West Side Weekly Newsletter

West Side Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) June 14, 2020

Join us for Sunday morning worship:

Click Here

We plan to resume an in-person Sunday morning worship service
July 12, 10:30 a.m.

Beguiled by Beauty

And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,
And establish the work of our hands for us;
Yes, establish the work of our hands.
~Psalm 90:17, NKJV

This week we start a new online worship series, “Beguiled by Beauty.” We’ll study the importance that beauty as defined by God has in our lives.

   God is in love with us. God celebrates each minuscule molecule that makes up our being. Beauty distracts us from ego-oriented things like how much we can accumulate or who we can impress and helps us focus on God’s creation.

   The more time we spend with God, the more likely we are to fall in love with God and the beauty that God has created all around us. There is beauty to be found everywhere at any time. It distracts us from self-doubt and fear, moving us toward the abundance of God’s love.

   Once we fall in love with God and see the goodness that emanates from creation we realize that we can fall in love with the world as well.   We begin to see where God is at work in the world and how God is creating beauty even in rough circumstances. A fruit of falling in love with God is the compassion we experience for other humans and creatures.

   There is a certain mystery in all this. It requires faith and belief that God will guide us through transformation to something better.   Finally, we begin to understand that God has been present from the beginning in everything just as it is. We long for beauty to manifest itself in kind and just ways, and we offer ourselves to God, submitting to God’s leading in our lives.

   This new series seems extremely applicable to some of the challenges we are facing in the world today. I hope you will be able to join us. Sermon titles and scriptures for each of the six weeks are listed below:

Week 1 “Cultivating Compassion,” Ezekiel 31:3-7
Week 2 “Entwined with God,” Psalm 16: 7-11
Week 3 “Falling in Love with the World,” Psalm 147: 1-11
Week 4 “Divine Abyss,” Psalm 135: 1-3, 13-21
Week 5 “No ‘Why?’ Needed,” Song of Songs 4:1-11
Week 6 “The Path Forward: From Beauty to Compassion and Justice,” Isaiah 52:7-10

With Faith, Hope, and Love,
Pastor Donna

Photo by Donna Gilchrist, May 2020

In Memory

Please pray for Pastor Donna and family as Donna's dad, Don Gilchrist,
passed into the arms of our Lord
on Sunday, June 7, in Oklahoma City.

Memorial gifts may be given to West Side Christian Church.

Attention High School Seniors:

The Camp Steering Committee regrets the need to cancel this year’s camp program due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And we are sorry that graduates did not get to have their opportunity to share learnings and insights.

While we know five hours does not replace the experience of a week-long camp, we invite you to join us from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday, June 27, at Tawakoni. While plans are still tentative, we expect the experience to include:

Seeing and sharing community with camp friends
Opportunity to share Senior Speeches (with the option to video record)
Noon meal
Recording parts for virtual camp
Making of Senior Bricks
Worship and send-off

Check with other campers to make sure every Senior knows of the event. Stephanie Switzky and Sid Rutland are looking forward to see you!

An optional 2020 Camp Shirt will be yours for a $10 donation to the camp. We plan to order only for those who place advance orders. Please indicate your preferred size when you register.

WE NEED YOU TO REGISTER so we can be ready to greet each of you!

FROM OUR INBOX & COMMUNITY

Connect with Kansas Disciples Women

Kansas Disciples Women, are you missing your connection with other KDW? Are you wondering how your sisters across the state are doing? Do you have a joy or a concern to share? Are you looking for some time together in prayer? We're excited to introduce "Cupcake Chatter," a time for all women to come together via a virtual Zoom event just to chat and share.

Our first Cupcake Chatter will take place on Sunday evening, June 14, at 7:30 p.m. Watch our Facebook page for the log in information on Friday.

It's been a long time since we've seen each other's smiling faces. Please plan to join us on Sunday evening. We'll enjoy some much-needed sharing time and close our time together in prayer. We hope to make Cupcake Chatter a recurring event.

Please spread the word. If you have questions, please contact Carla Pearson at carla.pearson58@gmail.com. Can't wait to see you all on the 14th!

Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash

Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration of the ending of slavery. From its Galveston, Texas, origin in 1865, the observance of June 19th as the African American Emancipation Day has spread across the United States and beyond.

Legend has it that the name Juneteenth was derived from a little girl who could not pronounce “June 19.” She said “Juneteenth” and the name caught on and was used throughout the state of the Texas.

Today Juneteenth commemorates African American freedom and emphasizes education and achievement. It is a day, a week, and in some areas a month marked with celebrations, guest speakers and family gatherings. It is a time for reflection and rejoicing. It is a time for assessment, self-improvement and for planning the future.

In cities across the country, people of all races, nationalities and religions are joining hands to truthfully acknowledge a period in our history that shaped and continues to influence our society today.*

This year, celebrations are taking place virtually, due to the pandemic. To join the celebration, click on the buttons below. The Disciples Home Missions (DHM) link has more information about the history of Juneteenth, as well as links to additional resources. The JuneteenthKC link points to a website with lots of virtual activities, including a daily devotional under the "Health Expo" area on the website's homepage.

DHM Resource

JuneteenthKC

* Juneteenth Celebrate Freedom June 19 Resources, Disciples Home Missions, www.discipleshomemissions.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/2019-Juneteenth.pdf, accessed June 8, 2020.

Become a Certified Climate Ambassador

You can sign up for climate ambassador training through a free Zoom session on Saturday, June 27, from 10:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

The Climate Ambassador training equips people of faith with the knowledge, hands-on experience, and resources to speak and act confidently on climate change and solutions.

As we all witness and experience climate impacts, our communities are looking for guidance on solutions from leaders for guidance.

Our partner, Blessed Tomorrow, supports faith communions and faith leaders with training on the links between climate and faith, the spectrum of solutions, how to speak effectively on the topic of climate change, and opportunities to act and advocate.

Please join us for this training session led by Green Chalice ministers Revs. Carol Devine and Scott Hardin-Nieri.

REMINDERS

June 19: Juneteenth

June 21: Father's Day

July 12: Target date for in-person services to resume

Photo Credit: DarkWorkX on Pixabay

Elder of the Month

June elder of the month: Mary Washburn

PRAYER REQUESTS

Please pray for Pastor Donna and family as Donna's dad, Don Gilchrist, passed into the arms of our Lord on Sunday, June 7, in Oklahoma City.

On June 5, Robert “Bob” Alderson, Topeka First Christian Church, died
after having a cerebral stroke in May.
For nearly 14 years, Bob served as Regional Attorney.
In recent years, he was a counselor at youth camp.

Lucille Atherly
David Brooks (Robert & Nancy's son)
Roger Kipp & Jodi Bryant (Brenda Kipp's brother and sister-in-law)
Betty Jo Burris
Marlin & Rick Constant (Rusty Rakestraw's brother & nephew)
The Crooks family who lost a dear friend
and the family friends who lost a husband and father
Mary Dunbar (Deba Brant's friend)
Linda Floyd (Janet Bayless's friend)
Ruth Frost
Julie Helms (Rita Lewis's daughter)
Delbert Henry (Ed Henry's brother)
Mary Hougland
Jason Moore (Lynn Washburn's nephew)
Stan Senne
Edna Snook
Ron Thompson

Military:

Brandon Austin (Nancy Warren's nephew)
Carson Brier (Phyllis Bailey's grandson)
Jeannette Collins (Joe & Bobbie Hendrixson’s niece)
Joseph Cullen (Pam Cullen-Bass’s grandson)
Autumn Lake (Angela Lake’s daughter)
Joshua Langston (Robert Langston’s grandson)
Jonathan Seelen (Doug & Barb Seelen’s son)

Please also pray for:
-- Our nation
-- Our leaders
-- Our healthcare and other public service providers
-- Countries who don't have access to the services they need
-- Those who are ill or afraid
-- Those who do not have the comfort of knowing our Heavenly Father
-- That this disease might affect as few people as possible
-- WSCC members and friends

You may also see prayer requests by visiting
westsidedisciples.org
and typing the password in the Prayers & Updates page.

WEEKLY CALENDAR

Wednesday (All meetings are temporarily suspended.)
10:30 a.m. -- Coffee & Bible Study
5:45 p.m. -- Bell Choir
6:45 p.m. -- Chancel Choir

Sunday (Worship celebration resumes July 12.)
9:15 a.m.--Church School (Temporarily suspended.)
10:00 a.m.--Children's Music (Temporarily suspended)
10:30 a.m.--Worship Celebration

CONNECT

Give Now

We love your photos and encouraging words!
Keep sending them to Dana at office@westsidedisciples.org
for future editions of West Side Weekly!

Copyright © 2019, West Side Christian Church, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
432 SW Lindenwood Ave.
Topeka, KS 66606

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

This email was sent to <<Email Address>>
why did I get this? unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences
West Side Christian Church · 432 SW Lindenwood Ave · Topeka, KS 66606-1348 · USA