March/Lent Newsletter – Volume 70, No. 3
“Compton Oneing”
Julian of Norwich said, “The love of God creates in us a ‘oneing’ that when it is truly seen, no person can
separate themselves from another person” (Julian of Norwich, Showings, 65.)
The love of God has “oned” us together at Compton Heights Christian Church where ALL are welcome!
And so, similar to the Compton Rising process several years ago, Compton Oneing is a new name we have chosen for the journey of our interim ministry together, where over the next 12-18 months, we will
engage our Heritage, Leadership, Mission, Connections and Future as a congregation.
Compton Oneing is everything we do in the interim period to build up and strengthen CHCC. It’s an
invitation for everyone to dream, imagine, and create, in a variety of ways and formats.
As we are returning to in-person worship this month, we would also like to come together (in-person) for
a Compton Oneing event! We want to spend a little time together enjoying one another’s company and
engaging with our interim ministry. Steve will facilitate some fun and meaningful activities focused on intentionally naming and celebrating the core values that serve as the underlying passion and spirit of our mission and ministry together.
WHEN: Saturday, March 26
TIME: 9:00am – 11:30am
WHERE: Fellowship Hall at Church
FOOD: ☺ Breakfast: Fruit, Bagels & Cream Cheese, Donuts, Coffee, Tea, Juice
Lunch: Going out for those who can
We hope everyone can come. Everyone is needed. God’s love makes us One. See you on Sundays and see you on Saturday, March 26! Steve
Mid-Week Lenten Worship
Dear Church,
Once again, we are entering into the season of Lent. It is the season of journeying with Jesus to the cross, and therefore, it is the season of not
“sweeping under the carpet” his suffering, our own suffering and the suffering of the world. It is the season of drawing near to God and to the mystery of faith: Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ comes again.
We enter this season in humble reverence because we know that the inevitable journey to and
through the cross is holy, sacred, life-changing, world-changing. So, as we journey together during this season, in addition to Sunday worship, let’s come together for midweek worship too! Let’s meet on Zoom on Wednesday evenings at 7:00pm.
Worship will be reflective and conversational, offering an additional touchstone with the Spirit
and with one another each week.
To center our worship each week, we will use the Daily Lectionary Gospel Texts and Eugene Peterson’s interpretation of the Bible: The Message. (See information on The Message below)
Here are the assigned scripture passages and some conversation starters for each week:
March 9 – Luke 21:34-22:6 “Don’t Fall Asleep at the Wheel”
March 16 – Luke 13:22-31 “Strangers to Grace”
March 23 – Luke 13:18-21 “How Can We Picture God’s Kingdom?
March 30 – Luke 9:10-17 “Graciously Welcomed”
April 6 – Luke 18:31-34 “What Didn’t They Get?”
See you on Sundays AND Wednesdays during Lent!
Grace & Peace, Steve
A little about The Message…
“While I was teaching a class on Galatians, I began to realize that the adults in my class weren’t
feeling the vitality and directness that I sensed as I read and studied the New Testament in its
original Greek. Writing straight from the original text, I began to attempt to bring into English the
rhythms and idioms of the original language. I knew that the early readers of the New Testament
were captured and engaged by these writings and I wanted my congregation to be impacted in the
same way. I hoped to bring the New Testament to life for two different types of people: those who
hadn’t read the Bible because it seemed too distant and irrelevant and those who had read the Bible
so much that it had become ‘old hat.’ [My] primary goal was to capture the tone of the text and the
original conversational feel of the Greek, in contemporary English.” -Eugene H. Peterson
******************************
Worship Notes
NOTE! CHCC is returning to in-person Worship on Sunday, March 6
Volunteers are needed for in-person worship: Streaming Tech, Greeter, Elders, Deacons, and Liturgist. Elders and Deacons are asked to enter the dates they are serving on line and to arrange for a substitute if they cannot serve on their selected dates. Click here to go to SignUp Genius.
If you want to volunteer but need help with the online signup, let Kathy Mead know and she will walk you through the process.
Serving Schedule
March Home Communion: Elder: Judi Linville; Alt. Rev. Millie Slack; Deacon: Heather Stout
March 6: Liturgist: Nancy Obermiller; Communion: Diane Richardson; Stewardship: Carolyn Harry;
Deacons: Kathy Mead and Liz Vollmar
March 13: Liturgist: Susan Miller; Communion: Judi Linville; Stewardship: Nancy Obermiller; Deacons TBA
March 20: Liturgist: Brenda Booth; Communion: Rev. Millie Slack; Stewardship: Joan James; Deacons TBA
March 27: Liturgist: Madeline Haraway; Communion: Leslie Latham; Stewardship: Marsha McGuire;
Deacons TBA.
Please hold in prayer: Audrey and Walt T., Karen P., Howard M.,
Katherine K., Cathy H., Shannon W., Diane R., Ryan O. (husband of Steve R.’s niece.)
We Also pray for: An end to violence as Russia invades Ukraine. All who
have been killed, injured and driven from their homes to refuge in other countries. Those who are affected by extreme weather events. Everyone who is struggling with loneliness, depression and isolation. All who have lost family to Covid-19 and other illnesses. Workers facing burnout; exhausted medical workers and teachers. Anyone who experiences pain and alienation from past experiences: may you know that God loves ALL of us. May we find hope and choose to build healthy relationships within ourselves, with others, and with creation itself.
*****************************
Congratulations To former pastoral intern Rob Van Ness (2009-2010), who has accepted a call to be Senior Pastor at Pilgrim United Church of Christ in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Rob has been Senior Pastor of Holy Trinity Community Church (UCC) in Memphis, TN since 2016. He and his husband, Nicky Banks, (and their two cats) will be relocating at the end of April. Rob concluded his announcement on FaceBook with this quote: “You never really leave a place you love; you take a part of it with you…and leave a part of you behind.” So true for all of our Pastoral Interns at CHCC!
*****************************
Thank you to everyone who answered the call on Saturday, March 5 to transform the Sanctuary for Lent
(by taking down the last of the Advent/Christmas decorations) and prepare the building for our return to in-person Worship on March 6.
Happy Birthday!
MARCH
16 David F
18 Courtney H.
19 Bob M.
22 Dave M.
APRIL
20 Leslie L.
25 DebE M.
26 Karen P.
29 Madison P.
Upcoming Events
- Sunday, March 6, Morning Worship, 11 am
- Monday, March 7, Board of Ministry, 7 pm on Zoom
- Wednesday, March 9, Lenten Worship, 7 pm on Zoom
- Saturday, March 12, Book Circle, 1pm on Zoom
- Sunday, March 13, Morning Worship, 11am
- Deacons meet after worship
- Wednesday, March 16, Lenten Worship, 7 pm on Zoom
- Sunday, March 20, Morning Worship, 11 am
- Tuesday, March 22, Elders Circle, 7 pm on Zoom
- Wednesday, March 23, Lenten Worship, 7 pm on Zoom
- Saturday, March 26, Compton Oneing Event, 9 – 11:30 am
- Sunday, March 27 Morning Worship, 11 am
- Monday, March 28, Cabinet Meeting, 7 pm on Zoom
If you are not on the church email list and need Zoom link information, fill out the form below with information on which event you want to attend and we will send you the link.
Your message has been sent
Calling All Deacons
Please plan to meet briefly after church on March 13. The Deacons need to choose a chair and discuss scheduling and responsibilities.
In-person Worship Protocol
We will continue to wear masks and observe social distancing in the pews as we return to worship
in the sanctuary. Please sign the Greeter’s register as you enter and pick up a bulletin and
communion elements.
Mission Notes
Wider Church Opportunities
Disciples Women in Mid-America will hold their regular monthly gathering on Saturday, March 26 at 9 a.m. Grab a cup of coffee and learn about missions in other churches of the region. For a zoom link, visit Click here for Zoom link information.
Restoring Nature: What People of Faith Can Do to Heal the Earth is a Webinar jointly sponsored
by the Christian Church DOC and the United Church of Christ on March 23 at Noon Central Time.
Here is a description:
Douglas Tallamy’s books have awakened thousands to the problem of wildlife decline and the solution that resides in habitat restoration. This is a solution of which you and your faith community can be a part. The solution can be as close as your backyard or the property surrounding your place of worship. In this webinar, Tallamy will outline the crisis faced and what we can do in response. The green teams and green thumbs of faith communities will learn not only about cultivating native plants in the landscapes around them, but also what can be done to create a transformative movement full of actions ordinary people everywhere can take. To care for God’s creation, we can start by simply stepping outside the doors of where we gather for
worship to make the most of our sacred places. In this webinar, Tallamy will raise our awareness and equip us to make a difference in our world. Click here to register.
Response in Ukraine
Week of Compassion is already there! Our partners, through ACT Alliance, have already responded to the immediate needs by shipping 28 tons of food in the first days of the conflict to support those fleeing to Hungary, and staff have been working with refugees at the Ukraine/ Hungary border. Shipments of canned food, flour, sugar, oil, rice, pasta, biscuits, long-life milk, tea and hygiene products are arriving at centers for families forced to flee their homes. Shelter capacities are being scaled up, and humanitarian information points are being established to help those arriving to the border and awaiting entry. WOC also has connected with International Ministries of the American Baptist Church and their work through the European Baptist Federation in Poland and Hungary.
Note: We have received $460 so far in the February special offering. Contributions for Week of Compassion can be given at any time and are still being received in the current appeal. Checks may be made to the church and designated for WOC or click here to donate through Givelify or click here to donate through PayPal
Marty Renner-Hughes, our financial secretary, is still receiving estimates of giving for 2022. If you have not yet returned your estimate form, you may simply email her with your giving intentions for 2022. We hope to have a good report of Giving at the March 7th Board Meeting.











We hold each other and our wider community, nation, and world in prayer. It is more than a turn of phrase to say that we “pray without ceasing.” This is a community grounded and centered in prayer in such a way that we hold each other and those we do not know in God’s Restorative Light day and night.
We celebrate the life of Sharon Lee Sack Clayton
SAVE THE DATE: Dinner Celebration!
The Compton Heights CC Book Club
MCU:
CAN YOU HELP US PROVIDE WINTER SHELTER?
2nd Talya Perry
9th Penny Miller
We celebrate that Deanna Snowden and Nick Snowden
FALL CLASSES BEGIN SUNDAY, SEPT 8, 10 am
Hello! My name is Madison Peterson- I’m so excited to be joining you this year at Compton Heights! I was born and raised Disciple. I call the Kansas City Region home and grew up a Lee’s Summit Christian Church. I first felt a call to
It has been a while since we held a Blessing of the Animals at Compton Heights CC! Several people have suggested that this would be a good time to gather for Pet Blessing! The last time we did this blessing on Earth Day. But it is more traditionally done around the Church’s celebration of St. Francis of Assisi which is October 4. So this year, we will hold a Blessing of the Animals on Saturday, October 5, 1:00 pm on the church lawn.
Compton Heights CC Book Group
Join us for STORY CIRCLE – the last Sunday of the month, beginning Sunday, September 29 LIGHT LUNCH at 12:30 pm Circle at 1:00 pm
What’s Happening Here

GA 2019: Abide in Me We are excited that 10 CHCC members are going to the General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciple of Christ) in Des Moines. Laypersons:
How Is the Pentecost Offering Used?
Christ is truly everywhere, the very heart of life continuing to love the world into being. We have only to recognize.
Maundy Thursday Worship
Good Friday Stations of the Cross Friday, April 19
Easter Breakfast 9:00 am
Worship – Celebration of Resurrection! 11:00 am
ARRANGEMENTS
Why is that Equal Exchange display in the hallway near the library?
We also have many varieties of tea, and about a dozen kinds of chocolate. We have just received two of the newest chocolate bars: Organic Chocolate with Coconut Milk (lactose free) and Organic Dark Chocolate Almond and Sea Salt. Soon we will have some of another new variety: Organic Total Eclipse Dark Chocolate (92% cacao). We have 10 additional flavors in stock.
PLEASE NOTE: THIS INVITATION TO VOLUNTEER WITH THE PRIDE CENTER HELPLINE is TIME-SENSITIVE.
March 5th 6:00 – 7:30 pm,
Sunday Mornings 10 AM – LENTEN ADULT STUDY – Begins March 10
Lenten Evening Study – “Boundless Compassion: Creating a Way of Life” – led by Jacque Foster
REGISTER NOW AND MAKE YOUR
We welcome Janet Utley who joined the congregation on January 6. Janet has been worshiping with us since last spring, and came to be a part of the congregation as she came with Judy after their marriage last spring. Janet is a nurse and has been participating in our winter outreach shelter and our Adult Class on Sundays. When Janet came forward, she said that this congregation feels like it can be her home. We welcome you Janet and look forward to growing together in faith!
Compton Heights CC Book Group
As you consider walking in the October 7 CROP Walk & Concert, you are invited to read this letter sent to Clint McCann, Walk Director for our area.
God calls us to value the labor of God’s people. Preaching this week: Cecilia Belser-Patton, Organizer, Missouri Jobs With Justice
First a hat or two, ‘Okay’. Then more, and people I’d never expect to see in a hat! Even the men had on hats. Then came Morgan-at-the-organ-in-a-jester’s-hat and David at the piano in a wide brimmed red doozie! The choir in hats! It was all crazy and fun!
In our ministry, we strive to work in ways that anticipate and respond to meet needs rather than always reacting after the
A Fun Evening with Friends to Fund Mission! Saturday, September 29; First Round begins at 6pm!
Compton Heights CC Book Club
In these days we hold each other and our wider Community, nation, and world in prayer. It is more than a turn of phrase to say that we “pray without ceasing.”


