Welcome to Easter! Wow and Praise the Lord! With the Risen
Jesus Christ, Yeshua, the Holy One of Israel, all of us have arrived at a
Season of grace and love. My heart goes to the Holy Scriptures and especially
to John 1:16: "Of his fullness we have all had a share--love following
upon love." Some translations say: "blessings upon blessings."
Yes, we could say: "Grace upon grace."
God (however we want to address this Divine Being) wants you
and me to know that just loving us isn’t enough. God also wants to drown
us in love. God desires that all of humanity become a sharer in God’s
fullness. In the rule that guides the Live-ins at Sanctuary of Hope, in the
chapter on "Love and Prayer," it states: "Follow the way of
love, even as Christ loved you. He gave himself for us as an offering to God,
a gift of pleasing fragrance." (Ephesians 5:2) This Savior, Jesus Christ,
is not interested in what we have in our check book, but what is in our heart.
So when I awake each day, do I also desire to go forth into this day in order
to bring the fullest love to others that I meet?
A good friend of mine, tells me (not only in words, but by
his whole self) that he wants to radiate this kind of love to everyone he
meets, brings into his meditation or calls to mind. This is what Jesus is
doing now as the Lord of all glory. Jesus loves; for God is love and they who
abide in love, abide in God and God in them. I can’t begin to tell you how
many times I’m reminded of such love in a day. I see a friend and he tells
me that he can sense when God is using him. I walk into a sick room and I hear
that the person knows that it was God who really brought healing to them. I
absolve sin in the name of Jesus Christ and I see the person take on a whole
new countenance. I work hard at letting go of my own plans (this isn’t easy
for me that wants to hold on to everything and everyone) and just waiting for
a surprise visit of God. No matter what the pain, what the hurt, the one who
is willing to go forth always wins. As our neighborhood Church of God of
Prophecy said on their new sign in front of the Church; "the only true
revenge is forgiveness." Wow, what a statement!
Why do I have to always wait for a tragedy to awaken me to
the necessity of living in the fullness of God’s holy love? Why do I wait
until a person dies before I say what is in my heart to them? Why can’t I
radiate the love of Jesus to whomever I desire? What’s queer is not to have
tried to love. As the saying goes: "better to have tried to love and
failed, than never to have tried at all." Do I let God love me? Do I
really desire God’s friendship?
With the Risen Jesus, I invite all of you to reach out in
love. Sure it may be a bit embarrassing, but so what. I invite you to take the
"Easter Plunge," and know that God’s love is with you. "Follow
the way of love..." and be that gift of fragrance to another, to
oneself! Yeshua is still in a hurry to save God’s People.
So go get those dancing shoes and come on over to Sanctuary
of Hope. Take some quality time to walk with God, to run with God, to dance
with God. Give a donation to the Timeshare raffle and who knows you may win a
trip to the Ozarks and invite five of your friends to go along with you.
"Bless and do not curse; love your enemy; do good to
those who persecute you; forgive as I have forgiven you and over all these
virtues put on love which binds the rest together."
On behalf of the family of Sanctuary of Hope, I wish all of
you a very loving, grace-filled and blest Easter Season...our deepest thanks
for all your prayers, cards, gifts, friendship and labors of love for God and
others.
Love and Prayers,
Fr. Dennis Wait,
Spiritual Director
Return to Table of Contents
Tree Top Resort Raffle
By Eugene Lipscomb
SANCTUARY OF HOPE FUNDRAISER - SHARING A TIMESHARE
Sanctuary of Hope (SOH) has been blessed to receive a
donation of a timeshare week at the Treetop Village located in the Lake of the
Ozarks, Missouri. We are excited about such a wonderful gift and consider it to
be an excellent get-away from the normal routine of every day life.
As many of you are aware, SOH is continuing its renovation
of the facility and believe a raffle of the timeshare would assist in raising
funds for repairs to the Northeast Wing.
The donors describe Treetop Village in the following
manner.
"Imagine a place nestled in the woods surrounded by
tall oak and cedar trees overlooking a lake with calm ripples that gently hug
the rock cliffs and tree shoreline ----- imagine the weather during the first
week of October when the mild and warm fall air has pushed the summer heat away
------ imagine seeing birds of many different species performing a show by
displaying their beautiful colors and pleasant sounds ------ imagine watching
chipmunks, squirrels and an occasional woodchuck gathering acorns beneath the
large oak trees ------imagine participating in water sports such as fishing,
swimming, sailing or simply enjoying watching others do so ------ imagine the
peace, tranquility and a place where there is a telephone but no one calls
------ imagine a place that allows you to reflect and meditate on your blessings
------ Welcome to Treetop Village!
The Treetop unit is fully equipped and consists of two
bedrooms and two baths with accommodations for six people. The week starts
Friday, September 29, 2000 and ends Friday, October 6, 2000. The Treetop Village
property includes tennis courts, basketball courts, four swimming pools (one
indoors) and more. It is located near grocery and other shopping including the
Outlet Mall located a short distance away in Osage Beach, Mo.
SOH is seeking donations of $1.00 for each raffle entry and
individuals may enter as often as they like. The drawing is set for Saturday,
July 8, 2000 after the SOH Associates’ Meeting, around 12 Noon, and an
individual need not be present to win. However, all persons are encouraged to be
present on that day and take advantage of the opportunity to meet the
Associates, tour the beautiful facility and grounds and learn more about SOH.
SOH intends to send a letter to all of its members
requesting their support for this very worthy fundraiser. The funds will assist
SOH in continuing its renovation of the facility. SOH is thankful to the donors
for such a generous donation and is hopeful that this endeavor will receive
great support.
Any one desiring raffle entries or wishing to donate to the
renovation of the Northeast Wing of the facility should contact SOH at (913)
321-4673 (HOPE).
Run the Good Race: Afterview
Jack Connolly
Run the Good Race, a 5k run/walk and pancake breakfast took place at SOH and
nearby streets beginning at 8AM Saturday, April 15. Eighty eight people, ages 8
to 'over 70', finished the event. It is estimated that 140 breakfasts were
served.
Financially the race was a success. A detailed analysis awaits but in round
numbers what we netted (about $1000 plus the leftover race tee shirts) is just
about what the race sponsors donated. I must express my appreciation to the
sponsors here (See the Thank You document). In every case the money that they
donated had a personal touch to it and their support of this event is a
testimony to their generosity and to the kind of support that seems to follow
(or precede) SOH everywhere.
The race manager for this event was Rusty Collins, a local KC runner who
manages dozens of races in the metropolitan area each year. Rusty's wife, Dana,
and friend, David Haeberle, assist him. Run the Good Race simply would not have
happened without these three good people. The experience, good will, and even
temper that they displayed made my job possible and was a significant
contributing factor to the good time which was had by all present.
The race started at about 8AM under cool cloudy conditions. The picture shows Rusty starting the race with a whistle because we had no PA system due to
the DJ's absence. The next picture shows Fr. Dennis and Fr.
Mark starting in a more leisurely fashion.
Fr. Mark finished in about 25 minutes
and Fr. Dennis finished in about 50 minutes, so they must have parted company
along the way.
Sixteen minutes after the start of the race our winner, Mike
Scannell, showed up.
Several finishers later Robert Chase arrived.
Robert is a member of the National Guard group which supported the race.
We had four guardsmen as race monitors and Robert ran the event - thanks guys!
Other finishers of note were the youngest finisher 8 year
old Justin Pyburn, Bari Mallin who is recovering from a
broken foot and won the women's master medal, and Corky Stueve
who was one of the race sponsors and would have won the best outfit award if we
had thought to have one.
The last picture of finishers is two ladies whom I do
not know
but their facial expressions capture the atmosphere of the event.
The last picture taken after most of the runners had finished gives a
flavor of the mellow atmosphere which pervaded SOH on April 15 morn.
There are a lot of vantage points at a 5k event, and the start/finish line is
not a good one. From the starting line at SOH we could see the participants for
about 100 yards and then they disappeared down the hill. Once everyone is on the
course the only information about what was happening came from David who had a
radio in the pace car. So my experience of the race was that they went away and
then they came back. Other people had different vantage points and their
impressions allow a fuller picture of what the event was like. Mike Scannell's
take on things is: "The race seemed to go by so quickly, I think because of
the course layout where you could see the field much of the race. It made the
event special." Marilyn Connolly was working the water station near the top
of the largest hill on the course. She reported that the workers up there could
watch the runners below on the Park Drive straightaway before they disappeared
past the hill and then much later when they came plodding up the hill. She also
reported that Sr. Eugenia was the star at the water station. Ann Lento was one
of the walkers and she reported that seeing the runners from below silhouetted
against the sky at the top of the hill was beautiful.
One of the goals of the event was to gain exposure for SOH. In that regard I
think what happened after the race was perhaps most important because EVERYONE
STAYED! My personal experience with road races is that people run, drink
something, chat a little and then leave. We benefited from the fact that Frank
Parenti's repairs on the front area of the building had progressed far enough so
that the participants could go directly from the finish line to the dining room.
So the typical situation was that the runner would finish, drink some water and
recover and then go in and eat. When it came time for awards the dining room was
full and noisy, it felt like someone was having a party. We gave out over 50
awards and all but one or two were collected by the individual whose name was
called.
In summary, we achieved the goals of getting exposure for SOH and making a
little money. It looked to me like the participants had a pleasant experience.
The people who worked with me on this event took their jobs seriously and
performed beyond my expectations, to the point that there was little for me to
do at the end. We plan to do it again next year. We hope to do it better but I
doubt that it will be any more satisfying than it was this year.
Yes, We Ran the Good Race
THANK YOU
This is a list of the sponsors, friends and other supporters
of the Run the Good Race event.
Sponsor
($100. or more in cash or product)
A. C. Printing Co., Inc. 1475 N
Winchester Olathe, KS 66061
Stueve & Enna Financial Group 7500 College Blvd.,
#500 Overland Park, KS 66210
Security Bank of Kansas City One Security
Plaza Kansas City, KS 66117
Clark Enterprises 3250 Brinkerhoff
Rd. Kansas City, KS 66115
John E. Tiszka Kansas City, KS
Catholic Cemeteries Association of Wyandotte & Johnson Counties Kansas,
Inc.
1150 N 38th Kansas City, KS 66102
The Manna Nutrition 95th & Nall Store 95th &
Nall Overland Park, KS
Reichhold Inc. 3150 Fiberglass Rd.
Kansas City, KS 66115
UM Bank 601 Minnesota Kansas City,
KS 66101
Friend (
Less than $100. donation)
First Community Bank 1300 N 78th
St. Kansas City, KS 66112
Carl Hoff Miami, FL
Joe Bauer Leawood, KS
Frank Clark (tee shirt supplier) 4808
Birch Roeland Park, KS 66205
Knights of Columbus Unity Council #709
Ball's Food Stores 5300 Speaker Rd., Kansas City, KS
66106
Fritz's Union Station Restaurant 250 N 18th
St. Kansas City, KS 66102
Mr. & Mrs. Wm Harper Overland Park, KS
Colgate Palmolive Co. Kansas City, KS
McDonald's Corporation
HyVee Mission, KS
Helpers
Help with whatever was necessary-from the start Bernadine
Asher
The Kitchen Team Marty Thoennes (in
charge) Jack Nagel (pancake maker)
Seve Madrigal Jane LaPlante Wilie Etta
Jennings Jodi Dore
The Water Crew Marilyn Connolly Sr.
Eugenia Gene Lipscomb
The Road Crew Kansas National Guard
Joe Bauer Frank Bustamente
Gib Gose Bill Criqui John Theis
Red Cross Contact Jennifer Dusil
Race Results by:
[Age Group]
[Overall]
Healing of Memories
By Fr Dennis Wait
Our Healing of Memories Prayer Service
on Friday, April 7th, at Sanctuary of Hope Chapel was attended by 90 people who
allowed Jesus to heal us from our past hurts and to place us on the highway to
full recovery and joy, knowing all is well and all will be well with God's
healing touch. Praying in the Holy Spirit lasted well-past the
planned ending time of 9:00 PM.
Twenty two businesses have
donated materials and services to SOH.
You might like to patronize them also.
In gratitude we acknowledge the next nine on our list:
J.C. Nichols Company
Payless Cashways Corporate
Office (Dennis Knowles)
A. C. Printing Company (Greg
Russell) 913-780-3377
Datamail (Joseph Robison)
(816-523-0222
WinPro Solutions for Cleaning
(Steve & Hal Kurz) 913-894-2130
Dusil Insurance Agency (Tony
Dusil) 913-422-2096
Discount Auto Exchange (Dennis
Shaw) 913-384-2227
Perfection Auto Body (Sonny
Selectman) 913-342-5123
Underwood Studios (Jim Devine)
816-842-0691
S O H "Wish List"
Restaurant size
(Industrial)
Refrigerator
Track-lighting for
Chapel over the altar
Track-lighting
for Art Room
Volunteer Professionals:
Craftsman to install
ornate
Communion Rail Gates
in Chapel
Return to Table of Contents
OR Home
Sanctuary of Hope
