April 17, 2022
Season of Eastertide
A big thank you to WAM, Connie Dietz, Music Director AJ Beu, Pianist Judy Harrison, Epiphany Praise Band, the PVCC Choir, AV Team, Greg Yarnell, Hospitality Team, Diane Miller, and many others that contributed to our Lenten journey and joyous Easter worship! We were filled to the brim!
We sent forth Rev. Kara at the conclusion of our Easter Sunday worship.
Our prayer: O God, for remembered times when we, together, have shared the life of faith, we express our sincere gratitude. We thank you for the moments we have shared with Rev. Kara in worship, in learning, in service, and in Christian living. We pray that she will be aware of your Spirit’s guidance as she moves to a new place. Amen and Shalom.
April 24 Special Congregational Meeting.
A special congregational meeting will be held during a shortened worship service on Sunday, April 24. There will be no Facebook Live streaming that day.
The purpose of this meeting is to gather honest and frank information from the congregation and discern the next step the congregation wishes to take in creating a new existence and vision for PVCC, following the resignation of Rev. Kara. Mission Council will work toward putting that next step into action.
We will gather around tables in the overflow area of the Great Hall. The order of worship will be
1) Welcome and Song; 2) Congregational Meeting; 3) Communion/Offering; 4) Song and Sending Forth
If you are a participating member of PVCC, you should have received an email with meeting details. The PVCC Constitution defines a “participating member” as those members who, in a calendar year, either attend worship services, support the general budget, or contact the church for a pastoral need. Members who do not participate in one of the ways listed above are considered inactive members.
PVCC Garage Sale May 5-7.
You may start bringing your sale items on Sunday, May 1. We need volunteers to make this a successful sale. There is a volunteer sign-up sheet in the foyer.
Spring Work-Camp 2022 at Tawakoni
Time to dust off that trusty tool belt and grab a shovel or chain saw. Springtime means it’s time to meet at the camp and get the facilities ready for summer!
The Spring Work-Camp will be Thursday, April 21, starting at 10 a.m. and will conclude after lunch April 23. Help us get Tawakoni ready for the summer!
Planned projects include:
- Clean cabin dormitory rooms
- De-winterize cabins
- Service lawn equipment, vehicles, and tractor
- Clean out and mulch flower beds and gardens
- Mow as needed
- Clean around the lagoon
- Spray the trails and trim trees
- Do minor electrical and carpentry projects
- Stain the decks
We will provide food and lodging. Please let Vern Failor know if you will be coming via email vlfailor@gmail.com, or call him at 785-231-3960.
A Letter on Ukraine, from Rev. Vy T. Nguyen, Executive Director, Week of Compassion
Grace and peace, Disciples. Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ, and with our deepest gratitude for each of you and for this ministry.
In the first days after the February 24 start of the Russian attacks on Ukraine, the humanitarian response, led especially by faith-focused communities, was immediate and significant. Week of Compassion has been in constant contact with our ecumenical partners at home and around the world.
Because of your generous support for this ministry we share, since the start of the conflict a month ago today, we have already sent $250,000 to our partners; those gifts were on the ground right away, providing immediate support, resources, provisions, and shelter for those fleeing their homes in Ukraine. As Ukrainains flee, our partners are assisting with these immediate needs in Romania, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, as well as inside Ukraine for those who cannot or have not been able to escape
We are deeply grateful for what you have done, and for the work we do together as one church. As our General Minister and President always reminds us, when Week of Compassion is there, the whole church is there.
And we know this is only the beginning. Multiple phases of care and response will take place over the next several months and even years. The immediate response is critical, and our partners are holding it in balance with the equally critical work to come. Both are essential to our mission of alleviating suffering throughout the world.
President Biden announced that the United States will take in 100,000 refugees from Ukraine. In response, our partners have immediately engaged in conversation and action.
While we don’t yet have a timeline or specifics on that process, we do know it will add pressure right away on the resettlement community – already scrambling to serve tens of thousands of Afghans; dealing with the possibility and hope of resettling up to 125,000 refugees from around the world who have been waiting far too long; and now 100,000 Ukrainians.
What we DO know is that there will be a coordinated effort within our denomination and with our ecumenical partners to address this influx in the best and most compassionate way possible, from advocacy to sponsoring refugee families, and everything in between.
Many of you have asked what you can do to help with the situation beyond financial contributions. One way is to prepare to help welcome refugees in the coming months and years. It is critically important for persons and congregations interested in resettlement work to begin efforts now. Refugee ministry involves a variety of levels of commitment, with room for churches and individuals of all capacities to take part.
As the situation becomes clearer and we have more definitive information about the resettlement of these refugees, we will continue to update and inform about next steps for congregations.
The news and needs in this global crisis are evolving daily, and we are immensely grateful for you, and for the partnerships that make response possible. Together, we continue to work toward a world where God’s people transform suffering into hope.
From the PVCC newsletter archives, this week in 1971: After long and hard deliberation, the Pine Valley Kite Club …announced [awards] from the 1st Annual Palm Sunday Kite Flying Contest. [Some of the awards]: Best home-made kite; Kite with least flying and most hard-luck; Heaviest Tail; Wedge Blade of History; and the W.T. Reece trophy to the Swisher family… for arriving with their kites after everyone else was packing up to go home.
— Melanie Naden, PVCC Moderator