Month: December 2021

Faith news

Blessed Sacrament and Christ the King Catholic churches will hold Masses on Sunday, Dec. 5. Sunday Masses at Christ the King are at 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., and at Blessed Sacrament, Sunday Masses are at 7:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. Christ the King will have Masses for the feast of the Immaculate Conception at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 7 and 8:30 a.m. Dec. 8. Blessed Sacrament will celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe after the 6 p.m. Spanish Mass on Saturday, Dec. 11, with dancers and songs. For more information, visit the churches’ websites or Facebook pages at www.facebook.com/Christ-the-King-Parish-KCKS-1392808997677579 and www.facebook.com/BlessedSacramentkck.

Casa – Worship House Christian Church, 5217 Leavenworth Road, Kansas City, Kansas, will have Sunday services at 11 a.m. Dec. 5. See details at www.facebook.com/casadealabanzaKCKS. For more information, visit Facebook @casadealabanzaKCKS.

Oak Ridge Missionary Baptist Church, 9301 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, Kansas, will have services at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 5. See details at https://www.facebook.com/ORMBCKC or http://ormbc.org/church-online/.

Open Door Baptist Church, 3033 N. 103rd Terrace, Kansas City, Kansas, will have services in person at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 5, and livestream at https://www.facebook.com/opendoorkc/ and https://www.opendoorkc.com/. Open Door is planning a free Christmas concert by the Ball Brothers at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 13, at the church, 3033 N. 103rd Terrace.

Our Lady and St. Rose Catholic Church, 2300 N. 8th St., Kansas City, Kansas, will hold a Mass in English at 11 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 5. For more information, see https://www.facebook.com/ourladyandsaintrose.

Stony Point Christian Church, 149 S. 78th St., Kansas City, Kansas, will have services at 10:15 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 5. There will be basketball in the Cole Activity Center after the service. Services also will be livestreamed on its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/StonyPointChristianChurch. Sunday school will be at 9 a.m. There will be a welcoming reception for the Rev. and Mrs. Caleb Plumb on Sunday, Dec. 12, in the coffee shop following a congregational meeting.

St. Patrick Catholic Church, 1086 N. 94th St., Kansas City, Kansas, will hold Mass at 7:30 a.m., 9:15 a.m., 11 a.m., 12:45 p.m. in Spanish and 2:30 p.m. in Burmese on Sunday, Dec. 5. For the feast of the Immaculate Conception, Wednesday, Dec. 8, Masses will be at 6:30 a.m., 8:10 a.m., 12:15 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. in English and 7 p.m. in Spanish. St. Patrick Church will have an evening of Advent and Christmas music in church at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 16. For more information, see https://www.facebook.com/StPatrickKCK.

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1300 N. 18th St., Kansas City, Kansas, will have services at 10 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 5. The service will be available online. See more information at https://www.facebook.com/StPaulsKCK/ or https://www.stpaulskck.org/.

Sunset Hills Christian Church, 6347 Leavenworth Road, Kansas City, Kansas, will have services at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 5. For more information about this Sunday’s plans, visit the Facebook page of Pastor Mike Barnett, https://www.facebook.com/mike.barnett.528. Services are also provided through checkout of DVD or SD Card and can be sent by email upon request. For more information, see https://www.facebook.com/sunsethills.christianchurch.

Wyandotte United Methodist Church, 7901 Oakland Ave., Kansas City, Kansas, will have a worship service at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 5. A video of the service will be at https://www.facebook.com/Wyandotteumc. Church members are collecting hats, gloves, scarves and mittens for the Hub and Cross-Lines.

Information about other church services in Wyandotte County may be available from the church’s social media page.
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Holiday light show continues at Renaissance Festival grounds

A holiday light show is in its second weekend at the Renaissance Festival grounds at 130th and State in Bonner Springs.

Called Knights of Lights, the event is a walk-through of the Renaissance Festival gate and common areas.

At this event, the public may stroll through the displays in the King’s Gate and Cotswold Common areas, with food and beverages available for sale. Vendors and performers will be present, and there will be activities for kids.

Advance tickets are $14.95 for adults and $9.95 for children 5-12. At the gate, prices are $18 for adults and $13 for children 5-12. Children 4 and younger are free. The admission charge for dogs is $5 each.

The hours are 5 to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursdays and Sundays, Hours are from 5 to 10 p.m. Dec. 20 to 24, and it is closed Dec. 25. On New Year’s Eve, it will be open from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m.

The light show is provided by Landers’ Visions, a local, family-owned company with nearly 35 years of experience creating decorative environments for all types of events.

For more information, including the best entrance location for this show, visit www.kcrenfest.com.

KCK school recognized nationally for student achievement

Bertram Caruthers Elementary School is being recognized nationally by the National Association of ESEA State Program Administrators for exceptional student achievement in 2021.

The NAESPA publicly recognizes qualifying federally funded schools across the nation for the outstanding academic achievements of all students, including students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Principal Molly Struzzo has served the Kansas City, Kansas, Public School district 22-years, eight of them as the principal at Caruthers.

She said parents are noticing the improvements that are being made academically and sharing those experiences with other parents which resulted in an increase in requests to enroll their child in her school.

“Being selected as an ESEA Distinguished School is a true testament to the commitment and hard work that the Caruthers staff displays every day,” Struzzo said. “Teachers and staff have worked relentlessly towards each student’s individual growth. Through teamwork and as a work family, student needs are put first at Caruthers.”

The ESEA program began in 1996 and has been highlighting the success of schools in one of the three categories each:
• Category 1: Exceptional student performance and academic growth for two or more consecutive years.
• Category 2: Closing the achievement gap between student groups for two or more consecutive years. • Category 3: Excellence in serving a special population of students.

The Kansas State Department of Education designated Caruthers Elementary as a National ESEA Distinguished School for closing the achievement gap.

“We are all proud of the achievement,” said Dr. Anna Stubblefield, superintendent of schools. “The Distinguished School honor reflects the collective efforts of our teachers, administrators, and school support staff who help cultivate a positive and supportive learning environment that encourages academic excellence for all students. The national honor is the result of our student’s hard work and the guidance and encouragement from our parents. These are the outcomes we strive for on all of our school campuses.”

“This is an incredible honor for Caruthers. It pays tribute to the hard work and dedication of each student, teacher, and staff member by recognizing our commitment to education and growth,” said Caruthers fifth grade teacher, LeeAnn Thomas.