to a KC for Refugees volunteer who delivers to our Welcome Closet.
Or donations are always welcome in person! All donations should be new, or very gently used with lots of life left in them. They can be dropped off at the lower level of the House of Grace on Thursdays from 9-11am, or brought to church.
Thank you so much for your help! We cannot do this great work without your help and support!!!
Heart-n-Hand Ministries
Heart-N-Hand Ministries, right here in Belton, serves the homeless as well as others just needing a hand up. At their website, www.heartnhand.org, there is always a current list of donated items they are seeking.
Heart-N-Hand would also appreciate volunteers to assist in their Thrift Store, Monday-Saturday; the store hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For for more information, please contact Alexis Butterfield, Executive Director, at 816-322-1133 or 417-551-2470. Her e-mail is alexisjbutterfield@gmail.com.
Here’s the latest list of items they need most. Donations can be left in the Narthex.
Canned meals like Chili, Ravioli, Spaghetti-O’s, stew (pop top preferred)
Pancake Mix Eggs
Pork & beans Crackers
Refried beans Ready to eat Soup
Spaghetti sauce White rice
Boxed mashed potatoes Baking goods: Flour, Sugar, cooking oil
Peanut Butter Grape Jelly
Canned chicken, ham, or pork Canned fruit
Condiments Powdered milk
Fresh produce Meat ( ground beef, ground turkey)
Lunch meats Cheese
Juice Dressing
Baby wipes Dish soap
Toilet paper Paper towels
Household cleaning products Shampoo and conditioner
Tampons and pads Kleenex
Here is a link to items you can order from Amazon
We collected 14 units of blood at our January 25 Drive!
Our Next Blood Drive will be Wednesday, April 1 from 2 PM to 6 PM. June 5 and August 28.
We still need plastic bags to make mats for the homeless. If you’d like to learn how to crochet them, contact Regina at berensregina@gmail.com.
Single Mom KC needs clothing for women and children and full-size toiletries.
The Call
We are still looking for another person to create The Call every other month (alternating with Regina). It can be done gradually as you get announcements of events, etc. Many other items are provided by others and you just have to incorporate them with some pretty straightforward “drag-and- drop” software. Please let Regina know if you are interested.
More About Us
St. Mary Magdalene offers in-person Sunday Worship at 10:30 a.m. We are also live streaming the service for those who prefer to join us from home, on our YouTube channel at this link.
If you have a family illness or a personal concern, please contact the church office at 816-331-2222 and leave a voicemail.
We miss you when you cannot participate in church, and we want to know when one of our members can be comforted from a pastoral visit, being added to our prayer list, or by receiving communion at home.
If you have a family illness or a personal concern, please contact the church office at 816-331-2222 and leave a voicemail.
St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church | 16808 Holmes Rd., Belton, MO 64012
(816) 331-2222 | http://www.marymag.com
