 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
V o l u m e Four - N u m b e r Four - July 2000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sanctuary of HopeInner City Inter Faith Retreat Center Father Dennis Wait Sanctuary of Hope 2601 Ridge Ave. Kansas City KS 66102-4617 Weekly Prayers 10 AM Tuesdays Phone (913) 321-HOPE(4673) |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Welcome to Summer! The Sequence of the Eucharist for
Pentecost Sunday, says: "Come Holy Spirit and send your coolness in this
heat." Amen Alleluia! My attention this summer is on "family."
All the live-ins have been with their own families this summertime.
I’m reading "Tuesdays with Morrie," by Mitch
Albom. Morrie says how much his family means to him when facing death. He says
there is nothing like your own who love you and watch over you constantly
without giving up their own lives to attend to your dwindling life. It’s bad
enough for a disease (Lou Gehrig’s disease, or ALS) to take one life, let
alone three other family lives too. What balance I hear in these words and what
faith Morrie gives to all who read his story! Bernadine told me how much she
enjoyed just having time to be with her own blood sister, Sr. Josephine this
past week. Kelly shared how much the Seib family enjoyed one another as they
celebrated the 50th Wedding Anniversary of Jeff’s parents, Dick and Nettie
Seib. Jeff, when looking at all his nephews and one niece in the swimming pool
at the hotel said: "look at the Seib gene pool." Wow!
Sister Mary Eugenia just returned from a family wedding and
her home parish jubilee celebration at St. Joseph’s in Flush, KS. Sister said
that all her family is growing in Faith, because even sickness is seen as an
opportunity for God’s deepening of His love for them. Reminds me of Morrie
again, who says he is "lucky" to be able to see life in a whole new
way. My family also gathered over this month to celebrate our Country’s
birthday and Wally McMillen’s 80th birthday. Wally is my brother’s
father-in-law. It was so good to see the family getting to know each other
again. Some had not seen each other in years. What I like about family is that
God is family, three persons who love each other unconditionally. It’s not
that I’ll love you, if...but rather, I love you period. I see the same sense
of family at Sanctuary of Hope. Each one really caring for the other, taking
time to go out to eat or to sit together and pray or walk outside and enjoy the
beauty of nature. One evening my dog Sheba, Bernadine’s cat Mercy, and I were
all around the statue of St. Joseph. Sheba was beside me looking out in one
direction; I looking in another and Mercy was at the feet of St. Joseph looking
in still a third. Now, that’s family: - together and watching!
I sure thank all of you, Sanctuary of Hope Family, for your
many donations of in kind support, your financial gifts and your support of the
time-share, that Eugene and DeEdra Lipscomb offered to us as a donation. To date
we took in $2916 on the time-share and some $505 in extra donations for a grand
total of $3,421. Praise the Lord! I was so happy to be present when Kathy Darcy
was the winner at the July 8th drawing. Kathy said that she wanted to give back
to her own family and this time-share would be a wonderful way to do that!
We still need to press on. Our priority is to renovate the
Northeast wing of the building so that Sr. Mary Eugenia and Bernadine can
finally get their permanent quarters. So please keep your financial donations
coming. These are the backbone of our financial support. To renovate inside and
tuck point outside and keep up with the electrical and plumbing codes, it takes
a lot of money; in addition to many thousands of hours of donated labor. I
invite you to look at the wish list and see if you might be able to help.
I close with a reflection from Laurie Oswald, who is in
charge of our outreach to children, who come from homes where there has been
abuse. "Let’s have a picnic and invite the parents of these children to
SOH, so they too will get to know us and we them!" I sense the Father, with
Jesus and listening Holy Spirit saying the same to all of our families and loved
ones: "Let’s have a picnic...let’s celebrate, because we have all been
found."
Kathy Darcy of the Armordale district in Kansas City, Kansas who won the Timeshare Week at Tree-Top will use it to have a family reunion!
Return to Table of Contents
There was a buzz of excitement, anticipation, and maybe even a little nervousness in the air. After months of planning and re-arranging plans to make everything just right, June 28th was finally here --the day when 19 children, ages 5-13, plus their teenage helpers and counselor, Gary Lasley, came to spend the day at SOH. The day was marked by surprises and the providence of the Lord!
The weather forecast had been for rain in the morning. Instead, we were blessed with sunny skies and a temperature in the 70's, perfect for being outside! We began the day by gathering in the dining room for a welcome and prayer by Fr. Dennis, Kelly, Bernadine, and Sr. Eugenia. Just as we were beginning, a group of people whom we did not recognize came into the room. I thought perhaps they were visitors stopping in for a tour of the building. However, it turned out that they were a youth group from a church in Kentucky that had come to assist the Friends of Yates Center and ended up, much to their surprise and ours, spending the day with us. [The story] of just how they came to us is remarkable and is also featured in this newsletter. Their presence was another sign of God's Presence with us as we began the day.
After a continental breakfast, we moved out to the Garden House for the first session of our new art program, funded through a grant from the Sisters of Charity in Leavenworth. (There is also more information [about that] in this newsletter.) Patrick Chapin, an artist from the Children's Art Institute, led an activity of making clay turtles. The children made their own clay out of flour, sawdust and water mixed in Baggies, and then formed their own unique turtles to be baked and painted the following week. Patrick patiently facilitated the children at each table as they needed him. He stayed well beyond the time we had planned on, and even helped to clean up and serve lunch.
After making their turtles, the group was ready for some outdoor adventure, so we went hiking on a couple of the nature trails that are a part of the beautiful grounds of SOH. Some of the younger hikers enjoyed collecting treasures from the woods such as hickory nuts and toadstools. The older campers looked for animal tracks and seemed to enjoy exploring the twists and turns of the paths ahead of the main group. We were very grateful for our Girl Scout volunteers, Kim Conway and April Cremer, who helped us with the hike and the other activities of the day.
The last, steep hill and long walk across the field made us all feel ready for lunch. Kelly and Steve had a great meal fixed for us. We were all ready to sit awhile and get our "second wind".
After lunch, we went out on the front porch to hear the story of The Good Shepherd, as told by Fran Sheehan and Jan Mulvenon. Fran and Jan used miniature sheep and Shepherd figures made out of wood to help them tell the story. The children were very attentive and had some very good comments about the story. Fran and Jan also taught the children some songs which helped lead into our next activity, music.
Gary Marquar came to sing and play the guitar and a saw for us. He has come to SOH on several occasions and we are grateful for his time with us. It was an unusual experience for the campers to see a saw played as a musical instrument!
Next, everyone was ready for some more outdoor activities. The older kids chose basketball with Jack Connolly as the referee. As a father of five, he's had a lot of experience!
Some of the kids wanted to try their hand at flying kites. There was almost no breeze, but they had seemingly limitless perseverance and energy to run with them to keep them in the air. They really enjoyed the wide open space of the field.
In another part of the field was a wiffle-ball team of five. Marilyn Connolly was pitching to some interested young campers who delighted in hitting homeruns and running the imaginary bases.
Meanwhile, Bernadine and Kara were making the rounds, filling the many birdhouses on the grounds. Kara was so caught up in this activity that she even postponed her snack to continue helping. (The snack was donated by Peggy Thoennes of The Winning Team http://www.teamfundraiser.com which makes all kinds of delicious stuff.)
The last groups of campers were scattered at various places on the lawn or in the Garden House playing games of Uno, Scrabble, Topple, etc. It was an incredibly peaceful scene to look out across the grounds and see everyone at play so happily. It seemed to me at that moment that we were all indeed the sheep being tended by the Good Shepherd Himself in the green pastures of SOH.
Return to Table of ContentsHow First Presbyterian Church Middle High Youth Group
From Owensboro, Ky. Came to SOH
by Carole MacQuamieThroughout August 1999 to October 1999, our youth group prayed to God for guidance to a "mission place" that He would like for us to be. An offering of four places came to us, one of which was in Kansas City, Mo., Grace United Methodist Church. This Methodist church facilitates groups who wish to work missions within the Kansas City area.
Our group performed a number of fundraisers to raise funds that would cover the costs of our trip. We traveled from Owensboro, Ky. to Kansas City, Mo. on Monday, June 26th. It is about an 8 1/2 hour trip. We arrived at Grace Church that evening.
The staff at Grace Church works hard to coordinate mission opportunities for youth groups from out of town. The next day we worked at the New Visions Ministry cleaning an attic and basement. Our group had desired to work with children. Grace had tried to connect us with those opportunities, but it had been challenging for us to obtain those connections. That would change the following day. As God's providence prevailed, we were directed to the Friends of Yates, who asked us to assist with their day camp at the Sanctuary of Hope.
What is most unique about our story is that God knew what was in our hearts. He led us, through the Holy Spirit, to work with a group of youngsters. Our paths crossed, in His greater understanding, to do what we had originally felt led to do. I would like to add that, leading up to this day, we weren't feeling that our presence was as needed and as hoped for as it was with the Sanctuary of Hope. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Return to Friends of Yates Day Camp Program
FRIENDS OF YATES DAY CAMP COMES TO
SOH
This spring, SOH received a grant from the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health Services System Mission Fund. to begin an art program known as God's Art of Healing. Through the program, we hope to offer people a variety of outlets for their self-expression, self-esteem, and creativity. In doing so, we seek to provide them with another avenue for meeting God their Creator, and receiving healing.
To begin the program, instructors from the Children's Art Institute and JoAnn's Etc. will be coming to SOH to facilitate sessions. The content of the sessions will be determined by the interests of those who participate. Some of the possibilities we offer are crafts, sculpture, painting and sewing.
We have begun the sessions by hosting the Friends of Yates Day Camp children. They came for the day on June 28th, and have also come from 9:00 to 11:00 each Wednesday morning in July. We are looking for more people to invite, as well as instructors and volunteers. If you would like to help, or know of a group of children or adults who would like to participate in the program, please call the Sanctuary of Hope at (913) 321-4673 or Laurie Oswald at (816) 363-5416.
Return to Friends of Yates Day Camp Program
Coming Event
Eight more of the 22 businesses donating to SOH
Burns and McDonnell Engineering Co.
Jeff Seib (contact) 816-822-3237
Casas Construction Co.
Jesus Casas Sr (owner) 913-384-2272
Century Fire Protection
Dave Kendrick (owner) 913-677-0808
Convoy Commercial Trucking
Terry Gruenewald (owner) 913-371-6500
Home Piano Tuning by Lucy Urlacher
Lucy (owner) 913-384-9705
Luke Schwarzenberger Home Painting
Luke (owner) 913-236-6902
National Electric
Michael Sharpe (owner) 816-229-9555
Triad Commercial Construction Co.
Tom Nadler (owner) 816-756-5788
S O H "Wish List"
Money to install tile in East Stairwell
We have $200 of the needed $650
Artist to repair and weatherize 2 large statues - For outside use
Money for plumbing rough-in of two
East-end staff bathrooms
Craftsman to install SOH Chapel
Communion rail gates
Electrician to install front porch and chapel
ceiling fans and light fixtures
Crew of men to assist Ralph Pruente with carpentry in the North end
Living Room and Office
Tuesday and Wednesday evenings
