Volume 22, Issue 1 January 2019

Offering for Global Missions Each year during Advent and Christmas, we collect a special offering called the Offering for Global Missions. This offering supports the long-term presence of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) field personnel around the world as they share the good news of God’s transforming love. This year, our goal is $5,555.55. You may contribute to this offering anytime until January 13, 2019. Offering envelopes can be found in the front office, or you can place your offering in a blank envelope and write “Offering for Global Missions” on it. Thank you for changing the world one community at a time by sharing the love of Christ around the world!

As a fellowship of Christ’s followers, our mission is to

journey through life with the inclusive Christ and embrace all with God’s transforming love.

@Holmeswood Holmeswood Baptist Church @holmeswood_baptist

Communiqué

“How and when was the Bible written? Who decided which books made it into the scriptures and why? How literally must we read it? And, is the Bible ever wrong?” These are some of the opening questions in Making Sense of the Bible by Adam Hamilton. What a wonderful, honest exploration and curiosity of the Bible. Beginning on Wednesdays at the end of January, we will use Hamilton’s book as a guide for conversations centering on the formation of scripture. We will also explore various

lenses through which we read the Bible and how each lens influences our application and interpretation of the text. Meaning, how does reading poetic passages influence our interpretation as compared to reading a list of laws in the Levitical Codes? And most importantly, how does interpreting the ancient stories speak to issues of practical faith today in a context that is vastly different than the days that Abraham or Jesus walked the earth?

Part of our Strategic Plan is to increase small group opportunities and create gatherings that take place off the campus of 97th and Holmes. As an effort to implement this, there are two new options for you to choose in your participation of these explorations on Wednesdays. One group will meet on Wednesdays from 2:45-3:45 in the Parlor of Holmeswood. The other group will meet on Wednesdays from 5:45-7:00 at Blue Moose in the Red Bridge Shopping Center. The

same material will be presented in both sessions, so you only need to attend one gathering. My hope is that if driving at night is a hinderance for you, the 2:45-3:45 session will allow you to participate in further faith development. In the same way, if meeting during the day is a hinderance for you, I hope that you will participate in the gathering at Blue Moose as we sit around a table, eat and grow together. To be clear, these two offerings will serve as our normal Adult Connections gathering. We will use an adult education model as a guide for our conversations. This means that it will be important for each person to read the material prior to the gathering. We will then use the material as a springboard for the conversation, but we will not spend time rehearsing what the author has already presented. Because each person has already read the same background material from the book, each participant will act as both teacher and student as we bring our insights, questions, and ponderings to the group. I will act as a facilitator to help us stay on task, as I also will learn from and alongside each of you. Our schedule is as follows:

• January 23: Introduction and The Old Testament

• January 30: The New Testament

• February 6: Questions About the Nature of Scripture

• February 13: Selected Portions of Making Sense of the Bible’s Challenging Passages

The church has ordered 20 copies of Making Sense of the Bible by Adam Hamilton. We will have them for $5 on a first come, first serve understanding. If you are unable to attend either of the time or location options, some of the other pastors will lead prayer and spiritual development gatherings at the normal Wednesday evening time of 6:30-7:30 at the Holmeswood campus. My hope is that as we expand our opportunities for faith development, you can actively participate in a gathering that deepens and broadens your soul to the awareness of God that is present here and now. You might even consider bringing a friend with you to these conversations.

Know of my deep love for each of you, my fellow journeyers.

Thoughts from

Pastor David

~ J

an

uary

20

19 ~

Su

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Mo

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Tu

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Wed

T

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F

ri S

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1 N

ew Y

ear's Day –

Office C

losed

2

New

sletter Distributed

6:30p-8:30p ICC

Bible S

tudy 7:30p-8:30p S

anctuary Choir R

ehearsal (C

hoir Room

) 8:30p-10p P

ray & P

lay Basketball (G

ym)

3

7a-8a Men's P

rayer Breakfast (C

onf Rm

2) 7a-8a W

omen's P

rayer Breakfast (C

onf Rm

1) 6:30p-8:30p P

ickleball (Gym

)

4

5

M

inister on Call: A

llen York

5p-9:30p AC

5.1 BF

G D

inner/Bible S

tudy (F

ellowship H

all)

6

9a-10a Worship S

ervice (Sanctuary)

10a-10:15a Blood P

ressure Check (N

arthex) 10a-10:15a M

eet & G

reet 10:15a-11:15a B

ible Fellow

ship Groups

11:30a-1p Slovakia T

eam M

eeting 12p-3:30p IC

C B

ible Study &

Worship

7

Deacon on C

all: Nancy C

ampbell

8

10a-11a Staff M

eeting (Conf R

m2)

11a-12p Pastoral S

taff Meeting (D

avid's O

ffice) 6p-7p M

ission Council M

eeting (Conference

Rm

1) 6:30p-9p P

ray & P

lay Basketball (G

ym)

9

6:10p-7:20p Handbell R

ehearsal (Handbell

Room

) 6:30p-8:30p IC

C B

ible Study

7:30p-8:30p Sanctuary C

hoir Rehearsal

(Choir R

oom)

8:30p-10p Pray &

Play B

asketball (Gym

)

10

7a-8a M

en's Prayer B

reakfast (Conf R

m2)

7a-8a Wom

en's Prayer B

reakfast (Conf R

m1)

6:30p-8:30p Pickleball (G

ym)

11

12

M

inister on Call: A

nna Holladay

9a-12p Mission C

ouncil Vision Q

uest (F

ellowship H

all) 6p-10p IC

C M

eal Prep (G

ym - K

itchen)

13

9a-10a W

orship Service (S

anctuary) 10a-10:15a B

lood Pressure C

heck (Galleria)

10a-10:15a Meet &

Greet

10:15a-11:15a Bible F

ellowship G

roups 11:30a-12:30p C

hildren's Ministry T

eam

Meeting (C

onf Rm

1) 11:30a-12:30p N

ew M

embers Luncheon

(Fellow

ship Hall)

12p-3:30p ICC

Bible S

tudy & W

orship 4p-9p IC

C M

eal (Gym

)

14

D

eacon on Call: T

ed Harrison

12:30p-3:30p Prayers &

Squares (S

204)

15

10a-11a S

taff Meeting (C

onf Rm

2) 11a-12p P

astoral Staff M

eeting (David's

Office)

6:30p-9p Pray &

Play B

asketball (Gym

)

16

6:10p-7:20p H

andbell Rehearsal (H

andbell R

oom)

6:30p-8:30p ICC

Bible S

tudy 7:30p-8:30p S

anctuary Choir R

ehearsal (C

hoir Room

) 8:30p-10p P

ray & P

lay Basketball (G

ym)

17

7a-8a M

en's Prayer B

reakfast (Conf R

m2)

7a-8a Wom

en's Prayer B

reakfast (Conf R

m1)

10:45a-1:15p Anchors Luncheon (F

ellowship

Hall)

6:30p-8:30p Pickleball (G

ym)

18

19

M

inister on Call: Laurel C

luthe

20

9a-10a W

orship Service (S

anctuary) 10a-10:15a M

eet & G

reet 10:15a-11:15a B

ible Fellow

ship Groups

(Classroom

s) 11:30a-12:30p D

eacons Meeting (P

arlor) 12p-3:30p IC

C B

ible Study &

Worship

21

Martin Luther K

ing Jr – D

ay of Service – O

ffice Closed

Deacon on C

all: Bob D

urbin

22

10a-11a S

taff Meeting (C

onf Rm

2) 11a-12p P

astoral Staff M

eeting (David's

Office)

6:30p-9p Pray &

Play B

asketball (Gym

)

23

2:45p-3:45p "C

onnections" for Adults (P

arlor) 5:45p-7p "C

onnections" for Adults (B

lue M

oose Restaurant)

6:10p-7:20p Handbell R

ehearsal (Handbell

Room

) 6:30p-8:30p IC

C B

ible Study

6:30p-7:30p Spiritual P

ractices (Prayer

Garden)

7:30p-8:30p Sanctuary C

hoir Rehearsal

8:30p-10p Pray &

Play B

asketball (Gym

)

24

7a-8a M

en's Prayer B

reakfast (Conf R

m2)

7a-8a Wom

en's Prayer B

reakfast (Conf R

m1)

6:30p-8:30p Pickleball (G

ym)

25

26

M

inister on Call: D

avid McD

aniel

27

9a-10a W

orship Service (S

anctuary) 10a-10:15a M

eet & G

reet 10:15a-11:15a B

ible Fellow

ship Groups

(Classroom

s) 11:30a-12:30p Leadership T

eam M

eeting (F

ellowship H

all) 12p-3:30p IC

C B

ible Study &

Worship

28

D

eacon on Call: D

enny Fow

ler 12:30p-3:30p P

rayers & S

quares (S204)

29

10a-11a S

taff Meeting (C

onf Rm

2) 11a-12p P

astoral Staff M

eeting (David's

Office)

6:30p-9p Pray &

Play B

asketball (Gym

)

30

2:45p-3:45p "C

onnections" for Adults (P

arlor) 4p-5p H

BC

Com

munity C

horus (Choir R

m)

5:45p-7p "Connections" for A

dults (Blue

Moose R

estaurant) 6:10p-7:20p H

andbell Rehearsal (H

andbell R

oom)

6:30p-8:30p ICC

Bible S

tudy 6:30p-7:30p S

piritual Practices (P

rayer G

arden) 7:30p-8:30p S

anctuary Choir R

ehearsal 8:30p-10p P

ray & P

lay Basketball (G

ym)

31

7a-8a M

en's Prayer B

reakfast (Conf R

m2)

7a-8a Wom

en's Prayer B

reakfast (Conf R

m1)

6:30p-8:30p Pickleball (G

ym)

No

tes

:

As we begin 2019, it is always a good exercise to reflect on how all areas of our life connect us to God. Faith Life: What feeds your faith life? Daily prayer time? Journaling your thoughts? Medical: Preventative action now can ward off problems later on. Have you scheduled your annual check up? Movement: Move more! Take opportunities in daily life to be more active. Work: Take a few minutes in your work day to practice gratitude. Emotional: Monitor your feelings and seek help if you feel you need to. Remember it’s ok to lean on others. Nutrition: Make an intentional effort to eat healthy! You will feel better!

January Birthdays 1/02 Kylene Campbell

1/03 Brooklyn Burk

1/04 Lora Lau

1/07 Aimee Hicks

1/08 Becky Herrera, Tatyana Horev

1/10 Kathy Lockyer

1/11 Marilyn Formella

1/14 Alex Wilcoxon

1/15 Denny Fowler, Kaitlin Lyman, Merle Smith

1/17 Ernie Berube, Tim Freeman

1/18 Kevin Daniel, Amy Jenkins, Kelsey Lockyer

1/21 Mitchell Smedley

1/22 Daryn Decker, Joanne Sappington

1/23 Dan Stephens

1/25 Billie Mills

1/26 Ben Durbin, Linda Frank

1/27 Allison Sanders

1/28 Matt Stephens

1/29 Danielle Smedley

1/30 Kent Wilcoxon

We extend Christian sympathy to: -Mary Wood’s family upon her death on November 22. -Cora Kost’s family upon her death on December 9. Services were held at Park Lawn Funeral Home on Dec 12.

November 18

9:00 a.m. Worship Service 160 Bible Friends/Bible Fellowship 115 Pledge Received $9,032 November 25

9:00 a.m. Worship Service 103 Bible Friends/Bible Fellowship (snow) Pledge Received $14,533 December 2

9:00 a.m. Worship Service 147 Bible Friends/Bible Fellowship 128 Pledge Received $13,360 December 9

9:00 a.m. Worship Service 145 Bible Friends/Bible Fellowship 122 Pledge Received $8,953

Our 2nd annual Christmas Store for Center families provided parents the opportunity to shop at greatly discounted prices for their children. Thank you for your generosity of donations, whether that was gifts, money, or your time. It was wonderful to see you minister to our community through this mission project. -Anna

This year for Christmas, gifts were purchased for 12 unaccompanied youth from the Center School District. An unaccompanied youth is a student who is not supported by their parents. They are either living doubled up with others, in a shelter, or in a transitional living program. Thank you for making their Christmas a little merrier! Pictured right: Lorie Skoog and Bill Sherriff delivering all of the gifts to the social worker at Center High School.

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Communique

MEDIA LIBRARY NEWS

9700 Holmes Road Kansas City, MO 64131-3215

www.holmeswood.org

HAPPY READING IN THE NEW YEAR! Visit the Church library and browse the shelves. Find fiction, commentaries, biographies, children’s books and more. Soul Keeping: Caring for the Most Important Part of You by John Ortberg. How is your soul? Ortberg says that “our soul defines who we are in relation to God. When we are not centered in God, our soul cries out in distress. Living with God is the only way to find lasting peace.” Church of the Small Things by Melanie Shankle. Using humorous stories, Shankle helps the reader embrace what it means to live a simple life and how to find meaning, beauty and laughter in every moment.

Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy Seal Team Six Operator Adam Brown by Eric Blehm. This is the true story of Adam

Brown, member of the elite Seal Team Six which took down Osama bin Laden. It’s an inspiring story of faith and courage. Adam was fearless. He

served God, his family and his country with passion and devotion.

In the Master’s Steps by R. Stephen Notley. The author hopes “that a better understanding of the physical setting and events that framed the life of

Jesus can assist us to hear more clearly the message Jesus proclaims”. The book presents recent advances in history, geography, philology and

archaeology, the tools necessary to shed light on the Gospels. The nine chapters range from the birth of Jesus to the empty tomb and the road to

Emmaus.

The Journey: Walking the Road to Bethlehem by Adam Hamilton. The author takes us on a walk through the Holy Land and we retrace the steps of

those involved, gaining insights into our own journeys with Christ.