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
May, 2023
A Message from Fr. Larry
Eastertide: or “How I learned to live with a “‘Peek a Boo’ Jesus”
Little kids have many things to teach us. They experience the simplest things with joy and take delight in the funniest things. Most importantly, for those of us who are now many years from our own childhood experiences, they remind us of the wonder of life. Unfortunately, it is too easy to forget those experiences of awe and wonder as we move through the years. We need little children to remind us of the gift and awe of life. One of the cutest things that really young
children do is that they think they cannot be seen by other people when they close their eyes, or how they giggle and have so much fun playing ‘peek a boo’. Now you see me, now you don’t!
To really grasp what Eastertide, the fifty days from the Christian feasts of Easter to Pentecost, is all about – we need to rediscover the children’s game of ‘peek a boo’. The confusion of the first disciples that is found in the seven scriptural stories of encounter with the Resurrected Jesus is rooted in the sad fact that the disciples had forgotten how to play this
childhood game. Jesus was with them for a bit, and then he wasn’t. These stories tell of brief encounters of Jesus’ presence. He is there – and then he is not. About the time they recognize that he is with them, he disappears. They get a quick glimpse of who he is – that he is with them….and then he isn’t with them.
I cannot help but wonder if this “he is here now, and then he is not” experience is a key part of being a Christian in the twenty-first century. We have moments when we sense God is truly with us – and then that sacred moment melts away. These sacred moments take on many shapes and forms: a sunrise or sunset, a special moment with someone we love, being caught up in a piece of poetry or music, the recalling of a fond memory, being in a special place, or a moment of prayer. The Celtic Christians called these experiences ‘thin places’ where the transcendent is present to us here and now. It is as if we have a glimpse of heaven, and then it slips away. Maybe we can call this a spiritual game of ‘peek a boo’.
My hope for all of us is that we can again learn this game of ‘peek a boo’ – to notice the holy, the sacred in the everyday experiences of our lives and to delight in them. If you are finding that difficult to do, I suggest you spend some time with a little child. After all, that was Jesus’ advice to his disciples when they asked what the Kingdom of God was all about.
Blessings,
Larry Ehren+
Join Our New FaceBook Page!
Since Arni’s death we have been unable to add any new Editors to our FaceBook page because she was the Administrator. Attempts to get FaceBook to change this have been futile.
We have since created a new page- the Group name is St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal, Belton and Loch Lloyd and the link is here. To join the site click on “Follow”. You may also access it from the button on the front page of the web site.
We promise to update frequently!
Celebrate Mother’s Day with a 200% match on your donation to the Global Birthing Home!
The Global Birthing Home Foundation supports Maison de Naissance, a birthing home in Haiti. One of our parishioners, Jim Grant, is actively involved in this work and makes frequent trips there.
Our loose plate collection on Mother’s Day, May 14, including cash and any checks made out to the Global Birthing Home Foundation, will be matched 200%- that means that for every $100 you give, an anonymous donor will add another $200, up to a total of $15,000.
More information about the Maison de Naissance and the Global Birthing Foundation, as well as tools to donate on-line, are at this link.
The New Spirit is published every two weeks. Read the latest issue here.
At the April 1 Diocesan Council Meeting, Bishop Diane provided her schedule for Holy Week- she’s chosen to visit a multitude of parishes, starting with two smaller mostly Spanish-speaking congregations on Palm Sunday, rather than preside over all of the Holy Week services at the Cathedral.
The President of the Standing Committee has begun conversations over starting a Bishop search, likely in November. The focus will not be on a timetable but on finding the right Bishop.
Results from the Four Pillars of Ministry groups were reviewed and discussed; more work needs to be done but the results will determine priorities for the 2024 Diocesan Budget. More details at this link.
The Diocese has called a new Youth Minister- the Rev. David Wilcox.
World Labyrinth Day
On May 6, World Labyrinth Day, people all over the world will walk a labyrinth at 1 PM in their own time zone, so people will be walking somewhere at every hour during the day. Please join us at the labyrinth behind the church! More information available at the World Labyrinth Day site.
Front Door Improvements Coming!
The door was last painted a few years ago by church members but this time we’re calling in the pros, who will have bigger ladders and do more complete prep work, including a protective plastic facing on the bottom so that water doesn’t seep into the wood. Thanks to the anonymous donor who recognized the need to have a more welcoming front door!
Help Wanted: Mowing Team
Our large, beautiful property is maintained slely by volunteers- another example of our careful stewardship of our resources. The Mowing Team needs more members. We have a state-of-the-art riding mower to make the job easier. If you’r einterested in helping, pelase talk to Rich Koch or Don Gerhardt. Thanks!
On-Line Training: Safe Churches, Safe Communities
If you’re involved in any kind of ministry at St. Mary Magdalene (and most of you are!), the Diocese strongly recommends this 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.
If you haven’t started these courses, contact Cyndi and she’ll set up an account for you.
New Way to access Ministry Schedules
From Regina:
A reminder for last month:
You will not be getting reminder e-mails from the churchscheduling.com software (I removed everyone’s e-mail addresses). Ignore any you do get. As we phase out Breeze you will not get them from Breeze, either. You can, however, get the entire schedule any time at this link or from the “Ministry Schedules” button on the front page of our web site.
Please let me know of any upcoming changes and I’ll update the schedule.
At its April 14 meeting, your vestry reported on progress on the three areas discussed in the March Vestry Workshop.
Church Growth / Retention / Welcome:
The registration card for visitors has been re-designed. A Welcome table was set up for the Palm Sunday service. We are phasing out the old FaceBook page because we have been unable to add new Editors since Arni’s death. The link to the new page is here.
Children’s / Family Ministry
We have identified a small group of people with experience and on-line training necessary for Sunday School and Nursery so that when someone arrives with children they can be deployed. There are excellent free resources available on the Diocesan web site and we will have one ready every Sunday. We will not be formally scheduling anyone at this time. We have agreed to accept children of all ages (including Nursery age) in the Sunday school classroom for now.
Finally, we make sure that the door to the classroom is open and the lights are on!
Want to help? Let Regina know and sign up for the appropriate training with Cyndi- it’s the same as for other ministries with the addition of the “Boundaries” module.
Stewardship and use of our grounds
A bell choir has indicated an interest in having a concert at St. Mary Magdalene on October 28 and we will follow up.
We can sponsor a sports team in Belton for $225 (including the cost of shirts with our name on it)- it may be too late for teams forming now but we will pursue this for teams forming later in the year.
Minutes from our the March Workshop are available here. There was no March Priest’s Report due to the vestry workshop.
Women‘s Book Club
At our meeting on May 1st we will discuss The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis.
The June 5 book will be Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.
As of now there will not be a meeting in July.
The August 7th book is The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda.
Daughters of the King
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.
God and Guinness May 19
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.
Thank you for your consideration!
Here are some additional items you can donate; donations can be left in the Narthex.
Heart N Hand in Belton could use:
· Hygiene items (Preferably travel sized items: wash cloths, small combs and brushes, deodorant, body wash, razors, lip balms, wipes)
· Band-aids and individual sized medications like Tylenol, Ibuprofen, tums, etc.
· Lightweight brand-new fleece blankets.
· $10 HyVee gift cards to be used as gas cards for our clients.
· Winter gloves
· Size 4, 5, and 6 diapers
· Adult diapers of varying sizes
· Coffee creamer / sweeteners (individual packets)
· Cleaning supplies (Lysol wipes, toilet bowl cleaner, multi-purpose cleaners)
· Food donations (any non-perishable goods are always appreciated!), including individual bags of chips
· Here is a link to items you can order from Amazon
Our Next Blood Drive will be Wednsday, June 7 from 2 PM to 6 PM.
Our January drive results were excellent: 19 donors including two who donated double units of red blood cells.
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 Moms KC needs clothing for women and children and full-size toiletries.
Missouri Puppy Mill Rescue needs bleach and Lysol multi-surface cleaner.
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.
Events
We need someone to take over co-ordination of church events — the earlier, the better so Denise can show you how it works. Please contact her if this interests you.
Service Streaming
We are looking for someone to help stream the service so that people can access it on our YouTube channel. Frank and Brock will train you; talk to either of them if you’re 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.
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St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church | 16808 Holmes Rd., Belton, MO 64012
(816) 331-2222 | http://www.marymag.com
