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V o l u m e   T h r e e     N u m b e r   T h r e e  -   M a y   1 9 9 9


Advancing Dawn
Refurbishment
John Michael Talbot
Renovation
Other Newsletters

Sanctuary of Hope
Inner 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)

The Advancing Dawn
The Dream is what is real.

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Refurbishment
To brighten and freshen up.

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John Michael Talbot
Concert and Prayer Walks.

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North End Renovation.
Restoration and Replacement.

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Tom Gilbert - Editor
E: Mail: TMGilbert@SanctuaryOfHope.org

 

 

Welcome to the Season of Easter's Joy and Hope! nothing can frustrate the love of God poured out into all our hearts. I sense that the Lord desires each of us to realize our dream. To me, the dream is what is real and anointed of the Lord. After a powerful retreat weekend, someone told me: “Father, this weekend is what is real, not the humdrum of life that we go back into after the retreat.” What is real about any dream is that it is an opportunity for us to encounter God.

The Church of the Brethren, our neighbors who have come to Sanctuary of Hope several times for retreat, have shared how much they have enjoyed realizing their dream of being Christ to our inner city people. Jeff Seib and Kelly Ashton, who will be moving into SOH around June of this year, have a dream to help our people by providing retreat rooms and a tasty breakfast for our guests. Jeff and Kelly know that Our Risen Jesus is asking all of us to be more simple in our approach to life. Watching the renovation taking place in the North area of the building, it's good to see years of neglect being addressed to help make this a place for people to meet the Lord and renew their lives in their own unique way.

On Holy Saturday evening at the Vigil of Easter, Bernadine Asher, Sr. Mary Eugenia Floersch, SCL, Dennis Deere, Kelly Ashton, Jeff Seib and I renewed our promise for another year to be live-ins at Sanctuary of Hope. Then we renewed our Baptismal promises. Wow and Praise the Lord! It was proof that this small faith community of SOH is really coming about in ways beyond our wildest dreams. There were tears in our eyes as each of us said our names and promised to offer our lives in love and service to God and His people in the presence of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and each other.

At the FIRE rally in Topeka, KS, we were told that the new millennium will see new communities of faith come alive in the Church. We are definitely one of them. Sr. Ann Shields said that the Greek word for God hearing the prayer of a just man or woman means “continuous explosions.” Sister said that we are in a battle and you can't give up or expect it to be over with only one or a few attempts. It takes perseverance -- continuous explosions. Even when we feel that God is not answering He may be just “pruning.” Pruning means God is getting ready to give us even more fruits of justice!!!

I encourage everyone to attend the concert by John Michael Talbot and either of our two Kansas City prayer walks the next morning.

 

May your dream come true,
you who wait upon the Lord.
Fr. Dennis Wait
Spiritual Director

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Refurbish(verb): To brighten or freshen up; renovate
By Jeff Seib

 

Sanctuary of Hope exists to help people refurbish their relationship with God and each other. It does this by providing an atmosphere and place of loving support to those in spiritual and physical need. Sanctuary of Hope itself is being refurbished. In order to provide that place of support we are constantly cleaning, repairing and renovating our facilities. The latest efforts to brighten up are taking place in the northwest corner of the building. Rooms that were once used to house the chaplain and residents of the Mount St. Joseph nursing home are being refurbished to serve similar purposes for SOH.

On the building's main level, the chaplain's bedroom and bath are being renovated to provide enlarged bathroom, storage and office spaces for Fr. Dennis Wait. The public bathroom adjacent to the front meeting room has been enlarged and outfitted for handicap access. In addition, the front meeting room is being cleaned, patched, painted and fitted with new lighting.

On the upper level, bedroom and bath facilities are being refurbished and a small kitchen is being added to serve the soon-to-be newest live-in members of SOH Jeff Seib, Kelly Ashton and family. The work has included removal of walls and doors, installation of new walls and doors, wallpaper removal, cleaning, painting and polishing.

The much needed upgrades also provide improved function of the plumbing and electrical systems in addition to the fresh looks for the walls and floors (some of which hadn't seen a coat of paint, wallpaper or polish in at least 50 years).

Dust is beginning to settle and work nears final stages. Rooms would be occupied in June. We invite you to stop by, see our refurbishing and spend some time with us working on your own renovation.

 

Sanctuary of Hope Wish-List

If you would like to contribute either materials or labor we need:

Ceiling Fans with light kits primarily for hallways
An Incense Censer and Boat for benediction services
Small Writing Desks with Chairs, End Tables, Book Shelves and Lamps
Kitchen Cabinets either new or used
Commercial Appliances: Refrigerator, Dish Washer, Clothes Washer and Dryer

Professional or Amateur Volunteer:
Electricians and Plumbers
Gardeners for the 25 acres

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John Michael Talbot coming - by Marilyn Connolly

John Michael Talbot

 

John Michael Talbot, founder of the Brothers and Sisters of Charity, Eureka Springs, Arkansas spends a week each month on the road to express his concern for the degeneration of North American cities. He will share his music Friday, June 25th at 7:00 pm on the Sanctuary of Hope grounds. The 25 acre site has plenty of room for parking.

The next morning at 9:00 am there will be a Prayer Walk in both Kansas Cities to help usher-in the next millennium. The walk will be quiet, prayerful and peaceful in contrast to the rising violence of our American cities, families and streets. John Michael will lead the Kansas City, MO walk that will leave from Guardian Angels Church parking lot at Westport and Mercier. Father Dennis Wait will lead a similar walk around Kansas City, KS which will leave from Huron Park at Sixth and Armstrong. Both groups will conclude at St. John Baptist Park at Fourth and Ann with a short closing prayer service about 11:00 am. You may use the parking lot on the Southwest corner of the Reardon Center at Fifth and Minnesota for these activities.

 

Make plans to attend now...

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North-End Renovation Proceeding - by Ralph Pruente

Going Going Gone!
Going... GOING... GONE!

The demolition phase is fun but not as easy as it looks. We must preserve the building while placing surfaces and fixtures.

The renovations also have required new electrical power and plumbing lines for the North end of the building. Half a dozen faithfuls and a couple dozen irregulars have contributed about 600 hours of free labor to bring the project to its present 75% level of completion. Donations of plumbing and electric fixtures have helped manage the costs. April and May painting and fixture installations could produce living areas in June.

The hard part
Now for the hard part: All these improve- ments will be for naught should water damage from deteriorating external walls occur. When we say that we need tuck-pointing, we don't mean a few cosmetic touches but what we need is restoration of all the exterior brick and stone exterior. Unless those gaps and holes are filled, water will seep in and ruin the new walls of the renovation.
This is a huge job which will require considerable assistance from all of us: donors as well as workers. Since we have come this far by faith, we have to believe that our membership will meet this challenge as well. Pray to the Holy Spirit to send resources along with the workers to accomplish our exterior restorations to match what is almost complete on the interior.

Regards from Ralph

Ralph on the right

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