Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Articles”
Lara Schopp Articles, Carla Aday, Senior Minister Blog
I have always been uncomfortable with the “week of the ministry” as set apart by our denominational leaders or even now by Hallmark. While it is nice to receive cards of gratitude, my own theology is that all of us are ministers. So what I do is not more special …
Lara Schopp Articles, Carla Aday, Senior Minister Blog
Last Sunday was the culmination of six years of planning. I cannot begin to adequately thank the Centennial Steering Committee under the leadership of Peter and Lesley Holt, and Honorary Chairs Tom Van Dyke and Kay Barnes. And the entire clergy and staff team worked so hard for so long …
Lara Schopp Carla Aday, Senior Minister Blog
On September 30, the City Council of Kansas City, Missouri, presented a special action resolution honoring our church’s Centennial. I was honored to receive the action, along with Lesley Holt, co-chair of the Centennial, from our member, Councilwoman Andrea Bough who also represents our district. It read in part…WHEREAS, the …
Lara Schopp Carla Aday, Senior Minister Blog
Our church has had eight Senior Ministers in its first 100 years. I was lucky enough to know four of them and be one of them. Dr. Bash was small in stature but had a booming voice. Long before it was popular, he invited people of different faith traditions …
Lara Schopp Carla Aday, Senior Minister Blog
When I saw it for the first time, I cried. I held it in my hands and marveled. So much work. So much hope. So much beauty. So many stories. So much love. All wrapped into one book. The First Century of Service: A City Church by Dr. Linna Place …
Lara Schopp Articles, Carla Aday, Senior Minister Blog
As we approach the 20th anniversary of 9/11, I recall driving to pick up my kindergartener son on that tragic and eerie day. While the memories of horror are vivid for many of us, for others, including our youth minister who was only 8 years old at the time, it …
Lara Schopp Articles, Carla Aday, Senior Minister Blog
Most of us were taught from Kindergarten onward to take good care of our bodies: eat healthily, exercise, sleep eight hours. And we were encouraged to cultivate the mind: read books, study hard, explore nature and the arts. But these two wise paths did not necessarily intersect. Keeping mind and …
Lara Schopp Articles, Carla Aday, Senior Minister Blog
My okra plant only produces about one okra pod every two or three days, not enough to really make a jar of pickled okra or a skillet full of fried okra. But I still enjoy watching it transform from flower to fruit on its willowy stalk and feel a bit …
Lara Schopp Articles, Carla Aday, Senior Minister Blog
Back in graduate school I was taught that the preacher should prepare for a sermon with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. The image originates with a 20th century theologian, Karl Barth, who wrote, “Take your Bible and take your newspaper, and read both. …
Lara Schopp Articles, Carla Aday, Senior Minister Blog, Uncategorized
When I was a little girl, my Dad and I would take walks in the park or golf course and pick up pecans from the ground. Then we would come home and sit down together on the floor in front of the fire and crack them open. But I only …
Lara Schopp Articles, Mike Graves
On August 15, we are returning to in-person worship at our three normal times: 9:01, 10:00, and 11:00. You probably already knew that since we’ve been announcing it over and over. But what you may not know is that another “return” is in the works starting that same day, a …
Lara Schopp Articles, Carla Aday, Senior Minister Blog
In her book Making All Things New Ilia Delio points out that we like the concept of wholeness. We buy groceries at “Whole Foods.” Some of us have tried the “Whole 30” diet. We try to do a “whole body workout” and we increasingly rely on holistic medicine. And Augustine, …
Lara Schopp Carla Aday, Senior Minister Blog
How do we pray when life is not going well? Sometimes it feels like we are doing everything right but life just keeps falling apart. In his book Meditations of the Heart, Howard Thurman begins a poetic prayer like this, “At times when the strain is heaviest upon us, and …
Lara Schopp Articles, Carla Aday, Senior Minister Blog
Usually I write to you to share a meditation or reflection. But today I write more of a pastoral letter. We are experiencing multiple transitions in the life of our faith community and I want to share with you a few inside glimpses of what is unfolding. First, thank you. …
Lara Schopp Articles, Carla Aday, Senior Minister Blog
As the fireworks pierce the night sky with staccato bursts, we will again remember the birth of our nation. Those who signed the Declaration of Independence risked their lives for liberty. John Adams wrote a letter to his wife Abigail on July 3, 1776 which said in part: “You will …
