Community Christian Church

Welcome to live worship at Community Christian Church! We’re glad to have you with us this Advent season.

Welcome to live worship at Community Christian Church! We’re glad to have you join us as we celebrate the third Sunday of Advent and light the candle of joy.

We might not be getting the snow to make it look like a winter wonderland quite yet in Kansas City, but even if you're dreaming of a white Christmas you can still enjoy Gary Tannen performing "Winter Wonderland!"

We were thrilled to share the story of our building's recognition by the National Register of Historic Places with Kris Ketz from KMBC9. Thanks to Kris for highlighting our fundraising efforts with Wright on Main to restore our iconic Steeple of Light. https://www.kmbc.com//kc-church-now-on-national-r/34947431

Welcome to live worship! In Community, people of all ages, all abilities, and all identities can know and be known as God’s beloved. All are welcome here, and all means you.

In one week we will be premiering our "Not So Silent Night" Christmas concert live on Facebook and YouTube! Check out this sneak peak and tune in with us on Friday, December 18, at 7 p.m. to enjoy local Kansas City musicians performing songs of the season. #Community4KC #CelebratingTheArts

Today, on Veteran's Day, we offer this prayer from Chaplain (Captain) Tiann Morgner, one of Rev. Shanna's former "church kids" who is an ordained minister with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and an active duty Army Chaplain currently stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas. Lord, hear our prayers: God of all that was and is and is to come, You, who bear witness to our creation and usher us home at our final moments, we ask that you turn our ears to the cries of those we of...ten do not hear, to open our eyes to the stories in our midst, to hear the stories of those called, to hear the stories of those who answer the call. Open our ears to the story of the seventeen-year-old who yearns to serve in a world with honor, who seeks an escape from the drug-riddled streets he calls home only to be sent to a place where the streets are riddled with a different kind of violence, replacing one form of hate with another. Give us the eyes to see the single mother, yearning for a better life for her son, who is called into harm’s way, her son sent away to his grandparents yet once again, in hopes that she is able to provide a better life for him, who has more of a relationship with her son over phone video than she does in real life, only to hear cries of judgment for being a bad mother. Give us the hearts to receive the young officer, who, a few months after graduating from college, barely old enough to drink, found himself at war, commanding troops, ordering young people into harm’s way. Give us the heart to grieve with this leader who now is writing a letter home to the parents of one of his Soldiers, bearing the burden for the flag-draped box that is the resting place for their son’s long trip home. Lord, open our hands to the countless veterans wearing their respective hats or simply wearing the cloak of service on their faces. Open our hands to the Vietnam war veterans who never received that open hand, and still live in the torment of war, even though they have been told they have been home for decades. They never really came home. Lord, help us to hear their stories; give us the wisdom to close our mouths and truly listen to the struggle, for though they may be called into war-torn places, they come home with war-torn hearts, lost and unsure. Help us to be a safe haven, offering more than the mere words: Thank you for your service. Let us sit in the uncomfortable spaces of their lives for even a minute, to dwell in the war-torn realities they never left. We remember each year our veterans; we remember the sacrifices they make but, Lord, call to our attention these warriors in our midst as we seek to live and love in community each and every day. May we see the scars in our midst, may we listen to their stories, and may we love and continue to welcome them home, until our swords are turned to plowshares and your reign of peace begins. Amen. See more

We were thrilled to share the story of our building's recognition on the National Register of Historic Places with Kris Ketz from KMBC9. He's been so gracious to post the link to donate to our Steeple of Light restoration efforts on his own page. And look for his story tonight at both 4 and 6pm. Thanks, Kris for the coverage and for all you do for our city!

Christmas wish lists for Kansas City children in foster care are now available and we need your help to make their wishes come true! We have again committed to sponsoring 100 KC-area youth this year. You will find the wish lists at the link below. Once you've selected the child you wish to sponsor, simply click "sign up" and enter your contact information. The wish list will be sent to your email. Gifts should be delivered unwrapped with gift tags attached that list the child...'s name and ID number. This year you have the option of returning gifts to our church building on Saturday, December 5 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. through the 46th Street entrance, or gifts can be delivered directly to Cornerstones' Holiday Hub (9038 Metcalf Ave, Overland Park, KS 66212) on Thursday, December 10 from 4 to 7 p.m. or Saturday, December 12 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Click the following link to sign up: https://bit.ly/C3Wish See more

Join us and our partner organization Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity (MORE2) this Thursday, November 12, from 5 to 6 PM, at Waddell Park for an Interfaith Public Action for Racial Justice. MORE2 wants this to be a big action to say to the nation that we will not rest or lay back now that the presidency is changing. We will not get comfortable. We know we have a LONG way to go and we will keep at it! As you plan to go, please make sure to plan to wear yo...ur Community4KC t-shirts! To learn more, visit their Facebook event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/850897345681716/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[%7B%22mechanism%22%3A%22search_results%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22search%22%7D]%7D

What do you hold in grief in this season? During our Blue Christmas Service on Wednesday, we lit candles of hope as we created a Community-led Litany of Loss, sharing our lives with one another and offering up each of our individual prayers. We’ve taken some time to compile the prayer requests shared with us via email, and on Facebook and Youtube as part of that service. As you read through this list, we invite you to consider those individual losses you might add to this... list; as you hold them, please know that our prayers continue and you are held fast in the holy space of God’s mercy. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers. As we light candles this night, remind us that grief is sacred and difficult, but held in the trust of those who journey with us. Tonight, we light candles to ask your presence near us as we grieve for the warm hugs of daughters and grandchildren that are sorely missed. for Larry who is missed, and for Ann whose friendship brings light. for hospice chaplains who each day give so much of themselves and find that it never seems enough. for those in helping professions who are exhausted but carry on. for church family who though apart from us still accompanies us through this season. for the frustration of feeling cut off. for goodbyes we haven’t gotten to say. for the safety of medical workers. for essential workers, including Kenyon, my mom, my sister-in-law and my brother-in-law. for the lack of appreciation of essential workers and what they risk. for the memory of my parents’ anniversary being Christmas. for the blessed memory of my father who died on December 15th. for my immediate and extended families, and friends who are like family, for the day when we can spend time together again safely. for anger as a stage of grief. for the loss of family time. for the loss of Clyde and Larry. for memories of my family and the awareness of dwindling days. for Grandpa Ryan from my scout students. for the loss of Courtney. for those who live with anxiety. for those who are anxious, depressed and suicidal. for those who are alone. for closed restaurants. for lost jobs. for care assistants and nurses working in skilled facilities, doing their best to keep covid out and keeping the residents safe. for care facility residents unable to be with their families. for the memory of Bob Steitz. for the anger of mental illness, personally and for coworkers who struggle with the same. for the memory of my mother Coradean who is at peace and no longer suffering yet she is dearly missed. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Hear our prayers. Amen.

A reflection in music, images and artistry: take a moment to let the prayers of this video be your own, as Jonathon Antle plays and Grace Cox-Johnson weaves.

We have a special #ThrowbackThursday anthem tonight and we hope the lyrics will resonate with you. Enjoy "I Choose Love" by Miller, performed by our choir. "In the midst of pain, I choose love. In the midst of pain, sorrow falling down like rain, I await the sun again, I choose love.... In the midst of war, I choose peace. In the midst of war, hate and anger keeping score, I will seek the good once more, I choose peace. When my world falls down, I will rise. When my world falls down, explanations can’t be found, I will climb to holy ground, I will rise. In the midst of pain, I choose love. In the midst of pain, sorrow falling down like rain, I await the sun again, I choose love."

Live from the Motter Family Front Porch, together we pray, "O God, what is the invitation of your spirit for us in this moment?"

We’re going to post this again tonight because....well, just because.

Join Rev. Shanna and Rev. Ryan as we join our hearts in prayer on this evening of waiting, wondering and wandering.

Anybody else feel like it's Saturday of Holy Week?

Hear these words from Psalm 122 this morning. May it be a prayer for all of us. #WeNeedEachOther

As you head off to bed, receive this benediction for the day. The Gospel work will still be here tomorrow. Get some sleep, dear ones. #weneedeachother

Well shoot....take 2

The official end to our Election Day prayer vigil...

As we continue our Election Day Prayer Vigil, we pray that our holy imaginations might be inspired by this day to dream of a world beyond this one, that we might abide not in cynicism but instead in possibility, that we may not fall into condescension but stay the course of encouragement, and that our visions of a world guided by the love of Jesus might be made more and more real through our actions, our songs, and our creativity. Amen.