New resource sharing site is under construction. Check often as we add new resources to share among congregations. Do you have resources you are willing to share with neighboring congregations? https://www.kcdisciples.org/sharingresources.html
Monday, July 20
Helpful contemporary pieces available for leaders- Click on link below Faith & Leadership- A learning Resource from Christian Leaders and their institutions from Leadership Education at Duke Divinity Shannon Hopkins: How to lead when things are falling apart
Disciples Church Extension - This week's Ask the Advisors blog post > Click Here
Thursday, July 2
Take a moment to explore and share resources for helping children and youth learn to become anti-racist from Disciples Home Missions. Age appropriate and helpful for parents and grandparents who wish to help the young prepare for a better, more equitable world. (LINK)
Wednesday, July 1 More2--Opportunities for Engagement Click here
Wednesday, June 24
Free testing for COVID 19 wil be offered Friday, June 26th from 9 am to 1 pm for all who work or live in Johnson County. Tests will be made at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, 13720 Roe Ave. in Leawood, KS.
Wednesday, June 24
Yesterday, the KC Metro reached its second highest per/day count of confirmed COVID 19 cases: 174 new cases. There is good reason to exercise all recommended precautions!
Wednesday, June 24 "What's Next?" is the question of the day for most congregations. Rev. Bruce Barkhauer offers a way to start the conversation. In addition, he has prepared additional resources available to help with stewardship during a time of social distancing. This link will take you to a shared Dorpbox file with that information. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/f9og6jao0nb63np/AAAWVtjVIfLt9Ofvw-wMdemMa?dl=0
Friday, June 19 Courtesy of the Kansas City Star: Click Here
Wednesday, June 17
With thanks to Rick Hughey, elder in the Blue Valley Christian Church for referral to these helpful resources:
Juneteenth (June 19th) is a commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. Although there will be celebration on June 19 throughout the KC Metro, our Region' Becoming Beloved Community team has been planning since 2019 to offer a Regional celebration, KC history lesson, narrative presentation and Q&A on Saturday, June 27 from 12 pm - 1:30 pm via Zoom. You can find the Zoom access information here. We look forward to seeing you at the Regional Juneteenth celebration. For clergy needing continuing education for Anti-Racism, Participation in the Juneteenth commemoration could help to fulfill that requirement if you have already had the baseline course.
College of Regional Ministers' letter to the church - Click Here
Wednesday, June 10 Week of Compassion Applications
In 1948 member nations of the United Nations crafted a Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The United States of America was a signatory of that document. It is an important document that shines yet another light on the work of Anti-Racism. We have included 8 translations in languages we know are spoken by Disciples in the Greater Kansas City Region.
UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN 8 LANGUAGES Click here
Monday, June 8
Chalice Press offers resources for children and adults ready to begin or expand their work in Anti-Racism. -Click here
Friday, June 5
For those wanting to become more effective allies to those whose suffering never goes away when the crowds grow smaller and public attention lessons, we have posted a shared resource. A Working Document For Scaffolding Anti-Racism Resources Compiled by three M.Div. students.Click here
Did you know that disaster planning resources and counsel are available from our Disciples Church Extension Fund? Click here for more information.
REOPENING RESOURCES
Disciples Church Extension Fund has help for care of the church building when not in use for extended periods of time. They also have helpful information on their COVID 19 Resources page that is updated frequently.
If you have not received our newsletter inviting you to a region-wide online conversation about what we have learned about ourselves as Church during this pandemic, click hereto see the invitation and get registration information.
Monday, May 18
Still thinking about reopening without a plan, some congregational leaders may need to see this video to help them realize just how contagious the COVID virus can be among people who are being reasonably careful though without masks or social distancing. Normal may be riskier than we previously thought!
Friday, May 14
Still working from home? Using Zoom?Pro tipsfor you!
This Tuesday evening at 7 pm our Regional Minister will meet online with congregations working on the details of reopening and addressing financial and other challenges. Zoom link will be found here
Sunday, May 10
Happy Mothers Day! May God bless you and bring you joy in the midst of all you do!
New Opportunities to Serve - volunteer contact tracers needed
Check out the COVID 19 page for updated buttons - this means new information has been posted that could be of real value to you and those with whom you serve.
Wednesday, May 6
The College of Regional Ministers is conducting a brief survey of congregations to learn how to offer more effective help in this pandemic season. Pastoral staff, leaders of boards/councils/leadership circles may participate and more than one participant from each congregation is okay. Summary results will be published.
Zoom Meeting Info for MORE2 Clergy at 10 am Thursday and for Edlers and Deacons (regarding how they and their congregations are doing at 7 pm Thursday
Tuesday, May 5
Are you a person of prayer? Have a special joy or concern for which you would like prayer? Join our Regional Moderator and Regional Ministers for a Zoom Prayer Room at 8 pm this evening.
Monday, May 4
New: Online learning opportunities page will list classes, Bible studies and book studies by congregations that are offered online and open to anyone with the link.
See this Pastoral Letter from Rev. Dr. Brandon Gilvin to the First Christian Church in Chattenooga, TN (shared with permission)
Monday, April 27, 2020
Micah Ministry will be open at 5:30 pm to offer sack meals at curbside and parking lot.
The The Kansas City, Missouri Health Department is going to be setting up four pop-up testing sites for use on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Independence Boulevard is one of those sites but people must call in advance to register for one of the 500 tests available starting today.
Micah is also offering help with hygiene, hospitality truck and shower house and free medical services
The 8 pm Zoom gathering for clergy and lay leaders is an opportunity for us to connect, to grieve, and to offer prayers. It will include a 7 minute video by Suzanne Stabile on learning to Grieve - something that many of us may think we are too busy to do. To prevent disruptions of gatherings by Zoom, access information for Tuesday and Thursday conferences was included in the newsletter sent Friday, April 24. ContactJessicafor the link to that page.
Starting this week, we would like to collect photos of 650 kb or less of where you see God at work to put in a gallery on our kcdisciples home page and Facebook page. Send them to Bill. We will post in batches of three and change as often as we receive them. God is still in the blessing business!
Many thanks to these churches and to Truman Medical Center!!!
Wednesday April 22, 2020
Our Regional Board voted to enter into a Management Agreement with United Camps, Conferences and Retreats effective August 1, 2020. This is the result of discernment, research, and negotiation that began in August, 2019 and involved the participation of the Tall Oaks, Inc. Board all the way. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Greater Kansas City retains ownership of the campus and responsibility for major maintenance, programming and capital improvements. UCCR will assume responsibility for hiring and paying staff, compliance with regulations, regular maintenance, accounting, and all other day-to-day operations. The UCCR Board will meet in early May to ratify the agreement.
Given the many requests for information regarding when and how congregations will reopen, we will schedule two Zoom conferences (2 pm and 7 pm April 30th). With the latest information from regular the College of Regional Ministers, General units of the Church and the ecumenical community, we will share resources and engage in conversation about ways to assure the safety of our most vulnerable We will record these sessions and make them available. All who wish to participate (up to 100 people per conference) will be welcome. Details will be sent by email to all who receive our E-Connect newsletters. Not a subscriber? Click here.
In the meantime, this video link was shared with us by Bishop Valerie Melvin of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of North Carolina. It is a hopeful 4 minutes packed with great ideas for thinking about our future together.
Grief, as was pointed out by Rev. Dr. Kennebrew during our KC Disciples Leader Tuesday evening Zoom conversation, is differently experienced this month than it might have been when we first took the pandemic seriously. On Tuesday, April 28, we will feature a 7-minute video by Suzanne Stabile on Learning to Grieve to kick off the conversation. Details in the E-Connect newsletter.
May 5: Begin 7 week series by Walter Bruggeman - see the trailer
We are reaching out to the Director of Health for KCMO to see about offering some of our church parking lots for drive-through or walk-up COVID-19 testing. Please keep this in your prayers