The Shepherd’s Center of KCK will hold its 24th annual Book and Bric-A-Brac sale on Friday and Saturday, May 11 and 12, at the First Baptist Church of Turner, 701 S. 55th, Kansas City, Kansas.
Donations of books and other sale items will be accepted at the church beginning 8 a.m. Thursday, May 10.
Possible sale items include household items, dishes, decorations, towels, and holiday items. Clothing donations will not be accepted.
In addition, church members will hold a $5 breakfast from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 12.
Proceeds from the sale benefit the programs and services of the Shepherd’s Center of KCK, and proceeds from the breakfast will help the church provide summer camp fees for a young person.
For more information, contact the Shepherd’s Center office at 913-281-8908, or email melissab@sckck.org.
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Christ the King Catholic Church plans a Community Blood Center blood drive from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, May 14, in the church basement, 3024 N. 53rd, Kansas City, Kansas. To schedule a donation, visit www.esavealifenow.org or call 816-753-4040.
The Keeler Women’s Center, 2220 Central Ave., will be the site of a program, “Holy Women: What a Woman Could Do – Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet,” from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Thursday, May 10. The program will discuss how the Sisters of St. Joseph helped to shape American culture. The prayer, discussion and reflection program will be presented by Mary Kay Whitacre.
Parkway Baptist Church, 12320 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, Kansas, plans a Community Blood Center blood drive from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. June 25 in the church classrooms. To schedule a donation, visit www.esavealifenow.org or call 816-753-4040.
Volunteers are needed for Samaritan’s Purse’s project, Operation Christmas Child. In this program, led by the Rev. Franklin Graham, volunteers fill shoeboxes with toys, school supplies and hygiene items. The shoeboxes are given to needy children. Operation Christmas Child has delivered more than 157 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 160 countries since 1993. This year, the local Kansas City, Kansas West Area Team hopes to collect 15,782 shoebox gifts to contribute to the 2018 global goal of reaching more than 11 million children in need. Shannon Zaring leads the local Kansas City, Kansas, West Area Team for Operation Christmas Child. To learn more about joining the Kansas City, Kansas West Area Team Area Team or to apply for leadership opportunities, visit samaritanspurse.org/volunteerwithOCC.
Members of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1300 N. 18th St., Kansas City, Kan., will observe the seventh Sunday in the Easter season at 10 a.m. May 13.
Wyandotte United Methodist Church, 7901 Oakland Ave., Kansas City, Kansas, plans a Community Blood Center blood drive from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. June 19 in the church Fellowship Hall. To schedule a donation, visit www.esavealifenow.org or call 816-753-4040.
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Cathy Kolenda-Smith, left, Polski Day Committee member, and volunteers were busy on a recent Saturday making golambki (cabbage rolls) for the annual Polski Day celebration May 5 at All Saints Catholic parish, 8th and Vermont, Kansas City, Kansas. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)
by Mary Rupert
Those who are looking for authentic Polish cooking such as golambki, Polish sausage, pierogi, kielbasa, kolacki and powitica need look no further than the 34th annual Polski Day celebration.
This event is from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 5, at All Saints Catholic parish, 8th and Vermont, Kansas City, Kansas. Polish food, music and activities are part of the celebration. It is a fundraiser for All Saints parish, formerly St. Joseph-St. Benedict Church.
It was on May 3, 1791, that the Polish Constitution of Freedom was signed, leading to the annual celebration on the first Saturday of May.
Volunteers, including some mother-and-daughter pairs, spent one recent April Saturday at the All Saints church basement making an estimated 1,200 cabbage rolls (golambki) that will be frozen until Polski Day.
Another day in April was spent making about 3,600 Polish cookies for the dinner, scheduled 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 5 at All Saints Church basement. There will be a raffle for a quilt made by a parishioner.
Polski Day will begin with a parade at 11 a.m. May 5 at 12th and Central, east on Central to 8th Street, and then to Vermont, ending at All Saints Church.
An important part of Polski Day will be a Polka Mass scheduled at 4 p.m. May 5 at All Saints.
Besides the authentic ethnic food, there will be music at the festival by Jim Baric, accordionist; Brian McCarty, accordionist; the Brian McCarty Polka Band; and the Ed Grisnik Polka Band.
Cathy Kolenda-Smith, Polski Day Committee member, said 100 percent of the funds raised will go toward All Saints parish. She said funds from Polski Day recently went to put a new floor in the parish hall, and also, the ceiling was replaced, with new lights.
The restrooms are also being remodeled at the church hall, and three offices were added in the church hall, she added.
Very noticeable at the church currently is the demolition of the former school building on the property.
“Originally we were going to restore it, and then we had a water main break in there, and it destroyed a lot,” Kolenda-Smith said. The insurance wouldn’t cover nearly half of it, and the archdiocese decided it was more of a hazard than it would be to fix it, she said. The school building was demolished within the last month.
The school area will be turned into a parking lot, with future plans to build a parish center there, Kolenda-Smith said. The parish center might be a long-term project.
Some of the funds raised at Polski Day will probably go toward the new parish center, she said, as well as toward whatever projects at the church need funds.
The family-oriented Polski Day is open to everyone in the community and is planned as a way to unite the community.
The event also includes an online fundraising auction including gift certificates and other items at https://polskiday.com.
Janet Franiuk Meyerholtz, left, and Pam Franiuk Cornelison, right, who are sisters, prepared the cabbage leaves for golambki at a recent workday in the All Saints parish hall. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)Betty Kolenda, right, with Pat Winegardner, left front, and Elaine Webb, left back, made cabbage rolls (golambki) at a recent workday to prepare for Polski Day on May 5. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)Volunteers worked on making golambki in advance for the upcoming Polski Day celebration at All Saints Church. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)A school building at All Saints Catholic Church, formerly St. Joseph’s, near 8th and Vermont, Kansas City, Kansas, was demolished recently. Some of the funds raised by Polski Day on May 5 may go toward building a new parish center on this site.
