THE LIGHT THIS WEEK    

   IN THIS ISSUE:

·         Sunday Information

§  Safety Guidelines

§  Children’s Ministry

·         Church Attendance

·         Church Activities this Week

·         Remembering Those Who Have Passed 

·         Great Plains Yearly Meeting

·         Family Promise

·         Book Club

·         Randy and Carol’s Wednesday Zoom Gatherings

·         Prayer requests and concerns

·         Check Out These Friends in the Arts

Sunday ~ May 23, 2021 

10:00 a.m. ~ Meeting for worship in person and live-streaming on Facebook and our website

    Order of Worship

        Prelude: Rosemary Nettrouer

        Announcements  

        Recognition of graduates

        Music: Hymn, “Seek Ye First”

        Children’s Message

        Prayer Concerns

        Pastoral Prayer

        Message: “Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit”

                         Scripture:  Matthew 5:3

        Open Worship

        Benediction

        Postlude: Rosemary Nettrouer

“Seek Ye First” Vs. 1 & 3

Seek ye first the Kingdom of God
And His righteousness
And all these things shall be added unto you
Allelu Alleluia

Ask and it shall be given unto you
Seek and ye shall find
Knock and it shall be opened unto you
Allelu Alleluia

Technology provided by Michael Barrett, Joe Dawley, and Erin DeGroot. Music coordination by Dawn Blue, and pastoral leadership by Catherine Griffith.

11:00 am ~ 205 Sunday School Class

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SAFETY GUIDELINES 

Update:  As you know, the Center for Disease Control said recently that vaccinated people may gather indoors without masks.  To protect the unvaccinated among us, particularly those under 12, we will continue to require masks during worship.  

In order even to worship in person safely, we will follow these guidelines:

·         Masks that cover the nose and mouth will be required of everyone except small children.  (Masks and hand sanitizer will be available for your use.)

·         Worship will be limited to between thirty and forty minutes long. 

·         Offering plates will be near the front and the back of the meeting room.

·         Please sit in designated pews only to allow for distancing.  In addition, talking with folks beyond one’s family group will be discouraged indoors, and the foyer will not include a coffee station or tempting readings. Smiling and waving are welcome, as are gestures of “namaste” and “live long and prosper.”

·         Instead of having bulletins, the order of worship, announcements, and prayer requests will be included in The Light This Week.  If you would like to have any of that information handy on Sunday morning, you might want to print it out and bring it with you.

Please stay home if

·         you are unable or unwilling to comply with these guidelines,

·         you are uncomfortable about or have health reasons to avoid attending worship even with the guidelines,

·         you are sick,

·         you or anyone in your household has been diagnosed with COVID-19, or

·         you have been in contact with someone over the past two weeks who has been diagnosed with or is showing symptoms of COVID-19.

Also, be assured that we will continue live streaming worship for the foreseeable future, and we will continue to monitor the pandemic situation, especially emerging virus variants.  

Questions and suggestions are welcome.  Prayers too!

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CHILDREN’S MINISTRY

Parents may drop off younger children at the nursery on the 3rd floor (directly above the choir room).  Childcare will be available from 9:45 until about 15 minutes after worship concludes.  Children who can stay with parents during the service are invited to do so through

the children’s message, then exit to the upstairs children’s area where parents may meet them after the worship service.

Nut free & gluten free snacks will be provided.  (Bring diapers if we might need them). We will continue to observe social distancing (as much as reasonable) and masks for adults.  There is not a restroom on the 3rd floor, so we will have hand sanitizer available and/or take the group of children down a level for a handwashing/potty break before their snack.

We plan to have childcare also during the Sunday School/Monthly Meeting time. 

For other questions or concerns, feel free to contact someone on the Children’s Ministry Working Group: Gwen McDonald, Greg Newby, Pam Chambers, Sue Wine.

Looking forward to being together! ~ Children’s Ministry Working Group

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Dear Friends,

Children’s Ministry is seeking volunteers to work in the nursery, share a children’s message followed by a lesson, and/or be a backup helper. Please use the following link to add your name. Volunteers may come up with their own message and lesson or we can provide a lesson for you. If you have any questions please email Gwen McDonald at mcgwenald@gmail.com.

Thank you, Children’s Ministry Working Group

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YLsMZ7DGWEOe_pSt3E85L5HA7E4oq5AuKFIzTg1BT6w/edit?usp=sharing

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Sunday Church Attendance Report

Date	In Person	Online
4-25	31	19
5-2	25	19
5-9	34	16
5-16	33	13

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CHURCH ACTIVITIES THIS WEEK                               

Sunday, May 23, Family Promise Week begins

Tuesday, May 25, 6:30 pm, Book Club

Sunday, May 30, Memorial Sunday

Church office hours are 9:00 am to 1:00 pm Tuesday through Friday.

Pastor Catherine takes Fridays off.

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Remembering Those Who Have Passed 

As the church does traditionally, on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend we will be remembering those who whose loss has touched us.  We remember particularly those who have died since last spring: Carol Kirkwood, David McDonald, Steve Grether, Gordon Smith, and Pearl Cole.

In addition, we would be happy to include any other people you would like to remember. If you are carrying grief for someone and would like that person mentioned, please let Sandy know by Wednesday, May 26 (reply to this email).    

Also, if you would like to bring flowers or plants to remember your loved one, please feel free to do so.   

Thanks! 

Catherine Griffith

Intentional Interim Minister 

University Friends Church 

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Shakespeare in the Park play rehearsals are still on going.  Plans are to have a show in the sanctuary on Sunday, June 27 and Sunday, September 26.  Both are planned for 7 pm and run about two hours.  More information will follow.

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Great Plains Yearly Meeting Annual Sessions

June 3-5, 2021

Wichita Friends School

14700 W. Kellogg Dr.

Wichita, KS  67235

Our speaker this year is Colin Saxton sharing his thoughts on Deep Water Faith from the stories of Gospels. ( https://quakerspeak.com/video/christ-has-come-to-teach-us-himself/ ) There will be activities for children and youth…work projects for all…and meals prepared by Patrice Stephensen! Maybe a pie or two!  We are hoping you will be joining us in full participation, at our Yearly Meeting Sessions coming up soon, June 3-5, in person! Our venue is at Wichita Friends School in Wichita KS. We are thrilled to meet in this special space this year. We need you and friends from your meeting to register for the session for both in person or online experience today. Follow this link and you’ll find it easy as can be. 

https://www.greatplainsyearlymeetingorg/yearly-meeting-registration-form

We are striving to make this year’s sessions a Covid safe environment (masks and distancing still) so we can meet in person for our meetings. Of course, if needed, we are making  Zoom available to you as well. After you register, I will be sending out the online link and information. Please communicate this need to me ASAP so arrangements can be made.

Meals and hospitality planning are in the works and we want to plan on you!! 

For the few of you that have already registered… thank you so much. The deadline has passed and it would be helpful to hear from the rest of you as soon as possible. As always, all GPYM committee meetings are open to everyone in our yearly meeting. Feel free to call me for clarifying questions.

Thank you for your attention to the details as we prepare for our time together,

LaVonna Loesch

Great Plains Yearly Meeting

Presiding Clerk

316-680-9992

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Greetings everyone!

We realize that it’s a very busy time of the year for everyone, so we have made the decision to switch from hosting guests on site to hosting at the Day House next week.

If you’re signed up for dinners or driving, we will definitely still need you! We also still need a couple more folks to sign up for afternoon driving (which requires a background check from FP) and dinners (which requires no training and contactless drop off). Restaurant meals are still welcome and donations are still accepted on our MealTrain page. If you’ve already signed up for a meal, you’re welcome to sign up again on MealTrain because it’s a little less clunky, but otherwise we’ll just use it for donations.

Thank you to everyone who signed up in the other slots that were removed—we’re so grateful for your interest and hope to have you volunteer next time!

Below are the updated sign up sheets for meal makers and drivers:

Signup Genius: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0A4BACAD28A6F94-may2021

MealTrain: https://mealtrain.com/84gqq2

Thanks so much for your patience!

Erin DeGroot

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The Book Club meets at 6:30 p.m., the 2^nd and 4^th Tuesday of each month.  If you would like to join via Zoom, please email Catherine at orcagriffith@yahoo.com, and she will send you an invitation.  Everyone is welcome! 

On Tuesday, May 25, the Book Club will be discussing Ch 2 (pp. ­­­­­­­­­­­13-23 and Appendix B pp. 101-102 and some review of Ch 1) of Engaging Scripture:  Reading the Bible with Early Friends by Michael Birkel.

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Facilitators:  Carol and Randy Mullikin

Unprogrammed Gatherings for Worship 2^nd and 4^thWednesdays at 6:30 pm, through May 26 via Zoom

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PRAYER REQUESTS AND CONCERNS

·         Don and Linda Mallonee

·         Dave and Carol Kingrey

·         Our church at this time of new beginnings, particularly the Pastoral Search Committee as it begins its work and our ongoing negotiations with Friends University

From Dave Williams, Mid-America Yearly Meeting:  

Dave Kingrey is continuing to move forward, slowly but surely, in his long journey of healing and recovery.  Having moved from the ICU to the floor of the hospital, then to a rehab facility, he recently moved in with his son, Scott, where he is receiving home health care while he continues with rehab.  The hope is that he and Carol will be able to move into their own apartment in the Wichita area in the near future.  Due to the dramatic changes in his physical health, Dave has decided it would be best to retire from all of his work-related responsibilities at Barclay College and EFC-MAYM, effective immediately. Dave asked us to pass along this personal note of appreciation:  “I am very grateful for your faithful prayers, cards and other expressions of love during this time of my unexpected illness. I have been suffering from major fractures in my spinal bone, ribs and sternum due to a side effect of medication I was taking. This has been and still is, an extremely painful illness, but I thank you for your continuing prayers for pain relief and healing. We  are assured that Christ, our divine healer is all sufficient for our needs.”

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Check Out These Friends in the Arts 

Dan Schuster and Vonda Newby-Schuster in “The Diary of Anne Frank”

(Original Text) By Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett & Directed by John Dalton-White

May 13 through May 23, 2021

http://wichitact.org/shows/current-show/

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Sam Jack in “Don Giovanni”

May 27, 28, & 30, 2021

Don Giovanni

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Dan Schuster and Sue Wine in William Shakespeare’s “Richard III”

June 11-13, 18-20, and 25-27, 2021

www:wichitashakespeare.org