Blue Springs, Missouri, United States - The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Blue Springs with eNote from Pastor Penny Ellwood for Friday 1 August 2014

Blue Springs, Missouri, United States - The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Blue Springs with eNote from Pastor Penny Ellwood for Friday 1 August 2014
Greetings Resurrection Blue Springs Family and Friends,
Can you believe that it is August already?  Where has this summer gone!  In just two weeks, our children will all be heading back to school.  I remember always having mixed feelings about this time of year as a parent.  I was ready for a break from the constant parenting of summer and sorry to see it end, all at the same time.  It's always an exciting time of new beginnings though, not only for our children but for us as a church as well. We've been busy planning a whole new season of classes and activities for the fall.  New opportunities to learn and grow in our faith will be offered.  Most of these will begin in September, however our Men's group is beginning a new study this week.  You can see the details below.  
I want to thank those of you that got an early start on the back to school shopping for our school supply drive.  We had 2 barrels ooverflowing with school supplies picked up today by Community Services League.  These items will be distributed to children in need at their "Back to School Fairs" across Jackson County. CSL (and Resurrection too) believe education is one of the best ways to end cycles of poverty. CSL expects to provide over 2,500 Eastern Jackson County children with school supplies!  Thanks for joining in this partnership with your support. 
This Sunday we will be continuing our sermon series on Tips for the Modern Family.  Our hope with this series is to offer some practical wisdom on how to strengthen the relationships in our families.  This week we'll focus on the art of parenting.  Not an easy task these days! One of the things I am hoping happens this Sunday is that we might all see it as our calling to invest in the lives of children as a part of loving others the way God loves us.  Be sure to invite other families to join you, as we explore how to be better parents.  This Sunday will also be our last Summer breakfast.  Come at 8:15 am and try some blue corn or sweet potato pancakes in honor of our past mission trips before attending the 9 am service.  You won’t want to miss this weekend in worship!
August gets pretty busy so don't forget to mark your calendar for our Blood Drive, the August Faithwork project and our All Church Community Picnic.  See the details below.  
Take a look at our upcoming activites below:
Special Mission Pancake Breakfast
Men's Group Study
Blood Drive
Faithwork-Hosting Midwest Foster/Adopt Respite Event
Save the Date-September FaithWork!
Annual All Church/Community Picnic

Special Mission Pancake Breakfast  We’re having blue corn pancakes and sweet potato pancakes to try, for our last Sunday breakfast.  This is in honor of past mission trips to the Navajo Nation and to the Cajun Country in Louisiana.  Teams were privileged to try a delicious Cajun specialty of sweet potato pancakes, with lots of cinnamon. The Navajo Nation team experienced the soft and moist blue corn pancakes. Come and try these delicious pancakes or feel free stick to the traditional ones. Also, try Navajo Frybread. Delicious! Free breakfast will be served from 8:15am to 8:45am this Sunday.
Men’s Group Study  You are invited to explore the eight-week study, Christian—It’s Not What You Think. Ask 100 people what it means to be a Christian and you are likely to get 100 different answers. One reason people have such difficulty defining what a Christian should be is that the Bible never gives a definition. The followers of Jesus did not refer to themselves as Christians; it was a label placed on them from the outside. The early believers called themselves disciples, and the Bible is very clear in defining what a disciple looks like. Jesus gave his disciples one word that should define them. What if we as his followers embodied this one word? What if our behavior was so consistent with this word that folks around us were drawn to us—and to God? Through eight engaging and enlightening small group Bible study sessions on DVD, Andy Stanley unpacks the qualities Jesus prescribes for his followers. Join the men starting Tuesday, August 5, at 6:30 pm for this life-changing study. Sign up online or at Guest Services on Sunday. 
Blood Drive Sara Tuttle-Inman Blood Drive for Brain Cancer Awareness – Monday, Aug. 11, 3-7 pm in Fellowship Hall. Visit savealifenow.org and use sponsor code saratuttle to register, or sign up at Guest Services. For more information, email Laura Ward at lauratuttle02@gmail.com.  If you'd like to help us get the word out for this drive, pick up a poster or two this Sunday and display them in your workplace or on your favorite community bulletin board.  
FaithWork Saturday, August 16th 9am-1pm, Hosting Midwest Foster/Adopt Respite Event.  For our August FaithWork, Resurrection Blue Springs will be hosting this event and providing snacks, lunch and extra hands to play games and serve the children at this event. Volunteers should be there by 8:45 am for instructions.  Children arrive at 9 am and stay until 1 pm. Work for a couple of hours or the whole event.  Lots of hands needed since we expect as many as 70 kids!  Sign up to help here. 
Annual All Church/Community Picnic at Lake Tapawingo Clubhouse, Sunday, Aug. 17. This is a perfect opportunity to invite those friends you've wanted to bring to church.  Activities begin at 4 pm, Food served at 5 pm. Join us for boat rides, fishing, music, great food and fellowship! Main dish will be provided, plan to bring a salad or side dish to share. We'll have a open mic session after dinner, starting around 6 pm, so if you've got a talent to share come prepared to offer it.
September FaithWork Day - Save the Date!
Sacred Steps 5K Run/Walk, September 20th, 2014 at 8:00am Resurrection will use 2014 Sacred Steps proceeds to work with our Methodist partners to get clean drinking water to those that don't have any in the DRC.  NEW THIS YEAR!  When you register, you will have the opportunity to create a team.  The largest team will win a prize.  You can create team t-shirts, bandanas, wear matching hats, etc. - have fun with it!  Wouldn't it be fun to have a Blue Springs team! Register Here!
Motorcycle Ride Against Hunger September 20th the Coalition for Kids (of which we are a part) and the Kruzers Optimist Club of Jackson County are partnering to host a Ride Against Hunger to benefit the Healthy Foundation program.  Healthy Foundations provides weekend backpacks of food for children in need in Blue Springs.   Registration and breakfast are at 7 am at Dell's Power Sports.  Kickstands up at 9 am for a 90 mile ride with 5 stops around the Blue Springs community where participants will receive refreshments and vie for prizes.  The ride ends at Fist United Methodist Church in Blue Springs where there will be refreshments and a live benefit auction.  We'll be hosting one of the stops on the ride, providing items for the auction and/or participating in the benefit by riding or bidding at the auction.  Should be a great day of fun.  If you're a motorcycle enthusiast, gather your friends together and register for the ride here or at the Guest Services table on Sunday!
I look forward to worshiping with you this Sunday. 
Abundant Blessings, 
Penny 
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For our Resurrection Blue Springs Campus Calendar: click here
Contact Our Staff:
Church Office Phone: (816)389-8900
Rev. Penny Ellwood, Campus Pastor penny.ellwood@rezbluesprings.org
Mike Ash, Worship Leader/Director of Community mike.ash@rezbluesprings.org
Diane Enlow, Director of Children's Ministry diane.enlow@rezbluesprings.org
Clark Johnson, Technical Producer clark.johnson@rezbluesprings.org
Heather Sooley, Operations Coordinating Assistant heather.sooley@rezbluesprings.org
Stephanie Weigel, Guest Services Coordinating Assistant stephanie.weigel@rezbluesprings.org
Lori Wolverton, Nursery Staff lori.wolverton@rezbluesprings.org
Visit us on the web:
www.rezbluesprings.org
www.facebook.com/rezbluesprings
For upcoming and ongoing programs and events at our Leawood Campus, visit www.cor.org.
Campus enotes: Leawood, Downtown, West
Resurrection Blue Springs
penny.ellwood@cor.org
Resurrecton Blue Springs
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, KS 66224 United States
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